I think we have made all the mistakes and ironed out most of the bugs with the roll-out and so here we are. I am launching a newsletter this week. Let's talk about it a lil bit.
It is called The First and the 15th. There a couple of reasons for the name. One: 
It's also called The First and the 15th because I truly believe this:
I wrestled with subscriptions. It took folks a long time to talk me into this platform. But, what did it for me is how in this season of my life I am deeply concerned with community.
Our village here is phenomenal. Truly. Look what you helped build. It has, however, become harder to build community of the kind that I need after years of village building.
I am tired of ape pictures and fat jokes and death threats and hearing about how ugly I am. I'm also tired of Alicias but also the collapse that brings that into my life. It's not all a downer! As @robenfarzad clipped from my first newsletter:
I believe that. And I'm still here. I know and like too many of you knuckleheads. But we also have other work to do, hopefully together. We will see how this works out. The newsletter does afford me some freedoms though. One is honesty:
Another is a chance to live my values. I really, really, really want to be able to support those who support me. Take Lauren:
Finally, this helps care for myself. I have learned, finally, that no one else in the world is ever going to help a black woman except that black woman.
You can read more in the first (free) newsletter. I hope you'll consider subscribing. thefirstand15th.substack.com
You can read more in the first (free) newsletter. I hope you'll consider subscribing. thefirstand15th.substack.com
