When I moved to Detroit years ago and got immersed in everyday Black culture, one of the first bits of unfamiliar slang that struck me was the common expression "I feel you," meaning I understand you or hear you. But at least in the way I experienced hearing it from my neighbors, it went a lot deeper than just understanding. I received it to mean, I empathize with you and hear you on a level that goes beyond words. I feel with you.

I rarely use Black vernacular in writing because I think people would take it the wrong way, not understanding I lived immersed in it for a long time and take offense at me appropriating it. But “I feel you” is an expression I like to use sometimes because of how powerful it can be.