My friends ask why I have never seen the original Wizard of Oz.
Much respect to the movie, but to me, it cannot trump the soul-touching, personally meaningful attributes of my personal classic, The Wiz.
I am learning about all the symbols of the original story and feel that those symbols still exist in the Sidney Lumet version of the tale. I won’t assert that it totally defines the African American experience for all of us, but I can say that it defines a bunch of experiences for me!
So moving. So inspiring.
I just love how I feel when I watch it. Ready to stand tall and face what comes next. Knowing that I am powerful beyond my own measure. That I had everything I needed all along, inside of me. And isn’t that just a wonderful thing that classics do?
To all of you out there in the grind, doing what you love, looking for what you love, loving who you are…
I dedicate this song to you.
You’re standing, strong and tall.
You’re the greatest of them all.
If on courage you must call.
Keep on trying, and trying, and trying.
You’re a lion.
In your own way.
YOU’RE A LION.