The ‘Black lady smile’ is the direct equal to the ‘Black nod’, a reassuring gesture shared between Black strangers across the globe, particularly after we are a visual minority. It’s an affirming bodily personification of the assertion ‘I see you.’ The smile is reassuring and it comes from a spot of affection and mutual understanding.  When the smile meets that of one other Black lady, it’s a silent message that may unfetter the burden of a foul day or week, heck, even a 12 months. The hour that my co-worker and I spent kiki-ing over lunch broke by way of the armor I wore every time I went into the workplace. We giggled over the debauchery she had witnessed at DLT Malta Pageant and talked about our hair. I diplomatically instructed her the lay of the land, and we spoke about health objectives, trend, celeb gossip, and TikTok. We flowed from subject to subject with ease and I might really feel myself unfurling, my arms which have been usually crossed over my chest have been animatedly flying round as we talked. “They’re going to suppose we all know one another,” she stated to me when our hour ended. This stranger felt like a kindred spirit and undid the whole lot I had felt at work over the course of three months in an hour and it began with a smile.