Ntozake Shange is a well-known, famed author as well as an advocate for feminism. She is an African American poet, novelist, and playwright who has created numerous works that explore experiences of black women. Her most notable work consist of a choreopoem called, “for colored girls who have considered suicide, / when the rainbow is enuf.” It speaks about feminism, but more specifically for colored women. The published choreopoem shares the views the main characters, seven women differentiated by the colors of the rainbow (brown, yellow, purple, red, green, blue and orange) who each express the “dark phrases of womanhood.”
As I work for a History professor, I learned that this year is the 40th anniversary of Shange’s ‘for colored girls.” She mentioned that there was an exhibit going on down at the African American Museum in Philly (AAMP) called, “I found myself in God: the 40thAnniversary of Ntozake Shange’s ‘For Colored Girls,” which explored themes of sexuality, race, sisterhood, and violence through several commissioned artworks. The exhibition will stay open from October 1st to January 2nd, 2017. Shange will also be present for a performance on November 11th at the AAMP.
Going to the exhibit is already a great idea, but what else could we do to celebrate Shange’s anniversary on small campus? My professor suggested having a collective reading to have students on campus involved. So my friend, Grace, and I collaborated and organized a collective reading which was held on November 2nd in our library. It wasn’t a big group, but it was fun (plus we had chocolate)!
Though the group consisted of only women, we all enjoyed it. I had assigned different selections that spoke about something different. And I knew it made an impact on some of the readers because we kept saying:
“somebody almost walked off wid alla my stuff.”
“i couldn’t stand being sorry and colored at the same time. It’s so redundant in the modern world."
“one thing I don’t need is/ any more apologies”
One of my personal favorite phrases is:
“my love is too complicated to have thrown back on my face”
Now, you try it. Go ahead, and use any word you’d like that expresses your love. It can be anything you want it to be.
“my love is too ________to have thrown back on my face.”
The ladies in the poem use ‘too beautiful,’ ‘ too sanctified,’ ‘ too magic,’ ‘too Saturday nite,’ and ‘too music.’ For me personally, mine would be:
“my love is too Hogwarts to have thrown back on my face.”
This celebrations wasn't just for Shange, but for the women all over the world. Sometimes, people often forget the circumstances that help you grow as a person to become who you are today.
Us ladies have different stories and paths that are taking us to where we want and need to be in our lives. Whether we feel lost, unloved, unappreciated, undignified and downright dirty, there is more to us than the way we are perceived. And this book speaks on not just colored women, but women everywhere to come together, to share, to be open and to grow from whatever has tragically happened. Even if the problem is external, it affects us internally. We will grow and stand stronger, and in the words of the lady in red:
“i found god in myself/ & i loved her /i loved her fiercely”
