Usually, at the Jackson Residence, hearing a pair of high-pitched voices at full volume means trouble. There are two strong-willed and talkative sisters here, after all, and when it comes to speaking out or putting one another on blast, Nia the Diva and Layla the Princess are quick to do so.
But in the last few weeks before the end of school, the complaints and squabbling took a back seat to sibling harmony—-literally and figuratively—-as our two daughters chose, and rehearsed, the song they wanted to perform together at their elementary school’s annual Talent Show. Nia was going to sing as part of a duet with a classmate, but when logistics prevented the pairing, the kindergartener and third grader decided to team up for Ledisi’s smash single, “Pieces Of Me.”
If you’ve heard the song before—-an introspective yet empowering ballad about embracing oneself—-it can seem like a quite a mature message for a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old to convey. But since they’ve always loved “Pieces….,” I found an instrumental online, copied it onto a CD for their music teacher and printed out the lyrics for their school audition and home practices.
Finally, in front of a cafeteria full of peers, parents and staff, Layla and Nia took to the stage. As the music poured from the speakers, our kindergartener interpreted the words through movement and lip-synching as her older sister stood to her left and sung in a calm, steady voice: “People just don’t know what I’m about, they haven’t seen what’s there behind my smile/There’s so much more of me I’m showing now, these are the pieces, of me….”
Grinning as I blinked back tears and held the camera steady, I noticed Layla reenacting the lyrics and swaying her hips in time to the beat: “When it looks like I’m up, sometimes I’m down/I’m alone even with people all around. But that don’t change the happiness I found/these are the pieces, of me…..”
Ledisi’s hit wasn’t the only song heard that morning: Selections from Pharrell Williams, Willow Smith, Katy Perry, Selena and Taylor Swift and others were also heard, as well as a teacher-led rendition of “Tomorrow” from the Broadway play “Annie”—-but it was the one track that carried a positive message of accepting, rather than exploiting, one’s femininity. And in a social-media age that steadily feeds unrealistic images and expectations to girls and women, “Pieces Of Me” underscores the strength and self-worth they will need to thrive in the future.
After the talent show ended, both of them earned big hugs and kisses for their hard work. I watched our two daughters disappear down the hallway, young girls who are confident in their worth and blissfully unaware of the pressures looming ahead to tighten this, straighten that, stick this out and blend that in. Someday, all too soon, members of a fickle society that are quick to praise full lips, round behinds and sun-kissed skin on anyone other than black women—even if its aritifically obtained—will judge their natural attributes as lacking. Some might see their intelligence as a threat and their talents as ‘too much,’ telling our daughters that their assertiveness is annoying rather than an asset.
Like other parents, Calvin and I can’t anticipate all of the challenges our daughters will face, but we can provide guidance, encouragement and examples of strong role models who’ve prevailed before them. And when those trying times arrive, hopefully they will stand strong, affirm one another and remember that mighty musical mission statement they performed as girls: “Now I’m gonna make mistakes from time to time, but in the end, believe me, I’m gon’ fly/no matter if I’m wrong or if I’m right….these are the pieces of me.”
