Never Tell a Black Girl How to Black Girl: Essays - By Amena Brown

Black women always find a place to meet: in the natural hair aisle, at Beyoncé concerts, even online in memes and catchphrases. This book is one of those places: a living room where readers can contemplate how a well-picked afro can defy the laws of physics and why boob sweat has to exist in the first place. Here, Black Girl is a verb. Here, Black women can Black Girl in every way we want to.

Brown’s book Never Tell a Black Girl How to Black Girl blends storytelling, humor, and pop culture commentary to traverse the magic and wisdom she's gleaned from being raised by Southern Black women, and by being supported by the community of Black women who hold her down today.

After graduating from International Black Girl Headquarters (the renowned HBCU Spelman College), Amena had built a career sharing stories and celebrating Black womanhood. In her book, she shares stories of dancing in Janelle Monae's Tightrope music video and partnering with Tracee Ellis Ross to compose odes to natural hair. She imparts essential life lessons from the Real Housewives of Atlanta, and from her grandmother before her upcoming swirl marriage (“Don’t kiss white boys too hard, because they bruise easily”). She also tells hair tales, sharing the collected wisdom from her committee of friends when it came to the ideal style for her first speaking gig at Essence Fest (box braids, 100%).

In the end, Brown shares that Black women are a whole world. A galaxy of customs, language, code, and unspoken understandings, all explored with humor and heart in this unforgettable book.