A lot of Black guys have this image thing where they act tough and talk even tougher. For a lot of them, it's their way of dealing with a world that's hostile to them. As a Black woman living in the City of Toronto, Ontario, I can definitely relate. Canada isn't always friendly to minorities, especially those of us who happen to be of African descent. I was born in Jamaica and raised in the Greater Toronto Area, so I know what I'm talking about. Even though I experience my share of frustration with the brothers, I still have much love for them.
I attend the University of Toronto, where I study criminal justice. One of these days, I'm going to become a police officer. I've often been told that I've got the physique for it, this coming from conservative Jamaicans who don't think women ought to be able to do certain jobs like construction and police work. I've five-foot-ten, and weigh two hundred and ten pounds. I'm dark-skinned, chubby and big-bottomed, and damn proud of every inch of my body. I know a lot of sisters with body image issues. Not me. While it's not easy being a large Black woman in a world that worships skinny White chicks, I always carry myself with confidence and grace. Black is beautiful, suckers better recognize!
I've always been a no-nonsense woman who doesn't suffer fools. It hasn't won me many friends, I'll tell you that much right now. Still, there's something to be said about being an honest woman in a world full of fake people who sugar coat things in front of you and say nasty stuff behind your back. There's a time to speak up and a time to keep your mouth shut, though. My classmate Augustine Leconte should have heeded that warning, seriously. He's a short, light-skinned dude I met during my first year at the University of Toronto. Augustine is around five-foot-eight, slim, with light brown skin, curly Black hair and pale green eyes. His father is Black and his mother is Hispanic. Dude thinks he's all that because he's light-skinned and his parents have money.
