Representing

The kids on Haviland Drive integrated Harlan Elementary long before busing was mandated in my small hometown of Florence AL. The concept that my behavior was a reflection of my family was stressed and understood by me from a young age…and while I don’t remember a direct conversation, I somehow knew that, to my white teachers and classmates, I represented how Negro children behaved.

Pretty heavy stuff for a third-grader…

“Don’t embarrass me in front of these white folks.” ~ Black Mother Saying

Inhale Represent, Exhale Embarrass…
Inhale Reflection, Exhale Separation…
Inhale Respect, Exhale Disgrace…
Just Breathe

#JustBreathe
#Representation

Respectable Representation

Movies like “Girls Trip” and its breakout star Tiffany Haddish aren’t everybody’s cup of tea. But the politics of respectability has some black people judging the joy for life as expressed by the comedienne as too much … too loud, too profane, too boisterous… too black.

I get it…but aren’t we at a point where the full complexity of the black experience in America can be expressed?

“We need not demand “acceptable” representation of our womenhood because there is no unacceptable way to be a Black woman. Our expressions of ourselves are as nuanced as our body shapes, hair textures and hues of pigmentation. But what we must demand is a multiplicity of stories that showcase the vast variety of these expressions.” ~ Sil Lai Abrams and Morgan A. Grain

Inhale Representation, Exhale Stereotypes…
Inhale Nuanced, Exhale Stereotypes…
Inhale Multiplicity, Exhale Stereotypes…
Just Breathe

#JustBreathe
#Representation

Negative Representation

“Stories affect how we live our lives, how we see other people, how we think about ourselves.” ~ Michael Morgan

We know the representation of black people in America disseminated to the world through soft exports like the media impacts how we are perceived. Why is it so difficult for us to understand that the negative images we see of ourselves also impact … us?

“…the system we live in is designed to kill us, regardless of how we’re surviving and navigating within it.” ~ Ashleigh Shackelford

Inhale Seeing, Exhale Negative Stereotypes…
Inhale Believing, Exhale Self-Hate…
Inhale Being, Exhale Self-Sabotage…
Just Breathe

#JustBreathe
#Representation

If She Can, I Can…

I usually describe my last military job as the city manager for a small city, in this case the 6th largest city…in South Dakota!

The selection for this group-level command position was a two-step process; first I had to be nominated, then selected for a specific open position. I was on the list of nominees but couldn’t think of one single black woman group commander and I felt discouraged about my chances to be selected.

Then I remembered Brigadier General Toreaser A. Steele, who as a Colonel commanded the 737th Training Group at Lackland Air Force Base in San AntonioTexas.

General Steel represented what was possible and gave me the confidence that what I thought was impossible was possible for me!

Inhale Representation, Exhale Rejection…
Inhale Participation, Exhale Exclusion…
Inhale Possibilities, Exhale Limiting Beliefs…
Just Breathe

#JustBreathe
#Representation

Representation

I get emotional every time I see the photo of little Parker Curry looking in awe at the portrait of “Queen” Michelle Obama in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

I had read that both the artist, Amy Sherald, and Mrs. Obama wanted something more “conceptual and archetypal, bigger than just one model” so that young girls in particular could see themselves in the art.

I think they achieved their goal.

“You exist in our minds and our hearts in the way that you do because we can see ourselves in you.” ~ Amy Sherald, speaking to First Lady Michelle Obama

Inhale Representation, Exhale Suppression…
Inhale Identification, Exhale Assimilation…
Inhale Celebration, Exhale Hateration…
Just Breathe

#JustBreathe
#Representation