It was with such joy that I scrolled through Twitter this morning, to find a video of a young man that walked into KFC, thinking he is going to tell off a young woman who he alleges wrote her telephone number on a receipt and gave to his boyfriend. The cashier, who appears to be younger than the other women in the video, seems dumbfounded by his comments and the resulting exchange was magic – Black Girl Magic to be specific.

I’m hollering 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/oy385H4sjO

— Jigga👑 (@jaixo__) December 12, 2018

This was a beautiful example of Black Sisterhood and gave us a few steps of how it is done.

Step 1. While I am not sure of all their ages, the cashier he was addressing appears to be younger than the other women in the video. The elders step up and ride for her which is what we are called to do. You are not about to come in and speak any kind of way to our young women. We stand in the gap. We hold space.

Step 2. When a Black woman starts with, “Let me explain something to you…” don’t say one more word. We have practiced for moments like this daily. We have a thesis statement, a dissertation, references, quotes from Harriet Tubman and Michelle Obama if needed. We have trained for moments just like these. We don’t have to raise our voices but understand when we say, “let me explain something to you,” be quiet and just listen. We are about to tell you a truth that has been whispered to us from the ancestors and tried by fire.

Step 3. “When you walk in here, say good morning like we said to you.” Code for we didn’t disrespect you, don’t you disrespect us. Don’t start none, won’t be none.

Step 4. “I don’t care about no Antwan. I don’t care about none of that.” When Black women start listing what they don’t care about, the topic is over. Done. You will not convince us to ever care again. We are finished. And when a Black woman is finished, it is done.

Step 5. “You not checking nothing in here. I’m the one checking off. I’m checking lists and everything.” Don’t think you are going to walk in our space and disrespect us. We have worked far too hard to be in the positions we are in for you to believe you are going to come in here and tell us that you are about to check someone especially a young, Black woman. Not on our watch.

Step 6. “Do you want some chicken?” Look, we will give you a chance to collect yourself before we have to gather you. The option is yours. Your best bet is to just sit there and eat your food.

Step 7 “And ho, ho, ho.” We got your Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Years, 4th of July. Whatever you want to call it but what you not gonna do is say anything out of order to a young, Black woman.

“And ho, ho, ho.” – Denita

Step 8. “Welcome to our store.” All for one and one for all. If you have a problem with one of our sisters you have a problem with all of us. Black women have a secret light we flash in the sky that alerts us to fall in Formation.

Check out the sister in the red jacket. She is going to get the other woman. Time to get in Formation

Step 9 “You in the hood.” Don’t get it twisted. Don’t let our wardrobe fool you. Don’t let our degrees get you messed up. We can throw hands if need be. Now like we said, “Would you like some chicken?”

I love being a Black woman and I love Black women!! Black women are the Daughters, Sisters, Aunties, Mamas, and Big Mommas that we all need. Black women are the super extended family that I have been blessed to be born into.

There is nothing like Black sisterhood! Ms. Denita and the women of KFC, I salute you! Thank you for making me smile and reminding me just how beautiful it is to be a Black Woman!

UPDATE: I was so moved by Denita that I was DETERMINED to find her. I messaged #KFC and #YUMBrands and I even called the KFC headquarters. In a world with so much hate taking place, I refused to sit back and ignore a Black woman and her staff standing up for a young, Black woman. We need to see some goodness in the world! And then finally I found her! And here is the kicker, DENITA HAD NO IDEA SHE WENT VIRAL!!! She is not on Twitter and I told her, the video she was in has been viewed almost 3 MILLION TIMES! She had no idea! (She joined Twitter after I spoke with her.). I wanted for us to do something for her so I asked for her cashapp if anyone would like to donate to her to have a blessed holiday season. She is a mother and clearly has shown the world she works hard. Let’s show Denita some love! If you would like to donate to Denita her cashapp is $DenitaRoseborough. And please follow Denita Roseborough on Twitter. ❤️

2020 UPDATE: Denita’s cashapp is now $25Heaven25.