#ASeatAtTheTable “Cranes In the Sky”
I’m so glad we are getting to a point where we (Black Women) are creating our own tables.
“I tried to drink it away. I tried to put one in the air. I tried to dance it away. I tried to change it with my hair. I ran my credit card bill up. Thought a new dress would make it better. I tried to work it away, but that just made me even sadder…” — Solange Knowles (Cranes in the Sky)
There is more to this song than looking for ways to self-sooth and self-medicate pain. The message here for me goes beyond the words themselves. The impact is in the public expression of them. To be able to say ***I’m hurting in a real deep and impactful way and nothing that I’m doing is making it go away. I am not super woman. I don’t have it all figured out, in fact, most of my good decisions are built off of the lessons from the ones that were bad.
For me this song and these lyrics are an expression of Freedom. Freedom to be vulnerable. The freedom to be vulnerable and not be judged, analyzed, stigmatized or put into a box. This feeling of freedom summons Lauryn Hill’s ” I get out of all of your boxes” and Beyonce’s “Freedom”.
It can be hard for Black women to be this vulnerable. It reminds me of the scene in “How to Get Away with Murder” when Viola Davis was in front of the mirror removing her make up. Vulnerability is high price to pay for some of us.
When everyone around us is not only holding us (Black Women) to a higher scrutiny… They also forget that we are NOT their possessions or expectations. We are our own people. When we don’t live up to their politics of respectability or who they think we should be…. I love you for this Solange. I get frustrated explaining myself to people who only seek to understand so they can find the best way to modify and shape me for their own use. Like Solange says in F.U.B.U. ” This shit is for us.” It’s been a long time since I felt like anything was truly FOR US. Thank you for breathing, for being here and for saving us a seat at the table…
Posted by Rasheem on Friday, October 7th, 2016 @ 9:46PM
Categories: Black Womanist Epistemology, Personal Note
Tags: album, ASeatAtTheTable, black woman, black womanist, Cranes In the Sky, freedom, Music, rasheemism, s.rasheem, Solange, Solange Knowles
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There’s so much I could say about finding, or should I say, claiming our freedom as women, as black women. It’s our work to do. And when one woman does it, it gives the rest us the courage to do it. Like Maya Angelou said, coursge is the most important virtue…because without we can’t practice all the other virtues.
Yes, let’s claim our freedom. Let’s be vocal, visible and vulnerable black women. Will they talk about us? I hope so.