Tag: Kelly Brown Douglas

Having the world “in a jug with the stopper in your hand” by Kelly Brown Douglas

When we were growing up, my dad would often exclaim to my sisters, brother and me, “You got the world in a jug with the stopper in your hand.” He most often said this when he noticed us indulging in some pleasurable event: be it watching our favorite television show or savoring every bite of our favorite food.  We would laugh every time my dad said this. We did not know he was quoting a blues lyric, we thought this line was another example of our dad’s creative wit—there was no one that could make us laugh more than dad.  But, as creative and witty as dad was, this jug line was not original to him. This was a line from the song, “Downhearted Blues” a song originally recorded by blues woman Alberta Hunter and later covered by Queen of Blues Bessie Smith in 1923.  Indeed, as suggested by my father’s use of the line, this line would come to have signfiyn’ meaning within black culture and for black people. It would be this jug line that indeed made Downhearted Blues a mega hit within the black community.

Continue reading “Having the world “in a jug with the stopper in your hand” by Kelly Brown Douglas”

Freedom from Unjust Privilege by Kelly Brown Douglas

Freedom is about the elimination of systems and structures that privilege some and penalize others. 

Not too long ago, my son asked me how people who knew what it felt like to be denied justice, could deny others justice.  It did not make sense, he said, for various minority groups  to be at odds and not support  one another in the struggle for equal treatment.   I agreed with him.   But I also knew that solidarity amongst oppressed people was easier said than done.

Growing up, I always made friends with the kids who were teased, bullied and just did not seem to fit in because of who they were, or because of who they were not. I hung out with the kids who were bused into my middle-class black elementary school to achieve class diversity. I made friends with the boys who were called “sissies” because they did not like to play sports, and were not as “rough” as the other boys. I ate lunch with the girls who were teased because their hair was too short and their skin was too dark.  It seemed so easy then. But, really it wasn’t. I still wanted to fit in. So, while I did not tell the jokes, do the teasing, or call the names, I did stand silent when the jokes were told, the teasing was done and the names were called.  I hung out with the kids who were ridiculed and rejected, but I did not always stand up for them, especially when they were not there.  I did not know then that in my silence, I was claiming my privilege to be a part of the in crowd. Continue reading “Freedom from Unjust Privilege by Kelly Brown Douglas”

The Black Church, the Blues, and Black Bodies by Kelly Brown Douglas

“Ooh, Ohh there’s something going all wrong”,   Ma Rainey sang.  There is indeed something going all wrong in the black church. This church, which is born out of the commitment to safeguard the life and freedom of all black people, has gained a reputation for repudiating if not demonizing certain black bodies, namely LGBT bodies.  While there are certainly significant black church leaders who have vigorously defended LGBTQ person’s struggle for justice and equal treatment under the law, including support of marriage equality, those black church voices against LGBTQ rights have been vociferous  and unrelenting. Continue reading “The Black Church, the Blues, and Black Bodies by Kelly Brown Douglas”