As a biracial woman rasied in a Black home, my mother made a lot of mistakes (as we all do), but she did one thing right: she instilled in me from a very young age that I did NOT NEED a man. She taught me the value of independence and of education and doing for myself. It took me a while to take her teaching to heart, but eventually I did.

I'm married and happily so. Do I NEED my husband? Well, not financially. Do I feel better for having him in my life, yes. We came together as equals and have built a very nice little life together.