The EP launches a year long series, to uncover the stories of the real women who founded SΦS…….……………...Read Below
Tri-State Grad hosts the 2nd Annual Tracy Weber Scholarship Awards in honor of Founders Day. But who was this Sister affectionately known as “Butter”?..........Page 13
The Ebony THE OFFICIAL VOICE OF SWING PHI SWING SFI
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Ever wanted to get a “window seat” to a far away place? Be inspired by 3 Swings’ journey across the World……..Page 10
Spring 2010
By Melonee D. Griggs The Ebony Pearl is launching a 3 part series exploring the lives and wisdom of the 12 women who founded Swing Phi Swing. In this issue, Lorraine Watkins Phillips and Marilyn Reid Hill open up their hearts and share their memories.
Lorraine Watkins played in the percussion section with Winston-Salem State’s marching band. After moving on from WSSU, she did not know Swing was still going until 2004 when Founder Ellen Tomlinson came to invite her to the Symposium in Winston-Salem. She admits, “I was so glad. I didn’t know up until then. We all had issues with family and children. I hadn’t seen anybody. That’s when I got involved and I have been ever since. “
In
Just 10 miles outside of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Walkertown is like many other Southern towns. Certain families were known around town and most likely the street they lived on was named for their surname. What stands out for Lorraine Watkins Phillips was the stench of racism that colored her experiences within her community and even her own family. “I was considered too dark. A lot of people didn’t understand. I remember having to ride on the back of the all Black school bus and having to deal with racism between black and white. I grew up with the KKK,” she remembers. She tells of spending summers in Washington, D.C. with relatives because there were no cousins willing to play outside with her and her younger brother. She explains how her younger brother was protective of her. She remembers coming home crying every day because of cousins ridiculing her skin tone; even at 5 years old, he promised to protect her. She laughingly tells
Letter from the President…………………………….. ……..….2 Announcements from National Officers………...……..……….3 The Editor’s Desk……………………………..……….…………6 National News……………………………………….…..….…….7
of how he would say, “When me go to school, me going to take care of my Sister.” After a bit of laughter, she returns to a serious tone, remembering the love of her mother who did not tolerate the hateful nature of “color struck” family members. She recalls a time when her grandmother told her to never marry a “black” man and being confused by this notion. Her mother later explained to her that her grandmother meant to never marry a dark skin man in order to maintain lighter skinned progeny in the family. “My mother would say ‘I’ll explain to you later. Don’t listen to that. They’re talking about color and we don’t talk like that’. People don’t know how hard it is when you are dealing with [racism] on both sides. It goes back to me being shy and introverted because you are being put down everywhere you turn,” explains Phillips. (Continued on page 8)
Chapter News…………………………..…………….………….12 2010 Convention Special Section……….…....…………………19 Express Yourself…....……………….……….…...……………..22 Back Swing………….…………………….…..…………………23