(unedited freewrite)
Happy Bearthday Mama and Happy Summer Solstice. I was raised by a Master number 11, Gemini on the cusp of Cancer. She is my first love, my mama. The older I get the more I am like her, the more I am like myself. The more I grow in my womonness the more I see her as a womon, not just Mama.
I am grateful for her sacrifices throughout my life. I am grateful for her support. I am grateful for her strength. I am grateful for her courage. I am grateful for her vulnerability. My mama, was my first "woman womon." Though she is, she wud not describe herself as a feminist, womonist, social justice practictioner,"power to the power" typa sista. Nonetheless, I realize that because of how she reared me, those were the movements that I was drawn to early on.
I am grateful that Mama made sure that I also saw reflections of my Black gurl self in our home. I've told this story before about how I had ALL Black dolls and toys and she'd color the faces brown/black on the wrapping paper and anything else that she cudnot find to reflect me. She combed my natural hair and told me that I was beautiful and so was my natural hair. She walked me to school hand in hand singing, "you are my sunshine..."
As a iddy-bitty girl, she taught me that I had a voice and that not only did I have my opinion, but I a right to SAY my opinion. I had to be respectful, but I was never silenced or told "a child stays in a child's place." She was my first teacher of critical engagement and to not just "drink the kool-aid" cuz someone told me it "taste'ed" good.
She taught me lessons of responsibility and the value of my word. I grew up dancing and in the arts and I wud go to the field house and sign up for all of these classes and mid-way through I'd want to quit, but she wud not let me. She gave me the same speech, "If you make the commitment then you see it thru to the end." I had to finish the quarter and if I did not want to sign up for all the classes the next quarter, I had that option, but I had to finish what I originally signed up for.
My mama has a huge heart and though she is fiery, she is the most giving person I know. ( I come from fiery womyn, she and I both get it honest. lol lol lol.) She taught me love is in the details, and if you're gonna do something, do it right, to the best of your ability and dont be cutting corners. My mama taught me to never let money be the center of my existence. Give it all away if it impedes my happiness.
But most important, as Ive said before, I am most grateful that she gave me her God. Though we do not practice our beliefs in the same way anymore, I am grateful for her making God the foundation in our home and in my life. At heart, I am a church girl. I was raised in the Black church and was active in the Black church. That is my foundation from which I move from to this day. I am not talking about doctrine, I am talking about God and spirituality. I am talking about ancestors, angels, and the knowing that there is something far greater than me who loves me. My mama debunked the myth that, God only help those who help themselves. She told me at an early age God shows favor to whomever God chooses. And because of how my mama reared me, she gave me the space to grow my understanding of God as the Divine feminine.
So on this day, the Summer Solstice, I wish my mama a Happy Bearthday. I love you.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Summer Series...
REGISTER NOW: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/7002640085#
"She
be . Black . Arts . Movement . Summer Series" is an economically
exclusive 6-week creativity immersion for Black womyn to CREATE artistic
expression, ENGAGE public spaces, COLLABORATE with other dynamic
sistas, PROMOTE mindfulness and EXPLORE Chicago. Artists and
adventure-seekers veronica precious bohanan (UnSilenced Woman Press) and
Sandria Washington (The Real Youga) are unapologetically taking sister
circles out into the world and it’s going to be F-U-N!
Come discover how to #LiveArtfully.
Honor sacred creativity on six (6) Sundays, beginning July 7, 2013. All locations can be reached by public transportation and are wheelchair accessible. Follow your journey on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ArtSheBe and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/shebe.artfully.
Cost: $20 per session, or $100 for all six
Attire: Wear comfortable “play clothes” and your gym shoes
If you have any questions email shebeart13@gmail.com
Dates/Locations/Times:
We will meet weekly in the front lobby of each venue.
All supplies will be provided.
Week 1:
July 7
10am - 1pm
Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington
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Week 2:
July 14
12 - 3pm
DuSable Museum
740 E. 56th Place
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Week 3:
July 21
12 - 3pm
Mexican Fine Arts Museum
1852 W. 19th St.
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Week 4:
July 28
10am - 1pm
MCA Chicago
220 E. Chicago
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Week 5:
August 4
12 - 3pm
Chicago Historical Museum
1601 N. Clark
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Week 6:
August 11
10am - 1pm
Next Door
659 W. Diversey Parkway
Your tourguides:
As an art therapist, writer and activist, veronica precious bohanan (vpb)
is interested in how life's details intersect with race, class, gender
and all aspects of one's environment—as one's mental health does not
exist in isolation. veronica is interested in details because they are
what make us each unique; they are also the qualities that must be
navigated to have healthy relationships and communities. veronica's work
as a therapist is grounded in trauma-informed care, cultural
competency, and social, healing and reproductive justice. As an
artist/writer, she has co-written such stage productions as Aqua Beats and Moon Verses, Brotha…Wassup Sun, and Love Does Not Hurt. Her poetry can be found in Home Girls Make Some Noise!: Hip-hop Feminism Anthology and Check the Rhyme: An Anthology of Female Poets and Emcees. Om: My Sistagyrl Lotus
is her first collection of prose and poetry. veronica has travelled the
U.S. and abroad facilitating girl and womyn-centered workshops. She is a
graduate of the University of Iowa and the School of the Art Institute
of Chicago. www.veronicabohanan.com REGISTER NOW: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/700264008
Saturday, June 8, 2013
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