'When Did You First Realize You Were Enough?' Ottawa Women Reflect on Self-Worth
It's a deceptively simple question: when did you first realize that you were enough? For Ruby Edet and Monique Fuller — two Ottawa community leaders who sat down with CBC Ottawa as part of a Black History Month series — the question opened into a rich, honest conversation about self-worth, identity, and the long road to self-acceptance.
A Question Worth Sitting With
For many Black women, particularly those who grew up in predominantly white spaces or who've navigated institutions that weren't built with them in mind, the journey to believing in your own worth can be circuitous. There are the messages absorbed in childhood — from media, from institutions, sometimes from community itself — that quietly chip away at a sense of inherent value.
Edet and Fuller spoke to that honestly. Their reflections weren't packaged as inspiration-poster quotes but as real reckonings with real experiences.
Community as a Site of Healing
Both women spoke to the role of community — and specifically Black community — in helping them find and hold onto a sense of self. Being surrounded by people who affirm your humanity, your beauty, your intelligence, and your worth isn't a luxury, they argued. It's a necessity, particularly in a city where Black residents can still feel like exceptions in many spaces.
Ottawa's Black Community in Their Words
Ottawa's Black community has grown significantly in recent decades, with diaspora communities from across Africa, the Caribbean, and beyond making their homes here. Edet and Fuller represent a generation of Black women who are leading that community — not just surviving in the city, but shaping it.
Their conversation is a reminder that Black History Month isn't just about the past. It's about the present-day work of building communities where everyone — especially young Black girls growing up in Ottawa right now — grows up knowing they are enough.
Source: CBC Ottawa
