Ntozake Shange died on October 27, 2018, twenty-two years after she introduced the world to
her choreopoem, For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow was
Enough. That seminal piece would be one of the first of its kind to infuse dance, music, spoken
word and poetic monologues in a way that weaved storytelling to shine a light on the Black
woman’s experience living in a racist and sexist society.
As cutting edge and experimental as her style was, For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide
When the Rainbow was Enough earned Ntozake her place as the second Black woman to have
her work performed on Broadway; Lorraine Hansberry preceded her with A Raisin in the Sun
nearly twenty years earlier in 1959.
Not only did Ntozake’s work add to the voices of women such as Zora Neale Hurston, Maya
Angelou, and Paule Marshall whose writings all dared to center Black women’s joy while also
illuminating our unique pain; she undeniably blazed a trail for others to follow. In fact, it’s not
unreasonable to categorize her with the works of Gloria Naylor, Alice Walker, Lucille Clifton,
Rita Dove, Toni Cade Bambara and later in the 90s Terri McMillan and Pearl Cleage. Today a
bastion of women writers have composed eloquent literary works that examine, defend, and
preserve Black womanhood.
For many of us, our ideology as Black women was shaped by stories, we digested from these
women who yielded their pens as a warrior’s weapon. Many unapologetically defined
themselves as Womanists. Black feminists who addressed sexual and racial inequality.
Sadly, this has not always been well received. While plenty will say they agree that women
deserve equal rights in a social, political and economic context; these same people demonstrate
their implicit bias upon hearing the phrases feminist or womanist.
Which could be why For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Was
Enough, The Color Purple, Waiting to Exhale and other Black womanists works have been
demonized as male bashing or man hating pieces.
It seems people agree that Black women should be treated with decency and respect; that they
should not be violated nor harmed by men; nor should they face discrimination based on their
race or gender. Just as long as they never write stories, make movies, recite poems, document
evidence that tell the truth… that this world can be a dangerous place for Black women, and very
often at the hands of Black men.
A hard truth to swallow, no doubt. Especially when good Black men abound as shining examples
in our homes, neighborhoods, professions, etc. Yet, there is always room and reason to shine a
light in the dark shadows that hides the suffering. More importantly, the time is always right and
necessary to liberate a woman/girl childhood from her shame, pain and guilt.
Still, I remain forever grateful for Zora, Ntozake, Maya and the tribe of sheroes whose writing
gifts were my backbone to stand taller as a woman even before I realized I could stand. Their
work fueled my passion as the founder and mentor for girls through my organization, Girls Like
Me Project.
It is why I center the liberation of Black women and girls in every space I enter.
La’Keisha Gray-Sewell is a writer, author, digital storyteller, motivational speaker and certified
Overflow Life Coach. She is a nationally recognized urban girls advocate who founded the Girls
Like Me Project organization. Her first book, Move Beyond the Block is on its 2nd print edition.
You can catch her live on her weekly radio show, Move Beyond the Block every Wednesday 6-
7p and Saturday 10-11a airing on Urban Broadcast Media.
