Welcome Back! The summer is over and hopefully its warmth and carefree essence has brought everyone back refreshed, rejuvenated, and able to take on the task of...WORK. It is always amazing when people begin to see the results of their labor. There is a twinkle of excitement that allows others to know, human potential is always apt to be fulfilled.
We, the Officers in Mama's Army, have been hard at the task of recruiting and are training our Officer Candidates. The Rank & File sit securely at their desks quite unaware of what it is that we have in store for them. WE are waiting. We are watching. There is an incredible energy around us that tells us we are necessary and something must be done, by someone with as much objectivity as passion to help these girls transform their challenges into springboards.
This year is important. Historically we are on the verge of possibly electing a Black man to hold the highest office in the land, socially we are on the verge of transformation, people being tired of the status quo and the lack continuity between theory and practice and economically, everyone is....wondering. What will not change is the need for support, the need for connection that every human being is endowed with from the moment they become a thinking, breathing entity.
In spite of, or in addition to, what is happening in the world around us, we must help nurture and grow the children and young people who are among us. This is the task youth developers and after-school professionals, and social workers, and case managers commit to when they walk into their offices everyday. We, too are committed to that end. Our means may be unconventional in that we do not favor a deficit-based approach, nor do we provide service from and intervention standpoint. We operate in the spirit of prevention following the adage of the wise ones, "If you don't start it, you ain't got to stop it."
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Who We Are?
in the era of "I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T...do you know what that means" a few things have become clear:
1. every woman is a precious and beautiful thing to behold
2. each woman has a purpose that only she and she alone can fulfill
3. each woman decides WHO she is and WHAT her beauty will consist of
4. we are in a hell of a lot of trouble if we continue to allow things to proceed as they have been.
In the spirit of sisterhood, I first ask permission to carry forth the charge which has been given me by the Divine, Ruler of all Creation. Hearing no objections, I shall proceed. I have always longed to be a Black Woman. As a little girl, I always admired the power and presence of the women in my family. There seemed to be nothing these women couldn't do. When there was trouble, people were fine dealing with my grandfather and uncle but Whoa to them that had dared put themself in a trifle with my Grandmother, Mother and Aunts. NO ONE WANTED IT, and I do mean NO ONE. In the Spirit of Power,Presence & Progress, Mama's Army moves.
There is a power and presence in Black Women that simply commands respect. It comes from understanding who we are on the inside. We work consciously (and moreso unconsciously) to effect positive change in the lives of people we come in contact with. It has always been my thinking that people should be affected by their interactions,as well as affect those with whom they interact. Thought, movement and ability are areas no one has a monopoly on, however, these should be cultivated and groomed to the highest degree possible. There was a time when the thought of openly referring to a Black Woman, whether she be adult, teen or little girl as a b$%&h drove folk to look around and cast their eyes downward. Now? We have girls, not to mention so-called grown women openly and proudly using the term when referring to themselves. There was a time when I too participated in this light, meaningless banter until I looked into the eyes of my 2 year old and realized I would beat the blood out of anyone who dared call her such a name. This moment of absolute clarity helped me reclaim my responsibility as an adult member of the Village. I thought of all the pain and sacrifice endured by countless numbers of these women in hopes that we, their descendants would not allow their back-breaking labor, physical/spiritual/mental violations be for naught, nor let the prayers, ululations, fasts and sheer resistance to despair go unheard and unanswered. With this, I became a member of Mama's Army.
Mama's Army's primary intention is to bring back the power and presence of the Black Woman in a way that is in line with the historic understanding of who we are. We are who we determine and define ourselves to be and certainly we have never been who the "world" would have us believe we are. Mama's Army throws a hammer in the mirror placed in front of us, shattering all images that do not properly reflect our pain, potential and progress. We do this by, in the words of Toni Morrison, "eliminating the impact of the 'white gaze'"(emphasis on 'white gaze' mine). We take it one step further understanding that there is no one enemy to the progressive healing and development of black women, and form a wall of protection around our girls by developing them and help our sisters by offering them not only a place to grieve the traumas endured, but means and methods to turn their pain into power thus building on the foundation of "making something out of nothing." By understanding and healing ourselves we will be better able to not only relate to but hold our brothers and ourselves accountable to BlakLove, Work and Service to both Community & World. We feel that this is where many of our prior attempts have failed. We've offered opportunities to vent and heal, but little else to assist in the way of mind/soul restoration and moving ahead practically. In order to not be "poverty pimps" and/or otherwise opportunistic, Mama's Army works to restore, enhance and develop Black Women to such a degree that we are no longer necessary and thus,disband. That will be the true testament of our efficacy.
1. every woman is a precious and beautiful thing to behold
2. each woman has a purpose that only she and she alone can fulfill
3. each woman decides WHO she is and WHAT her beauty will consist of
4. we are in a hell of a lot of trouble if we continue to allow things to proceed as they have been.
In the spirit of sisterhood, I first ask permission to carry forth the charge which has been given me by the Divine, Ruler of all Creation. Hearing no objections, I shall proceed. I have always longed to be a Black Woman. As a little girl, I always admired the power and presence of the women in my family. There seemed to be nothing these women couldn't do. When there was trouble, people were fine dealing with my grandfather and uncle but Whoa to them that had dared put themself in a trifle with my Grandmother, Mother and Aunts. NO ONE WANTED IT, and I do mean NO ONE. In the Spirit of Power,Presence & Progress, Mama's Army moves.
There is a power and presence in Black Women that simply commands respect. It comes from understanding who we are on the inside. We work consciously (and moreso unconsciously) to effect positive change in the lives of people we come in contact with. It has always been my thinking that people should be affected by their interactions,as well as affect those with whom they interact. Thought, movement and ability are areas no one has a monopoly on, however, these should be cultivated and groomed to the highest degree possible. There was a time when the thought of openly referring to a Black Woman, whether she be adult, teen or little girl as a b$%&h drove folk to look around and cast their eyes downward. Now? We have girls, not to mention so-called grown women openly and proudly using the term when referring to themselves. There was a time when I too participated in this light, meaningless banter until I looked into the eyes of my 2 year old and realized I would beat the blood out of anyone who dared call her such a name. This moment of absolute clarity helped me reclaim my responsibility as an adult member of the Village. I thought of all the pain and sacrifice endured by countless numbers of these women in hopes that we, their descendants would not allow their back-breaking labor, physical/spiritual/mental violations be for naught, nor let the prayers, ululations, fasts and sheer resistance to despair go unheard and unanswered. With this, I became a member of Mama's Army.
Mama's Army's primary intention is to bring back the power and presence of the Black Woman in a way that is in line with the historic understanding of who we are. We are who we determine and define ourselves to be and certainly we have never been who the "world" would have us believe we are. Mama's Army throws a hammer in the mirror placed in front of us, shattering all images that do not properly reflect our pain, potential and progress. We do this by, in the words of Toni Morrison, "eliminating the impact of the 'white gaze'"(emphasis on 'white gaze' mine). We take it one step further understanding that there is no one enemy to the progressive healing and development of black women, and form a wall of protection around our girls by developing them and help our sisters by offering them not only a place to grieve the traumas endured, but means and methods to turn their pain into power thus building on the foundation of "making something out of nothing." By understanding and healing ourselves we will be better able to not only relate to but hold our brothers and ourselves accountable to BlakLove, Work and Service to both Community & World. We feel that this is where many of our prior attempts have failed. We've offered opportunities to vent and heal, but little else to assist in the way of mind/soul restoration and moving ahead practically. In order to not be "poverty pimps" and/or otherwise opportunistic, Mama's Army works to restore, enhance and develop Black Women to such a degree that we are no longer necessary and thus,disband. That will be the true testament of our efficacy.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
a resurrection...of sorts
they break us so thoroughly we do not even
remember
our name lives dreams desires so thoroughly
they kill us
denying the ability to hold
pieces of tomorrow or passion
or peace
how be it that no sacrifice
brings honor or at the very least Respect
they remind me of
Whiteness Stark and Lifeless
empty
and THAT is why it
is beautiful no matter who wears it
has no life
Do they remember running in sundresses
dropping scoops of ice cream
after just one lick
the newness of black patent
leather school shoes the hurt of a
scraped knee the
look of amazed outrage after
the spill that tells us
FLYING IS A BIT HARDER THAN THAT DEAR
How can it be so
easy to walk away
to disregard
forgetting balance
to break
remember
our name lives dreams desires so thoroughly
they kill us
denying the ability to hold
pieces of tomorrow or passion
or peace
how be it that no sacrifice
brings honor or at the very least Respect
they remind me of
Whiteness Stark and Lifeless
empty
and THAT is why it
is beautiful no matter who wears it
has no life
Do they remember running in sundresses
dropping scoops of ice cream
after just one lick
the newness of black patent
leather school shoes the hurt of a
scraped knee the
look of amazed outrage after
the spill that tells us
FLYING IS A BIT HARDER THAN THAT DEAR
How can it be so
easy to walk away
to disregard
forgetting balance
to break
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