Motherhood for me ain't been no crystal stair. If you read TOYI ELIZABETH then you know that a lot of my faith has been built through my motherhood journey. Since I first wrote this piece, my younger son has gone off to college and my older son got married. Now, four years later I'm still… Continue reading A Complicated Mother’s Day
You remember it. "Sticks and stones can break my bones but names can never hurt me." As I grew older I realized that this little saying was not true. Names, and the words we utter from our lips, can certainly hurt. Many people have suffered emotional harm from being called names. Beyond the emotional wounds,… Continue reading Sticks, Stones, and Names Can Kill You
In the current environment I'm fighting like Rizpah to keep the scavengers from tearing away at my sons-- their dignity, honor, self-esteem, self-image, and life itself. I have to watch police, politicians, teachers, coaches, store clerks, and strangers who might consider skittles to be dangerous. Every night I fall into bed, I thank God that my sons are alive and pray they live another day. It's a real, not at all irrational, fear of this Black mother.
TOYI ELIZABETH 