Reading Time: 4 minutes One of the things I found myself doing when I first moved to New York was being incredibly deferential to people who walked with more confidence than me. I would stop to let people pass me on tight sidewalks. I would allow people to barrel past me through doorways –  sometimes holding the door for what became hoards of shoppers. I would even let people push me out of the way to get on the train first.

And – to be clear – when I say “people,” mean men.

So, this year I made a commitment to myself to take up more space. It is my incredibly passive-aggressive way of protesting Trump’s America. In my mind, I’m saying “you, white man, will go through this door after me, a black woman because I deserve as much space in this world as you do.”