Quintessa ( I love that name), some thoughts. The other day I read that Black women are the most educated in America. Among my closest Black friends are multiple PhDs, multiple Masters, you get it. The Black women I read have more education than a stadium of White folx. I've also read plenty about the struggle Black women have finding equal partners, with so many Black men incarcerated and nowhere near the educational achievement of that cohort.

Here's one quote: According to the National Center For Education Statistics (NCES), Between 2018 and 2019, Black women made up 68% of associate’s degrees, 66% of bachelor’s degrees, 71% of master’s degrees, and 65% of doctoral, medical and dental degrees.

I find this excellent news, but by the same token, Black men have a slew of other issues which hobble them in this society (and worldwide, let's be fair). I have to wonder how difficult it is to partner when so many factors make finding a good partner viable? This is not for me to say. I only offer up some observations. One of my PhD friends married a Black man and they both got PhDs over time: https://medium.com/illumination/how-an-african-american-couple-achieved-dual-ph-ds-144adba49ac3.

I get how hard this is because close friends tell me. I am single myself at 70, not Black, but I once longed for a partner and it never happened. I am, like my friend Rosenna, a very high achiever, and that acted like kryptonite for the men who came around. Is that it? Who knows. What I do know, Quintessa, is that I would have all of us as women find our voices, find our way, and define ourselves independently of a partner in order to live our lives and give our gifts. I would also have all of us find love. Too many of us don't. So for those and I am one of them, perhaps being able to love ourselves and those people around us is the best path. That's over my pay grade. This was a thoughtful and excellent article. Just adding here what you made me think of as I read it.