“Shine, black girl, shine.”  As you prepare for the rest of the week, let Shannon Wilson’s #dearblackgirl letter serve as a motivator. We will definitely remember Shannon’s words as members of our team head to New York City to attend the Picturing Black Girlhood Exhibition and Black Girl Movement Conference later this week! Thank you Shannon for taking up your pen!

Dear black girl,

So often you are told what you are not, but I am you and you are me, and  I know what you are.

You are:

You are the essence of life.

You are the song of joy in my life

You are beautifully and wonderfully made

You are an overcomer.

You were made in love by hands so divine.

You are an intricate piece of artwork

You are beautifully and wonderfully designed

By the God of all things supreme and sublime.

You are a light house in the harbor made to shine in the darkest of times

So shine, black girl

Shine.

I love you,

Shannon

Shannon Wilson is a 21 years old  Student of Social Entrepreneurship and Organizer with Black Lives Matter Chicago. She is from Hazel Crest, Illinois.