Even in the midst of runaway economic inequality and dangerous social division, it remains an axiom of modern life that meritocracy reigns supreme and promises to open opportunity to all. The idea that reward should follow ability and effort is so entrenched in our psyche that, even as society divides itself at almost every turn, all sides can be heard repeating meritocratic notions. Meritocracy cuts to the heart of who we think we are. But what if, both up and down the social ladder, meritocracy is a sham? Today, meritocracy has become exactly what it was conceived to resist: a mechanism for the concentration and dynastic transmission of wealth and privilege across generations. Upward mobility has become a fantasy, and the embattled middle classes are now more likely to sink into the working poor than to rise into the professional elite.

When stories about Black women are limited, there's a tendency to platform the inspirational. Yet when it comes to finding kaleidoscopic stories for - and by - Black women, they are few and far between. Through Kimberly's personal stories, the essays in 'Black Girl, No Magic' explore race, class, the meritocracy myth, sex, desire, dating, friendship, the modern family and drugs.

When stories about Black women are limited, there's a tendency to platform the inspirational. Yet when it comes to finding kaleidoscopic stories for - and by - black women, they are few and far between. Through Kimberly's personal stories, the essays in black girl, no magic explore race, class, the meritocracy myth, sex, desire, dating, friendship, the modern family and drugs.