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The blackened flowers of authentic U.S. soiling are peculiar, indeed. Sparkles of glitter from the centuries of stories told. It’s a fascinating wonder for this intriguing floral design. Having no land of her own, no nation of her own, plucked from life-sustaining soil and used for the observations. And yet, she continues to blossom.

The seasons of her bloom renewed generations. Timekeepers for her seeds, and their her/history, she birthed anew, and created new for the continued existence of her people. Her cultural perfumes are the story books for a people thought to be "cultureless." The way she kept time established a way for myriad images, rhythms, styles, tones and patterns in her people's speech, movement and beat. It is through this variety that the her/history of Black American people is kept.

Who can legitimately claim that we have "no culture?" Who can ever say that Black American gardens are void of her feminine presence, supposedly "Mother and Maiden–less?" Who dares to enter without honoring and acknowledging the Mother and Maiden images as the birthers, planters, creators and love makers of this garden?

In this modern time, we are living in an era, where a centered foundation for Black American identity is needed now, more than ever, a centering of our very name. It's a centering of our culture and existence. Black America is literally in a state of survival, and there is no time to waste. In order for there to be foundation, there must also be a recognition and centering of one's feminine image. No culture exist, or will continue to exist, without the recognition and co-creation of their women. Such is a silent agreement among all cultures around the world. Unfortunately, in the her/history of Black American people in these United States of America, that has not truly been deciphered, yet. Why is that?

We can rewind to the early beginnings of Black American Her/History and analyze the told story of slavery and its many attempts (and successes) in making the Maiden and Mother roles insignificant to the liberation, nourishment and healing of the Black American community. We can address Jim Crow and the period of the Civil Rights Movement, where the poster images of Black American liberation came heavily in the presence of Black American men boldly proclaiming "I am a man." Our his/herstory books of lynchings, police shootings and oppression has often been centered solely on the demasculinization and de-humanizing of Black American men, and their desire to be heard and accepted into many of these very same systems of racialized (race and gender) injustice and disenfranchisement. So, where do Black American women fit into all of this?

When we examine the role of the Mother and Maiden figures within any culture, we are presented with two personas. The Mother serves as the head, feminine figure who reflects the re-birth and continuation of a people and their culture. She could be an older, matriarchal figure, or she could be younger, recently having given birth. It is the Mother, who teaches the children their "Mother Tongue," culture and customs. The Maiden represent those young, able-bodied, child-bearing aged women who have yet to give birth, but are deemed to birth the next generation.

In addition to children, Maidens are also responsible for continuing, preserving and protecting a people's culture, whatever culture they derive from. Language, poetry, music, dance, culinary, artistry, cultural attire, social events, cultural events — whatever aesthetics of a culture, the Maidens are vigilant to observe and preside over. Together, the Mother and Maiden safeguard and protect the feminine and cultural image of that community.

When we examine the current and past state of Black America, we can readily observe various methods to remove, make invisible or restrict the Mother and Maiden images in this cultural garden. This means there has been a shifted foundation concerning who the feminine image of this community is.

For starters, we can observe how foreign Maidens have freely entered, benefited from, ravaged, pillaged, given higher value to and symbolically "replaced" Black American women in their own culture, their own gardens. It is very rare that such foreign Maiden and Mother images give back to Black American Maidens and Mothers. On the contrary, many have used racial, colorist, national, immigrant and perceptions of exoticism as a means to gain access, wealth and resources in our communities. We can talk about the role of Black American men in this at a later time, but for now, we can address how Black American Maidens and Mothers have allowed for this to happen.

Let's be clear that cultural preservation is not something that has widely been taught to Black American women. The de-feminizing of our existence in the United States of America withheld such secrets. Please keep in mind that such did not stop us from creating in our culture. Yet, creating without protection leads to cultural theft. Unfortunately, Black American women had no control over our bodies, let alone our culture. However, in these present times, what is being done by the masses of Black American women to re-enter themselves as the cultural, feminine image of their people?

First and foremost, what is the proper identity of our people? As of now, the safest and most accurate terminology (in our present linguistic transition) is Black American. Second, are we claiming and actively calling out all facets of our culture, especially when it is being used by other cultures and people? And finally, how are we strategizing to ensure that the primary benefactors of Black American culture and music are the women, children, men and the community as a whole?

The fact of the matter is that none of the above can happen if a centered, Black American, feminine image has not taken place in our community. The Mother and Maiden images are the standard for everything in how a people dress, eat, speak, sing, dance and so forth. Period.

Further examination of our her/history shows the presence of non-Black American feminine images entering into our community with notions of superiority. And they often enter through Black American men they have married or dated, or through self-hating Black American women who find these foreign images to be more valuable, superior, feminine and aesthetically pleasing for their communities. Those foreign women, who truly love the Black American men they are with (and have been introduced to the community through them) also love and recognize Black American women as the feminine image of the community they have entered. In addition, they have made healthy relationships with the women of Black American communities and have established a system of give-and-take. While benefiting from the community, they are consistently pouring back in and working with the Maidens for a system of healthy exchange. Though, they are not the majority, such foreign Maidens do exist!

Black American Maidens and Mothers are our own particular form of exoticism. No other group of women have experienced what we have experienced, nor produced what we have produced. Black American music and culture is highly marketable, attracting outside personnel who would like to benefit from it freely. Not only is this dangerous, but we have witnessed mainstream examples of foreign women, profiting from the community while being seen as more valuable than the actual women who created it. The Black American community is also to blame for this. We should never replace our Maiden and Mother images. When you do, it will only be a matter of time before you, too, become replaced. And once a number of them enter into the garden (and gain certain power over the Maidens and Mothers), you begin to see how they treat, mistreat and perceive Black American women. Only Black American women end up as servants or maids in their own cultural spaces, being the last to benefit from their own culture. It has gone on for too long.

It’s not the fault of Black American women for what happened to our Mother and Maiden images in these United States of American. Yet, once we are aware of the significance of these roles, how do we reclaim? Well, the first step is just that — reclaim them. That's half the battle. The next phase pertains to weeding, replanting, cleaning and clearing out of the garden.

Blackened flowers of U.S. soiling. Replanting new seeds in invisible seasons. Petals of universal sparkling, shimmering in obsidian colors of moonlight. Blackened pearls in U.S. flowers, of glittered gems in cotton's velvet of soiled blues. Of soiled tunes, for rhythm and blues. Of sparkling blues for the jazziest of tunes.

Lauren K. Clark

Writing since September 2019 · 2 stories contributed