Ntozake Shange Has Joined the Ancestor/Angels at 70 - Rest in Power

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Hello All:

I am so saddened at the transition of sister/friend Ntozake Shange.  I had just sent her a birthday greeting via FaceBook.  Had no inkling that it would be the last she would receive from us on this plane of action.  



She is now up there with the rest of her peers - the great writers who have left their imprints on our hearts and minds.



I'm sharing with you a couple of articles on Ntozake, of the many I had the privilege to write.  It was always a joy to run into her at different events, such as Woodie King's plays, jazz performances and local events.  She never allowed the three strokes she had suffered prevent her from getting out and being active.  I totally admired her for her fortitude as much as I did her writing. 

Colored Girls' author Ntozake Shange Honored At Bed Stuy Book Signing By Gloria Dulan-Wilson Date: Tue, Jan 18, 2011 at 1:06 AM Subject: Colored Girls' author Ntozake Shange Honored At Bed Stuy Book Signing For those who saw the movie, “For Colored Girls Who Consdered Suicide…”  meeting  author, Ntozake Shange at Bed-Stuy Restoration’s Skylight Room, was a real treat.   New York State Assemblywoman, Annette M. Robinson hosted a gala reception in her honor.  The  book signing  for her new book, “Some Sing, Some Cry”, (568pp St. Martin’s Press), was held Sunday  afternoon, on December 19, 2010. Ms. Shange has successfully collaborated with her sister, Ifa Beyaza, on an epic that takes a family lineage from the days of slavery through modern times, with all the attenuating trials and tribulations.  These two very talented and accomplished sisters,  are each iconic successes in their own right.  While their book chronicles the quasi-fictional story of the Mayfield family, and traces them from slavery through to modern times, focusing on the life and times of these women and their decendents, there is a ring of truth and familiarity in it that many families from the deep south can resonate to: Women who have faced major challenges - from rape, to betrayal, to unemployment, to racism, and beyond, but persevered because of and in spite of these seeming obstacles. The dichotomy of success followed by failure, followed by success/failure down through the generations, are issues many Black women can relate to. The Mayfield women are hilarious and sexy, gorgeous and strong. They all work the same refrain: “Never go backward. Always be movin’, movin’ forward. Life is in front of me, not behind.” .( NYTimes Kaiama L. Glover)"  It’s well worth the read to remind us that Black women can do anything we set our minds to.(GDW) The original version of Colored Girls was presented in New York in the mid-70’s, and was as controversial then as it is now.  Ms. Shange’s epoch making choreo-poem “for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf”, is the only poem of its kind to translate successfully to Broadway (according to the New York Times). In Zulu, Ntozake (n-toe-zah-kay) means "she who comes with her own things, and Shange (shan-gay) means "who walks like a lion."    Those of us who were in New York City, Black in the day, vividly remember what a controversy it was on Broadway; in much the same way it is now with Tyler Perry’s movie version.  So it was interesting to see their response to the stories.  There had been controversy over Perry’s production, and protrayal of some of the males in the story.  However, most agreed, that had it not been for his insight, and the high value he placed on Ms. Shange’s work, the movie might never had been made.  As a result of the move she  has also picked up a fair amount of younger admirers who had recently seen the movie and wanted to meet the woman behind it all.  Playwright  Beyaza (who was not at the book signing) authored “The Ballad of Emmett Till”, about the brutal 1955 murder of the innocent teen who went south to visit his Mississippi relatives, and was beaten and murdered for allegedly looking at a white woman Like the Mayfield women, Ms. Shange is herself the epitome of strength, survival, and determination -  having come through three strokes, and is still able to walk, talk, stand, read, and crack a joke or two despite it all.  Though she has some blurring of vision, she has maintained her humor and her grace.  She wore a stylishly draped African print ensemble, and HIGH HEELS!!!.   She also announced that she was on her way to Africa, Burkina Faso, for a meeting there.  Nothing stops this sister. For her accomplishments, the Brooklynite received citations from both Assemblywoman Robinson and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke.  To Beatrice  In response to an article criticizing the remake of Colored Girls: Nov 30, 2010, 12:24 AM FOR BLACK PEOPLE WHO DEMAND A PARADIGM SHIFT AFTER THE SECOND COMING OF "FOR COLORED GIRLS" Hi Bea: Well, here we go again.   Another person missing the point.  It seems that no matter what we do, there is always going to be somebody to bitch, moan and groan about it.The "Colored Girls" movie is set in the same date and frame of reference in which Ms. Ntozake Shange originally set it - the 1970's.  The only real change made was to add the brothers to round out the context of the cinematics, other wise it would have just been a choreopoem on film; a long list of recitations. Frankly, I think Tyler Perry has already proved his merit and worth over and over again.  Would you have preferred Steven Spielberg do the movie? hmmmmmmm?   If some of the brothers or the sisters (yes, I'm real school enough to still use the terms "brothers and sisters") are having a difficult time dealing with the situation in the present time period, I think they're being just a little disingenuous -- because a great deal of the same crap still happens on a daily basis.  Maybe it's because we consider ourselves of a different class -- better educated; above it all, etc. Maybe we think we're evolved and so  we pretend that we can't relate to the situations in the movie. Guess what folks, just tune in one morning to Jerry Springer, Maury Povich (?), or one of those ridiculous divorce court shows - any one of the many so called reality shows - and watch the same garbage play out over and over again among our people in front of the cameras for all the world to see. Ntozake Shange may have either been ahead of, or behind, the times, depending on where you live and who brought you up. And, guess what folks, Black people will for ever be "homophobic" and that's a good thing.  There are just some mainstream "values" we shouldn't allow to permeate our culture.  Sorry y'all -- if you don't agree, it's your prerogative.  But don't send me any retorts, because I won't entertain them.  Moving forward, I agree, that our Brothers who are making all these gang banging thug based movies get what they deserve - nothing; no respect, no sympathy, no affection.  Of couse, that doesn't count the bling they garner every time they do something that is insulting to Black people.  THEY'RE PAID!!! If they tried to do something uplifting and positive, the whites would stop that cash flow immediately. It's time to stop playing throwback to the days of ignorance, guys.  We're in the 21st century.  Nobody is going to respect this latest phase of Black dementia.  The only statement you're making with those videos, hats to the side, pants hanging off your ass, shoes untied, is that you really aren't ready for the world.  It's one thing when it's adolescents doing it; they have been accorded the right to be silly, stupid and dumb, at least to age 18; but when you're 32 years old, what's your excuse.  Take some of that money and bling, while you still have it, and do something your parents, children and people can be proud of. Make some positive movies about Black men really taking their place in the world.  Time for a paradigm shift. Anywaaaaay back to Colored Girls -- I have never been "colored", so that is one reason that I marginally related to Ntozake's play.  There was a point in my life when I was a "Negro", but that was a long time ago.  Can't relate to that either.  Actually, I've always been Black.  And to me Black is a state of mind, not just a color or pigmentation.  It's more than melanin.  It's our mentality.  And I've also always been a WOMAN (of course I started out as a GIRL)  However, as a Black WOMAN, emphasis on WOMAN, I have been abused, neglected, disrespected with the best of them.  Thank God I've never been raped - well, at least not physically.  I maintain that all BLACK PEOPLE male or female have been raped repeatedly by the imposition of an infrastucture that invaded our society and kidnapped us -- forcing us into mind numbling centuries of degradation. We are raped every time they don't educate our children; pay us less than what we deserve; try to steal our ideas, culture, inventions without either paying us or giving us credit for it  - ever hear of Rock and Roll? Every hear of the light bulb; how about botox in the lips to make them as full and voluptuous as ours? how about butt pads to make their behinds look as curvaceous as ours? How about driving, walking, talking, thinking, living, eating while BLACK?  How about the dis-education of our children?  All forms of rape.  So in point of fact, we all are being raped daily, and the only people suffering the consequences are we, ourselves.  They seem to get away with it scott free. So Brothers, make a movie about loving each other - and not that so-called abusive "thug love" either, sorry, I'm a romanticist.  I understand that our contemporary sisters may not hold the same standards when it comes to their choices in men, but there must be some shred of similarity, or we wouldn't be hearing all these complaints (coming from both sides of the aisle). Next video, do one where the Black woman actually looks like a Black woman - okay?  Not some one who could only get your attention because she's a few shades darker than white, with blonde hair and blue eye contacts.  Tyler Perry's women look and act like Black women; even Madea -- and for this I totally love and respect his work, his mind and his courage. So enough of the criticism.  If you have anything positive to add to the equation in terms of another movie, video, poem, we'd love to hear it.  The brother brought this one out of the mothballs.  Most of you never even heard of Ntozake Shange until the movie; and a good many other of you weren't born, or should I say conscious at the time she did the play.  I know she feels honored that he chose to produce it; and he feels honored that she gave him permission to do so. Check out some of the other wonderful things your elders have done and bring it forward; then we can righteously say that there is no gap in our history or culture; there is a continuum; and we respect it at all levels.  And stop trying to beat up Tyler Perry.  That brother has truly paid his dues.  Give him the respect he deserves; watch and learn from his example - like brother Spike Lee, and other Black producers who blazed their own paths, he would have not been the mogul he has become had he waited for recognition or "permission" from whites, or from those Blacks who "know everything."  It was always a pleasure to interview her, write about her, and watch her be who she was.  Her work is eternal, as is her spirit.  Rest in Eternal Power my Sister Stay Blessed& ECLECTICALLY BLACK Gloria Dulan-Wilson