Yo’ Mama…

…was the comeback for any insult in the ’50s and ’60s on most Black streets. “Yo’ Mama! ” We would throw it off the back of our shoulders, as though there was a chord of truth that a mama could resemble anything crass, ugly, or, much worse, laughable. “Yo’ mama” was perceived as a funny dig because most of us knew the truth about our mothers. We knew they were our touchstone, our “goo,” the symbol of vigilant light, perpetually burning for us. During those days, as they rocked us, they had to be our rock.

Whether outside or inside the home, mamas fielded their working lives, cooking, nurturing, keeping us straight/straightening us out. And when out of line, you had the neighborhood mamas to contend with. Wait…maybe that’s why we knew we could take the jabbing at “mama;” we knew our moms could take on the world if it messed with them/us. And mama might not be by societal norms; mama could be your auntie, grandma, a neighbor, or even your daddy. The mama energy is powerful!

Today, that energy, the collective mama in this realm or the next, is proud of her children. She carries us, as we navigate the trials of the day, and whether we are protesting or praying, we know that energy is with us. So let’s flip the switch:

When they say you are not worthy of having a good man or woman to love, you say,

Yo’ Mama.

When they tell you your kids don’t need to be fed by any means necessary, while you are working every day to do so, you say,

Yo’ Mama

When they tell you symbols of oppression ought to stand in public places, you say,

Yo’ Mama

When they tell you that your childbirth or medical experience cannot be topnotch; that you don’t “require the same help as others because you are ‘strong,'” you say,

Yo’ Mama

When they tell you your body is in the hands of anyone but you, you say,

Yo’ Mama

When they tell you that everyone, no matter what race, gender, or faith should not be loved the same, you say,

Yo’ Mama

And when they tell you chants, meditation, and prayer don’t work, you say

Yo’ Mama

Carry that mama energy with pride and know that it flows generously through each of us.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!

Joy Juice

I call on my Amon (mother) almost every day. She represented the power of nurturing God through her love, strength, gratitude, and hope. Once a year we celebrate the Mother, but each moment we are aware of our mothering energy. Ase’

Proverbs 31:28–29: “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ‘Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.'”

“A mother is like a kernel, crushed by problems but strong enough to overcome them.”
– Congo proverb

Like a mother who protects her child, her only child, with her own life, one should cultivate a heart of unlimited love and compassion towards all living beings. – Guatama Buddha

“WE STAND UP FOR THE LOOKOUT” – Indigo Girls

“It’s all good/love/God” – Victorine

© 2022 Vicki Goldston, All rights reserved.

---

Please Subscribe and Follow my blog!

Please support Spicy…a blog by Victorine through Patreon. 

 Victorine, Bio

Author of  Be S.A.F.E., StillAware, Faithful, Excellent, now available on Kindle Amazon as an e-book.

“…the book title and its content are intended to be a whisper, reminding us that by taking the time to connect with our spiritual self, we can center through anything and that we are forever within the bubble of God’s protection.”

Don’t forget to check out Garden Spices Magazine, Celebrating our differences.