Legacy
There are some struggles that thankfully my DD will never have to face but sadly some that she already has. And with the great election of our first Black President old wounds have been reopened and sometimes things are uglier than they have been in a long time.
And now I find that even me, a girl one time removed, kinda like a second cousin, from the civil right moment (and honestly not as conscious as I should been, that is until I had children of my own and a real reason to care in my heart) am profoundly moved by the passing of these Black women pioneers of late like Dorothy Height and now Lena Horne.
Oh Ms. Lena what a beauty, but more so, what a talent what a spirit, what a legacy.
Looking back at the age of 80, Ms. Horne said: “My identity is very clear to me now. I am a black woman. I’m free. I no longer have to be a ‘credit.’ I don’t have to be a symbol to anybody; I don’t have to be a first to anybody. I don’t have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I’d become. I’m me, and I’m like nobody else.”
quote from the New Tork Times
Best,
Kwana
7 Comments
pve
Kwana,
Did I ever tell you that my Mom and I went to see her on Broadway years ago and I will never forget her, she sang straight from the bottom of her soul.
What a beautiful woman, so full of life and music.
pve
deidra
I feel you here, Kwana. So much turning over of old soil these days. In my heart I hope it will end in good for all of us…and our children. You’ve said it well. I will miss these women, and with their passing I’ve been pondering who will stand in the spaces they’ve left behind. Will that be you? Me?
kwana
Turning up old soil is just the feeling Deidra. Thanks.
Kristen Painter
There really was no one else like her.
The Zhush
Her voice is as beautiful as the woman. She will be missed.
Colleen
To me, she was the epitome of elegance.
Maria
What a lovely tribute for a lovely woman.