MEETTA TALKS!- A Tribute ...

Hey! It's February!

February is "Black History Month."

A National month of Recognition, (at least for most American states). Recognition for the contributions and lives of Africa's descendants here in America, a tribute!

Here is mine.

"BROWN SKINNED WOMAN"

By Meetta Martin

I'm more than just a body,

Smooth brown skin, permanent beyond a tan.

Voluptuous breasts, pear shaped hips.

I offer more than stereotypical, fantasy sex.

I AM A BROWN SKINNED WOMAN!

Rich in culture, Proud of my heritage.

I embrace our traditions.

I can and have endured many things.

Some so unfairly heaped onto me.

I have an amazing, blessed, God given strength!

I boggle the worlds' mind, time after time.

I can't be enslaved and torn down too long.

My soul is gonna find a way

to be free.

My spirit is strong and will live on!

Somehow, some way... it will!

I AM A BROWN SKINNED WOMAN!

Mother of beautiful, brown skinned children,

teaching them how to succeed and survive,

even in the face of evil.

Teaching them to learn to wear their skin color, as a badge of honor.

It is a gift, NOT A SIN...to have their color of skin!

(Don't be fooled children, people pay THOUSANDS of dollars,

and spend many hours, sometimes with great pain,

to have darker skin! Like the skin you're born in!)

...Mothers

Loving those children with great passion, but taming those children

when they are wild, some of us...many of us caring,

Brown skinned women.

The ones that don't get applauded.

Raising our children,

many of us doing the best we can, keeping house and taking care of business,

with and without a man.

I have the distinguished honor of being

A BROWN SKINNED WOMAN!

Strong,

Intelligent, independent, beautiful, Exotic

REGAL!

Vibrant, funny,complex, lovable, sincere, AND

unforgettable!

I am a formidable being to be reckoned with.

I AM A BROWN SKINNED WOMAN!

People all over the world,

for centuries, revel in...

My style, the way I wear my hair, my form of expression.

The way I move, dance, walk!

The way I pray, sing, talk!

I cook a great meal.

I'm ingenious, totally creative!

My inventions improve and change the way the world operates.

First woman millionaire, created beautiful products with which you comb your hair.

On your washer, I put the ringer there!

Without the "proper education", I was denied,

I created the schematics for the torpedo dis-charger on your submarines.

I ran the underground railroad

that helped relocate our enslaved brothers and sisters.

I wasn't the only one, one of many,

but they hunted me as if I was.

Still...I never was caught!

Even with a bounty on my head, the highest bounty for a woman,

the highest bounty even for a man, at that time!

I NEVER WAS CAUGHT!

I found my way lead by the stars in the sky!

I AM A BROWN SKINNED WOMAN!

I sang songs of code

just to be able to pray, encourage, and bond with my people

in the days of old.

I am a MAGNIFICENT Creation!

I AM A BROWN SKINNED WOMAN!

Yes! Dear Reader,

I too am an African descended woman of Color!

MY name is MEETTA JEWELLE MARTIN!

You can't tell me my place in this world is low, for I am among a people who serve a God that "sits on high". When my Great, Great Grandmother, (Lula Mae's grand mother, I don't know her name, darn!)

and mothers like her, were working long hours, getting scorched by the sun, planting that tobacco, slopping them hogs, taking care of them Masa's chillin' and picking that cotton beside their children...they held on!

That cotton...

cutting up their arms, sticking even through their long sleeves, pricking fingers,

without mercy and no profit for them. They had no freedoms, no say so. They had no one, no government to protect them. They could be beaten, traded, sold, raped, maimed and killed.

Every culture had their own problems.

Still, it happened to mine!

It happened to my grannies and my grannies before them. Yet and still...

they held on!

Fending off them European men folks, unwanted affections, protecting their daughters...they held on!

While cruelties of bondage were heaped up on them, they held on.

While lies of "their place" in life, were drilled into them, they held on.

They Held on to truth about who God said they were...

A people he was going to use to break AND change the world!

A people of unusual giftings and talents.

A people of great strength and strong spirits.

These women BELIEVED, in these freedoms and promises no matter how long!

Even while watching their men lynched and their spirit beat out of them many of those women... held on!

Believing in that freedom, like the children of Israel.

No matter how long!

Many of them believed this for the generations they couldn't even touch yet!

For many of you, for me, they held on!

With precious cargo's of brown skinned babies on their backs, while performing whip driven labor...They held on!

THEY ARE THE REASON I AM HERE! I won't let them down!

Grandmother! All my mothers before me... I would want you to know me now,

to hold me, to teach and show me, but all I have is your memory...your legacy.

I promise you, I WON'T sit quiet!

I WILL keep PRAYING!

I WILL keep following the God (the great I am) & his son, The Christ, like you did.

I WILL keep speaking my heart!

I WIll keep lifting that unique voice of mine, that came through you!

I will continue to use that voice in encouragement of others, to uplift and

not tear down, NO MATTER WHAT THEIR SKIN SHADE!

Concern and love, tears down evil.

It educates and unites us through humanity!

I know Grandmothers! I know!

I will keep moving forward.

I will keep my virtue, once regained.

A Woman of knowledge, morals, conviction, forgiveness, passion and truth, I am..like you, grandmothers!

I love in my life. When I love, I love with every fiber of my being!

Heaping compassion on those who come to me needing it...A kind word, support in a hug, food for them and their kids, if I got to spare.

Mothers before me, I won't let you down!

I would want you to know me now, to teach me, to hold me, to scold me 'cause you would do it in love, to grow me.

'Granny', I miss you!

In loving memory of ...

Mrs. Lula Mae Martin, of South Carolina * 1892-1973

AND

Mrs. Mary Ola Webb, of Michigan 1918-1988...MY grannies and their mothers.

...AND TO ALL THE BROWN SKINNED WOMEN whose contributions were mentioned in this poem and more!

LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH!!!!

THANK YOU.

Meetta

FOR WOMEN ONLY!-COME ON, YOU DESERVE IT!

Women,

Every year, I host something of a retreat for myself and some women that I know. I host a "celebration of women." I usually have it once per year. This is the third year I've done this! I always have had it in February. I go all out! I decorate my home in pinks, reds and whites. I put hearts all over, my son usually helps sprinkle rose petals from the door of our apartment all the way down through the living room for the ladies and I to walk upon! I provide all of the food and drink, fruit juices and such. I have had a Massage Therapist come in for the last 2 years to provide back rubs and foot massages. We do facials, hand massages and foot soaks.

Just to tell you a little bit more about it! I got started doing this 3 years ago, because I wanted to go out and do something 'really special' for myself, like get pampered, but I did not want to go alone! That's no fun! But everyone I had invited could not afford it at the same time, what with other responsibilities. But, the more we put it off though, the more apparent it became to me that WOMEN are usually the last things to get taken care of! For many of us, EVERYTHING ELSE, the children, the husband, boyfriend, sick mother, bills, jobs and other commitments always comes first! Not very often do we take care of ourselves. So then, we women usually end up running ourselves into the ground! BING, A LIGHT WENT On! I had the idea to take the money I was going to use on myself and create something I could share with all of my friend's. It was much more practical to have it at home!

My "Pamper Party" is taking place next month on February 20th. It's not really a Pamper

"Party", that sounds similar to a Tupperware Party, right? But, I don't sell anything! THIS IS MORE ABOUT ME GIVING TO YOU, than me getting something FROM YOU! Anyway, I named my annual Celebration of women event, "S.O.W.", (Strengthening OF the Woman).

Love & Hospitality is some major things that God is concerned about! Hospitality and opening my home for that in a great way, is a ministry that was put on my heart years before!

I open my home up to any woman who wants to come! I usually do the cooking and last year I was in charge of the manicures, heading up the discussion and Self Esteem activities as well as conducting the exercise portion of the event. Whew! It's tough when you are the organizer of a fairly new event. Help was scarce. Besides the hardship of finding cooperative people who share my vision, MOST PEOPLE want to get paid for using their skills and talents, even to HELP! That's why I ended up taking on more of the duties even aside from the planning!

This year though, I'm more diligent about recruiting HELP! I'm still preparing for extra duty though, I'm learning from the experts, how to do professional at home facials along with face massage techniques. But, if you know me personally and want to help, I'd be grateful. So, give me a call or e-mail me (my e-mail is at the top of this blog page) and let me know that you are willing to pitch in. Let me know also what your skills and talents are, IE. manicures, pedicures, comedy, motivational speaking, knowledge of biblical scripture! Even better, come and participate! We, My dear Friend D. and I, are preparing for 20 women this year! Whoo! Yep! We are going to need some help! Anyway, although I do much of the work,

I do have professionals come. For two years, we had the Massage Therapist, come and set up her table. Last year, we also had a Makeup Artist come to teach the ladies makeup techniques. There is always some bumps to figure out, when you are dong something like this, and the next year we get a little bit better. My friend D. was also a participant as well as a helper and she had good things to say about last years event.

Is there a Cost? I usually cover the cost of EVERYTHING and even give gifts, but I DON'T cover the cost of massages or for any professional that comes! For example, whatever the Massage Therapist charges, That money goes directly to the Therapist! In order to book her though,

I have had to pay a down payment and needed to know exactly how many were going to book a massage! You have to have a certain number of people to properly book most therapists and other professionals! Other than that, the parties still usually cost me hundreds of dollars and to ward off some of the cost, for the last 2 years, I found it necessary to charge $10.00 to cover each woman's food and drink, but that didn't really cover much! I want to get to the point that

I don't have to charge ANY THING, but I have not gotten there yet! For what you get, it's still

a give away! But it's not intended to be a money maker! It is intended to be a time of giving, allowing for some small moments to rejuvenate oneself! It's meant to give you back, YOU!

SO COME ON, YOU DESERVE IT!

I haven't decide on a cost for anything for this year yet. That is something I have to really give some thought to, because this year it's going to be bigger! I don't know what it's going to take to get them here, but, I am going into talks with the Guardian Angel Organization. I want them to come by and spend some time teaching us Self Defense moves! I used to know some lady City cops and lady State Troopers, but fell out of touch. Anyway, these guys are awesome! They train the military way and we all can be sure to learn something we can use! One of them told me, "we will go anywhere to train anyone who is interested". They really are looking for recruits to build up community watches. But I think they will come!

We will also still have our Women's Discussion and Self Esteem activities. We exercise! We also, always have delicious food! AND IT IS FOR WOMEN ONLY! We have OUR time, talking and bonding, while wearing our favorite Pj's, fuzzy slippers, getting beautiful with our facials, manicures, back rubs and foot soaks. We have an exercise session for those that are, willing. Last year, the discussion centered around, "The purpose of woman".

Also, though I am a Christian Believer, I never call my pampering sessions a 'Christian thing' because that would limit the type of women that would show up! I open my doors to secular people as well, but it is God centered! The basis for the discussions comes right out of the bible to help us understand. In fact, to stay correct, I had mine open during the discussion and no one was offended! I gave a few verses out of the word of God, to talk about how God sees woman, how she was created and for what purposes. It was great! EVERYONE participated in the conversation, EVEN the pronounced, NON-CHRISTIANS! Anyway, these pampering sessions are my way of giving back.

It takes so much effort to put these things together that last night, I went to sleep looking at the decorations that have already been put up in my living room. I was looking at the supplies strewn all about on my tables including the pink tablecloth. I was thinking about clay facial masks, heart shaped rugs, Sparking Fruit Juice, what awards to create and give away this year.

I was thinking about flower arrangements, foot soaks and what the menu is going to be and HOW much all of this is going to cost me this year! Last year, Claudia, the Massage Therapist was so moved by what I was trying to do, she even gave FREE foot massages! Whether people had paid for back massages or not! She wanted to give something back too! I don't ask, but people have made donations of items because they think what I'm doing is worthwhile. Someone has already donated nail polish and other finger nail stuff. I hadn't even really started planning for this years party when she gave the stuff to me on Sunday! Wow!

For the positive things I've heard from the participants in the last 2 years, I can see this "ministry" growing far beyond my apartment. You'd be surprised how much difference a self Esteem activity can make. Especially one that requires the women to "hear and receive" a bombardment of compliments, constantly streaming from another! I have seen women be moved to tears, because it had been so long that anyone had done that for them, IF EVER! Some said, after that exercise that they didn't see themselves as beautiful and valuable as the compliments they received. One lady had to just sit alone and soak it all in!

It WAS POWERFUL! I felt so honored to be hosting that!

So comment if you want to come or have ideas!

And even if you don't want to come or can't come...

WOMEN remember to take time for yourself, treat yourself, YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION. Hee, Hee! (With joy, I'm smiling and laughing out loud)

So, COME ON...YOU DESERVE IT!

LOVE YOU, My SISTER GIRLS,

Truly take care of yourselves. Sincerely, Meetta