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Walking the streets of Brooklyn with her wife, Emma, Nicole Dennis-Benn discovered a “strange hierarchy” dictating who can publicly express physical affection without repercussion.

Ms. Dennis-Benn, who is Jamaican-American and married to an African-American woman, wrote about her experience in her 2017 essay, “Who’s Allowed to Hold Hands?” Alicia Keys reads Ms. Dennis-Benn’s powerful account on this week’s Modern Love podcast.