Ntozake Shange

NTOZAKE SHANGE(pronounced “en-toe-zak-ee /shon-gay”)

Ntozake means "she who comes with her own things” Shange means "who walks like a lion.“

That for colored girls continues to resonate so profoundly almost 40 years after I first set pen to paper is bittersweet for me. Though we have achieved many a milestone, the stories and struggles of our lives as women, and in particular, women of color, are still not granted the address due.

‘JUANITA”Loretta Devine

ever since i realized there waz someone callt a colored girl an evil woman a bitch or a nag i been tryin not to be that & and leave bitterness in someone else's cup

but a real dead lovin is here for you now cuz i dont know anymore how to avoid my own face wet wit my tears cuz i had convinced myself colored girls had no right to sorrow & i lived and loved that way & kept sorrow on the curb

somebody almost walked off wid alla my stuff not my poems or a dance i gave up in the street but somebody almost walked off wid alla my stuff

i want my arm wit the hot iron scar/my leg wit the flea bite/i want my calloused feet /did you know someone almost got away with me/me in plastic bag under their arm

“one thing i dont need is any more apologies i got sorry greetin me at my front door you can keep yrs i dont know what to do wit em they dont open doors or bring the sun back they dont make me happy or get a mornin paper didnt nobody stop usin my tears to wash cars cuz a sorry"

“JO”Janet Jackson

”KELLY”Kerry Washington

“I’m only human, or inadequacies are what make us

human, & if we were perfect we wdnt have nothin to strive for,

so you might as well go on and forgive me

cause i’m sorry!

“GILDA”Phylicia Rashad

ordinarybrown braided woman

with big legs & and full lipsreglar

you become yourself

& now she stood a reglar colored girl fulla the same malice livid

indifference as a sistah

& when she finished writin the account of her exploit in a diaryShe placed the rose behind her

ear & cried herself to sleepI use to be YOU!

“YASMINE”Anika Noni Rose

danced one dancekissed him goodbye lightly

wit closed mouth& we are left wit the scarsbein betrayed by men who

know uswomen relinquish all

personal rights in the presence of a man

who apparently cd be considered a rapist

“ALICE”Whoopi Goldberg

i know you…

orange butterflies aqua sequins ensconsed tween slight bosoms silk roses dartin from behind her earsshe glittered in heat & seemed to be lookin for a ride

she slowed to be examined & she never looked back to smile or acknowledge a sincere “hey mama”

i know youyou’re the devil.

“if i’m still alive & that’s what i was discussin/how i am still alive & my dependency on other livin beins for love

i survive on intimacy & tomorrow/that’s all i’ve got goin & it waz all i had but being alive & being a woman & bein colored is

a metaphysical dilemma/i havent conquered yet “

TAN

GIE

Tessa Thompson

i cdnt have people lookin at me

pregnant i cdnt have my friends see

thisdyin danglin tween my legs

& i didnt say a thingnot a sigh

or a fast scream

this hurtsthis hurts me

& nobody camecuz nobody knew

once i waz pregnant & shamed of myself

NYLA

“CRYSTAL”Kimberly Elise

but I cd only whisper & he dropped emi ask myself how i let it happen i realized i was missin somethin somethin promised somethin so important the layin on of hands fingers near my forehead strong cool moving making me whole sense pure all the gods coming into me laying me open to myself i waz missin somethin somethin promised something free a layin on of hands wit my tears I found god in myself and I loved her fiercely

TO ALL OF MY SISTERS! FOR COLORED GIRLS…

"Juanita: You just say, “my love is too ____," and you just fill in the blank.

Gilda: my love is too sanctified to have it thrown back on my face

Kelly: my love is too magic to have it thrown back on my face

Tangie: my love is too "Saturday Night" to have it thrown back on my face

Jo: my love is too complicated to have it thrown back on my face

Yasmine: my love is too music to have it thrown back on my face

MY LOVE IS TOO…

In the mists and fog

of life find your way

to the rainbow by the sound of your own voice