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Blessed greetings all! I hope you're all doing well on this (finally!) warm day in New York or wherever you may be. I've got a lot of great things to share with you all including the recipes I promised -- who's still fastingwith me? -- but I found out about something too good not to share today so all the rest will have to wait.

I came across a great blog entitled "The Beautiful Struggler" by a young woman who goes by the moniker Sister Toldja. She's sassy, fun and full of revolutionary energy -- reminds me a lot of me at her age -- and lots of positivity, which is what we're all about here at Ase Ire. Sister Toldja has set aside the 2nd Wednesday of every month as Universal Happy Black Girl Day, which I think is a beautifully positive idea! I won't go into the questions of the necessity of such a designation or issues of inclusivity, because she covers those pretty well in her post, I'm just going to jump right into the celebration! Sister says that celebration is as simple as sharing personal narratives, fun lists and other light-hearted and positive fare about Black women; whether you are a Black woman or you simply know and admire Black women, everyone can participate!

As a Black woman, I am blessed and encouraged every day to have so many positive Black female role models around me! From my wonderful mother, to my talented sister, to my intelligent and humorous aunts, loving godmothers and supportive teachers, I am ever grateful to be surrounded with such apt examples of Black womanhood! Have I been inspired by men and women of other persuasions? Absolutely! Every day! But I love to look at older Black women, like my mother, and little girls, like my precious niece Bree, and see reflections of myself as I was and as I hope to be. It is also very humbling to be a student of the African Diaspora and to see the struggles and strides endured and made by Black women -- all women of African descent worldwide -- and to know that I am a part of analyzing and documenting that precious history. As I move into another phase of "Black girl-ness," because I am still a girl at heart, I pray to have the type of impact on my sisters of all persuasions that so many who have come before have had on me.

I thank Sister Toldja for sharing her idea. Follow her on Twitter for more Happy Black Girl Day fun!

Here's to happiness today and every day!  Ase!

~Funlayo