One thing I don't talk about often is how many Black immigrant girls (who generally come from religious homes) will be forbidden from reading RAYBEARER because it has a magic system in it, just like I was growing up.

It saddens me to think about, b/c those girls are essentially who I wrote RAYBEARER for. I'm still a practicing Christian, so I understand the parental concerns . But fantasy is a genre that can empower and cherish Black girls in ways they never, *ever* are in the real world.

Fantasy allows for worlds with new rules. Rules that don't limit Black girls by colorism, misogyny, or sexist fundamentalism.

I've *already* encountered Black girls who beam when they see the RAYBEARER cover, only to shrink back, knowing their parents wouldn't approve.

It makes my heart bleed, but...I was them once.Maybe they'll sneak books under blankets and in library corners, like I once did.

I'm not knocking religions of any stripe.

I just want Black girls to see themselves reflected on every sparkling, crystalline surface possible.

And whatever your beliefs about magic are, serious or otherwise...

It's not fair to take those reflections from Black girls.

It isn't fair, it isn't right. It just isn't.

I recognize that parental fears come from a place of genuine protection. But even if you believe witchcraft is a real, threatening force--parents, look around. Your daughters are not dying in droves from witchcraft.

They are dying from a world that hates the color of their skin.

They are dying from a world that twists them into knots, making them desperate to attain the love of those who neglect, abuse, & subjugate them.

They are dying from being told they will never be the heroine--the treasure worth fighting for.

You are afraid of the wrong thing.