SUPERHERO.
- whatshesaid2020
- Feb 26, 2021
- 3 min read
February is a celebration of Black History Month. Its a month set aside to recognize the contributions that African Americans have made in our society and history. Some are recognizable faces and some are anonymous. Some are celebrities and some are not. Some have made a global impact and others a community one. Some have cast a wide net and others have fished closer to home.
When I think about celebrities that influenced my life I think of a few like Maya Angelou (poetry), Whitney Houston (music), and Cicely Tyson (movies) and Diahann Carroll (television). Of course they are are all women. Who would an easily influenced girl most identify with?
While they maybe icons, the greatest impact came from the mothers in my integrated neighborhood at the north end of Salina, KS, who loved us and disciplined us as if we were their own. Women like Ms. Newman, Ms. Gardenhire, Ms. Johnson, Ms. Cox, Ms. Camarena, Ms. Ingram, Ms. Allen, and many more. The one that stood out the most was a small, feisty lady by the name of Ms. Briscoe (Geraldine).
There has never been a time I can't recall not knowing Ms. Briscoe. She was the age of my grandparents and good friends with my parents. She had a way of getting people involved in community projects, in fact, at 13 years old my mom volunteered me to help clean a filthy building that would soon become the Martin Luther King Jr. Child Care Center. It was named after the man Ms. Briscoe revered the most. It would provide child care and meals for low-income children while their parents worked.
To those families, Ms. Briscoe was their Super Hero. Their Wonder Woman.
Ms. Briscoe helped organize the Black American Citizens Organizations (BACOS) who purchased an used school bus to transport the north end kids to junior high and high school. We were in the city limits, but outside the school district's transportation boundaries. My mother was the bus driver for nine years and my great-uncle the mechanic. It was a job mom could take her seven children to work with her.
To my mom, Ms. Briscoe was her Super Hero. Her Wonder Woman.
One day while visiting with Ms. Briscoe at her office she asked me if I would make her some business cards. She had never seen her name on a business card before. I was astonished to hear this since she had started several businesses and was now a women in her 80s. Making them was an easy task.
As I presented those business cards to her you would have thought I handed her gold. She stood in awe for a moment staring at them and then she smiled.. It was at this point she quickly grabbed my face and planted a big kiss directly on my lips! Letting go of my face, she proceeded to say "thank you" and to admire her name on her first-ever professional business cards.
As I stood there shocked from her reaction, I prayed that I hadn't jumped or pulled away from her. As my mind raced at the fact that a women had just grabbed my face and kissed me on my lips, I quickly found my spirit quieting to the idea that she was my grandmother's age and just like family. It was at that moment that I realized I had been kissed by my black grandmother. Actually it was an anointing from a woman that I had loved and revered all my life. I was blessed to be in the presence of a selfless leader witnessing the impact her humble life had on me and she had sealed it with a kiss.
For me, Ms. Briscoe was my Super Hero. My Wonder Woman.
On the website, E5 Leader, they list 14 characteristics of a Selfless Leader. This style of leadership is about service; looking outward and making a difference through selfless acts.
Today, I want you to think about your SUPERHERO.
Is it the icon or the unknown?
Is is the selfish or selfless leader?
Is it someone you can emulate or juxtapose?
Who is your Wonder Woman (or Wonder Man)?
What She Said - Beverly
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