Very early on in the film, it was evident that Beale Street is a deep dive into the experience of black girlhood. There were moments that felt like I was watching a retelling of my own life thanks to some cosmic, emotional memory that is intrinsically linked to my identity. Witnessing the fear and anxiety drowning Tish as she prepared to reveal her pregnancy to her family was the first instance. The stigma around black girls and unplanned pregnancy is so strong that I grew up believing that being with child was the absolute worst thing that could happen to me. It would be a permanent stain on my character, a giveaway to the rest of the world that I was irresponsible, a failure. So until I was about 22-years-old, I experienced irrational, extreme dread every time my period was late (or early); whenever I gave a urine sample at a doctor’s office; or if I had the slightest upset stomach. But Tish's parents, Sharon (Regina King) and Joseph (Colman Domingo), meet her announcement with nothing but love, support, and encouragement. Her sister Ernestine (Teyonna Rivers) even demands that she “unbow [her] head” rather than hang it in shame. But it’s hard for black girls to anticipate such a warm embrace when carrying an unexpected new life thanks to prevalent narratives that suggest we be rejected because of it.