Heyeeeee It's our 2nd virtual meeting y'all and this time Dianne invited U.S. G.I.R.L.S. to meet at 9 am to discuss "The Vanishing Half" by Britt Bennett.
Although it was early in the morning, we were all excited and anxious to see each other and begin our discussion. Dianne began by welcoming everyone as we joined and she wasted no time in getting started. She began with the books title and how we felt about it. JayBee mentioned that there seemed to be multiplicity in the meaning - not only did the twin sister, Stella, vanish, but Reese seemed to vanish as well. Roz mentioned the vanishing acts of Jude and Jackie echoed her sentiments regarding the town of Mallard vanishing from the maps in the latter parts of the book.
Dianne went on to discuss the town of Mallard as a character within itself. This is discussed in depth, along with the topic of colorism and how it impacts the mental stability of individuals, particularly the young. We were able to take this topic to parlay into the next question about the murder of the twins father and how that trauma may have impacted the decisions they made as adults and why.
Stella "passing" was questioned by all members - EVERYONE had an opinion. Some wondered just how fair was Stella that she could pass? We all agreed that it is primarily a state of mind and personal convictions that enable anyone to be successful at "passing" or deceive, be it intentional or unintentional. Twilla gave an example of a young biracial lady that she knows who identifies as African-American, however she "could" pass. Celeste discuss an "on the job" incident where an employee was having discord with peers due to colorisum and representation. Karen recanted a story about a friend of hers, who has a cousin who passed for years - until she gave birth and the bloodline came through with the child being of the darker hue of her ancestors. Karen went on to say that the husband sent her packing on the first thing smoking (okay, they separated...I just had to use my editorial license and embellish here...tee heeee). Roz, of course, had several colorful examples that to share and bring comic relief.
Jude darkness and lack of other adjectives perplexed ALL of us. Jude's character deserved so much more. Jude's relationship with Reese was complex from the start and the complexities grew exponentially as the years passed. Although they appeared to share a consistent sex life,(because of Reese's insecurities), they lacked physical intimacy.
It was really a great discussion overall filed with real life stories, situations and family history.
After we were done, Dee announced her book for December, "All My Lies Are True" by Dorothy Koomson.
Valerie invited Dee Wilcox, the Executive Director of the "AnnieRuth Foundation" to join our meeting at 10:15. While we were waiting for Ms. Wilcox to join, Val expressed her appreciation to all the members for participating in our most recent philanthropic initiative. In October, member Kim Davis donated $250 in memory of her parents to U.S. G.I.R.L.S. to be donated to an organization of our choice. The founding members, selected The AnnieRuth Foundation for a number or reasons; but primarily for their humble beginnings in assisting the youth of Duval and surrounding counties.
Once Ms. Wilcox joined, Valerie announced that U.S. G.I.R.L.S. and guest, Shannon had donated a combined total of $1300.00 for the organization. It was evident that Ms. Wilcox was overcome with emotion for our generosity.
We closed the meeting with well wishes for everyone during this pandemic.
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