The Slate and I

You know I stay writing everything and anything. Thanks again to @jqcomedy for referring me. I wrote two shorts for #TheSlate that came from things I experienced while being back home in the #bayarea with the black women that raised me. For me, these short film ideas came from real life to heal old wounds. They’re personal, they’re from my perspective, and I hope that’s what makes these stories personal and your next favorite short. One of the great things that the medium of short films allows is the ability to try to capture very unique scenes and situations on film. I just hope the scenes and the story overall, stick with audiences and further lead discussions with friends and family.

A few weeks ago, I gave a candid interview about why I wrote “Loving You.” It may leave some particular family members upset, but it’s my truth and personally, what other black women have faced. My ongoing struggles and triumphs with my hair have enlightened me about the woman I’ve grown to love and pick on. Why? you say. Because, just like the writer I am - I’m a perfectionist. My hair was always the center of attention because it was “good hair.” To me, during my teen years and to my mom, my hair was simply straight until I tried to put gel in it to make it different. But it did not. It only made it worse. Throughout college and then graduate school, I went back and forth pressing my hair and doing braid outs until I was 33. At 33, my Jesus year and the week of my cousin Brian’s wedding - I did the semi-big chop. The next words that came out after my hair dresser turn me toward the mirror was - I look like a Muppet. I mean like y’all, somebody shove a hand up my ass and mouth it for me: You a muppet, girl. I hated my hair but didn’t l didn’t my hair dresser. She told me give it a few days and showed me how to fix my perfect curls. But I tried, I really tried those next days and flew home to Oakland for the wedding.

The day of the wedding I put on my epic pink halter jumpsuit from Nordstrom; thanks to Abdul for the gift card. I was looking fly as hell - but my hair, curls needed to be fixed and I began to cry. On my own, it felt like torcher trying to twirl the curl on the fine toothed end of the comb. Then my dad saw me crying and he consoled me with: You shouldn’t of done this, no man will want you now. With that, he walked away. Moments later, my mom walked in and I told her what my dad said. Ignoring his words, my 5 foot 3 of a woman black mother told me to Hush, your hair looks amazing and it will grow back. Now show me what I need to do. My mother and I spent 20 minutes twisting, turning those curls. They weren’t perfect, but they were a joint effort. From that day on, I embraced the challenge of curating my hair but also the fulfillment of knowing hair grows back, and not to be afraid to get box braids. With that - you have “Loving You.”

Now with “Work It Out,“ the idea came from watching my mom and dad take care of my grandmother this past year. My grandma Billye goes back and forth from my parents house to my aunt and uncle’s house, because putting her in a home is super fucking expensive. Also, hello, it’s still COVID people. But I’ll keep this short - my grandma is stubborn. This over 90 black woman originally from Texas will tell you how she feels while also saying sorry later. But no apologies needed grandma, you being a fussy woman has created characters I didn’t know were originated by you. Nevertheless, my grandmother has diabetes, high blood pressure and some other issues. She refuses to work out AND she sits all day. Before you ask, yes my family has pushed her to get up from the couch to miss her stories to walk around, but this woman gives a strong NO. When she found out from the doctor she was going to lose her legs, she started to walk around… just a little bit around the house. She hated the outside weather, made other excuses, but somehow my family has managed to keep her alive and still standing on both feet. For my short I thought, what if my grandma actually listened and learned something? Maybe that would bring us closer together and have her in better health. The dream was written on the page and I’m hoping it comes across on screen as well. See below for the lines and a blurb from The Slate about working with me so far.

”Work It Out”

When an elderly woman faces foot amputtaion, her doctor presents her with an even bigger challenge: change her lifestyle and exercise or lost her legs.

“Loving You”

When a bride decides to cut off her hair on her wedding day, it leaves her feeling like her beauty is stolen. Her mother steps in and sets out to restore her hair but her self-worth in this change.

#rp @slatepresents
“While working on the new HBO show #Demimonde, gifted storyteller Kristina Thomas has also penned The Slate's first narrative: Loving You, a heartfelt story about an African American bride-to-be who cuts off her hair right before her wedding day, in order to conform to cultural expectations. Whenever we create high-quality narratives at The Slate- we're always trying to tell stories that have never been told before, or create characters that present unique performance opportunities to actors. For example in Kristina's script Loving You, she hasn't just written a culturally-significant story about race designed to inspire important conversations, she's also created some wonderful characters in the process: This is exactly the kind of story we want to tell, and the type of content we want to support. We can't wait to get started.”
#writer #blackgirlsrock #storyteller