If you’ve been here before, then you know how I like to do it. We are about to run through my top 7 lessons from HBO’s Lovecraft Country. Let’s get itttttttt!!!!
1. Get home before the streetlights come on:
Street lights were the alarm clocks before there were alarm clocks. Don’t ask for the time. Just wait for the lights. If you noticed a soft flickering in the bulb, it was time to get yo’ narrow hips in the house. But now we see this demand in a brighter format. The idea of being black and outside after the sun went down was an invitation for trouble which leads me to believe the call for black kids to come inside before the settling of dusk was an order of protection not a maternal option. Lovecraft makes you really believe ‘nothing good happens after dark.’
2. The flaws are still there:
Listen. I’m all for forgiveness but the narrative that giving black folks “nice things” will rid our minds of past mistreatment and pacify our people into mindless submission … HA! Not tu-day. Ruby was the only one foolish enough to not recognize the flaws of the white characters. Christina doesn’t love you, Ruby! She needs you. And there is a BIG difference. We see it happen with celebrities and especially the athletes. A protest turns into silence after money is involved … wait … that’s a whole ‘nother blog post ... let us carry on the #3
3. Lift EVERY voice and chant:
I know some of ya’ll can’t hold a tune and would prefer to be on the back row of the choir stand but dog gon’ it, please put on your robe and come on in here!
In the scene where Leti has to cast out the demons, she calls on the spirits trapped in the house to help her. They circled the demon, held hands, and continued to chant. Let me say that again … they circled the demon ….held hands ….. and continued to chant …… together …. united …. with each other ….. one band .... one sound. I hope I'm making myself clear. Think of the possibilities of us joining as one to cast out the demon of racism. That would be one hell of a seance.
4. Low self-esteem can make you do some crazy things:
Poor Ruby. Smh. We all knew she was going to sleep with William/Christina even when she tried to play hard to get at the bar (cue music ... she's playing hard to get.... ayyeeee ............but she likes me). We were not surprised when she was willing to take the potion and go through a painful metamorphosis just to be anyone other than a plus-sized, dark-skinned black woman (damn you colorism!). And why did we know that? Because she was insecure. And insecurities create a space for vulnerability which can caustically lead to the destruction of your true identity. In other words, there are consequences for your insecurities.
5. Don’t let yo’ momma turn you into no hoe:
Riddle me this Batman. How does your husband molest your daughter and your way of handling the situation is to call on a shaman to turn your daughter into a monster so she can kill your husband AND in order for her to turn BACK into a human, she must sleep with 100 men and kill them? It sounds ridiculous but this is often how sexual assault within the home is handled. Instead of protecting the child, you create an environment where the child has to fight his/her predator and wander through life in search of love and protection not given within the home … and you know what ... I don't like that.
6. The Trauma Twins - Anxiety and Depression:
Those twins. Those dog gon’ twins!! They kept poppin' up! You could NOT miss them … unless you weren’t paying attention.
So many times, we are suffering with Anxiety and Depression (the names I have chosen for our dancing twins) and no one notices. They follow you everywhere you go and will sometimes appear after a traumatic childhood experience like the death of your friend or the disappearance of your mother. And though you press forward through life as if nothing ever happened, Anxiety and Depression continue to dance around you until you finally breakdown. While you are screaming for help and looking like a crazy woman, your loved ones walk in oblivious to the genesis of your wounds. Unable to see Anxiety tugging on one arm while Depression rips you to shreds. But if only the adults were paying attention or maybe the twins are following the adults too ... hmmmm .. that brings me to #7 ....
7. Go to therapy and take yo daddy with you:
Trauma runs deep honey. We sit up in church, whether virtual or in-person, and pray to break generational curses without identifying the ancestral roots of our demons. As we show the younger generation that therapy is not taboo, we have to provide the same offering to the Big Mommas and Pops of the world. Keeping secrets won't solve it and claiming it as a rite of passage will only make you grow further apart. Mental health awareness isn't exclusive to the new. It's for our elders too.
