It’s no fun to lose. Or is it?
While some Minnesotans with long faces have been showing and voicing their disappointment about the election results, more than 200 Black women took a different route.
“We’re going to love each other back to life.” That was the goal of an ambitious plan by Sheletta Brundidge, whose multimedia podcasting platform, promotions and production company, ShelettaMakesMeLaugh.com, hosted a post-election brunch to lift the spirits of Black women.
“Here I was telling people to choose joy, but I thought I have to do something to spread that joy. I thought, I’m a member of the Minneapolis Club and we’re going to do this.” In two days, Brundidge put the word out and dialed in the details on a Black Women Brunch on Saturday, Nov. 9. The two-hour event was meant to bring Black women out of their homes and away from their sadness after the results of the presidential election.
“We’re grieving because we thought we would see our first Black female president,” said Brundidge. “We were ready to book tickets to the inauguration and see what Fannie Lou Hamer, Shirley Chisholm and Coretta Scott King had fought their entire lives to make possible. Then, we saw our hopes dashed. We took the loss personally.”
And yet, disappointment and rejection did not show up at the Minneapolis Club that Saturday morning as the doors opened and Black women continued to file in, eager to connect and have a good time.
“I’m usually shy, but when I heard about this, I thought, I’m going,” said Cynthia Haynes, who showed up all smiles and ready to dance. “For me personally, I needed to be around people who look like me but with good energy.”
Haynes admitted the election results didn’t sting as much for her because she didn’t have expectations. “I don’t let that bother me. The reality is a Black woman was running against a white man. You have to prepare for that.”
Haynes and the other women enjoyed brunch, drinks, dancing, cupcake decorating, body scrub making, prayer, therapy and hugs, so many hugs. “I probably hugged 60 to 70 women,” said Chaz Sandifer, who was thrilled to see Brundidge’s plan become a reality. “Sheletta and I were texting back and forth about needing to bring back the joy. If you think of it, Harris, a woman of color, nearly made it to the top. We have to lean on the positive,” Sandifer added.
Each attendee wore a nametag that read “Black woman,” which only further united the group as they line danced, laughed and toasted each other and the way they showed up on short notice.
“I did the cupcakes, I made the scrub, I danced and had me a strawberry mimosa,” said Stephanie Maggitt, who saw Brundidge’s invitation on Facebook. “It felt happy and good to see Black women come out.”
Brundidge says she challenges Black boss ladies in other cities like Atlanta, Houston and Chicago to replicate this model of how to handle loss. “You’re not seeing images of Black women sad and dejected. You’re seeing images of laughter and joy and that’s what we want and what we’re about.”