Independent Black Woman

An independent black woman is who I am. I raised two daughters by myself. I can do a mans job, such as catching and cooking a hog, yard work and building. I can do a woman's work such as cleaning, sewing, caring for the children. I surpasses all the hardships that have been put in front of me. Raising children by one's self is not the typical thing for people to do back in the day. After losing my husband I was forced to do all this on my own in order to survive and care for our children. In doing so I may have become the woman that Dee has come to dislike to a certain extent, and a woman that Maggie has come to love and look up to.
Dee sees me as the woman who doesn't add up to the rest of society. I am the essence of a small town woman who has no education and I'm bound by my choices in life. Those choices include living the simple country life. I am a big woman with manly hands, nothing like Dee who is small, confident and has soft feminine features.
Maggie looks at me for who I am, not what I look like. I protect Maggie from the people she tries so hard to shield herself from. I teach her the life skills she needs to raise a family and build a home. I share with her the memories of our ancestors and the hard work and love they put into simple things we use everyday for survival, such as the butter churn, or the quilts.
While all three of us have many differences, we have all become independent black women in our own way.
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