It seems obvious but a bar of Ivory needs to be lathered up and applied to your body for you to get clean. If you’ve ever bathed a small child, you know that you have to show them how to do this. You show them once and then again and again. It’s not obvious to a child. But as Viola Davis pointed out in an interview with Oprah once, children have to be shown.
And you have to have soap.
When EGOT winner Davis was growing up in Rhode Island, her family struggled with the basics. There was seldom enough food in the house. The electricity was often turned off for non-payment. But even when they did have power, Davis’ family had no clothes dryer. Laundry was dried on an outdoor clothesline. Dry or not, Davis and her sister would put those clothes on the next day for school because they had nothing else. Wet, maybe sort of clean and almost certainly hungry, Viola Davis trudged to school only to hear kids make fun of her and complain that she smelled. One can imagine that in rural Rhode Island - a state that remains upwards of 90% white--some of the kids complaints were racialized. But Davis admitted they were right. Hot water, soap, clean clothes and available parents were in short supply. Davis did smell.
Photo credit Brin Blum via Unsplash
Davis never forgot the shame of being mocked by those kids but she remembered something else too. One teacher's words lifted her up, telling Davis that she wasn't defined by her circumstances.
"The best thing he (Jeff Kenyon) told me is that I'm important....you know, it's an awkward phase in life." Davis said. "You don't feel like you're pretty enough, good enough, smart enough – nothing is enough. He taught me that I was enough. He listened to me, you know? That was the best education he gave me."
He taught me I was enough. He listened to me. He told me I was important.
“The best education".
Tell me which teacher made a difference in your life?
My head start teachers. I remember there names Ms McClary and Ms Moore
I liked the fact that My Mom could hang out with me for most of the day. She was there long enough, before my nap. I did not like school. I always learned more from my first teacher. MY MOM, she made the difference in my life. She never did fill me up with fairy tales. She always talked truth to me. It was a lot pressure having a( Mom) teacher as such. She seemed to be ahead of time. (I miss her) Thanks for listening 🎧
I know this a late post. I felt like better late than never.
Mrs Patricia Danielski! My biology teacher from high school. She inspired and encouraged me!! I have a deep love for science, the human body, medicine and all living things because of her! ❤️🥹
My head start teachers. I remember there names Ms McClary and Ms Moore
I liked the fact that My Mom could hang out with me for most of the day. She was there long enough, before my nap. I did not like school. I always learned more from my first teacher. MY MOM, she made the difference in my life. She never did fill me up with fairy tales. She always talked truth to me. It was a lot pressure having a( Mom) teacher as such. She seemed to be ahead of time. (I miss her) Thanks for listening 🎧
I know this a late post. I felt like better late than never.
Peace and Love
Mrs Patricia Danielski! My biology teacher from high school. She inspired and encouraged me!! I have a deep love for science, the human body, medicine and all living things because of her! ❤️🥹
I did not know this! What an amazing gift she gave you. I love this!