THE OBSERVATION BOOTH
OP / ED & PHOTO CREDIT ANDREA DIALECT
(ARCHIVED – TAKE 2)
The oddity of seeing a woman today breastfeeding her child had been my initial focus. I was thrown because she was so young, but come to find out, she’s just a few years shy of forty! What!
We were drawn to each other and made good on our promise. I was equally impressed when I entered Kayaswonna’s home. I was offered a delightful dish of shrimp, scallops, Portobello mushrooms, and red snapper on a bed of rice; introduced to my first bottle of Norwegian Spring Water and to little ones with charming mannerisms; treated to hospitality, great conversation, which made for a pleasant time…
SPORTIN’ MY MAMA’S SHOES
Interviewee: Kayaswonna Ebunaluwea Shaw
“BUSINESS AS USUAL… I am the person I am today because of my upbringing. I was born and raised in New York. As a teenager, I moved to London, England with my mom and traveled the world. I’ve been raised in the music industry. My mom and dad were hippies back in the day, so I grew up with a free spirit. I was not confined, nor did I conform to anything because of that.
“My grandparents grew up in North Carolina during that whole “You have to drink out of this fountain” – type thing, so my mom decided that, when she got into the music industry and she had her child, she wanted me to be free. She didn’t want me to be bound by any of the cultural stuff, by the ways of the world. She said, “No, you’re going to think outside of the box for the rest of your life,” and I was like that from little.
“For instance, I never understood the concept of black and white. When I first was exposed to racism, I was about four years old. My neighbor’s daughter, who was my best friend, was a little white girl. One day I went to her house to play, and she came out and told me, ‘My mommy and daddy said I can’t play with you no more,’ and I asked her why and she said, ‘Because you’re a n–ger!’ So I asked, ‘What’s a n–ger?’ She didn’t know, all she knew was what had been said.
“I went home and told my mom, and I can remember her asking, ‘What’s the
matter, Swonna? What’s wrong, pumpkin?’ And I told her, and she broke down crying. Then she picked me up and carried me to their house and asked the lady, ‘Why did you say that? Why would you put that in their heads? Why would you do that to them? They don’t know color. All they know is that they’re friends and they love each other.’ She told us that it was her husband’s decision, she was startled by it, and I never saw my friend again.
“When my mom and dad separated then divorced, she sang with a group called ‘Sneaky Cookin.’ They were blacks, whites and Japanese. There were black and white (interracial) marriages, so I was raised around culturally eclectic people. There were no color barriers. When
I was a kid, I used to comb Uncle Howard’s hair and put grease in it.
Now you know you don’t put grease in white people’s hair; I also did it to Uncle John, who was Spanish, and my uncle Mikey who happened to look like a Japanese Samurai. They’d let me because to them, I was their niece. I was raised in the company of many famous people.
“Would you believe that I went to the studio with my mom once, and guess what? I sat on the lap of John Lennon while they worked, and he showed me what buttons to push so I could talk to my mom while she was in the sound room. I was hanging out with his kids and his wife. I ate sushi from little. Race never had its effects on me until I started dating and I realized that guys seemed to like girls with this certain type (of) hair and skin almost white, and I had this big, kinky afro that I’d pull back with a band and it hung like Chaka Khan. That’s me! I thought that
was beautiful.
“That’s when racism became my own. I hated the girls that were what they wanted: I’d say that they looked too white – until I had my daughter, and she was just that. I also hated the ‘big-butt’ girls. I remember telling my mom when I was a kid that I was going to have a baby of every culture in the whole wide world. My mother said, ‘Girl, do you know how many babies that is?’ She said, ‘Why do you want to do that, Swonna boo?’ I said, ‘So no one could ever hate me. Because I’d have a baby from every culture, I’d have one of them, so who would be mad at me?’
“I’m glad that it didn’t hit me that hard, and as I grew up I understood things much better. I understood that even I could be racist. You can be a racist and not know it, you know: racist against your own people, against certain women, or whomever. I don’t know what my parents did, but something kept me free. I stayed Kayaswonna! I also always needed to know the ‘why’s.’ When people and things try to confine you and put you in a box. Stay free!
Being free enough to always be who they are is one of the most essential things I can pass on to my children, just as my parents did. I am a mom, and it’s business as usual. I have always gone full-force with my singing career, my writing, and other business ventures. My children’s ages range from seventeen, thirteen, seven and a half, two and a half, and one month and thirteen days. But I’m still SPORTIN’ MY MAMA’S SHOES.
Most people know my mom, Jocelyn Brown, by her music, songs like: “Caught Up In A One Night Love Affair”, “I Got The Power”, “Somebody Else’s Guy”, “Take Some Time Out For Love”, “Believe”, and so on! I, too, am a career mom; when my mom was making those hits, I was always nearby. I’m headed towards that same type of success, which means a lot of work on my part, so when I go, they go. We travel the world.
If I were to say anything to you moms out there, it would be:
- Establish prayer with your kids. Pray in the morning before school. More than anything, they need a relationship with the Creator.
- Keep people out of your business. God gives you a natural know-how. Too many influences are not good for you or them.
- Listen to your children. They may be little, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t know things.
- Eat together. Cook for your children; they shouldn’t be eating fast food every night. Work together.
- Get your dance on! Do gymnastics, don’t stop living. Do what you do. I love to roller skate! I can still do a round-off and my split(s). Stay active; it keeps you young. Remember, children are not the destroyers of life; they enhance it.
- YOU GOT THE POWER!
DO YA KNOW THAT?
Source: Wikipedia
Jocelyn Brown
Real Name: Jocelyn Lorette Brown
Profile: American vocalist, lyricist, and artist.
Born: 25 November 1950 in Kinston, North Carolina, USA.
Brown has been a versatile vocalist to this day, singing on many R&B, Disco, Pop, and House productions.
Her aunt Barbara Roy inspired Jocelyn to spread her musical wings. She began her career in the 1970s as a studio singer for many groups and artists like Musique, Inner Life, Bad Girls, The Salsoul Orchestra, Disco Tex & His Sex-O-Lettes, Van McCoy, Evelyn King, Gloria Gaynor, Phyllis Hyman, Vicki Sue Robinson, Dazzle, Revanche, Melba Moore, Roberta Flack, Cerrone, Chic and Change.
The Observation Booth is utilized as a space for Andrea Dialect to stumble through, which aids in life and brand development. It can also be used by readers, subjects, and features to assist or advance our world or their own. It is a peek into one’s world from the outside. It is also for the development of content.
Everything printed here is in draft form; thus, error is welcomed and to be expected. Everything is constantly evolving, is her mantra. Seeing the work in printed format is the initial step and is quite valuable and therapeutic for developing all forms. Like Everything, Andrea Dialect uses this space as a test lab for test study and a test subject.
Here you will also find influencers, professionals, and muses who are considered “clay” who lend their image to change as doing us proud who are contributors to the upward progress of human progress. It is a platform for the growth, inspiration, motivation, and development of herself, her subjects, and her readers. Enjoy!
DO YOU KNOW ANY OF OUR COMMUNITY ACCESS CONTRIBUTORS?
- IF SO LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY’VE MADE THE CUT AND THEY ARE THE TALK OF LOCAL TALK THIS WEEK!
- PASS IT ON!
- LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE!
