Journal #2

"All of you colored 'oman sittin' heah for uh sermon? Ah'll give you uh sermon. All de menfolk in de town, white or colored jus' the same, dey ain't pushin' for you tuh succeed. Dey wanna hold you back, keep you as work-ox's lak dey did tuh me when Ah was a young 'oman. Or dey want you in de house, cookin' and cleanin' for dem when dey ain't givin' you nothin' in retuhn. But what dey can't do, no Lawd, is take yo' dreams and wishes 'way from you. So what you doin' sittin' 'round heah watchin' de same sun rise and set, rise and set, day afta day, day afta day? Dreams don't come chasin' afta you. You gotta go get'um for yo' own self, befo' dey gone for good. Anotha thing, don't you settle fo' any ol' breath-and-britches dat walks on by you in de street. Find a decent man who done treats you well. And if you see danger in yo' life, go on and walk de otha way, where you kin make yo'self right in de eyes of de Lawd. And if you find yo'self makin' trouble or losin' yo' dream, you best be on yo' knees to de good Lawd askin' for mercy and guidance. Now, Ah done de best Ah kin wid mah own life, but if i hadda 'nother chance to do mo' better, Lawd knows Ah'd take it. Yuh see, de world sees colored woman as de lowest dere is - we ain't got much respect. If we jus' sit heah waitin' fo' snow in de middle of summa, lak it feels we doin' so often, de only thing we're gonna see is dry ground. So Ah wanna see you makin' somethin' outta yo' lives. You're young and Ah know you got lotsa dreams out there tuh chase. So go get'um! What you waitin' on?"