After a lifetime of dating white men, I hoped a new romance could offer a chance at love, and at embracing my own Blackness.
I thought the open relationship was the problem. But it was me.
In a special collaboration between Modern Love and Black History, Continued, we gathered stories that illuminate how Black people live, and love, in this moment.
No matter how hard I prayed, my father never appeared. But my godfather always did.
He gave me a ring. He also punched me in the eye. I learned a lot that summer about how “nice-nasty” the world can be.
She was a healer, but was I ready to be fixed?
In America, a smile is like a résumé. I was afraid mine wasn’t closing the deal.
A daily reminder of mortality can be more gift than burden.
We met on a dating app, where his profile lacked a few crucial details.
When the end of a marriage means living on separate floors of the same house.