Love is a phenomenon that has intrigued human beings for centuries. It is mystical, magical and beautiful, all at the same time. It is a feeling, most of the time, that can’t be explained. It is not only unexplainable, but it also cannot be conquered. In fact, love does the conquering. Love does indeed conqueror all!

When I think about love, black love, I can’t help but go back to the days of the ancestors who had to hide their love, for fear of being beaten or worse, killed. I think of how love was solidified by “jumping the broom.” I think about how husbands were sold away from their wives and children. I think about how women were raped and made to bear their slave master’s children. I also think about the feeling of love that ran so deep that husbands and wives would risk it all and run away from their plantations in search of the other to bring their families back together. I think about the fact that children were ripped from the arms of their mothers and how the mothers never forgot their children and prayed for them with every ounce of their being.

This kind of love never dies. This kind of love, black love, has a history of rising to the occasion, when everything around us says we should give up. This kind of love has legacy attached to it that gives us a blueprint to stay connected, despite the odds that have been stacked against us as a people. This is the kind of love that is unbreakable. This kind of love has given us strength over the years to keep going. This kind of love is powerful and causes us to feel good about ourselves, because we know from reading our history and listening to the elders in our families, love has brought us a mighty, long way. It is safe to say that black love runs deep! It is also the look of admiration from one sister to another who is about her business. It is the handshake and pull in for a slap on the back between two brothers, that says I’ve got your back. It’s the mother figures in the community chastising the young people, because she wants the best for them. It’s the men in the community teaching the young men from single parent households how to ride a bike, tie a tie, and how to respond if pulled over by the police.

Additionally, you see and sense this kind of love right now watching Vice President Kamala Harris break barriers, speak the truth and transparently sharing her story that so many of us can relate to. Love is the energy in the air surrounding Vice President Harris’ campaign. Love is the foundation of the joy that people are feeling. Love is the close cousin to hope. This love gives us strength to withstand attacks. This love gives us the power to speak up for ourselves and for what is right. This love is what has kept black people from losing our minds in these United States of America. This love is what keeps us showing up day after day with more strength than yesterday, because we understand that those that have gone before us loved us enough to die for the rights and freedom that we have today.

Finally, black love is the impetus that causes us to hold our head high, walk with confidence, speak up with courage, advocate for ourselves with strength and power. This love keeps us going to see what the end is going to be!

Dr. Nicole S. Mason, Esq. is an Executive Leadership Coach, Diversity and Inclusion training and Keynote Speaker.