Haveline in Conversation with Shange and Lorde

by Katie Lee 2 Comments

The Havelin reading reminded me of our discussions from last week on for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf and also Audre Lorde’s scholarship on anger in “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism”. Havelin’s concept of the revolutionary love-praxis involves both mutual affection and the commitment to revolutionary ethics, particularly through fostering understanding between women. Havelin expands upon the traditional conception of love as tenderness by also stating that the use and expression of love is a measure of revolutionary thought and action. This reminds me of for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf because the choreopoem portrays communal emotional vulnerability, followed by loving acceptance. The women each reveal their story of survival and, in doing so, warmly accept each other. This feeling comes organically to them, and would fall under Havelin’s category of everyday feeling. I think that Havelin would argue that their acts are revolutionary, in that it creates a space wherein the experiences of women of color are heard and taken to heart, in opposition to the current white, patriarchal hegemony.

This also reminded me of Lorde’s work because she similarly describes a natural feeling as an act of revolution, except she identifies anger. Both Havelin and Lorde appreciate the power of the everyday. They both assert that refusing to dismiss and legitimizing these everyday feelings pushes up against the hegemonic belief that women should suppress their irrational, over-abundant emotions.

For my piece of media, I chose Kerry James Marshall’s “School of Beauty, School of Culture”, an acrylic and glitter work from 2013. Marshall harnesses the power of the everyday, that being a hair salon, to make assert of black culture as a legitimate form of culture, now taking its space in art institutions (like the Whitney, where this was shown). He also portrays black women communing with each other through care and closeness.

Here’s a link to a better photo: https://artsbma.org/may-2013-spotlight/sony-dsc/

Comments ( 2 )

  1. Nadia
    Katie, I like your choice of media to portray the communal aspect of black womanhood found in "for colored girls" and the Havelin and Lorde readings. You also did a great job incorporating a variety of perspectives from the readings to discuss the revolutionary power of mundane, everyday feelings, actions and activities that make up black culture.
  2. Nadia
    I would like to further probe if Lorde, Havelin or Shange convey that there are limits to the power of the everyday in creating revolutionary change. What is your perspective on the revolutionary power of everyday acts from your own lived experience?

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