At February’s ACDA Eastern Conference, Dr. Felicia Barber premiered a specially commissioned work that featured her first published poem, Dedication. The piece was sung by the SATB Honor Choir comprising high school singers from twelve eastern states.
Dedication, “To being black and a woman”
Our beauty, our grace, our resilience, our faith
We raise our children We raised their children
We laugh and smile, hiding the pain
We feel joy, we feel grief but are often called upon for others’ relief
Our beauty, our grace, our resilience, our faith
Backbone for days
Clarity in haze
Often called to lead, unacknowledged …. we raise Our voices for justice, our voices for peace,
When it is our families who bear the burden of unimaginable grief
Our beauty, our grace, our resilience, our faith
To change the world…I am determined
A positive space I must create
Rejecting all words that seem to undermine my way
I remain… in beauty, in grace, in resilience, in faith…
Black is beautiful… it is me…it is she…it is we …in beauty, in grace, in resilience, in faith….
Barber describes below the meaning and importance of the poem:
“Dedication is just that, a dedication to the black woman’s experience, particularly in the United States. At first it felt like an ode to my mother in particular; a single mother of six, who went back to the university to get her degree and work two and three jobs most of her life in support of the family. But after further reflection, I realize that this poem is an anthem to the many examples of strong black women who served) as mentors and caretakers throughout my life. To all those who, when they enter a room, often find themselves (ourselves) unacknowledged, undervalued, overlooked, or dismissed. The foundation of our families, they tirelessly serve their communities in both church and civic organizations. Reclaiming what is the true essence of “black girl magic;” we salute our black mothers, sisters, aunts, friends, counselors, and neighbors. They are our heartbeat and the epidemy of ‘our beauty, our grace, our resilience, our faith.”
Zanaida Stewart Robles says that Barber’s poem is a “musical statement of self-discovery and self-love from a Black female perspective and serves as an anthem of dedication to those who were mentors and caretakers in her life. The musical setting features intense rhythmic vitality with heavy syncopation, fluctuating between powerful unisons, polyphonic flourishes, and a classic gospel-style vamp with a steady groove.”