GOSSIP FROM THE GIRLFRIEND GATHERINGS

Learning from YOU to empower ME !

National Women History Maker – The Poetess – Phyllis Wheatley

By

My first love of the written word is poetry and I thought it would be great to share information on one of the earliest women history maker – the poetess, Phyllis Wheatley.   Born in West Africa in 1753, sold into slavery at the age of 7 and transported to North America, Phyllis Wheatley became the second published African-American poet and the first published African-American woman before her death at the early age of 31.

Phyllis was named after the slave ship that brought her to Boston and took the last name of her progressive master and his wife, John and Susanna Wheatley.  These believers in education for their slaves started educating Phyllis and soon recognized her genius.    Giving Phyllis’ work to other slaves, they fostered her education and by the time she was twelve years old, she was reading the Greek and Latin classics.    Eventually, she started to write poetry on religious, classical themes and about famous people.   However, she seldom wrote about her life or slavery which is still a mystery.

Phyllis traveled to England with the son of her master and her work was held in high esteem in British society.   Here at home, she wrote a poem about George Washington, sent it to him and later met him.   Of course, she experienced racism and sexism as these evils were prevalent in that time.   Phyllis had to defend her authorship of her poetry and was examined by Boston dignitaries including John Hancock, the governor and lieutenant governor of Massachusetts.   Her genius prevailed and these same dignitaries signed an attestation to the authenticity of her work and her brilliance.   John Paul Jones called her the “African favorite of the Muses and Apollo”.    Phyllis was emancipated via her master’s will upon his death.

Eventually, Phyllis fell on difficult times.   She married after being emancipated and lost two infant children.   With the Revolutionary War waging, Phyllis also lost her financial backers and her husband was imprisoned for debts.   Phyllis was reduced to working as a domestic and caring for a sickly infant child.    She became ill and died.   Her last child died on the same day.

Here is one of her rare poems on slavery, written when she was sixteen years old.

 “On Being Brought from Africa to America”

 Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land

Taught my benighted soul to understand

That there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too:

Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.

Some view our sable race with scornful eye;

“Their colour is a diabolic die.”

Remember, Christians, Negros black as Cain,

May be refin’d, and join th’angelic train.

Women History Maker – Mollie Taylor Stevenson Jr.

By

As we all know, March is National Women’s History Month and, in Houston, we are putting on our cowgirl boots to head on over to the Reliant Stadium for the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show through the end of the month.     So, with both women history and rodeo in mind, I decided to share with you a history maker right here in my hometown – Houston.    This woman has made a mark in Women’s History and in African-American History as being one of three African-American women inducted into The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.   At the time of her induction, Mollie had the honor of her mother, Mollie Taylor Stevenson Sr. being inducted at the same time.    Before her mother’s death in 2003, Mollie and her mother were the only living African-American members of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

(http://www.cowgirl.net/HallofFameHonorees/Stevenson,Mollie.Jr.html)

(http://www.cowgirl.net/HallofFameHonorees/Stevenson,Mollie.html)

Mollie is well-known in the Houston community as a world-famous cowgirl, historian, and rancher of her family-owned ranch which is one of the oldest African-American owned working ranches in the United States.   The Taylor-Stevenson Ranch has existed for 150 years and is still home to Mollie and some of her siblings.   In 1988, Mollie and her mother established The American Cowboy Museum to educate the young and the old about the contributions of “people of color” to the taming of the West.

Please read more about this female maverick at (http://www.cowboysofcolor.org/profile.php?ID=95)

and her trail-blazing family history at

(http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/native-texan/article/Historic-ranch-lies-in-Houston-s-shadow-4638390.php)

and

(http://capitolwords.org/date/2002/03/14/E365-2_honoring-mollie-taylor-stevenson-sr-and-mollie-tay/)

I have not visited The Taylor-Stevenson Ranch yet but it is now on my day-trip list and I will “round-up” some of my girlfriends to join me.

In gathering information for this blog post, I read several inspiring information about other inductees in the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.   They even have honored Sacagawea who assisted Lewis and Clark!     It is worth a visit so check it out at (http://www.cowgirl.net/AllHonorees.html).

On my next visit to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I will certainly drop by for a visit!

It’s March – National Women History Month!

By

women in business (2)March is National Women’s History Month – a time to celebrate the contributions of women to this country.   This month I will blog about some famous women and their contributions but I will also blog about a few women friends in my inner circle that I feel are doing some unique and fun things.      I have divided them into three categories  – “Creative Cool Women”, “Doing Their Own Thing Women” , and “Informing the World Women”.   Also, this month, I will host a blog interview with author Stacy Overman Morrison on her book “Comfort of Fences”.   Some of my blog readers/friends read the book and submitted some questions for Stacy.   We are all looking forward to her response.

 

So, please stay save my blog site in your “Favorites” and plan to drop by throughout the month.

Girlfriend Gathering Review – Ensemble Theatre – The Meeting

By

Imagine……a secret date……a secret place…….a secret meeting.

Imagine……Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  ………….Malcom X.

Imagine……Talking……..subject……..Civil Rights Movement.

This is the place the Ensemble Theatre took us to with their current production of Jeff Stetson’s play – The Meeting.    This play has been performed to many audiences across the U.S. and several other countries on several continents over the past 30 years.  It has finally arrived to Houston.    I was excited when I saw it in the 2013-2014 season line up for the Ensemble Theatre and the production dates were perfect to make it a part of my African-American History celebration for February.   Of course, I gathered a few of my girlfriends to attend with me.

We were surprised to learn the play was only 75 minutes long without an intermission.   However, after experiencing those dynamic 75 minutes, we understood the reason.    The dialogue of this play was so intense and mesmerizing that any break in the flow of words would have been inappropriate.   The actors Jason Carmichael (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) and Mirron E. Willis (Malcolm X) clothed themselves in the essence of these great men and delivered a portrayal that effectively captured the brilliance, dedication and fortitude that each brought to a struggle that impacted their people and their country.    Even though there were vast differences in their approach to the civil rights struggle, we were able to glimpse the similarities in the hearts of these men through the rendering of the playwright and the performance by these wonderful actors.

It is an urban legend that a meeting was planned between these great leaders but Malcolm X was assassinated the week before the scheduled date.   I believe that if it had happened it would have been just as it was in this play.    If you are in or near Houston, please gather up the young people in your sphere and take them to the Ensemble Theatre to witness African-American history in motion.

QUESTION(S):

Are you a history buff?

What do you imagine Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X would have discussed?

The Hubby Track

By

1038415_HiResAs I mentioned in a previous post, I am always eavesdropping in public places.   As a writer, this is one of the methods we study dialogue so that the characters in our stories are unique in their speech.   So, you can only imagine some of the interesting unlikely conversations that I overhear.

One Monday morning at my “day job”, I overheard a conversation between two men about their weekend activities.   I love listening to discussions between men because, as a female writing about relationships, it is difficult to write from the male point of view.   It is even better when they think no one is listening like on this day when there was a cubicle wall between them and me.

One of the guys had the normal “guy” weekend and there was nothing noteworthy for me.   However, the other guy’s weekend was very interesting and humorous.    He mentioned that he had gone out on a first date with someone he met at the home of another friend.    He said that the date was going okay until the young woman started asking him all types of questions.   When asked what type of questions by his workmate, he replied, “Well, it felt like I was on a job interview.”   Now, this guy was from London, so just imagine hearing the exasperation in that statement with his accent.   I burst out laughing.  I could not help it.

Of course, they heard me and stopped talking.   I stood up and apologized explaining that I could not help but overhear the conversation.   I told him his date was ensuring that he was not a waste of her time.   He was puzzled so I told him a few things that cleared it up for him.  He was amazed that I guessed his date was established in her career and nearing the age of 30.   I explained to Mr. London that his date was on the “hubby track”.

The pressure “to marry” for some women can sometimes become a toxic situation.   This pressure can come from family, friends and definitely from the fact that there are more females in the population than males.   Therefore, some women are destined to remain single.  There are some women who do not want to be counted in that number and Mr. London’s date was one of those women.   Also, the horrible truth is that some women judge other women not by their individual successes, not by their contribution to society but by the fact of their marital status.   This is the ultimate pressure – how you are viewed by your peers.

In my own family, I have a relative who had a different fiancée at every family gathering attended to the point I was getting them mixed-up!   It was as if she had a wedding photo ready with a silhouette for a husband and any man available could replace that silhouette.   Needless to say, I was worried for her and I am still worried for her.   She has now been married multiple times and even now is unhappy in her current marriage.  I want to tell her it is okay to be single and that is okay just to get off the “hubby track”.

Now, I am a woman who believes in love and marriage.   I also believe that a woman should take the necessary time to look for the signs of a keeper (as stated in my earlier post of the same name) during the course of interacting with a prospective mate.  In time, you will know if he is the one for YOU.  However, if you are “hubby job interviewing” dates and/or mentally marrying every man you date, you need to take a break from the “hubby track” and investigate your chief motivating force.   It is my belief that you will find you are acting out of some fear – which is the wrong reason to be on the “hubby track”.

QUESTIONS:

Do you think that some women judge other women by their marital status?

Have you ever known someone that could have possibly been on the “hubby track”?  If so, can you share their outcome?