The best person I met this year
A couple of weeks ago I walked into a restaurant for a Feminist Stokvel meeting. It was a tiny place, maybe 4 tables in total of which 2 were pushed together for our reservation. At one of the other 2 tables was a family sharing a meal. A mom, dad and a daughter of maybe 3 or 4 years old.
I noticed the little girl immediately. She had a beautiful head of curls – it was honestly hard not to notice her. And anyway, I notice hair everywhere I go. I can’t not. A’s regularly telling me not to stare when we’re out. So anyway, I was the first to arrive so I sat down, got water and got onto my phone to kill time as we do.
My meeting kicked off & maybe half an hour in the mom & little girl came over to our table of 8 saying something along the lines of that her daughter’s been staring at me ever since I walked in & insisted she bring her over so we can meet. I say “something the lines of” because it was such a joyous blur.
And I so Ysabelle & I hung out for the next 2 hours or so of my meeting, her on my lap. We talked about her school, her best friend, her parents (her mother is Indian & her father is Ethiopian) and her cats (she has two). Somewhere in the middle of it all she said: “my hair & your hair is the same hair”. And she touched her hair & then my hair. And then we got back to talking about our cats.
Work wise it was a very unproductive meeting (well for me & I felt bad for the team) but such an awesome day. Our having met was nothing less than extraordinary & left me with a mixed bag of emotions to think through. It reminded me in the very realest way that so many little Black girls (like the ones you & I were growing up) had/have nowhere to look to see an acceptable & normal version of themselves in the world. More than that is that they need it & that even at a really young age (I later found out Ysabelle was 3!) they can recognise it. And obviously being there for a Feminist Stokvel meeting showed me again how important the FS’s work and impact is.
This was my best day of 2015
W
so sweet!!
You obviously carry yourself very well and proudly wear your hair!!
Oh wow! Seriously had a tear in my eye reading this.
I don’t believe in coincidence, there was a very good reason the two of you met.
She is so cute too! Long may your work with FS continue and thrive.
This hair message is real and runs so deep, ingrained in us from when we are tiny little humans.
Gorgeous, you, her and your post!!!