"I am black but beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Cedar, as the curtains of Solomon" Song of Solomon 1:5

I look upon this picture and the words of Song of Solomon jump off the page and seem to make reference of this unnamed woman. The verse is said in a variety of ways, "I am dark, yet comely" or "I am black, but fair formed" but which ever way that it is put, it speaks to the beauty that is beyond the color of the skin but also the beauty of ones spirit. This beauty of blackness speaks also to the situation in which the person is in. In the Biblical reference it goes on to say,

"Don't stare at me because I am dark--the sun has darkened my skin. My brothers were angry with me; they forced me to care for their vineyards, so I couldn't care for myself--my own vineyard." vs 6

Now I don't know this unnamed woman's situation but I do know that there is struggle in her village and in the entire Zimbabwe region. This woman, who is dark skinned has been forced to take care of self ,with limited resources or accessibility to those resources, but doesn't ask for pity or some hand out, which is what most people expect. This woman's skin, doesn't speak to a woman that will be pushed aside, but instead it seems to say how proud she is of her sun scorched skin and if she spoke through this blog, I believe that she would put it in the 70's vernacular by saying- "black is beautiful, man!"

And those words should be quoted by us all, as we look upon this sister, here, as she holds her beautiful child.

Now I'm not talking about a beauty that is dictated by a "colonized mind" but rather a beauty that seems to speak and tell several stories...a story of survival... a story of healing... a story of hope... a story of I will survive... a story that truly says that my blackness isn't a curse but its a blessing. A story that transcends time that allows one to hold their head high and with self assurance say, that "black is beautiful" no matter if the world says otherwise.

Blessings and remember
I AM YOU AS YOU ARE ME