Some of my body’s coolest abilities are…

1. its ability to do cool physical shit
2. its ability to keep getting stronger no matter how old I am
3. its ability to heal

I’ve been highly physical since I was a kid. I was of the “stay outside til the street lamps come on” generation. I’d return home “smellin’ like the outdoors” after riding bikes, climbing trees, playing kickball, and building forts with the neighborhood kids. But this musty wild child also fell in love with her Royal Academy of Dancing Classical ballet training.

I’m grateful for my body because, through her, I’ve been able to explore my greatest passions; dance, aerial arts, and fitness. And ultimately turn them into careers! My body thrives on the discipline of skill building and discovering what I’m capable of. When it comes to training, I never get bored of the cycle of repetition and growth, no matter how long it takes to reach my goal. That journey feels like play to me.

I am contributing to healing the racial divide by standing proudly in my authentic self; knowing that my life alone defies most people’s expectations when they see my skin. I remember how growing up in a predominantly white college town, I was confused by what it meant to “act”, and “sound” Black. I felt the burden of expectations that were all too foreign to me. But the little Black girl in the mirror didn’t seem “Black enough”. That confusion seems strange since

Black stereotypes are destructive because they’re connected to racism and discrimination. They insidiously form your unconscious biases that are reflected in your assumptions, beliefs and attitudes toward us as Black people. Not only do stereotypes strip away our individuality and our true character, but they rob us of access and opportunities that we rightfully deserve.

I’d love to meet Ava Duvernay because, to me, she’s a modern-day Black activist who uses her gifts as a filmmaker to create social impact. Weaved throughout her work are the poignant realities of the Black experience within a racist and patriarchal society. And the ongoing injustices that effect us individually and collectively for the sake of political and financial profit. Whether it’s her Netflix documentary “13th”, her docu-series “When They See Us” or her novel-based drama, “Queen Sugar”, Ava uses the realm of entertainment to educate and inspire people to reflect honestly about the abuses of power in this country.

I’d love to chat with my late grandfather, Arthur C Lamb. He died in 1988, the same year I graduated from HS. I only have a few childhood memories of him. Mostly that we called him “Dear” & that during our infrequent trips to Baltimore, he’d indulge the family in a game of Scrabble (still my favorite board game). I also remember him as a stoic man of few words. It wasn’t until, years after he died, that I realized just how much we have in common! I so badly wish we could chat because I’m sure he’d be a great storyteller. Like me, Dear was educated in predominantly White schools. But…