RIP Ruby Dee
Yesterday saw the passing of another great female icon, actress and activist, Ruby Dee. Dee was 91 years old.It made me ponder how I think we all form in our minds, and our hearts, our own image of how we "know" a celebrity. At least I know I do. It's how I just knew as a girl that Michael Jackson was shy, but kind, and that he and I would make good friends. It's how I know, say, that actor John Cusack must be a cool guy because he stays out of the Hollywood celebrity drama eye. It's how I know that Frida Kahlo would think we were kindred spirits because when I do paint, I like to create very detailed, personal works in what might be considered a naive style. It's how Prince would know I was a funky white girl, and would want to go out dancing with me.The truth is, I don't really know what these people are like, but still I imagine I do. It's my way in to feeling closer to someone who seems to be on this untouchable pedestal. It humanizes the star that is out of my reach.As for Ruby Dee, I do not have extensive knowledge of her talent, tremendous career, or personal life--only a skim coat of knowing her acting career--from her stand out role in A Raisin In The Sun, to her role in Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing, when she is paired with her beloved husband of over fifty years, Ossie Davis. I know lightly of her friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and her work as a civil rights activist.I didn't really know Ruby Dee, but anytime I heard her name or caught her in a film, or heard her speak on television, the words that came to mind are two found in the quote below attributed to Dee, which I saw posted numerous times on Facebook yesterday.
"The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within--strength, courage, dignity."
Strength and dignity are the words that always came to mind for me when thinking of Ruby Dee, and now it is clear to see that yes, it takes courage to put forth and maintain the other two--especially as a woman of color in her time who strove to be the best she could be at her craft, in her love, in doing her part to make the world a better place, in raising her children, and for letting us in to create those images, in our minds, and in our hearts, of who Ruby Dee was to us.Here is my daily Facebook poem from yesterday, a tribute to Ruby Dee, created from my friends' Status Updates, as well as several links to articles posted on-line that pay tribute to this great woman. facebook dailymades (from your status updates)I was writingpoetic soul tonicunderneath the weather...and the day isnot my own...sadly, we arelosing our eldersanother icon gonerip-loved yourraisin in the sunshe was theconsummate artistshe walked withheavy ancestral vibrationsand I wish hersafe passagemore anon...back to editingrest in peace, ruby deeFB Status Update contributors: Denitra Letrice, Debby Irving, Rochelle Morgan Taylor, Carol Hubbard, Tracy Baptiste, Carmen Head, Denise Byrd, National Civil Rights Museum, Donald King, Ryan Stevenson, For HarrietLinks to articles paying tribute to Ruby Dee:Thinking of Ruby Dee by Hilton Als for The New Yorkerhttp://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2014/06/thinking-of-ruby-dee.htmlHow To Spend 9 Years Without The Love Of Your Life ( A Tribute to Ruby Dee),by Stacia L. Brownhttp://stacialbrown.com/2014/06/12/how-to-spend-9-years-without-the-love-of-your-life-a-tribute-to-ruby-dee/ Ruby Dee, Actress and Activist Has Died, by Monee Fields-White, for The Roothttp://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/06/ruby_dee_actress_and_activist_has_died.html SOURCE:Thinking Of Ruby Dee, posted by Hilton Als, June 12, 2014, www.newyorker.comHow To Spend 9 Years Without The Love Of Your Life ( A Tribute to Ruby Dee), by Stacia L. Brown, June 12, 2014, www.stacialbrown.comRuby Dee, Actress and Activist Has Died, by Monee Fields-White, June 12, 2014, www.theroot.com