In doing so, she gave a generation of black creatives the courage to reimagine storytelling and reshape the narrative. She gave us permission to examine how deeply embedded white nationalism is in this country’s DNA and explore what she called “the tenacity of racism.” She put black girls like Pecola Breedlove and black women like Margaret Garner at the centre of her universe — therefore placing them at the centre of ours. She created space for black girls like me to write the stories I wanted to read. Moreover, she scoffed at the implication that she must somehow be required to place white people anywhere but on the periphery of her narratives. And she embraced her identity and celebrated the fact that it made her a better storyteller.