BLACK GIRL MEMORIES

Peace! Today's mathematics is culture. This morning, I was strollin' down memory lane, thinking about my childhood. Peridoically, I meet with a group of Black women from different "faiths," and belief systems. I realized that some of the experiences I had are probably similar to other Black women in North America (give or take a few geographical differences) because we share a similar frame of reference. So I decided to put together a list of a few "Black Girl Memories" that I and other Black women may share. Some may be more specific to my experience as a California girl and some are more general. And don't hesitate to add on your own Black Girl/ Original Woman memories. Since we deal with all the human families of the planet Earth, we may all have some similarities, and if not, we can learn from and appreciate the differences. I was born in 1978 so the memories only go back but so far...and I'm from the West Coast :-) Since I got knowledge of self as an adult, these memories are all pre-KOS. Do you remember...


1) Your first time getting a perm or your hair pressed? Did your mother burn your ear trying to get those edges (oooh, the oppression!). Burn baby burn!

2) If you didn't have a pool, did you put on your swimsuit or leotard, turn the lawn hose on and run across the sprinklers?

3) Playing a whole bunch of inappropriate games for young children (Hide and Go Get It, House, Doctor)

4) You know you had at least one pair of hammer pants! (Don't front...you at least thought about it)

5) Summertime, wearin' matching biker short outfits with Keds or Diadoras?

6) Wearin' all kinds of beads, bollies and scrungies with 10,000 braids in your hair?

7) Waiting hours upon hours to get your hair done at the shop, cause your hairdresser overbooked her schedule trying to do 5 heads at a time?

8) Turnin' 13 and thinkin' you were grown cuz you were a "teenager"

9) Wanting to be the main girl (not just a back up dancer :-) in a LL Cool J, Guy, or damn near any popular male rapper or singers' video

10) Lyin' about your age when someone tried to get at you (maybe that was just me )?

11) Trying to will bigger hills and mountains into existence (ya'll know what I mean)

12) Goin' to your first sideshow and parkin' lot pimpin' at the gas station (if you ain't from the Bay Area, you might not understand)

13) Playing double dutch and Chinese Jump Rope? Remember Pop Ups?

14) Lee Press on Nails?

15) Cross Colors (somebody could spot you a mile away with those bright ass colors and those twirlin' fan hats!), Damage (ripped patches...why?), and Girbaud jeans

16) Supersonic, Oaktown 357, and B Angie B (people used to call me that!)

17) This isn't funny, but this is no lie...didn't crack touch at least one person in your family? (sometimes we laugh to keep from cryin')

18) Sneakin' to listen to Too Short and dancin' to 2 Live Crew

19) Having some public and private school experience, couldn't you find fast girls at either place?

20) Don't you have at least one uncle who was always on some otha ish at every family function?
(mine is Uncle Poochie from Plaquemine, Louisiana. He always wore cowboy hats and boots, danced as he came to hug and kiss you...B.U.T he always got the party started and made us laugh)

That's what I got for now and I'll continue to add memories as I think of them.. Feel free to add on, and brothas, this includes you too. I know ya'll have some memories in common that cross boundaries. Peace!