Testimonies

“Be tired for you!”

I remember my grandmother Warnella Wells (1936-2013) saying towards the end of her life and in the prime of mine when I’d talk about being tired, …
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“Not with my baby!”

This one is from the personal stash (Ph.D. hooding 2011). I was her baby-protected and cared for when my teenage mom had me and thought she …
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“Beautiful Black Queen”

My birth made my grandmother, Donna Staples (1956-2005) a young grandmother. When I think about things she said or did that have left …
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“Coffee Makes You Black!“

When I was coming up, my grandmother Ida Wells (above) threatened that if I- her high yellow granddaughter (far right)- kept drinking coffee with my …
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“Easter in October”

This seemed to be the week from hell, another flight home after a grueling week in Alabama. There has to be more to my life than planes, …
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“Ha ha hell!”

Ruby Tyson aka Ru Pearl aka Mom Tyson (1921-2004) was no stranger to a hard life. Her mother’s blindness prompted her aunt Ma Shug to raise …
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For Ada Mae Clay (1897-1980)

Real black grandmothers know how to cook the food braid platts in lil black gurlz’ hair lead the family from quiet mountains always aware …
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“A Sack of Shit”

One of my favorite memories about things my grandmother Warnella Wells (1936-2013) did or said was being called “a sack of shit” by her when I …
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