The Courage To Be Creative

When I experience a poetry slam, dance performance, live music event or art gallery, I often walk away wondering why we haven’t yet channeled the full power of our creative energy in a way that radically transforms our society.  I think it’s because we’re justifiably scared.

Some of our fear has to do with our own capabilities.  Many of us believe that being creative requires having a specific talent.  We forget that everyday we’re creative with things like how to provide low-cost, yet educational summer activities for our kids, or how to raise the extra money needed to pay for a new transmission when savings don’t exist.  Sad to say, but if we don’t write poetry or dance or draw extremely well, we conclude that we’re not creative.    And it doesn’t take long for this ill-conceived conclusion to become a basic operating assumption; to seriously question it is guaranteed to be a time-consuming and frustrating process, possibly even an emotionally painful one.  That’s scary.

On a societal level, the institutions and systems that are firmly in place – governmental financial, educational, and legal – are just that:  firmly in place!  They’re deeply entrenched, inflexible, massive, and so intimidating that they stifle creativity.  The governmental and corporate institutions that dominate our society also oppress many, including communities of color, poor communities, men and women who have been incarcerated, and gender non-conforming folks.  But the continued existence of these oppressive institutions is threatened by our creative potential.  Think about it:  the expression of some creative thinking, such as how we might live more connected to our planet and to each other, may even constitute a terrorist threat given the verbiage of such laws as the Patriot Act and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). 

So, we do have reasons to fear developing our own creative potential.  But if, on a personal level, this is your desire, consider overcoming your fear by making a list of what you think might be gained by developing your creative potential.  This thoughtful process may inspire you to plunge deeper, no longer hindered by fear.  As you gain greater familiarity and confidence with your creative potential, you will also likely gain the courage to live creatively.  And it’s our collective, courageous, creative living that will shake the very foundation of our oppressive society.

Tell Me More

While visiting family in New York City this past weekend, my son took me for a walk through a small section of the Chelsea District, an area flourishing with art galleries.  We had a good time peeking into several galleries; with our somewhat limited time frame our primary goal was just to get some sense of the art scene in one of the world’s major art destinations.  The art we saw in Chelsea was interesting enough, yet it was during my solo stroll up 125^th Street in Harlem the next day that I encountered art that conjured a range of emotions and left me longing for a fuller picture. 

When I walked into The Studio Museum in Harlem on 125^th Street, I was excited about seeing a photography exhibition featuring a series of Gordon Parks’ photos from 1967, many of which appeared in LIFE magazine as a photo essay that year.  I hadn’t seen any of Parks’ work in years, so I was eager to revisit his portrayals from over forty years ago.  The exhibition depicted various scenes in the life of an impoverished Black family, the Fontenelles, who lived in Harlem.  The photos were somber, sullen, even sickening in their depiction of abject urban poverty.  I was also startled by the sheer absence of smiles or celebrations in this series of Fontenelle family photos, a family who appeared incapable of mustering up the strength to demonstrate anything other than their victimization.  And so in my mind the photo series was skewed. 

Parks’ camera lens zoomed in on the squalor in which the Fontenelle family lived.  The gaping holes and exposed pipes in the walls made me angry about the penetrating racism that Black people have always endured in this country.   But the family’s own squalor – clothes piled and trash strewn throughout the apartment – also made me angry.  I could only imagine that those pictures in 1967 conveyed the message that all poor Black people are consequently incapable of maintaining cleanliness and the accompanying sense of self-worth.  I’m sure Parks’ portrayal of such living conditions was part of a larger purpose at the time his photo essay appeared in LIFE magazine – perhaps he intentionally focused on the utterly debilitating effects of poverty. 

I’m not at all saying that Parks should have portrayed a contented or happy poverty-stricken family.  I’m saying that oppressed people are always more than their state of oppression.  Parks presents a family photo album that depicts only the family's dire impoverishment. While I most certainly honor and appreciate Mr. Parks for his telling photos of the Fontenelles, I just wish his photos had told me more.

Visit The Studio Museum in Harlem online at www.studiomuseum.org.

Just Imagine!

For my first Steppin’ Way Out blog post, I wanna talk about the imagination – remember that sweet place that you were pulled back from by your 3^rd grade teacher until you got the message that it wasn’t a place you should go, that there were many more important things to do?

For too many of us, such 3rd grade experiences have pushed the imagination way outside of our comfort zone.  We just don't know what to expect in that unfamiliar place, though we know that literally anything can happen there.  Accessing our imagination, our internal playground, is a lot like taking a bike ride when we’re working against a tight deadline.  Our imagination simply gets in the way of all the things we have to do just to live.

But when I desperately needed "just to live," I rediscovered my imagination. Panic and desperation drove me into that barely recognizable place, and I wasn’t there long before I realized it was a wide open, welcoming space where I could ask anything, consider anything, accomplish anything.  Using my imagination enabled me to create real and effective alternatives to the limited, unworkable choices I had previously faced. 

The next time you find yourself facing ridiculous or intolerable options, knock on your imagination’s door by asking, Does it have to be this way?  Then, imagine letting go of all the requirements, all the assumptions . . . just imagine.