A Happy Black

Maybe it was when I saw The Wiz for the first time in the movie theater. My mother fried chicken for the occasion.

Or maybe it was co-organizing a march in my college town against the local mall and their racist ways.

I believe it was when I snuck to get my first relaxer. My hair fell out forcing me to get "the big chop" at 15 years old. I stared at my scalp in the bathroom mirror, sobbing into my striped blue shirt. That was my first sick day in high school.

Perhaps it was the year 2000 at my wedding in Malcolm X Park in what was then Chocolate City. A Black woman pastor wed us by the fountain and our potluck reception was held at a Park Center founded by another Black woman. There was more fried chicken and family reunion dances.

Or maybe it was our honeymoon at Ft. Dupont Park. Roy Ayers sang EveryBody Loves The Sunshine to my new partner, myself, my daughter rolling in my belly; and a sea of Black folks dipping into coolers, swaying from their lawn chairs.