Lives of Black Women
by On Jean Tomer’s walk through the south in the twenties, he discovered something he had not imagined. Although uneducated, abused and downtrodden, black women had deep unconscious spiritual convictions. Their religion was their temple.They believed in ghosts and voodoo cures. They had no hope for tomorrow, and no outlet for their creativity. But I believe Tomer missed something.
When Jean Tomer traveled through the south in the twenties, he discovered something about black women that they didn’t know themselves. In spite of being mistreated by the people they lived among, and those they lived with, they lived in the spirit. They were used as sexual objects with abuse of the body and mind. They clung to no hope of anything ever being better but in spite of all this, they held so tight to their religion that they became “saints.” They stared out at the world wildly from the sacred places of the mind. Some of these women were the grandmothers, and great grandmothers of women living today.
To Jean Tomer, they were, “exquisite butterflies trapped in an evil honey, toiling away their lives in an era that didn’t acknowledge them, other than as mules of the world.” They sung lullabies to ghosts and drew pictures of Christ in charcoal. They emptied their minds of life and men celebrated the emptiness left. Jean Tomer saw these women as moving in slow motion and going nowhere, waiting for a harvest that had never been planted. They were prostitutes, had loveless marriages, and committed suicide, weighing themselves down with rocks in nearby rivers to drown.
These women were possessed by a numb bleeding madness which stifled the rich creativity in them and left them no outlets. They were not really saints but artists without fulfillment, so Tomer thought. They were beautiful flowers never allowed to bloom, beautiful birds, never allowed to sing. Their creativity was wasted to the world. It was a crime for a black person to learn to read or write. But they could sing. The black churches rang with their voices. They could quilt. Have you seen the quilts made by the black quilters of Alabama? You wont find any now, other than in museums.
I’m sorry but I can’t completely agree with Tomer. These women were abused. They were downtrodden. They raised the children of white people. But they did not perish, their voices were not stilled. They sang with all the spirit that was passed on down to their children and grandchildren, Billy Holiday, Bessie Smith,Nina Simone, Roberta Flack and Aretha Franklin. They raised their voices to the rafters. They fashioned quilts to keep their children warm that today are considered valuable works of art. They were creative and they were artists. Their decendants went on to become teachers, doctors, lawyers, elected officials in congress, and businesswomen and men.
Ruby Hawk’s articles:
http://quazen.com/reference/biography/paul-jennings-white-house-slave/
http://quazen.com/reference/biography/mary-mcleod-bethune-miracle-worker/
http://quazen.com/visual-arts/ellen-crafts-illusions-and-artful-dodges/
Liked it
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Post Commentprsol46
On January 9, 2012 at 9:36 pm
Great article with a different perspective on things! Nicely done!
pattiann
On January 9, 2012 at 9:49 pm
Very good article. You made me feel like I was there.
Eunike
On January 9, 2012 at 10:39 pm
Nice to know another story of black women
sanataryal
On January 9, 2012 at 10:49 pm
Ruby , I liked the way researched the content of the article . Very good job . Keep posting such genious articles .
Shirley Shuler
On January 9, 2012 at 11:09 pm
Excellent article, Ruby. I agree with you wholeheartedly, these women were creative and they were artists.
mphsglo
On January 9, 2012 at 11:28 pm
Very well written, but, such a bleak look at just a small percentage of black women of that era. These women didn’t just give birth to singers and entertainers, but, doctors, teachers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, scientists and the list goes on. They stressed education and did whatever it took to make sure their children got more out of life than they were allowed, while creating a strong home life; supporting their husbands. Yes, it was a hard and scary time, but, it just made the whole race stronger.
Yvhes P.
On January 10, 2012 at 4:52 am
very nice! thanks for sharing =)
Moses Ingram
On January 10, 2012 at 9:27 am
To think that this was happening less than 100 years ago! Good article and thank you for sharing. No life is ever wasted – these women live on today.
Karen Holden
On January 10, 2012 at 12:27 pm
Very nice and interesting. Most don’t think of things like this. Good subject to highlight
MJRapp
On January 10, 2012 at 6:16 pm
Interesting article, your perspective especially.
FX777222999
On January 10, 2012 at 7:04 pm
Interesting and valuable example for some women.
LoveDoctorLoveGoodBye
On January 10, 2012 at 9:57 pm
A sad share.
LoveDoctorLoveGoodBye
On January 10, 2012 at 9:58 pm
A sad share
LCM Linda
On January 10, 2012 at 10:58 pm
Glad to learn more about black women.
girishpuri
On January 11, 2012 at 1:22 am
Very nice share about the black women’s current status , this is an addition to my knowledge.
ittech
On January 11, 2012 at 8:45 am
interesting post
sk sharma
On January 12, 2012 at 5:25 am
heart touching
Christine Ramsay
On January 12, 2012 at 10:52 am
I don’t know how these women coped. Some of us today don’t realise how lucky we are. A very good insight into their lives, Ruby.
CA Johnson
On January 13, 2012 at 8:56 pm
This is a great article. It is somethig what black women had to endure years ago only to persevere. Thanks for sharing such an interesting article.
kalule Arthur
On January 14, 2012 at 6:00 am
so bad they went through all this.
ittech
On January 14, 2012 at 8:41 am
Wow
yes me
On January 14, 2012 at 10:03 am
I like this share very much Ruby… I am knee deep in cries of freedom… in my country right now, and to listen to the Westminster politicians it is all milk, and honey up here… the truth from the ground is, that child poverty and fuel poverty in the country is running at 50/50 in some places, and for a very rich country, it tells you something is still very, very wrong… sorry for the wee rant cheers Ruby, a great write that one.
erwinkennythomas
On January 14, 2012 at 8:19 pm
impressive story
Jsqc Writer
On January 15, 2012 at 4:29 am
Very interesting and wonderfully written
ImKarn23
On January 15, 2012 at 11:42 am
excellent research and information. Black women had little choice but to put their faith in their gods as there was nothing for them to depend on in human form..