
from umslobby.org
Last night, I was able to attend a performance of the Tony Award-winning musical FELA! at the Murphy Fine Arts Center on the campus of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. Massive love to Kanyecha of Gypsy Soul Events- I won the 2 tickets to the show last Sunday at her Fela Forward event celebrating the opening of FELA! in Baltimore.
Two tickets! So I got Kellie to come along and we really enjoyed the show! It inspired so much thought in me I figured I needed to drop a few personally poignant gems here:

The Queens: Those women were INCREDIBLE dancers. Breath-taking. I was mesmerized. Beautiful. And for me, they lend even more credence to the power of Regular Black Girls I see who Twerk, who are the Clappas and the Booty Bounce experts, whether they do it on a pole, at show or in a video.
As famed African-American poet Missy Elliot once wrote and sang out “Ain’t no shame baby, do yo’ thang/Just make sure you’re ahead of the game.”

photo from broadway.com
Funmilayo Kuti, Nigerian teacher, feminist, political activist & Fela’s Mother: The importance of Fela’s Mama to him, even after her death gave me LIFE. In the play Fela sought guidance from her wisdom when he was in the midst of crisis and making a great decision, through a surreal spiritual journey. The influence and power of Mothers/Other Mothers in African diasporic cultures cannot be denied, which flies in the face of everything we see portrayed about Black mothers/motherhood. Historically, we are revered. Let’s act like we know that’s our Truth for real.
I left the performance last night affirmed, REAFFIRMED, as a Black woman who is a mother and likes to shake a tail feather when the beat moves me.
For those of you in/around/near the DC Metro Area, Fela! will be playing at the Murphy Fine Arts Center at Morgan State University through this Sunday, May 20, 2012. Go check it out if you can.
~pbg





















