:: XI. Grams
In the great words of Jesse Williams, "Just because we are magic, does not mean we're not real." In fact, we are quite the opposite. We are very real. The pain we feel is very real. The strength we find within ourselves is very real. The fight we fight and have continuously fought has been very real. We are as real as the air in which we ALL breathe. We are as real as the sun and the moon and the stars. We are real. We are.
REAL.
We.
Are. The magic that lies deeply within in our spirit is something that THEY have tried to deny existed. It is a magic that THEY have tried to duplicate only to blindly overlook the fact that THEY cannot replicate it. THEY have TRIED to take away our magic. THEY have tried, but didn't see that WE are stronger. We Are MORE than just magic. We are what THEY clearly want but WISH to have without the abundantly beautiful skin that keeps our beautiful magic flourishing. THEY fail, to realize, however, that you cannot have one without the other. It is a packaged deal. Period.
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On that note, I introduce, Solange's A Seat At The Table. An album infused with BLACK MAGIC. And the best kind of magic at that: BLACK GIRL MAGIC. As a Black Woman, myself, I am biased towards anything inherently pro-black and inherently pro-black-woman. Since we are one of the MOST underrepresented classes, I find myself running for the tops of hills and mountains screaming PRIDEFUL JOY when a Black Woman is SLAYING in a game dominated by MAN.
I just have the utmost respect for successful BLACK women that I cannot help but take some moments out of my day to recognize the BEAUTY that GOD instilled in us. So, like any BLACK women SLAYING in the game, Solange didn't fail to deliver. Instead, she gave us an album that not only screams PRO-BLACK, but it SCREAMS pro-BLACK-WOMAN. It is a beautiful piece of artistry that moves through the ups and downs of being a black woman and black man in a world white washed. It is a journey through a life of constant diaspora. It is a pilgrimage through the kinks, curls, and naps. It is the reasoning to why we have the RIGHT to be MAD. The reasoning to why we are SAD. The reasoning to why we can manage to still be GLAD – that we are alive. It is EVERYTHING you need and never knew you needed to get through this wicked world.
With that, I share, one of my favorite songs (as they are MANY) from her MAGICALLY crafted album: Cranes in the Sky. Sparing any evaluations or summaries of the song, just know that it is quiet yet powerful. It has a movement about it that draws you into a world of self-reflection. It is what a Sunday deep in thought would manifest as. It is a moment between to people sitting in silence but speaking so loudly through their body language. It is a rare kind of wonderful. So, in my usual manner, listen. Enjoy. Listen again. And again. Continue to Enjoy. Share. Then… well… repeat.
