I'll Take You There

This semester I'm taking a special topics course entitled Black Women's Stories.  "This class focusses on defining the myriad representations of black womanhood and how the raced, gendered, classed, and situated experiences of black women are communicated and translated through their stories and silences."  I. Am. Thrilled.  My teacher is fabulous and approachable and sassy and while I respect her disposition as a strong black woman, I connect with her so personally that often I feel like I grew up with her.


As the wise and wonderful Pearl Cleage said, “Discomfort is always a necessary part of the process of enlightenment."  Most people ask me if being in a class full of black women is awkward or even difficult.  To those I laughably reply, "Of course not, it's a blast!  Way more fun than the seemingly trivial drama that possesses white girls.  After only 3 classes, the empowerment and resilience of the women in my class have rubbed off on me, and I've found myself being something I never thought possible, though always aspired: sassy.


For those who know me, I am white.  I am vanilla.  Whenever people ask me to describe myself, I always fight the urge to rip off Patricia MacLachlan's Sarah, Plain and Tall and replace Sarah with Kingsley.  We learned that one of the most common themes in a Black woman's story is the archetypical single mother, strong-willed and prideful.  And, well, lately I've realized that my own mother, a gorgeous white woman, took on some of those archetypical traits as she had me on her own very young.  She was sassy, loving, and stronger than I could ever fathom being, especially at my age.  Raising me on the blues, the funky mo-town jams, and the soulful black power ballad came naturally to her.  Hence the reason "our" song is "I'll Take You There" by The Staple Singers.  And damn, did she take me there.


Aside from The Staple Singers, she raised me on the gods of soul and funk: Marvin Gaye, Al Green, BB King, Bill Withers, and Stevie Wonder, just to name a few.  Then of course were the goddesses: Aretha Franklin, Gwen McCrae, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Natalie Cole, Anita Baker, ugh the list is endless.  She really took me there.  As I continue the semester learning and hopefully somewhat experiencing the strengths, struggles, and successes of black women, I hope to also continue the path of connecting more with my own mother as a woman, a real live person in addition to my view of the untouchable matriarch of our family.


So thanks, Mom.  I miss you, and I hope you're funkin' out today and knowing that "Isn't She Lovely?" is my song to you!  Everything is everythang.