We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. — Maya Angelou
Philadelphia has “A Sanctuary for the Ordinary Colored Girl of the African Diaspora”, also internationally known as The Colored Girls Museum.
This Colored Girl decided to revisit this Historic Germantown community space at 1613 Newhall Street. I celebrate founder and executive director Vashti DuBois, the staff, and their ongoing contributions towards keeping our city’s cultural tapestry rich and vibrant. Additionally, I wanted to view the “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” exhibition featuring citizen artist vanessa german before it ended.
(Good morning, Good Tea People all around the world! Thank you for reading Straight From the Leaf. Welcome to all new followers and subscribers. Please prepare your tea or tisanes for our time together. Just remember not to over steep — there are no bitter drinkers over here. I’ll drop in to check on you throughout this session.)
Raising the Child
I admit to experiencing some pre-visit trepidation: The Colored Girls Museum (TCGM) was somewhere that I would visit with my mother and it was a site of generational bonding, inspiration and joy. I came here today on my own for the first time. What would I find all by myself? All adults were once children and, if wise, we retain our sense of curiosity and wonder.
Yet there’s few things more disappointing than going back to your special places and finding that your memories have been burnished brighter over time. For example, remembering when the favorite summer spot was free to all and no special parking permits were necessary. Then visitors looking annoyed at the residents for living there.
(Good Tea People, I’m pausing here to switch out my bowl of matcha for some of the hibiscus I blend and steep with a few other herbs to protect my peace. The thought of people being disrespected in their own homes heats my internal kettle. Creativity effectively releases the steam. Yes, Good Tea People, tea teaches us life lessons. Raised cup salute to lifelong learning!)
We culture keepers pray that the spaces and places we love dearly — and the people they represent — will be respected and cherished as the jewels they are.
Once I turned the corner and saw the Victorian twin house, my heart rejoiced. The Colored Girls Museum still stood proud as a sanctuary in spite of the battles to have it removed.
Survival is a beautiful thing to behold.
(Here’s something else that’s only for Good Tea People who love the leaf: Appreciate each type of tea for its own unique qualities. We don’t expect a rich, malty Assam black tea to taste like a floral, nuanced Taiwanese Oriental Beauty oolong. I drink them both and appreciate their qualities. Similarly, we must appreciate beauty of everyone because beauty is always present if we are. All right, please pour on and let’s get back to this post.)
Getting Grounded
As I walked down the plant-filled entrance to the always reminded me of moments spent with my great-aunts and cousins in the country who knew EVERYTHING about growing herbs. They would let me come with them into their gardens, taught me how to recognize the various herbals, and how to harvest them for their properties. They were amazingly patient with this little girl from the big city: one of my cousins even taught me how to extract and drink the nectar from a single honeysuckle blossom! We never know how big our interactions with children are.
Every step I took towards The Colored Girls Museum retraced a familiar path. Every stone on the walkway towards the house whispered to me, “Welcome back, kid!”
I had arrived and made it to the porch early for the next tour. During my wait I sat down taking in the luscious view around me. My thoughts went to how my seeing The Colored Girls Museum in an unexpected place gave me the reassurance I needed to continue my journey to Brazil.
Sit a Spell
I did it: the ticket to Salvador, Bahia, Brazil was booked, confirmed and I had my boarding pass. I would be traveling solo for most of the 18-hour trip. My successful passage through airport security just meant that I had more time to contemplate the upcoming trip.
“Get out of your head, Hamilton,” was my inner dialogue and so I went walking through Philadelphia International Airport to do just that.
It was there that The Colored Girls Museum’s exhibition “Sit A Spell” met me where I was. I took it as the sign that it was.
So I paused.
I sat for a spell.
I knew with everything within me that all would be fine.
And all was well.
Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud
I reminded myself that I didn’t come here to stay on the porch. It was now time to go inside and experience The Colored Girls Museum.
Who welcomed me across the threshold but Ms. Vashti herself! Wow, this visit was already complete. Then I bore witness to The House vanessa german built at The Colored Girls Museum, “Act 2: The House, The Oracle and The Table”.
This work is grand, abundant and overflowing in indigo. Indigo’s origin story and its historical significance deserves a post all its own. I closely examined The House’s skirt and saw the tea cup and tea pot positioned close to the open heart. This discovery warmed this unapologetic tea aficionado’s heart.
Indeed, I found my place in The House.
I was glad to learn that my dancing made navigating the original staircase throughout the museum accessible. The Colored Girls Museum is a 140-year-old three-story house. Please be sure to wear comfortable shoes.
Quiet As It’s Kept (Black Room)
Portrait Artist: Nile Livingston
Community Curators: Margery Cedano and Ashley Gripper
Featured Artist: Ayana V. Jackson
Yes, I was low key looking for a cast iron skillet to compliment the tea pots sitting on the gas stove. I do understand the absence: a seasoned cast iron skillet is worth its weight in gold and are passed down through generations.
This room transported me to memories of watching my relatives prepare jars for jams, jellies and other items for the upcoming seasonal change. The thought of hot water corn bread cooked to perfection in a cast iron skillet paired with a sweet potato roasted in an oven almost made me forget the rest of the tour.
Thankfully, program manager Ariadne DuBois asked us to prep for the next room on the tour: please remove shoes or wear the shoe covers provided. Me and my sock-covered feet were ready.
This, That and The Third (Indigo Room)
Community Curator: Angelique Scott
Artists: Qiaira Riley, DeJeonge Reese and Alicia Garrison
Beauty and a sense of the sacred met me the moment my feet sank into the dense indigo carpet. Braided hair sculpture and window treatments adorned the room. Incense perfumed the air. Bamboo hoops framing images of beloved family members felt too intimate for me to photograph. I felt grateful for the artists’ curated love letter to those who are now ancestors.
There it was! the prayer closet I remembered from earlier museum visits.
Me, Myself, Personally (Bedroom)
Community Curator: Misha Mcglown
Featured Artists: Zeinab Diomande, Kalila Jones and Angelica Jones
One of the myriad observations about this particular room what each artist’s skill and meticulous attention-to-detail. The hand-stitched quilts represented an innumerable amount of hours let alone the story told within each panel.
I was encouraged to see a copy of the Bhagavad Gita included among the books and felt a slight nudge about my yoga practice.
I Said What I Said (Washer Woman Room)
Artists: Monna Morton, Denys Davis, Lori Payne and Syd Carpenter
Artist Monna Morton shared the thought and intention behind the art and provided an in-depth history of the role of the washer woman. Most of the items in this room were family heirlooms passed down to the artists. This is a living testimony of how African-American took what was designed to demean and destroy and kept families together. Somehow they took the humble and ordinary and created extraordinary legacies.
At the End of the Day (The Colored Boy’s Room)
Artists: Betsey Casanas, Celestine Wilson-Hughes, Michael Clemmons and Walter Clemmons
The Colored Girls Museum wallpaper made this room instantly recognizable! This original room remains as part of the permanent exhibit of The Colored Girls Museum.
Artist Michael Clemmons gave a wonderful tribute to his brother and fellow artist Walter Clemmons and spoke of all the artists from a peer perspective. Walter Clemmons worked with wire and created this bust in honor of Harriet Tubman.
Keep My Name Out Ya Mouth (The Oracle and The Table)
Artist: vanessa german
Cups Up Conclusions
As powerful and inspiring this exhibition was, it wasn’t the highlight: It was being able to tell Vashti “Ms. Vashti” DuBois, Ariadne DuBois, and Michael Clemmons THANK YOU.
I am so thankful for what was supposed to be a one-time show in 2015 still existing.
I salute the untold personal sacrifices over these years and the dedication to The Colored Girls Museum’s vision. Thank you to all the artists who continue to create.
This Colored Girl received so much more from this visit: I saw myself in The Colored Girls Museum past, present and future, up close and very personal. No one may ever know all that it takes to be me — that’s all right. People don’t see what’s going on inside of a butterfly’s cocoon. The beauty is in the being.
Cups up! Let there be TEA. #DrinkTea #TheColoredGirlsMuseum
