Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters First One Hundred Years - Essay Example

Outline for a Life History Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters’ First One Hundred Years Introduction: Life History is usually autobiographical, but since most interesting lives touch on various subjects with varying talents, some or most of these lives involve a non-writer. Life history gives an author or the subject a chance to impart actual experiences, lessons learned the easy or difficult way, or lessons that may have never learned at all. In reading, or even watching the book adopted into play “Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters’ First One Hundred Years” (1992) co-authored by Sarah Louise and Anne Elizabeth Delaney, one cannot but notice a bigger picture, beyond the author’s lives that encompass existing social, economic as well as political structure and situation. This essay explores the contents as well as the representations presented in the book in the form of life history of the Delaney Sisters. Discussion: Demographic Information Name, Age, Gender, Ethnicity At the time the book was published, both Sarah Louise Delaney known as Sadie, and Anne Elizabeth known as Bessie Delaney, are over a hundred years old. While Sarah was born September 19, 1889, Bessie was born September 3, 1891. They are African-Americans. Birth and early childhood The sisters were born in the southern state of North Carolina who experienced the early years of emancipation as children as it has only been 24 years since the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. So that in all, Sadie and Bessie experienced lynchings and Jim Crow, separation of former slaves from their former master whites, a chance for them to go to school and learn with the white kids, play around without having to trouble the self with duties that used to be a burden for most black kids from slave parents. Hometown South is usually referred to when it comes to describing African-Americans. The Delaney Sisters came from a Harlem community--- Adolescence The Sisters Bessie and Sadie were brought up by “the first elected Negro bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church” so that their adolescence is dotted with church service, singing, and active participation in Sunday school, among others. Their socialization with teenagers their age was sufficient, although limited to friendship and groups that brought and galvanized their bonding as close-aged sisters, with their births only less than 2 years in gap. Family History Born with eight brothers and sisters, the Delaney sisters had a huge family. But this did not prevent them from finishing their college education so that all became professionals. Type of Home Environment What the Delaney sisters had for a home is close to ideal in Negro standard, as their father Henry Beard Delaney was earning decently enough for the family. Although at first, Samuel had also been a slave, he rose above his peers by becoming a teacher. His becoming a leader in the church added character and conviction to the sisters Sadie and Bessie so that they would rise to become authors and civil rights pioneers. Their mother had also been a typical dotting mother who stayed at home to care for the children. This may seem insignificant but given the current view on the importance of homebuilding nowadays, their mother played a pivotal role to building strong and decisive Bessie and Sadie. Adult History Sadie and Bessie Delaney attended Columbia University in New York City. Sadie finished schooling and became the first black home economics teacher there while Bessie was given the license as a female dentist, only the second one released to a black. They did not marry and they lived together most of their lives, so that they were able to produce a book at their ripe age 100 years and above. Two years after the success of their first book, they published Book of Everyday Wisdom (1994) and after Bessie died in 1995, Sadie wrote “On My Own At 107: Reflections on Life Without Bessie that dealt with the loss of her sister. Not only did the sisters serve in their profession or written books but also served as leaders. Their book dealt with the trials and tribulations the African-American sisters experienced in their century of life. It was not just another African-American book but a reflection that despite their privileges as educated adults, still, they experienced persecution not only in the workplace but in society in general. Significant Events There had been several historical and significant events in the lives of Sadie and Bessie Delaney. Historical as well as political events include the Sojourner Truth and the Women’s Suffrage Movement, Jack Johnson’s rise to Heavyweight Championship of the World, the birth of the NAACP at Niagara Falls, the refusal of a Southern white hospital to aide Bessie Smith causing her publicized death, Zora Neale Hurston and the Harlem Renaissance, Marcus Garvey’s Back to Africa Movement, among several others that also signified world changes including the two major world wars (Harrison, 1997). Intimate Relationships Sadie and Bessie were so bonded together their relationship grew beyond sisters to close friends or even best of friends. They became spinsters. Their intimate relationships bordered only with social circle of friends, their family, kin and relatives. Children As spinsters, definitely, Sadie and Bessie did not have children. Nevertheless, their nephew Samuel R. Delaney became a science-fiction author. Career Choices The quiet and determined Sadie because a home economics teacher while the outspoken Bessie became a licensed dentist. They pursued their career despite discriminations they had experienced at school, and later at the workplace. Health History Bessie and Sadie’s strong bonding helped made them withstand more than a century of life as professionals, and later authors. They also had minor health problems bu nothing major hampered their normal lives. Major Illness or Disabilities The Delaney sisters did not experienced any form of major illness or disabilities. Mental Health or Emotional Problems Specifically, the problems that the Delaney sisters tackled were mostly social and political as their strong leadership personality entailed. They did not have family problems to consider theirs as dysfunctional which could have triggered another story. Theirs was a healthy family with healthy mentality and emotions. Substance Abuse It was not mentioned whether substance abuse had been prevalent in their time. Had it been, the sisters did not have such kind of problems, nor their siblings and parents. Education All siblings of eight from the Delaney family graduated in college and became professionals. The determination and exposure of their father Henry as a teacher and leader could have influenced this outcome but their personal disposition added to their educational achievement. Highest Level Achieved All of the siblings finished college education, including Bessie and Sadie. Attitude / Performance in School It can be said that Sadie and Bessie’s performance in school had been exemplary. They have exerted extra effort to deal with discrimination and persecution, as well as the unfamiliar territory that used to belong to the white majority and something new and strange for African-Americans like them. Cultural Influences It was necessary to consider that Sadie and Bessie Delaney had strong African-American influences considering that their father had been a slave before becoming a teacher. Nevertheless, their African heritage of close family ties is also prevalent and their education, although American by nature and strength, is merited with their determination to rise beyond what is presently available for them and their race or kind. These ethno-exposures all add up to the quality of human beings they have become. Current Living Situation Bessie died in September 25, 1995 while Sadie died January 25 1999. They were recorded in Guinness Book of World Records in 1993 as the world’s oldest authors (Wikipedia, 2007). Conclusion: What the Delaney sisters Sadie and Bessie had was a full life story. They had a beginning, struggles, lots of lessons learned and application of lessons learned, a “feel good” narrative about the lives of two African American women beyond trials and tribulations and how they have gone over all those things that could have been missed by the majority of their lot. It is a story about determination, and strength to persevere. It is a life history worth noting about and learning with. Reference: Harrison, Paul Carter (1997). “The Crisis of Black Theater Identity.” African American Review 31 (4), 567-578 Wikipedia. (2007) “Delaney Sisters.” Accessed 2007 from www.wikipedia.org Read More