2019 marked the 3rd year of the #BlackBlogsMatter challenge.

I started the Challenge to break myself out of a writing rut and express some of the feelings I’d been suppressing about the difficulties myself and other Black people face in our workplace and our world just trying to exist, advance and thrive.

As I wrap up the 3rd year of the Challenge and decide what’s next, I reflect and come back to a simple question: Now what? 

The Challenge has brought me new readers and exposure that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. The Challenge has introduced me to a whole slate of Black bloggers and podcasters in genres that I probably wouldn’t have known about if I hadn’t started these hashtag movements. The Challenge has pushed friends, followers and fans to stretch their minds and their tolerance — and it has chased many others away.

I see both of these and all of this as good things. I am grateful and humbled by it.

But it can’t go on forever. I am not sure I can. And I don’t think I should.

There are fantastic writers out there who are spectacular at anti-racism work and in helping White people move beyond their supremacist conditioning and privilege into unlearning and relearning in a meaningful way. They navigate conversations around race and privilege fragility with kindness and compassion. They have top-notch self-care routines to help them shake off all the ickiness and ugliness they endure to move the needle.

I am not one of those people. And, as much as I admire and respect those people, I don’t want to be one of those people. I prefer being a person who speaks truth to power boldly and candidly. I prefer my petty jabs and savage comebacks and shaking people to wokeness to the more balanced approaches. And I simply don’t have the fortitude or tolerance for the tantrums and meltdowns from fear, ignorance and uncomfortableness — or for the folx who flock to coddle and explain away every incident that causes minor discomfort. And I know myself well enough to know that isn’t going to change.

I just want to do awesome work with dope Black women who want to make our workplaces more equitable and safe for other Black women — because we know that, the more things improve for us, the more they improve for everyone else. I want to partner with the organizations and the companies as well as with the Black men, other POC and White people who are willing to join in alongside all the dope Black women doing this kind of work. And I want to highlight other bloggers and podcasters across genres who are doing dope things in their areas in hopes of amplifying their signal and bringing them more support in whatever they need for the dope work they’re doing.

Dassit.

With that as my desire and focus, I don’t see where the writing challenge within #BlackBlogsMatter fits.

So I am letting it go.

2020 will be the final #BlackBlogsMatter challenge, y’all …There will be 4 weeks of themes, beginning the week of February 3rd and culminating by February 29.

And dassit.

The final #BlackBlogsMatter challenge calendar will drop on January 28, 2020.

Thank you for taking this journey with me and riding til the end. ✊🏽🖤