Client Review

I loved Forever. It was a special and healing watch, It’s no wonder a lot of people are so touched by the show.

Keisha is one of the most nuanced Black teen characters I’ve seen on screen in a long time. She’s brilliant. She’s complex. She carries the weight of a generation on her back. The pressure to be composed, exceptional, beautiful, poised — while navigating life .She is loved and seen by those around her .

There is commentary that  Keisha doesn’t deserve Justin. It’s not shocking, not much grace is given to the black girl in the community. Black parents can be hard on their kids to prepare them for the world that is biased toward them, and for daughters nothing other than perfection is expected.

Similarly,  in the eyes of the public -Justin’s mistakes for example insisting on unprotected sex when they were in the pool does not disqualify him from being deserving of Keisha’s love. But Keisha going to prom with her ex after explaining intimately to Justin why this is important to her… is completely unforgivable. How do we weigh the ” sins “? she is a teen dealing with shame and made illogical decisions to shield her mother from finding out. Like I said, black daughters must be perfect so Keisha being terrified of disappointing her mom is understandable.

Ironically this narrative of perfection is one of the themes the show challenges – the idea that Black girls don’t deserve grace when they make mistakes. That love must be earned through perfection, that you don’t get to be loved if you’re complicated or hurting out loud.

It makes some people upset that this teenager is allowed to make mistakes and still be loved unconditionally by family, and even romantically.  They are going to have to catch up, black girls and women deserve grace, love and everything too.