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Previously
on Being Mary Jane...

I had a really great
time tonight.

Now I'm looking forward
to the next time.

Well, then I'll try to
step it up the next time.

- Good night.
- Hi, Daddy.

- Where's--where's your mom?
- She went out.

I'm over
here at Tracy's.

I knock on the door to find
D'Asia all by herself.

I want to get her to school,
but my car won't start,

so if I could please
use your car,

- I'd greatly appreciate it.
- Sure. No problem.

I've given up too much of what I
want in the Talk Back segment,

but I finally figured out what
direction I want to take the show.

Kara says you want to make
Talk Back Talk Black.

Yeah, all black everything.

According to the U.S.
Department

of Health and Human Services,

human trafficking is
the second-largest

criminal industry
in the world today,

only behind drug trafficking.

300,000 people are trafficked
annually in the U.S.

These numbers and these
facts are staggering.

Here to shed light on
those dark statistics

is my guest, founder
of Bridget's Dream,

an organization committed

to helping trafficking
victims become survivors

and learn to dream again.

Leah Albright-Byrd,
welcome to the show.

Thank you for having me.

As horrible as that
300,000 number is,

the truth is, the majority of
them are women and children.

- Is that correct?
- Yes. That's correct.

In fact, the average age
of entry in our country

is 12 to 14.

I think many Americans
believe that sex trafficking

is something that happens to
women in other countries,

but the enslavement and
rape of young girls

is happening right here,
in our land of the free.

Yes, that's absolutely true,

and as long as we continue
to think that it's a problem

that's only impacting those
from other parts of the world,

we overlook that 75% of the
victims in our country

are American citizens,
and of that 75%,

88% are minorities.

And there
are people like you

and Jada Pinkett Smith

who are screaming at the top of
their lungs about this issue

and how it affects American
children, especially our girls.

In fact, you were an
advocate for the passing

of Prop 35 in California,

groundbreaking legislation
that helps protect victims.

Please, explain the impact

that the new law will have
on the state of California.

Sure.

So now that Prop
35 has passed,

it will ensure
that prison terms

for human traffickers
are increased.

It also requires
those who've been

convicted of human trafficking
to register as sex offenders,

and lastly, it mandates
law enforcement training

for every law enforcement
officer throughout the state

with a goal and an objective

of making sure that
those officers are able

to better identify victims

and not treat children
as criminals.

I know
your organization,

Bridget's Dream,
which you founded,

is an organization
that provides support

for survivors of trafficking.

But was it a personal mission?

Yes, it was definitely
a personal mission.

I am a survivor myself.

So my exploitation happened
between the ages of 14 and 18,

after I ran away from home,

and there are so many
kids that are vulnerable.

There's about 2.8 million
runaway American youth a year,

and so during my exploitation

and while I was on the
streets, I met a young lady.

Her name was Bridget Gray,

and unfortunately,

she did not get out the
way that I was able to.

And so while I was in
my recovery process,

she was murdered,

and she then became the
inspiration for the work

that we now do.

I mean, I've
heard stories of parents

selling their own children--

that our foster care system
actually feeds this nightmare.

How do we help our
young girls and boys

avoid being trafficked
altogether?

Well, the main thing
is education.

So we have to educate
them, for one,

about their vulnerabilities.

It's our job to
protect our children,

and we have to make
sure that they know

some of the risk factors

and they know the tactics and
the recruitment strategies

that traffickers use.

Lastly, it's also really
important that we educate them

about internet safety.

I think social media
is a phenomenal tool

that we have as a society,

but it's also a tool that
traffickers are using

to recruit children.

Well, now, what specifically
are some of the tactics?

Well, it's not uncommon
with social media

to equate your
social media success

with the number of friends
or followers that you have,

and so a lot of times,
kids are just accepting

friend requests from people
that they do not know.

They don't know that this is a
person who's targeting them,

and so pimps take
advantage of that.

Traffickers take
advantage of that.

They create profiles and
request these kids,

and then recruit
them that way.

Leah Albright-Byrd, thank you
so much for being here today.

Thank you so much
for having me.

Whoo!

- Congratulations.
- Whoo!

I know we're all news people,

and telling good stories is
what we're supposed to do,

and that should be
reward enough, but--

Oh, Lance--

SNC has not been
nominated for an Emmy

for outstanding
breaking news coverage

in three freaking
years, and we did that!

- Yes!
- And we're gonna win too!

To Hurricane Kenny
and Team Talk Back.

- Yeah!
- Rock it, baby.

Hey.

Hey.

What?

Ratings for your sex
trafficking piece.

That was a good show.

Yes, it was.

You know, I think there was
an award show last night.

We're on at 2:00.

Just say it, Kara.

I already did.

Are you still gonna have time
to meet with the producers?

- Yeah.
- Great.

Then I will gather them and buzz
you when we're all together.

- Will you stop?
- Stop what?

Treating me like I'm
some kind of diva.

When have I ever made
the writers wait?

When?

We always do.

No. No, no, no, Kara.

I dip in and out,

but there's a huge
difference between that

and making you guys wait.

Come on.

Listen, there's no
larger plot here.

I just need you to give
Talk Back some direction

since you're completely
steering that ship now,

and I want everyone to hear
directly from you what you want.

This way, we get it right.

- I will be there in five.
- Great.

- Hey.
- Hi.

Congrats on the nomination.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

You two were gold together.

Did you see the ratings?

Oh, yes. I did.

Kara made sure
that I saw them.

So you know there's
work to be done.

There was an award
show on last night.

Okay.

Ad sales are concerned
that your stories

are only appealing to the
smaller advertisers.

Is that the code word
we're using now?

Excuse me? What?

I've only been at this new
direction one week, Greg.

And we don't want
to wait a month

before we realize
that we're drowning.

Do we?

Who do you have lined up?

Well, we lost
Ameena Matthews.

She had to cancel.

But we're waiting to see

if we can slide Geoffrey
Canada into that slot,

and we do have Ron Finley
confirmed for next week...

♪ ♪

♪ I died a week ago ♪

♪ There's nothing left ♪

♪ It's caught on video ♪

♪ ♪

♪ The very last breath ♪

♪ The very last... ♪

How do we keep
pushing the envelope?

What stories are
not being told?

What about a piece on
school shooting classifications?

If a shooting is labeled
a gang shooting,

it doesn't make the news,

but if it's deemed
a school shooting,

it becomes more of a priority.

Most of this affects
poor neighborhoods.

Didn't we just cover
a school shooting?

But it's
another angle

that calls out the hypocrisy.

No.

Actually, what you're doing

is telling those parents to
get over it because now,

there's another parent
with a dead kid now.

I don't understand how you got
that from what I just said.

Look, I like the
pitch, Lance,

but I want to be
careful not to focus

only on poverty and violence.

Let's open it up, guys.
Let's open it up.

Well, a new report on why autism
is linked to older mothers

just came out,

and Holly Robinson Peete's
fund-raiser for the cause

is coming up.

Maybe we could have her on.

I'd be interested in
hearing her insights.

So we're gonna have an actress
come on and talk about autism?

An actress who's
made great strides

in bringing attention
to the disease.

Oh, absolutely.

I mean, I absolutely
agree with that,

but how is an autism
fund-raiser newsworthy?

Okay, has anyone figured
out a new angle

to my ugly black woman story?

Why don't you bring
on Satoshi Kanazawa

and debate him
point for point?

Absolutely not.

No one even remembers that
Psychology Today article.

I remember it.

MJ, that's not only old news,

it's dead news.

Besides, what's
your entry point?

What's new about
ugly black women?

Debating Satoshi would be
coming from a place of anger,

which I don't want to do.

But there's got to be another
way into this story.

What about
focusing on

the perception of black beauty
from the black community?

We could make it a
panel discussion.

See where it goes,
like a check-up.

Checking up on what, exactly?

We could focus on how
mainstream magazines

are lighting the skin tones of
the black women on their covers.

Yeah. We--we already
did that story,

Dorian, before you got
here, and you know why?

Because it's old news.

Okay, look, I like
where we're headed.

I really like where we're headed.
Let's just keep digging

and keep pounding away
for another way in.

Okay?

♪ ♪

♪ Reinventing the wheel ♪

♪ Always searching
for something ♪

♪ That's not real ♪

♪ ♪

- Hello?
- Hey, I'm outside.

Oh, okay.

Uh, hello.

- What?
- What do you mean, "What?"

What do you want?

I thought we were
celebrating my Emmy nom.

Not tonight.

Okay. I'm sorry.

I thought when you said,
"Hey, let's do something,"

you meant, "Hey,
let's do something."

I have to get up at
5:00 in the morning.

So do I.

It's getting cold.

Come on. It'll be real quick.

Listen, I am not
going anywhere.

I just wanted to celebrate
my first big nomination,

but it's cool.

No, no, no. It's fine.

- It's fine. It's fine.
- All right.

- So tell me about it.
- Oh, now you've got time.

Oh, two seconds ago
you were, you know,

going on and on about how
married women with kids

just have such a hard road.

What are you talking-- I
didn't say any of that.

I said I had to get up.

What?

Have you been drinking?

Stop.

I had one shot of tequila to
celebrate with a coworker.

Yeah. That's not
like you at all--

to even drink a
little and drive.

You're the responsible one.

You're the one who
told me about Uber.

Okay. Stop. Okay?

Look, you have no idea
what's going on at work

and the pressure I'm
under, so stop.

All right. All right.

You don't have to raise
your voice to communicate.

This is why I've
been telling you

that you might want to
try taking some Xanax.

I'm not-- I'm not
taking Xanax now.

It would help you
with your stress.

I'm not gonna take Xanax.
Thank you.

I appreciate your concern.

I'm okay.

- I drove over here.
- Mm-hmm.

I'm a public figure.

I'm not gonna
jeopardize my career.

Okay?

And since I don't
like partying alone,

I'm going to take my
Emmy-nominated ass home.

I'm going to take
another shot,

and then I'm gonna
take my ass to bed.

Satisfied?

If you text me
when you get home.

I will.

Thanks
for nothing.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

No, I mean,

I have Kara and Lance and Dorian
and a few other researchers,

but it's not enough.

I mean, most nominated shows
have twice of what I have.

It's insane.

So Kara's your researcher.

No. Kara's my EP--
My executive producer.

- Okay. So she's the boss.
- Mm-mm.

No, we're a team,
for the most part.

So Kara doesn't want
to increase your team.

No.

Kara would love to
increase my team,

but we're not prime time,
so everything's a fight.

I'm talking about
everything from what I wear

to how many curls are in
my hair to my guests.

They want me to be
a freaking robot.

Bet if I change my
name to Cynthia,

then I'd get what I wanted.

You shouldn't do that.

Everybody knows
you as Mary Jane.

Okay, so you've seen my
show this week, right?

Honestly?

Yeah, Dad. Honestly.

I've been watching Serena.

Wow.

But I do DVR them.

You don't know
how to DVR, Dad.

Niecy does.

I decided to take Talk Back
in a whole new direction.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Your mother told
me about that.

It's all black now.
That's good.

Yeah, yeah.

I'm branding myself,

doing stories that I
actually care about.

Great.

So now, you can do your
job and help your people.

Exactly, just how you fought

for the skycaps to
keep their jobs.

Exactly.

Yeah, I was at the height
of my career then.

You know, I was gonna--

Pauletta, you gonna
wind up losing your job

listening to your father.

Woman, will you let me
tell the story, please?

Now, he could play the
race card back then,

'cause white people
had a lot of guilt,

and they was scared
of Jesse Jackson.

Hell, they over
him now and us.

Saying the N-word
and everything--

doing this to the president.

Say what you might, but
I got their money.

- Now, didn't I?
- Yeah. So--

But I couldn't buy that fur

because you was scared
of losing your job.

Oh, my butt cheeks were a
little tight back then.

Tighter than Dick's hatband.

Okay, okay.

- Yeah. On that note, guys--
- Mm-hmm. Dick's hatband.

When you start talking
about your butt cheeks,

it's time for me to go.

Uh-oh. All right.

Pauletta, the struggle
continues, baby.

You getting dementia.
Ain't you?

Dementia? Listen to you.

I want two barrettes
in the front.

Okay.

- Ow.
- Oh, sorry.

Here, let me see.

Oh, that's cute.

Mm-hmm.

Hey, morning.

Guess who brought breakfast.

Hannah.

Hi, honey.

- Are you hungry?
- Yeah.

- Oh, good. Here.
- Thank you.

All right, go finish
getting ready for school.

- Then we'll eat. All right?
- All right.

Well, I finally
heard from Tracy.

She's been arrested
for shoplifting.

She's gonna be arraigned
tomorrow morning.

How's D'Asia doing?

She's asking questions, and
I don't want to lie to her.

I appreciate you coming by.

- Thank you.
- It's no trouble.

I--you know I don't
mind pitching in.

It's just that, well,

I'm running a little short
on rent this month.

Let me cover breakfast.

Tracy borrowed $200
from me for D'Asia.

She said she'd pay
me back last week.

You know, I love that
little girl so much.

I wish I could repay
Tracy's debt,

but I'm a little
tight right now.

I'm really in a bind.

Do you think that you could
ask your family or--

Let me see what I have.

All right.

65.

Thanks.

I needed it.

I'll get you the rest
by the end of the week.

Thanks.

Never have anything healthy.

Um... want one?

No. I'm good. Thanks.

Can you, umm...

help me understand
what she's doing?

I can't.

I just--

I just don't know
why black people

get so sensitive
over this stuff.

They have the president,

NBA, Jay-Z, Beyoncé.

Carnival Cruise and
American Express--

they're all run
by black people.

Mary Jane makes more
than both of us.

Kara, what is she
upset about?

Just... do the damn
job and shut up.

All yours.

I mean, is it too much?

I mean, I love my people too,

but not all the time.

Even black folks get
sick of black folks.

Then maybe that's why the
ratings are slipping.

Because we're doing
good shows, right?

Right.

Okay.

Come on. Come on.

Argh! God.

Sorry, girl.

It's okay.

♪ ♪

- Yep, Daddy.
- All right. All right.

All right. All right.

♪ ♪

Hey.

Up. Don't step on the crack.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

All right.

♪ ♪

Come on. You ready? We're
almost gonna make it.

♪ ♪

Okay. Give this
to your teacher.

Is Mommy picking me up?

No.

Your grandpa's gonna
pick you up today.

- Okay?
- Okay.

Give your daddy a
big kiss good-bye.

Muah.

Oh!

- Okay. Have a great day.
- Okay.

- All right.
- See you later.

See you, darling.

Excuse me, Mr. Patterson?

Vice Principal Harrison.

I remember you.

I wanted to talk to
you about D'Asia.

I've noticed she's been
tardy a lot lately.

Yeah, she's been
going back and forth

between my place and her mom's,

and I had a little car
trouble this morning.

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.

I also wanted to talk
to you about her lunch.

Since D'Asia hasn't
brought one in a while,

the school's been
providing lunch for her,

and there's been a daily
charge to her account.

How long has this
been going on?

Brenda, would you pull up

D'Asia Patterson's
lunch account, please?

Yes, ma'am.

Looks like it's
been five months.

Five months?

If money is an issue,

there are assistance
programs available.

You'll just need
to fill out the--

Thank you. No. I can
pay for my daughter.

What's the balance?

That would be $487.50.

I don't have my
checkbook with me.

You don't have to pay now,

but you will need to
take care of it soon.

Thanks.

Is that there's
a long history of institutions

regulating the bodies of
African-American women,

really standardizing them...

Or cornrows that
are unkempt...

Not authorized.

These kinds of restrictions

are most assuredly race-based.

The suggestion that
dreadlocks are merely--

Hey, hey.

- I was waiting for that spot.
- No, sir.

- You were on your phone.
- I was waiting.

I've been circling this
damn lot for a half hour.

- Sorry.
- Move your car.

That was my spot.

Yeah. The key word-- "was."

Black bitch.

Wait. What?

I can't just be a
regular, old bitch?

I have to be a black bitch?
Seriously?

Yeah, 'cause you
look like a monkey--

an ugly, black monkey!

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- Hello?
- Hey.

I'm in your area

and I wanted to
drop off something.

- Sure.
- You sure it's okay?

Yeah. I'm
not doing anything.

Okay.
I'll see you soon.

Cool.

All right, it's just...

A little, you know,

something to celebrate
your nomination.

Girl, did you re-gift me?

It's the thought that counts.

I mean,
everything's great.

You know? Work is... work.

I'm handling it.

How's Lisa? Have
you seen her?

Yeah. I
have, actually.

We've been doing
yoga together.

Oh, good for her.

That's good.

You know, you can
reach out to her.

Mm.

What were you gonna say?

Mm-mm, no.

Mm-mm, 'cause this
is not gonna be

some kind of therapy session.

- No.
- No.

It's not.

'Cause, you know, I don't
need therapy, Val.

Well, that's good, 'cause
I wasn't offering.

Lisa--Lisa may. She
may need therapy.

You know, I am not

some door-to-door
psychiatric salesman.

You were just--
you were right.

I don't get to do a lot

between being a mother
and a wife and working,

and I felt bad that I
couldn't hang out with you

the other night to celebrate,

and you have really
been making an effort

to reconnect.

So you know, I was just--
I just thought that--

Was I wrong for what
I said to Lisa?

Uh, no. Um...

Unless it wasn't how
you truly felt.

I just don't understand

why I have such issues
with everybody.

So why do you think
you're at odds?

It's funny, 'cause I
have all of these--

these great relationships.

But sometimes it scares me,

because I don't feel
connected to any of them.

It's like I'm going
through the motions

of being a good auntie

or sister or
daughter, friend.

I mean, I show up everywhere
I'm supposed to show up.

I look--
I look great on paper.

I loan money, and I
check up on people.

I send the birthday cards.

I say all the things
I'm supposed to say.

But yet,

when everybody's doing
okay for the moment,

my phone does not ring.

Nobody's calling me

just to check up
on me or say,

"Hey, wow, great
show tonight.

"The work that
you're doing is--

it's really making a
difference, Mary Jane."

Nobody.

Nobody says, "Good
job," or, "Way to go."

Not one person.

Let me get us some more wine.

Thank you.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Hello?

Inmate
calling from Polk County DOC.

Will you accept the charges?

Yeah. I accept.

Patrick.

Tracy, what were
you thinking?

Please,
don't lecture me.

How's my baby?

- D'Asia's fine.
- Give her a kiss for me?

How much is your bail?

$3,000.

- $3,000?
- I took care of you.

It's your turn to
take care of me.

Curl. Come up.

Twist to your right.

Come back to center.

You ready?

One, two, three.

Same side. Keep it going.

Two--we're gonna do
15 to the same side.

Yes. 12 more. Here we go.

12--

Squeeze that stomach in
tight when you rotate.

Yes.

Patrick,
what's going on?

Tracy's in county lockup.

Bail's set at $3,000.

What happened?

Well, apparently, she
was shoplifting.

It's a petty theft charge.

Hmm.

I wouldn't ask, but

I'd rather borrow it from you

than the bail bonds.

She's D'Asia's mother,

and she was there for me

when I felt like I had
no one in my corner.

You know?

I'll give you the money.

Thank you.

It's no problem.

I will pay you back.

Don't worry about it.

Look, I made it out for cash,
so you can just cash it.

Okay?

Okay.

- Thank you.
- Just go. Go.

Just call me later

and let me know everything
worked out okay.

I'll catch up with you a little later.
All right?

You know, there's usually an
entry point for a discussion

like the one I hope
to have today--

a news item, a
documentary, a book,

or a radical act that allows
us to take a deeper dive

into a topic like
black women's beauty.

I missed my window
on this subject

when Psychology Today
published an article

that brought into question
black women's beauty.

They didn't say that
we were not beautiful.

They said we were
straight-up ugly.

They did.

Psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa
actually tried to prove

scientifically that we
were less attractive.

See, I just knew
that this story

was going to be all
over the news,

but what happened next is
what astonished me more.

The story came and went.

I mean, sure, some
black women bloggers

wrote eloquent, angry
essays, and me and you--

we tweeted about
it, Michaela,

but that was about it.

The article was taken down,

but no one rattled the
cages for black women

except black women.

So maybe Satoshi
was an entry point

to the deeper issues
I was looking for.

Uh-oh, Mary Jane, where
are you going with this?

Hold on to your hats.

I mean, forget
if we're ugly or not.

Maybe it's worse.

Maybe black women are
invisible to our own men,

or even worse than that,

black women are just not
worth fighting for.

Mark, does an attack like this
do more damage to black women

than the silence of black men?

If we're going to be
honest, we've been dealing

with 200 years of these
kinds of attacks, right.

So this is not anything
new or unusual.

What I think is
really at the--

what's really egging black women
on at this period in time

is this feeling of betrayal--

that black men did not close
ranks around them, right.

That black male silence was
complicit in the attacks

that came from this
particular magazine.

Black women, historically,

have always closed ranks
around black male issues.

Black women should expect
the same kind of support

from black men.

India, your hits,
Video, and Brown Skin,

and I Am Not My Hair--

they were all new anthems

that ushered in a new
millennium for black women.

Does that movement
still exist?

It's certainly not the
mainstream movement.

We turn on television,

and we know what the
mainstream movement is,

and it's actually
the polar opposite

of the socially
responsible message

that we're talking about,

that was so popular in
the early millennium.

But...

I meet children of
that legacy every day.

I've been in the music
industry for 15 years,

and just in the last 3
years, I meet grown women--

25, 26, who say,

"I grew up on your music,"

and they do things
like, "My hair--"

this is because of you."

When you were
writing these hits

that spoke so eloquently to
black women and our struggle,

collectively, did
you feel beautiful?

Did you feel empowered?

Were you empowered?

Or were they more like
mantras that you were--

would hope to
sort of catch on,

to hype women up to actually
believe that about ourselves?

That is a multitiered
question for me,

because I was so young.
I was in my early 20s,

and I did--
I felt good about myself.

I didn't think I was
perfect, obviously.

I had my issues, but I
felt good about myself,

but I started, just as I was
coming into the public eye--

started seeing that other people
didn't think I was beautiful.

And so I would say, "I'm this.
I'm not that."

I'm not the average
girl from your video."

Like, I would say-- right?

Mm-hmm.

At the core of those songs,

it's really about self-worth,

self-definition,

and why would you
allow anyone else

to be the authority on you?

Now, you know, one could argue
that the horrific comments

made in Psychology Today--

comments that were
then co-signed

by black men's silence--
could leave black women

with a post-traumatic
stress disorder.

Is that why it meant so much

that Lupita Nyong'o
won the Oscar

or graced the cover of People
Magazine's Most Beautiful issue

or cover of Vogue,

or that she's starring in
the highly-anticipated

new Star Wars movie?

Michaela, shed some
light on that.

It's insane, this discussion
that we're having.

When you think about
it-- look at us.

Look at how beautiful we are.

Look at all the
colors in your skin,

and all the colors in your skin,

and all the colors
in Lupita's skin.

This is what makes
black girls magic--

like, that all of us can say,

"We are sisters with this
plethora of beauty."

Our hair can change shape

and sizes with a hot
comb and some water.

It shape shifts, then.

We can be all these things,

but we've become--

they've become battlegrounds.
Right?

The things that make
us so beautiful--

no other group of
women can say this--

can say that you
and I are sisters,

where our skin is different.

Our hair is different,
but we're together.

- Mm-hmm.
- But there's a--

there's a whole
community of people

trying to debunk our beauty.

So there's a--
there's an insanity around it,

and people like Lupita
and the First Lady

start to be a salve
on this idea.

But we have to--

we have to say that we're magic.

We have to say that our skin
is beautiful in all its hues

and continue that conversation,

because the other one
is relentless.

And that's why the silence
from black men on this issue

is complicit with the attacks
from Psychology Today.

Too often, we've seen examples
of black women

who go out on a limb
to not only support themselves,

but also to nurture
and take care of the men

and the boys
in their families.

Very often, black men
will only go to the doctor

to get a prostate exam

because some woman more than
encouraged him to do that.

We do not see that same kind
of encouragement

amongst black men
for the lives of black women.

Ask a black man,
"What is a fibroid?"

We all--we all know
what prostate cancer is, right?

Right. Yeah.

And almost 80%
of all black women at some point

suffer some--from some aspect
of fibroid disease.

You'd be hard-pressed
to think of any disease

that affected 80% of black men
that every black woman

and girl in America wouldn't
know about.

Say that.

But our problem
is our problem,

but your problems
are also our problems.

We have to right the ship
on that.

So what is beauty?

Do we leave it up to the masses
to shape our imagery,

or do we define it
for ourselves?

Ultimately,
it comes down to having

the self-worth and confidence
to stand in your own skin

and fully embrace who you are.

I mean, how can
we expect others to see our worth

when we continue
to dim our own light?

The culture at large may not
see eye to eye on this topic,

but having the discussion is
a part of the healing process.

I'd like to thank my guests,
India Arie, Mark Anthony Neal,

and Michaela Angela Davis
for joining us today.

As Confucius once said,

"Everything has beauty,

but not everyone sees it."

I'm Mary Jane Paul.

Thank you for watching,
and I'll see you tomorrow.

Come on. Hurry up.

Did you get the money?

You've got 20 minutes.

What's going on with you?

Huh?

You talking to Phil again?

What?

Who told you that?

Once.

I saw him once.

Keep your hands
on the table, please.

I messed up, but I'm done.

I'll get help as soon
as I get out of here.

How's my baby?

She's fine.

Good.

I knew she would be.

So did you get the money?

No.

Not yet.

Patrick, I can't stay here.

Can't you ask your sister?

I mean, your mom hates me,

but what about your dad?

Don't worry.
I'm working on it.

Come on. Get up. Let's go.

Mr. Patterson,
it's good to see you again.

Yeah. You too.

School's not out
for another ten minutes.

Did you want us
to send for D'Asia?

No, no. I'll wait.

I actually wanted to pay off the
balance for D'Asia's lunches.

Oh, great.

Brenda, would you pull up
D'Asia's account

for Mr. Patterson?

Yes, ma'am.

We don't usually
see you after school.

Well, I work late,
but I took off today

so I could come down
and straighten everything out.

Yes, I am very familiar
with late hours.

Yeah.
Thank God for grandparents, huh?

Right.

Listen,
if you're ever in a bind,

you can feel free to call me.

I'm happy to help
any way I can.

Oh, thank you.

Appreciate that.

I understand that
there are a lot of black women

who felt that, you know,

being brown or being dark
was a hindrance,

and while I don't want to ever
discount their roles,

I just want to say that that's
not every brown girl's story.

There are some dark women,
like myself,

who have always loved the skin
that they were in,

and I think a lot more women

than what is portrayed in
the media actually do know that.

But you know, of course,
the sad story always gets more--

- Well, hello there.
- Great show today.

- Thank you.
- Powerful.

I found myself complimenting
every black woman I saw today.

That's a lot of compliments.

I mean, this is Atlanta.

That's why I'm so tired
and hungry.

- Have you eaten?
- No.

- Would you like to eat with me?
- Yes.

I'm on my way.

♪ ♪

No. I mean, it was crazy
that I did it.

No, there's no current context
for me to tell that story.

Well, you wanted to do it.

That's relevant enough.

Yeah, well, I took advantage
of my privilege.

- Didn't it feel good?
- Oh, it felt so good.

- Come on.
- So good.

Okay.
Where are we going again?

You'll see.

So the whole
meditation thing...

Mm-hmm?

Totally did not
work out for me.

You got to keep at it.

It's like practice.

We're here.

Really?

A chicken shack?

What?

It's in honor of you
returning to your roots.

Oh.

And I figured a brother'd have
to be real black to date you.

Oh, so black.

Yeah.

After you.

♪ For our love ♪

♪ Ain't nobody thinking
about the stars above ♪

♪ It's a prime time
for our love ♪

♪ And heaven is betting on us ♪