Sistahs N SistahHood

By Toni Odom

Are you a Real Sistah? Sistahs N' SistahHood helps you to answer the question by examining: What it means to be Black and female, the special bond and legacy of Black womanhood, the definition of SistahHood, seven negative behaviors that hurt SistahHood and seven positive values that build it. When you finish reading this book you will know what it means to be a Real Sistah and how to deal with Sistahs that "are your color but not your kind."

• Language: English
• Publisher: All Black Ebooks
• Release date: Mar 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370670710

Toni Odom

Toni is an author, activist and filmmaker. Her motto is give back to move forward and she spends her time writing books and scripts to uplift people.

Book preview

SISTAHS N SISTAHHOOD

By Toni Odom

Restore Publishing

2202 S. Figueroa St. #615

Los Angeles, CA 0007

Phone [phone]

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-90750

ISBN 0-9673496-0-5 Copyright © 1999 by Toni Y. Odom

Second Edition

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

Manufactured in the United States of America

This Book is Dedicated to My Best Friend Robin Bettina Means

and My Sigma Mother Soror Joyce Agunbiade

 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank God for blessing me and allowing me to have the experiences that have helped me to understand the importance of SistahHood.

To all the Sistahs  in my life, that I know or don’t know personally but crossed my path, I thank you for making me a better woman.

I especially would like to thank the following Sistahs that made this book possible:

My mother,Willa Odom and my Aunt Alic Bankkse  and my sisters Carla, Dorothy, Sandra, Pamela, Joyce and Sheila.

My Sorors of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. with a special thank you to Sorors Saran Jenkins Crayton, Tiffany A. Flowers, Vickilyn Reynolds, Cheryl Broussard, Cinnamon Pelly and Patience Jones.

My Sistahfriends Nadine Payne, Saliem Aregaye, Mama Rashidaa and Yaira Coburn.

And finally to some Brothahs:

My father Raymond Odom, Ron Glymph, Harry Lennix, Simmie Williams and Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.

A Poem For My Sistahs

By Toni Odom

I am my Sistah’s  Keeper

Because we share the same fate.

We are women of color, whose beauty Many others would love to rate.

And we have emerged from the ashes

of slavery which took brains and bravery.

I am my Sistahs Keeper Because some space only she can fill.

There are times in life when only a Sistah knows my feelings and the needs of my will.

A mother, an aunt, a nana or friend,

Always seems to know just what it takes for a heart to mend.

I am my Sistah’s  Keeper Because it is my God given charge,

To protect her from the hurts of life, both small and large

Together we are unconquerable despite scorn or curse

Together my Sistahs,

WE are the mothers of the Universe.

Introduction

I wrote Sistahs N SistahHood  at a time when Black women were right on the crest of doing a lot of self awareness work. Thanks to Sistah’s like Iyanla Vanzant, who is still helping people to fix their lives, we took a deeper look at our own mental, physical and spiritual selves. My thought process led me to believe that if we knew ourselves better, then collectively we should then look at our relationships with each other more closely.

Black women have always accepted the challenge of fighting for the rights of gender and race although race usually always came first. Our new challenge. as women, is to recognize the power we have as a group. We should wield that power to advance our race and our people as never before. We, as a specific demographic, are some of the most educated women on earth. Our economic power alone can solve many issues women face in general. But what are we doing?

I'll never make a general statement that puts all Black women in one category as the media does. Even our former FLOTUS, Michelle Obama, has been criticized and cast as an angry Black woman despite her intellect, style and grace. Racist American society says Black women could not possibly be happily married to a Black man with a family, career, a house, a dog or a cat. The media says we are sex hungry, video whores or hood rats with crazy weaves and names and even our most educated are lonely and angry. But some of us are ok if we are sleeping with or married to white men. Just look at the new commercials that have us with a white mate or my God Olivia Pope is sleeping with the president. When was the last time you saw a Sistah married to a Brothah on tv or film? There may be a few Black families on television but film? There have been a few lately that especially show crazy Black men stalking us and trying to kill us but when were we ever shown to be in love?

Nicki Monaj is contrasted with wholesome little Taylor Swift on music award shows.  Housewives of Atlanta, Love and Hip Hop and Basketball Wives just to name a few reality shows show beautiful Black women with careers, money and a man but they are crazy as hell. Entertaining for some but the image of hysterical cat  fighting Black women is the order of the day. Even packaging on products show white women with their husbands and babies and we are shown by ourselves with our children. The mantra is Black women are ALONE, ANGRY, OVER SEXUALIZED and CRAZY.  Therefore, the narrative is reflected in media, print and all images to the point where it often rings true in the beliefs we have of each other.

There are few exceptions to all these dysfunctional crazy images or stereotypes and even less is shown where Black women are loved and valued or are working TOGETHER to do anything.

So now what do we do? Well Sistahs N SistahHood is here to give you a very honest look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of how we treat each other. Throughout history or HERstory we have always come together to support each other and our community. Women’s organizations, sororities, church women’s groups and political organizations that cover the gamut of issues we face have already come into being. I attended the Million Woman March and was overwhelmed with the love that we felt together. If we decide to do something as a group, it gets DONE.

My Sistah’s read this book, do the exercises personally and with your Sistah circle and decide to do something! Our children are not given a fair start in poverty and even those that are not poor, we must teach to deal with the racism they face just based on the color of their skin. Too often we have not prepared them because WE don’t want to face it either. Our men and boys are being killed by racist police that rarely are convicted. WE are being killed as well so the time has come for us to come together a million strong once again.