CeeCee Shades of Black
Sometimes life’s choices are not ours alone.
Then…sometimes they are, and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
The baby girl born to Flower and Ely Brown in 1886, held no resemblance to the black woman and her husband, she appeared to look more like a white child with little or no traits of her black heritage. “This is the devil’s way to retell it,” says Flower. Ely nods. He knows she’s speaking about the baby’s grandmother, Flower’s mama, who was raped by the lustful son of their slave owner years before. Flower sighed then bent forward to kiss the baby’s cheek as she adds, “Ely she’s gonna have a hard life and I been thinkin, we should give her a proper name. I wanna call her Cecelia.” Ely grunts, but nods his approval. As time passes the baby becomes known as CeeCee to her family as well as the Roberts, the family that owns the plantation where Ely and Flower live and work. CeeCee hungers for the life that surrounds her and yet she knows and accepts her station in life. Being a Negro even though she is extremely clever, she is not allowed to learn to read, know numbers or write. Still she picks up all these abilities while sitting in the corner of the parlor as she watches the tutor teach Winnifrey and Abigail. Winnifrey hates school and as usual starts her whining halfway through the days lessons, “why must I learn this, I really do not care? CeeCee bring me another glass of lemonade. Now!” Silently, CeeCee moves toward the kitchen to fetch Winnifrey her request, she tries, but cannot hide the proudful smile that is tugging at her lips, she has grown smarter than either girl, but again no one is to know. This was only the beginning of Winnifreys selfish acts and the beginning of CeeCee’s constant fear of being caught and living a life far more than she ever dreamed. One hundred years, she thought. Today was CeeCee’s birthday. She stares into her mirror, while she waits for the reporter that is due soon. Will she believe her story? Will the world understand and forgive her, Will they see, it was the only way?
