I’ve found my happy place! This past Saturday, I traveled through the portal to Girlhood and emerged energized, renewed and ready to take on the world!
Well, where is this portal? I’m glad you asked! My mom and I visited The Colored Girls Museum this past Saturday to tour their current exhibit “Sit a Spell.” Founded by Vashti DuBois, the museum honors the stories, experiences and history of ordinary Colored Girls. I was intrigued by the idea of sitting to reflect on the past and dream about the future as an act of resistance.
Something else I realized is an act of resistance — that it’s okay to be a regular, degular Black girl — unfiltered, unprocessed, blerdy, loner — in all of our iterations. And it’s okay to celebrate our ordinariness.
The Colored Girls Museum is a safe and sacred space to reminisce about childhood rituals, such as getting your hair braided or pressed in the kitchen. I loved seeing “artifacts” from my youth, such as a jar of Afro Sheen, barrettes and those hard, prickly pink hair curlers.
The museum also pays homage to Black washer women, which resonated with me as the granddaughter of a housekeeper.
There’s so much to see and experience at The Colored Girls Museum that I’m sure I’ll have to tour the exhibit again soon. If you’re in Philly, check them out.