This is nothing new.
I have seen Akeelah and the Bee on more than one occasion.
There, I've said it.
The film tells the story of a young, gifted, and black girl who discovers her gift for spelling with the guidance of Laurence Fishburne, a surly college professor who has led many spellers to the championships. Angela Bassett plays Akeelah's single mother, struggling to keep the family afloat by working overtime, all the time.
This film speaks to my heart on many levels: as a woman of color, a writer, a blacktress, and as a former young black girl--and a former spelling bee champ.
Yes, Sojo can spell.
I was never all into the Latin roots and reading the dictionary, but back in my Harlem schooldaze, I represented the 5th grade in our school-wide spelling bee. I didn't take home the big trophy, but I made it to the top 3-- and I even beat an 8th grader.
So, watching Akeelah and the Bee is always tender and heartwarming, and I tune in for at least a portion of it whenever it's on the boob tube.
And I always cry at the end.
Wow. I can't believe I just admitted it. I must really feel safe with you guys here in cyberspace.
But for serious, I do cry during the film. Something about the cast of a who's-who of blacktors and blacktresses, Akeelah's glasses and braids in a ponytail--she is a young Sojo. Her ill-fitting outfits, nerdiness, and friendship with the soon-to-be homosexual fellow speller Javier is everything I was growing up. Then just add Angela Bassett to the mix, and I'm feeling empowered, intimidated, and desperate for her approval--much like I do with my own mother.
At the end, when Akeelah is triumphant (come on, that wasn't a spoiler, you know it's a feel-good film), there's a montage of everyone cheering: her classmates back in South Central LA (obvi it had to be set there), her family back home, neighborhood residents in the diner. And I don't know why, but the slow-motion clapping and hugging just really got me this time around--Sojo's spirit was lifted. I am so happy when a young nerdy negress can triumph and lift up the whole community.
The young blacktress Keke Palmer, floating in the Caucasian Sea, stands--and spells--alone.
I think I own the outfit she's wearing.
