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NSVRC Blogs by Tatiana Piper


Over the past few days, my timeline has been overflowing with responses following the premiere of the Lifetime docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly”. People are going through it and struggling to process.

I am a young, African American woman who has so much pride, dignity and joy in being black. Unfortunately, that pride and joy did not come easily. It was often blocked by insecurities which stemmed from what society thought black should be. As a child my father would declare, “Say it loud and say it proud. I’m black and I’m proud.” Although it would take several times for me to finally find the courage, I would recite it back to him shouting with confidence. Through the continuous teachings of my father as well as being surrounded by strong black role models, I eventually found overflowing love not only for “the culture” but also for myself.