00:00As an educated black woman who has spent my career trying to get every accolade that
00:08they say that you have to have in order to succeed in journalism, it felt tremendously
00:14empowering to be able to walk away when I felt I was being degraded and demeaned.
00:20I'm Nicole Hannah-Jones and this is My Essence Uncovered.
00:28What it meant to me to see lots of black women like Simone Biles and to see Lizzo speak up
00:32for themselves, I think it sends a powerful message because black women don't feel like
00:39we can say no.
00:40We feel like we always have to show that we are strong and that no matter what's coming
00:43our way, we'll just deal with it and we have power.
00:47Black women can decide when we will work, how we will work, and where we will work and we
00:52don't have to stay in places where we don't feel we're being respected.
00:58So often we're treated as if we should feel grateful that we're in these spaces and we
01:06believe that if we're not in white institutions, then we aren't seen as successful.
01:11And so I turned what was a very low and demeaning situation into I think one of the best situations
01:19of my life.
01:19It is literally a dream come true or maybe not even a dream come true because I don't
01:27know that I ever believe that it would happen.
01:31Essence means everything to me.
01:33I've been reading Essence since I was a little girl.
01:35It was the only magazine that every month featured black women and talked about what black women
01:41were doing and showed black women in fashion and black makeup tips and hair care tips and
01:47entrepreneurial black women.
01:48There just wasn't any other magazine that existed like that.
01:51So Essence means everything because it means everything to see yourself reflected back to.
02:01Probably the main way that I maintained my sanity was to drink a lot of bourbon.
02:05But I don't recommend that I you know, I'm someone who is extremely social and it's been particularly
02:13hard to kind of go through the last two years and not be able to get fortified by being around
02:20my community.
02:21I like to throw a lot of parties.
02:24So what I did was just try to use that time to do a lot of reading and studying and spent
02:30more time outdoors than I normally am able to spend.
02:34But I'm excited for the world to open back up and that I can do things like go to the
02:39spa and travel for things other than work.
02:47What I would tell any 16 year old black girl out there who's watching this is that you can't
02:53control how anyone is going to see you.
02:56You can't control how anyone is going to treat you.
02:58But what you can control is your own excellence and you can work to make yourself undeniable.
03:04So control that which you can control.
03:06And don't spend a lot of time worrying about that which you can't.
03:08You can control the basics.
03:09You can control that you'll get to work with.
03:10Do you want to know your strengths?
03:11You can control your strengths, dog holistic behaviors, their habits, their habits, their
03:14habits, and your instincts, keeping good up and'reusto for those to think.
03:14It's a societal change.
03:15What you can control effective for your strategy
03:16is that different ways .
03:17So do you put the – you could follow me on!
03:17you might otro person.
03:18If I'm holding you to your best for yourself.
03:19Do you want to know about it?
03:19I'm not sure you could eat.
03:20Our dreams are smart folks.
03:20Keep going your instincts.
03:21Do you think these thingsndeaves that you can spend a little bit
03:21time to address over these things
03:22in the time with your �angae.
03:23and from their lidualiиз Arts.
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