STAND UP STRAIGHT AND SPEAK
When I was younger, my mother taught me to always stand up straight, project my voice, and to never allow myself to be minimized nor ignored by anyone. My mother was an English professor so she made it a practice to correct incorrect grammar when I was speaking and to always use complete sentences. It was her thing. When hanging with friends she would sometimes allow the noun and verb to disagree, but out in the world, especially in front of others, we had better conjugate that verb. Periodt. The picture of the little girl playing the violin at her preschool graduation is me. No doubt my mother insisted that I be on program. She was a difficult person to say no to and even if you did say no chances are it wouldn’t matter.
Standing up straight and projecting my voice taught me many lessons but I’ll mention two. One, God created us equally in His image, so I am equal to whomever I am addressing or whomever is addressing me so always look up and be direct. Projection of my voice did not always mean the loudest voice in the room, but to be the voice that is heard. Two, I have a voice and that voice is valid and important, so speak up and out. She would not allow me to allow my voice w to be muted, dismissed nor snuffed out. My mother taught me to take up space.
My mother insisted on speaking up for those who are marginalized and afraid to raise their own voice. She came straight from the scripture: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice” (Proverbs 31:8-9 NLT). This here was my mother’s rallying cry. She made sure it was mine too.
As a young person I attended school with mostly white, affluent children. I stood up straight and projected my voice but it was not easy. Going to school in an environment with folk who through constant micro aggressions, communicated to you daily that you didn’t belong was a challenge. If I am honest it wore me down. It never had me wanting to be anyone other than who I was, but just existing in that atmosphere exhausted me into survival mode. I went to school every day all the way through High School and survived. I represented and I survived. I would later choose to seldom use the power of my voice in my relationship. Again, exhausted into simply surviving. Not living, but surviving. Happiness and joy came in spurts but was never an overall theme.
I don’t believe that anyone can take your voice away, but I do believe that you can allow your voice to be taken or to choose not to use it. One day I finally came to myself and I heard my mother’s voice so clearly. Marsha Joi, stand up strait and speak, girl. It was that day that I came to myself and stepped back into the woman my parents raised me to be. I took a detour, lost my way, muted my own voice and spent a ridiculously long time merely surviving my life.
If there is one thing I pray you learn from me sharing it is to be ever aware of the importance and power of your voice. It matters not the obstacles you face or the people who will try and silence you. Your voice is yours. Be heard. Speak up, especially in the difficult spaces. Speak up in the places where you will receive resistance, understanding that speaking up and speaking out is not without consequence, but the consequence in and of itself is not a reason to not speak. Lecrae says in his song, Facts “Just know if you rock the boat you better have a life raft, woo!” Say that, brother. Know that God is your life raft. If you want to walk on water you have to get out of the boat. Speaking up moves you out of the boat.
Stand up straight, project your voice and never allow yourself to be minimized nor silenced.