30
Mar
2004
Several years ago, after reading books by Angela Davis and several other black women regarding the role of black women in the suffrage and civil-rights movements, I was asked to be a part of a women's history celebration at one of the local colleges.
I had participated before, reading poetry, etc., but this time I found that I felt a deeper responsibility. I became aware that during the previous celebrations I had been the only voice speaking about black women's involvement in women's rights. I felt that we had been given token status, almost as an afterthought. I was not willing to just be an "aside" this time, and was determined to be a better representative of my grandmothers, great grandmothers, and others whose lives and experiences had been marginalized. I was determined to be their voice.
I went to the library and found the poem "Our Grandmothers," written by Maya Angelou, and it spoke to my spirit. This poem said what I had been feeling. How can anyone speak about women's rights, human rights, and not speak about my grandmothers? I believe that black women were in a state of rebellion/activism at the point of capture, walking toward the slave ships, during the middle passage, on the auction blocks, working on the plantations, creating ways to survive, holding on to faith, singing songs to heal and instruct, escaping North, loving and losing children and husbands, and on and on and on. How can they not be considered activists? Their involvement in the suffrage movement has been documented, but it became very obvious to me that it was my responsibility as a black woman to be more proactive, to study and tell the people what I learned. So I attended the celebration that year, armed with documented accounts and names of black women's stories, including my own grandmothers, and shared Ms. Angelou's poem.
After that experience, I was led to create a workshop titled "Testifying & Bearing Witness." I wanted to show that storytelling and sharing our stories has been a survival tool and a means of entertainment and escape for people of every culture (culture not limited to nationality and ethnic groups) throughout history. Testifying, in the spiritual sense, before our peers and allies who will bear witness, provides healing and empowerment, and builds group and organizational cohesiveness. Our experiences, as well as the experiences of our mentors/heroes, can shape and mold us. While testifying and bearing witness, we honor ourselves and the lessons that have enabled us to unite and persevere as we continue to struggle against all forms of oppression.
My earlier training as a community activist years before came at a time when I was living in public housing at age 25, married and having already given birth to five children. I was in desperate need of a spiritual transformation, something substantial and real to keep me from succumbing to a hopeless life of self-pity, poor self-esteem, defeat, and bitterness. People who showed me genuine love and kindness somehow on the appointed day convinced me that I had a voice and that I possessed power. It was their love for me, their belief that I and others could help change our circumstances by confronting the people and situations we had identified as unjust, that moved me.
I began to believe that there was power and safety in numbers, that everyone has a skill to bring to the table to help make those changes, and that aided in my transformation. I and some of the other individuals in that housing project were organized and trained in such a way that helped us believe that we were powerful beyond measure. We excelled as a group because of our commonalities and because we learned to trust ourselves and one another. We also learned to define and celebrate our own victories.
I went on to continue what I considered to be my purpose, a life as an activist/organizer, understanding that with love and by using my story as an example, I could help to empower others. Evolving as a storyteller years later helped me to see that our stories are powerful tools. They can help us to remember where we've been, connect us to others, and serve as catalysts for others in their quest for personal and group success.
Because it is true that one experience will lead to another, I created a performance, "I Have Come To Testify, Can I Get A Witness?", telling the stories of Harriet Tubman and Fannie Lou Hamer, as well as pieces of information about Ida B. Wells and Mary Bethune. I wanted to look at the lives of these women as testimony, take their awesome stories out of the realm of the unachievable, and take these women off of the pedestals that can sometimes keep us from understanding that these women were ordinary people appointed to accomplish extraordinary things, just as we are appointed to reach our potential. And each of us has a purpose for being here.
I also share my own experiences and the experiences of other women in the community whose lives and love influenced me. Women like my mother, Barbara Holland Moore, and my grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and friends, such as Mrs. Johnnie Mae Robinson. Mrs. Robinson and others, who, while working for an organization whose mission was to help us feed our children more nutritionally, understood that in order to talk to us about the major food groups, they would need to help us meet our most basic needs on any given day. Those needs included grocery shopping, doing laundry, taking children to the doctor, or just talking with us and holding our hands when we needed it. Women like Joyce Butler, who was a Jehovah's Witness, seemed to knock on my door with a word of encouragement when I needed to hear from someone that God's love for me is real and sustaining. Joyce showed me unconditional, nondenominational love each time she said, "Shellie, how are you and the kids doing?" Contrary to the opinions of some, acts of love and kindness like these are performed daily in our communities.
During this time, as we celebrate women's history, let us continue to recognize the history of all women, and consider that each of us has a story to tell, to share. When we share our stories we recognize that because of our differences we have a lot to give, and despite our differences, we have a lot in common. It is by sharing ourselves in this way, that we truly experience the power of love.
I had participated before, reading poetry, etc., but this time I found that I felt a deeper responsibility. I became aware that during the previous celebrations I had been the only voice speaking about black women's involvement in women's rights. I felt that we had been given token status, almost as an afterthought. I was not willing to just be an "aside" this time, and was determined to be a better representative of my grandmothers, great grandmothers, and others whose lives and experiences had been marginalized. I was determined to be their voice.
I went to the library and found the poem "Our Grandmothers," written by Maya Angelou, and it spoke to my spirit. This poem said what I had been feeling. How can anyone speak about women's rights, human rights, and not speak about my grandmothers? I believe that black women were in a state of rebellion/activism at the point of capture, walking toward the slave ships, during the middle passage, on the auction blocks, working on the plantations, creating ways to survive, holding on to faith, singing songs to heal and instruct, escaping North, loving and losing children and husbands, and on and on and on. How can they not be considered activists? Their involvement in the suffrage movement has been documented, but it became very obvious to me that it was my responsibility as a black woman to be more proactive, to study and tell the people what I learned. So I attended the celebration that year, armed with documented accounts and names of black women's stories, including my own grandmothers, and shared Ms. Angelou's poem.
After that experience, I was led to create a workshop titled "Testifying & Bearing Witness." I wanted to show that storytelling and sharing our stories has been a survival tool and a means of entertainment and escape for people of every culture (culture not limited to nationality and ethnic groups) throughout history. Testifying, in the spiritual sense, before our peers and allies who will bear witness, provides healing and empowerment, and builds group and organizational cohesiveness. Our experiences, as well as the experiences of our mentors/heroes, can shape and mold us. While testifying and bearing witness, we honor ourselves and the lessons that have enabled us to unite and persevere as we continue to struggle against all forms of oppression.
My earlier training as a community activist years before came at a time when I was living in public housing at age 25, married and having already given birth to five children. I was in desperate need of a spiritual transformation, something substantial and real to keep me from succumbing to a hopeless life of self-pity, poor self-esteem, defeat, and bitterness. People who showed me genuine love and kindness somehow on the appointed day convinced me that I had a voice and that I possessed power. It was their love for me, their belief that I and others could help change our circumstances by confronting the people and situations we had identified as unjust, that moved me.
I began to believe that there was power and safety in numbers, that everyone has a skill to bring to the table to help make those changes, and that aided in my transformation. I and some of the other individuals in that housing project were organized and trained in such a way that helped us believe that we were powerful beyond measure. We excelled as a group because of our commonalities and because we learned to trust ourselves and one another. We also learned to define and celebrate our own victories.
I went on to continue what I considered to be my purpose, a life as an activist/organizer, understanding that with love and by using my story as an example, I could help to empower others. Evolving as a storyteller years later helped me to see that our stories are powerful tools. They can help us to remember where we've been, connect us to others, and serve as catalysts for others in their quest for personal and group success.
Because it is true that one experience will lead to another, I created a performance, "I Have Come To Testify, Can I Get A Witness?", telling the stories of Harriet Tubman and Fannie Lou Hamer, as well as pieces of information about Ida B. Wells and Mary Bethune. I wanted to look at the lives of these women as testimony, take their awesome stories out of the realm of the unachievable, and take these women off of the pedestals that can sometimes keep us from understanding that these women were ordinary people appointed to accomplish extraordinary things, just as we are appointed to reach our potential. And each of us has a purpose for being here.
I also share my own experiences and the experiences of other women in the community whose lives and love influenced me. Women like my mother, Barbara Holland Moore, and my grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and friends, such as Mrs. Johnnie Mae Robinson. Mrs. Robinson and others, who, while working for an organization whose mission was to help us feed our children more nutritionally, understood that in order to talk to us about the major food groups, they would need to help us meet our most basic needs on any given day. Those needs included grocery shopping, doing laundry, taking children to the doctor, or just talking with us and holding our hands when we needed it. Women like Joyce Butler, who was a Jehovah's Witness, seemed to knock on my door with a word of encouragement when I needed to hear from someone that God's love for me is real and sustaining. Joyce showed me unconditional, nondenominational love each time she said, "Shellie, how are you and the kids doing?" Contrary to the opinions of some, acts of love and kindness like these are performed daily in our communities.
During this time, as we celebrate women's history, let us continue to recognize the history of all women, and consider that each of us has a story to tell, to share. When we share our stories we recognize that because of our differences we have a lot to give, and despite our differences, we have a lot in common. It is by sharing ourselves in this way, that we truly experience the power of love.
