‘There is no safe space for an ambitious Black woman’: Danyel Smith opens up about the cost of ambition

In a conversation with Felicia Pride, Smith reflected on the resentment Black women can face when they continue pursuing bigger goals as they get older.

Ambitious Black women can face resentment for continuing to pursue their goals as they get older, according to journalist and novelist Danyel Smith, who explored the issue in a conversation with Felicia Pride shared on Instagram.

The exchange appeared in a clip posted by HONEY CHILE, featuring Pride, the platform’s founder and host of the “It’s Good Over Here” podcast, speaking with Smith about the pressures ambitious Black women can encounter when they refuse to give up on their dreams.

“There is no safe space for an ambitious Black woman,” Smith said, describing the frustration that can come with maintaining and growing one’s ambitions over time.

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She explained that the continued pursuit of personal and professional goals can prompt resentment from others, particularly when a woman keeps dreaming and working toward those aspirations as she gets older.

“Damn, you still dreaming? And damn, you still going after your dreams,” Smith said, capturing the kind of reaction she believes ambitious women can face.

Pride appeared moved by the observation, responding emotionally as the conversation touched on the challenges of pursuing ambition without feeling judged or pressured to slow down.

The clip’s caption highlighted the exchange and posed a question to its audience: “Why does an ambitious Black woman still make folks uncomfortable, especially as we get older?”

The platform also encouraged women to keep pursuing their goals rather than reducing their aspirations to satisfy other people’s expectations.

“Honeys, we’re not shrinking our dreams to make anybody else comfortable,” the caption read.

The discussion forms part of “IT’S GOOD OVER HERE,” a podcast hosted by Pride that focuses on women over 40 and their experiences with growth, relationships, careers and new possibilities. The Instagram post directed viewers to the show’s second episode to hear the full conversation.

Smith’s remarks center on the tension between continuing to grow and facing expectations to become less ambitious with age. Her comments suggest that, for some women, the challenge is not simply finding the confidence to pursue their goals, but also navigating the reactions that follow when they refuse to abandon them.

The clip has prompted a broader conversation about why ambition may be celebrated in principle yet become uncomfortable for others when women continue to pursue bigger goals later in life.

While the exchange reflects Smith’s perspective rather than every Black woman’s experience, its central message is clear, growing older does not have to mean giving up on future plans, and women should not feel compelled to make their dreams smaller to put others at ease.