Last night, Kendrick spoke loudly, reigniting the fire in my spirit that once burned bright but had been dimmed for too long: it’s time to televise the revolution.
His performance was a declaration—we will not be silenced. We will not play their game and we never have. He reminded the world that we do not exist for their entertainment—to be puppets they foolishly believe they control. Our very existence is art—a miraculous testament to survival, resistance, and liberation, continuously reclaimed in a world that tries to strip us of our humanity while profiting off our brilliance.
Kendrick took the stage with boldness, shouting truth from the rooftops in a culture that relentlessly tries to punish and silence it. And he did so while illustrating the tension that comes with telling the truth. Should I, or shouldn’t I? Can they handle this? “You know they like to sue.” Sure, you could call that a jab at Drake and his lawsuit against Lamar for “Not Like Us,” but it runs deeper than that. Look at the legal action and censorship that is happening right now—attempting to silence truthful history, present day systemic barriers, and the undeniable magic of Black culture. They want us to bow down to Uncle Sam and “play the game.” They always have.
I’ve battled this very tension with my own writing. I wrote a raw, honest, truthful book—one that calls this society by name an lays bare the harm it has inflicted, especially on the Black and Indigenous communities it destroyed and exploited to build its power. I had to wrestle with the decision name white supremacy culture outright. Do I soften my words to make white people comfortable and sell more copies? Or do I risk sales by putting the truth in plain sight, right there on the cover?
I chose the latter, and I’m certainly “paying for it.”
But, my art—my words—do not exist to make publishing companies richer. My words exist to tell the truth. My words exist for us—to remind us that we do not have to shrink, conform, or play their game. Freedom is in choosing to proclaim the royalty inside our DNA, Squabble Up, and demand that we deserve it all.
This country was built off the back of our tenacious ancestors and continues to be carried on our shoulders today. We don’t just influence culture—we are culture. We lead and set every trend. We are the most educated, innovative, and influential community. And we have a beautiful ability to illuminate joy in the midst of our greatest turmoils. We are walking miracles, and we will not let the world forget—or disrespect—who we are.
We will not stay humble.
We will not back down.
We will not play their game.
We will not stay silent.
We will exude the royalty in our DNA.
We will Squabble Up whenever necessary.
We will play the game by our rules.
We will take everything we deserve.
We will televise our revolution.
Now, turn this TV off.
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Thank you for putting the truth in plain sight! I just ordered the audiobook and can’t wait to listen to you narrate it. 🌺