Which means we have always existed.
Seeds sewn in tightly Come alive with each new breath Yes, through line secured...
we mothered them all... adrienne maree brown and nalo zidan
"we mothered them all" by adrienne maree brown and nalo zidan
"we mothered them all" by adrienne maree brown and nalao zidan
Roots
Calloused hands soft heart Joy tucked deep in bone and flesh...
The audacity.
Louisa "Ma Lou" Daughter of... Alice Mother of...
Annie
Louisa "Ma Lou"
1880 Craven County, NC
Grandma Annie
1894 Craven County, NC
Annie Daughter of...
Louisa "Ma Lou" Mother of...
William George (Daddy) Mashake Jacob (I) Annie Jacob (II) Clement Emma
Complexity
The river is where They found her... with her people People who worshipped Her for a Millennium They took her from those who knew her names, songs...ritual What she left behind was kept sacred and revered
We have traveled home many times on a prayer P ortals created safe passage back Ritual Ebo cloaked us in yellow and blue Many children call her Yeye
I found her and she healed me
Big Mary Daughter of...
Elisabeth Mother of...
Bettie Amos Irma Heber Ellis
Big Mary
1876 Greene County, NC
Granny Irma
1894 Craven County, NC
Irma Daughter of...
Big Mary Mother of...
Owen Mary Ella (Mommy) Coley
Deathless
Your womb, my first home Brown fingertips rub my scalp...
I still breathe you in
Mary Ella Daughter of...
Irma Mother of...
Michael Patrice Billie (Omisade) Georgette
Mary Ella
1930 Pitt County, NC
Billie (Omisade) Daughter of...
Mary Ella
Mother of...
William Che Taj Cullen
Billie (Omisade)
1967 New Bern, NC
Georgette
1968 New Bern, NC
Georgette Daughter of...
Mary Ella
Mother of...
Donovan Danielle Darius
In memory of
My Sister
Patrice Boyd Brown 1955-2012
My "Other" Mother
Delores "Mama Dee" Eaton 1930-2021
Omisade's Author's Note:
Last year, I put together the first Messages from the Menopausal Multiverse as a love offering to our community. We were experiencing so much collective lament, grief, confusion and uncertainty and I felt like there was so much good medicine offered in the podcast episodes that could be a balm. We organized the excavated offerings from podcast interviews by framing them around string theory and infinite possibilities. We then a categorized each offering by elements from the periodic table representing earth, air, water and fire and the corresponding cardinal signs of the zodiac. The cover art was done by an amazing young gender queer artist here in Durham, NC named Wutang McDougal and the collage art was done by my dear friend named Tema Okun. This year's zine is an ode to mothering. The mothering that we experience inside our families, the mothering we extend ourselves, the complexity of mothering and the healing that is possible from a place of intentionality and serendipity. The iconography for this edition of the zine is trees. An interesting fact around trees and gender. Some trees can be all one gender, those trees are called dioecious. While other trees can be gendered both male and female and those are called monoecious. Trees can also change gender from season to season while others change once or twice during their lifetime. I am reminded that tree gender is complex and ever-evolving like mothering. Each tree in the zine represents a mother in my family, from my great-grandmothers to my younger sister and are organized by themes of "roots", "complexity", "deathless", and "resumption".
This year, I am working with a phenomenally gifted queer Black femme artist named Assata Goff. I have known Assata for most of her life and have been blown away watching her journey into adulthood. Working with her on this creative project has brought me so much joy as we mothered this zine into existence together! I can't wait to see what messages the multiverse brings us In 2022!
Assata's Artist's Note:
My work in this zine was created around Omisade's knowledge of her mothers. While researching each unique tree, I paid attention to its significance, movement, color and the emotions they invoke. I also relied heavily on my intuition creating trees that centered the complexity, power, love and beauty that is motherhood. When Omisade and I first spoke on this project, we bonded over our admiration for the mycelia network. How we have always existed. How the mycelia network is identical to our universe and they both connect us all. The trees are meant to transport you to that place where all the trees are connected, existing together outside of space and time.
Thank You I want to thank... My son's, Che and Taj My mother Mary Ella Kinsey McConner Burney My "Other Mother" Delores Sankey Eaton My sister Georgette McConner Burney Colbert My mentor and friend Trude Bennett Assata Goff Adrienne Maree Brown Nalo Zidan The BGG2SM Team... Leigh Reed, Mariah M., Angel Dozier and Tarryn Henry
Contributors
Concept, Vision, Poetry, Production and Editing: Omisade Burney-Scott Art Design: Assata Goff "we mothered them all" Poem: Adrienne Maree Brown and Nalo Zidan Original BGG2SM Logo Design: Wutang McDougal
Messages Menopausal
from the Multiverse:
The Motherboard
www.blackgirlsguidetosurvivingmenopause.com
