There was a moment I was in the store with my daughter. Hand in hand, we were in the toy aisle with wide-ass smiles. See, I’m the kind ‘o momma who knows that just because I didn’t get the shit I wanted as a kid doesn’t mean that my kid deserves the same treatment. And if you’re a momma, you know damn well that even at our best, our kids deserve better.
So imagine my face when I looked at the Barbie shelf and saw all those little plastic white girls in boxes. And one, just one Black Barbie, shoved in the corner, away from the direct eyesight of my little girl.
Of course they did that. Of course I’d have to fight for my daughter to choose that Barbie over Malibu Barbie, Princess Barbie, and fucking Fashionista Barbie… all with perfect blonde hair.
My girl didn’t see herself in them, and even though she would have played okayish with a little white-girl representation, I needed her to have a doll that reflected her.
Because we all need to see ourselves in the spaces we want to be in. In the careers you want, in the communities you build, in the dolls you own, and yes, even in the spiritual spaces we occupy.
Why? Oh, I dunno. Maybe because representation fucking matters.
Take a Break From White Jesus
You and I and nearly every other person on this earth grew up knowing there was one savior in this lifetime. White Jesus. We threw our beliefs onto this thought that the one person who could get us out of any mess and the one person who could grant us whatever we wanted was White Jesus.
Cue the bombastic side-eye. I dunno about you, but that sounds awfully close to the patriarchy that’s kept us pushed to the back corner collecting dust like Black Barbie.
Bringing it Back to Our Roots
Do you think our ancestors sat down, clapped their hands together and blindly prayed to a long haired white guy for his forgiveness? No, they didn’t. There’s no way in hell they would have.
Our ancestors’ spiritual beliefs were broader and better than that. They connected with the universe. They looked at what their ancestors knew. They listened to the wisdom in nature. They took it all in and used the information they learned to actually do what they needed. They called it higher power, they called it ancestral healing, they called it the universe’s call. They had a million names for it, but none of those names were the guy pictured in all of our Christian parents’ living rooms. I don’t know who that guy is, all I know is that he doesn’t represent the deep spiritual relationships our ancestors had that actually moved them.
Redrawing Our Faith
Look, we all know enough about our history to know that the white man took whatever culture they saw and broke it down to replace it with a whitewashed version they liked. Grab any history book and you’ll see the same thing played out over and over. Spiritual places = white spaces.
Shit, how many times have you walked into a church (regardless if that church is a building or a fucking street corner) and were told and shown that as a Black person, you should prove your faith by practicing the whitewashed examples of our history?
Replacing how we did things in the past isn’t improvement. It’s literally erasing everything that worked. Everything that gave us power in the first place.
This is our call to redraw our spiritual spaces. Maybe we connect in the ways our ancestors did. Or maybe we take some form of it and adapt it to make sense for who we are today.
Feel Your Power
The thing is, having someone who looks like you, sounds like you, and believes in you unlocks something fucking special. It makes you see that you don’t have to believe in things the same way others believe.
You have the ability to take the power back into your own hands. You don’t have to throw all the power to some entity other people have made up for you. That shit just doesn’t even make sense.
You can create a way of spirituality that’s unique to you. You can connect on deeper levels to whatever higher power you believe in. And you can use that connection to manifest everything you ever wanted.
The power isn’t in giving up your hand in the matter. The power is embodying every belief you have and using it to empower your path in life.
Your Black Barbie
Now I’m not saying that I’m your Black Barbie, necessarily. I could be. If you want me to. I’m happy to show you how I do my shit so it can help you do yours.
But I have a better idea: Empower yourself to be your own Black Barbie. Take up the space in your spiritual circle. Decide to manifest what that looks like for you.
And if you need help on the way, I’ll be right here to pull you away from the cobwebs our society has pushed you into.
Let’s dust you off, Sis. And break out of the suffocating packaging together.
