Black History, Not Just A Month!
Sonia Sanchez, 81 is an renowned author, poet, playwright, activist, and educator. Sanchez has authored more than a dozen books, including her famous ‘We a BaddDDD People’, ‘HomeGirls & Handgrenades’ Love Poems’, ‘Does Your House Have Lions’, Under A Soprano Sky’, and ‘Shake My Loose Skin’ . Sanchez works spoke largely about the ‘neoslavery’ of blacks, as socially and psychologically unfree beings, along with sexism, child abuse, and generational /class conflicts.
Sanchez is also credited for her famous children books ‘It’s A New Day’ ,’ The Adventures Of Fathead, Smallhead’, and Squarehead’ and Sound Investment [1980] short stories where she addresses the importance of young people pride in their heritage and knowledge of their history and culture. During an interview, Sanchez says her inspiration for the children series began after her children asked her to share a story of her own during and evening of their routine story time. Being tired from her nine-to-five Sanchez says she came up with adventures of ‘Fathead’, ‘SmallHead’, and ‘SquareHead’ .
Throughout history the 1980’s and early 1990’s, Sanchez has been a dedicated teacher, mother and prolific writer. Her work has appeared in numerous magazine, journals, and anthologies, and six records exist of her readings. She has also received prestigious awards, among them a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship [1978 – 1979] ,the Lucretia Mott Award [1984], American Book Award [1985], Pennsylvania Governor’s [1988], and Paul Robeson Social Justice Award [1989]
The life and work of Sonia Sanchez mark her progression toward enlightened understanding and expression of what it means to be Black and woman and connected to a larger world At various periods she has been reborn: as child poet after her grandmother died, as militant revolutionary of the 1960s, as spiritual visionary of the 1970s— all were stages in becoming a self-possessed strong woman.
Her writings have served as source and expression of her growth and commitment to harnessing political and spiritual energies to make a better world Born Wilsonia Benita Driver in Birmingham, Alabama, to Wilson L Driver (musician and teacher) and Lena (Jones) Driver, who died when Sanchez was a baby. Sanchez had two siblings: Patricia and Wilson, who died in 1981 , her grandmother, whose strength and unconditional love provided the security Sanchez needed to withstand childhood traumas and adult pain, died when Sanchez was six years old.
After this, possibly to compensate for a stutter she developed and that lasted throughout adolescence, Sanchez began to write poetry Moving to Harlem at age nine, she attended school, earned a BA in political science at Hunter College, and studied poetry under Louise Bogan at New York University. Sanchez went on to teach at Universities in San Franciso, Philadelphia, New York and more.
“ Negro is an interesting word. This country couldn’t call us Africans, because if it had, we would have understood some things about ourselves. We would not have been this ‘Negro America’, constantly enslaved even after slavery. It would have given us a sense of continuity. So, they had to say ‘Colored’ and ‘Negro’ and ‘Nigger’ to keep us in our place- to remind us that we were only from this country.” ~Sonia Sanchez
Today we salute Sonia Sanchez! To learn more about Sonia Sanchez head over to her website and or click HERE.
Credits: ProjectBlackMan/Sonia Sanchez.
One Love PLUMS!