Truth B Told: Conversations About Culture and Power

Seasons, stages and shifts. Let's hit the rewind button. From our very first episode in 2020 to this one, we're reminiscing and recollecting on the many ways we've created spaces for ourselves and the women we were during each season of Truth B Told.

We have lists and expectations. We have wishes, hopes and demands. We know who we want to work with and love, but are we qualified to fulfill those needs for ourselves? Would we date, parent, counsel or employ someone just like us?

We are here, friends. Thank you for wanting to get to know the women behind the masks and mics. Thank you for the invitation to keep telling our truths, our way. Together long enough to be curious and connected enough to have answers...or at least responses! We still tote the truth that we know: no one truth is true in all ways. Dimensions exist. So does your inquiry.

Parts of us want to slumber for the next 48 months. Parts of us are trying to understand and reframe. Are you moving into your soft life season or are you led to still try and balance tough and tender personas? While we continue to grapple with where we are in the BFF (Black Fierce Feminism) space, we dug into the TBT vault and found this unaired episode from 2022. Still relevant?

Do you know anything, or anyone, that is a finished project? Truth is, we always have another level to reach, more lessons to learn and laughter to enjoy. How do we release ourselves to the truth that nothing is ever "finished" including our growth, purpose and self-awareness?

Besides a boost to our vitamin D levels and improved moods, what else did summertime give us? What were the lessons under the sun? What nourished us and what did we learn about ourselves?

Acceptance is our number one priority for personal growth. How might releasing resistance bring us peace? In this rapid-fire episode, we begin to give air to what we need to accept and release.

We're still questioning what it means to be good. What did we learn, and what are we letting go, about being "good"?

All this talk about submission and domination, alphas and betas. What is this about? What are our beliefs about what kind of woman makes a good friend, a good lover, a good mother...according to whom?

When you know better...say it Queen Maya...do better! There are some lessons we have had to learn the hard way and hope we will now make better choices. Join us in truth-telling and share what lessons you have received from life.

Remember Terry McMillan's Disappearing Acts? When Zora surrendered her selfhood to Franklin? In what ways have you vanished and what's now your come-back plan?

We didn't come her to play; we came here to work. Literally. And many of us are still moving at lightning speed from dawn to dusk. Sister Tricia Hersey, found f the Nap Ministries, says "rest is revolution." And we believe her. Are you ready to stop rushing and grinding and begin to revel in rest?

Let's let go of the layered look and bring summer sunshine on the parts of our bodies we usually conceal in shame and body negativity.

If you knew that we're sometimes scared, petty, lonely and resentful, would you still call us "friend" or still love us? We challenge ourselves to drop the masks of perfection and cultivate relationships with people who are honest enough to share their realness while we gulp, inhale and share ours. So, what's stopping us from being vulnerable?

Close your eyes. Think movie. Think mood. Think momentum. What films do you rely on to shift your spirit, support your focus, and amp your flow? Spoiler alert: You might be surprised at our choices of FeelGood flicks. Tell us: what films tell stories that are tried and true to you?

We are going to release all the mystery, eliminate confusion and make it plain. The more we love on ourselves, the better we are at telling others how we want to be loved. Consider telling someone your own truth. Stop leaving clues and give them the answer. What does it take to love you best?

You already know: Andrea and Tasneem can be like peanut and butter, pepper and mint, Kool and Aid, yin and yang. What comes natural to one is work for the other. What is your instinct, or your assignment? Is it to face life summoning sweet gentility? Or cruising through it with stern focus?

Let's give the new year a new look. Instead of creating a list of "need-to-do's," we have a litany of things we plan to "keep-on-doing." Truth is it's almost 2023 and we like what we see! Sometimes growth is more about continuation and less about transformation. What goodness can you salute from 2022 that you'll keep up and keep going?

We are conditioned to believe there is one person born to meet all of our needs. Some call them soulmates. We call it illusion. What if our needs are meant to be fulfilled by community and not one lone love?

We are ever-changing, ever-expanding, ever-shifting. These versions of us aren't who we've always been or who we are becoming. In this episode we decided to interview ourselves and ask: What would your present self tell your younger self about life and living?

Said in our best Khalid voice, "can we just talk?" In this final episode of the season, we are taking time to listen to you. You've told us your opinions; you've asked questions that challenge us; you've shared candidly and we absolutely love it. Truth is, this episode is all about you!

Accepting our struggles doesn't mean they aren't hard to deal with in the moment. The truth is, we both have had some real stank, ugly, funky days, weeks, and months. Some days had us on the ropes, pinned down and fighting like no-name contenders. We were fighting to get out of the icky funk we were shoved into. Been in that ring lately? How did you fight the funk? We came out swinging.

Ohhhh, American South. We know there's more to your charm than buttery biscuits and magnolia trees, plantation tours and country tunes. Our relationship with you is complicated, but...it's ours. And we are telling the truth about what we love, and sometimes loathe, about our Southern roots.

Truth is sometimes we get comfortable in small spaces. Somehow we grow accustomed to playing small, disappearing, breathing in gasps, silencing opinions, and masking gifts. Who would we be if we lived our big, bold truths? If we lifted our chins, straightened our backs and walked in our fullness?

We want to keep it real: we've been telling ourselves half-truths because we can't face whole facts. Upon further self-examination, we want to come clean with our Truth B Told family! We discovered that some of our proclamations are more smoke than fire.