On Denouncing Dumbassery, Dangerous Docility, and Daring Declarations
Us Christians calling everything demonic, the cost of staying comfortable, and why Professional Troublemaker was written for such a time as this.
Just like that. February is done. January lasted 54 months but Black History Month 2026 went by like it had a curfew. 😩
And truly, this month did TOO MUCH with too little.
Anyway, let’s jump into what’s been on my mind this week. 👇🏾
RANT
People must denounce being embarrassing.
I know we’re in the anti-intellectual era and it’s wearing me out already cuz logic really exited the building and people didn’t even go after it to apologize so it can come back. And everyday on the internet, it is proven to us that George W. Bush really left children behind and we gotta fight him for it. 😤
Currently, fellow Christians who are calling everything demonic are really grating my last nerves. The ones who talk about therapy and yoga being of the devil. And then there’s the ones who spend decide to come on social media and say that they’re denouncing their membership to their BGLO (Black Greek Letter Organization). Talmbout the rituals are demonic and idolatry.
I’m sorry, WHAT? 🙄
I must have missed that part during my intake process. Because WHAT part of any of the Divine Nine’s oaths and songs actually speak of demons? BGLOs are some of the most CHURCHY organizations on the face of the earth. Shoot. I mean, they got us dressing like Mother of the Usher Board at every ceremony as proof that we bring Christ in the room every time! All them all white dresses giving ASHRO. I know you lying, when we gotta show up looking First Lady chic at Convention. 😅😅😅
In fact, if you’re NOT Christian and you’re joining the Divine Nine, you’d probably feel a little somehow because that is how much the doctrines center God.
As a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc, every time I see someone talmbout they’re denouncing, I’m like “Not you lying on our 22. Osceola would be appalled!”
I think some people join these organizations looking for them to be defined, or for it to fill a hole they might have. And when they joined and realized that there are no letters that will shortcut your own personal healing work, they feel some type of way.
IF YOUR LINESISTERS DON’T LIKE YOU, JUST SAY THAT! You ain’t get invited to one anniversary trip and now you’re upset and holding a megaphone. You pledged in PRIVATE. So why are you denouncing in PUBLIC? We do not care.
That’s YOUR problem. Talk to your therapist. Or your group chat. Or your pastor, because there are SO many people in ministry who are ALSO members of BGLOs. So what are we really talking about here? 👀
This isn’t just about BGLOs, though. Because way too many Christians worship a fragile God. My thing is that maybe if you don’t create idols in everything, you won’t find demons in everything. I’ve written about this many times before. (READ About the Hypocrisy of Fellow Christians and Making Demons of Other Faiths)
And if you’re SO concerned about idolatry? May I direct your attention to Habenero Hitler and his gang of minions. There’s a lot more deliberate idolatry happening in this country right now that could use your energy. 🗣️
Denounce THAT. Denounce fragility. Denounce being wrong and strong.
REFLECTION
Fear is supposed to keep us safe. Not keep us silent.
We have spent SO much of our lives being afraid of small things. Speaking up in a meeting. Saying yes to the thing that excites us and terrifies us at the same time. Sending the email. Starting the business. Having the conversation.
We’ve let fear run the show over stuff that, in the grand scheme of things, was never going to destroy us. And now? Now we’re actually living in a time where the stakes feel real. Like, REAL real. 😩
People are afraid of losing their jobs. Their healthcare. Their rights. The ground beneath us feels like it shifts every single week and nobody can tell you what next month looks like, let alone next year. Because we are being ruled by proof that sometimes, God just be making everybody. The entire administration is the walking embodiment of soul rot and they are putting us in more and more danger every single day. Just a bunch of evil, destructive, troglodytes and the bane of human existence.
We have a lot to be afraid of nowadays, and I think this should SHARPEN our understanding of what fear is actually for.
Fear exists to keep us physically safe. That’s its JOB. It’s the alarm system that says “hey, don’t walk into traffic” and “maybe don’t pet that bear.” That’s useful fear. That’s fear doing what it was designed to do.
But somewhere along the way, fear has been turned into a weapon. We stay quiet when we should speak. We stay seated when we should stand and we stay comfortable when comfort is costing us and the people around us everything. 🗣️
I wrote my 2nd book, Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual in 2020, in the middle of the COVID pandemic. Like… when it was at its worst, and we were seeing bodybags on the news from the fatalities. The world was falling apart, and here I was writing a book about fighting fear. LMAOOO my timing is immaculate (or terrible). .
But it was fitting, because what I was writing about was that the things we must do are more significant than the things we are afraid to do.
That message has never been more urgent than it is right now.
Fear was designed to keep you safe, not silent. Know the difference.
Because right now? We are ALL being asked to be Professional Troublemakers in the way we live. Not just in the cute, hashtag-worthy, put-it-on-a-mug way. In the real way. The way that might cost something.
Our silence is really expensive right now. Whether it’s in our ability to stand up for ourselves, for our neighbors, for people who don’t have the same protections we do. This moment is requiring something of us that we haven’t had to give before. And some of us are still letting the small fears run the show while the big ones are knocking down the door.
This is the time for us to get real clear on what our privileges are, because we are going to need to spend them (word to Rebecca Cokley). 600,000 Black women lost their jobs this last year. ICE is taking to the streets and kidnapping people. Friends and family are losing their access to life-saving medicines.
We need to step up, and show community as a verb. Mutual aid, hiding the most vulnerable people, loaning people we love money to pay their rent. Like… REAL SHIT.
Doing nothing is not an option. I’m not saying be reckless. I’m not saying throw yourself into danger without thinking. I AM saying that the fear of discomfort cannot keep outweighing the cost of inaction.
Five years ago, I almost didn’t write my book because I was scared myself. The world was on fire and I thought, “Who am I to write about courage right now?” But I did it anyway. Scared and all. And that book has helped people quit jobs, start businesses, leave bad situations, use their voices, and bet on themselves in ways I never could have imagined.
Now I need it to remind us that this moment, this specific, chaotic, high-stakes moment, is exactly what we’ve been training for. Every small fear you’ve fought? It was preparation for this. Every time you spoke up when your voice shook? It was for times such as these. The world doesn’t need you to be fearless. It needs you to be afraid and move anyway. 🙏🏾
RECOMMENDATION
Professional Troublemaker was written for such a time as this.
I write for and to myself first. Anything I say, assume I’m saying it to myself. And my books are no different. They really are just bound versions of me dragging me.
Five years ago, I released a book that felt like a dare. Not to the world. To myself. Professional Troublemaker was born out of a question that would not let me rest: What would happen if we were more audacious on purpose? Not reckless. Not loud for the sake of noise. But intentional. Courageous. Unapologetic about taking up space.
On March 2, 2021, my banner book Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual dropped into the world. It became my 2nd New York Times bestseller, but more importantly it changed people’s lives. I’ve lost count of the messages from people who told me it gave them the push to finally speak up, step out, start over, or stand firm. 🥹
Five years later, I’m still so proud of how timely and timeless it is. I mean, did I know how much of a raging dumpster fire we’d be in at this point? NOPE. But wowsies. I thought those times were unprecedented.
Professional Troublemaker was written for such a time as this. For when the ground shifts. For when fear is being weaponized to keep us still. For when courage isn’t optional anymore but required. This book is the manual for the moment we are in RIGHT NOW.
This book is for you if:
You are tired of shrinking in rooms you worked hard to enter.
You know you’re capable of more but fear keeps tapping you on the shoulder louder than your calling.
You’ve been waiting to feel “ready” before making your move (spoiler: ready is a myth).
You are the “strong one” and secretly wish someone would remind you that you deserve to be supported too.
You want to build courage as a practice, whether at work or at home.
Pick up a copy if you haven’t read it, and grab one for a friend you know could use a book to hype them up!
Andddd for my paid subscribers, I’m gifting you the intro chapter and Chapter 1 below. It’s attached below!
The world needs more people who are willing to be Professional Troublemakers. Truth-tellers. Fear-fighters. People who refuse to let silence win because it’s easier.
Be one of them.
What’s the one thing fear has been talking you out of? And what would it look like to do it anyway this week?
Hit reply and tell me. I want to know. 👀
With love and a little bit of trouble,
🔒 Paid subscribers: As a thank you for being part of this community, I’m gifting you the introduction and first chapter of Professional Troublemaker as a downloadable PDF below.