Obinna,

Thank you so much for your heartfelt response.

The reason why I added the part about Black women specifically, is because I feel just like you do. I did not want to watch the special because I know how Jamie views Black women. Just like how most Black men view Black women: as caricatures or things.

Then when they fall from grace, they call on us for prayers and strength and I'm sorry but in the back of my mind I'm thinking, "Ask your non Black women for that strength!"

But we are so compassionate and compartmentalize so much it gives us a headache. My solution is to choose peace for yourself. For example, I got tired of watching BET in my early twenties because at the time, my body wasn't as curvy as the video vixens and it messed with my self esteem so I turned it off and kept it off for several years.

During those years of no BET, I learned to accept my own body type and filled my head with books of plain women who still found love- not just in men but in literature, power, beauty and knowledge.

As Black women we can and should continue to realize we are rare jewels. We literally look like no one else on the planet. Many Black men choose lighter women because unfortunately, light is still close to the Eurocentric look and it's trendy.