My Renaissance World Tour Experience As a 72-Year-Old

Linda C. Mims and her daughters at the Renaissance World Tour in Chicago.

Editor’s Note: See Jane Write now publishes articles and personal essays by writers who identify as women, non-binary folks, and our allies. Learn more here.

By: Linda C. Mims

The first time I played Beyoncé’s Renaissance, I was cleaning the kitchen. “Cozy” came on and had me and the broom bopping and twirling under the disco ball. I half expected Donna Summer to bust out in song. Renaissance sounded like my youth and it paid homage to both House and Disco music, which my generation is very familiar.

I expected the Renaissance World Tour to feel like a family reunion, and it didn’t surprise me to see people aged 60 and older in the stadium. Crowds poured into Chicago’s Soldier Field through 20 gates, and while my daughters bought merch, I people watched. Stylish older ladies, with beautiful gray hair and faces beat to perfection, lifted their canes to me in salute. I, sporting a neon purple cane, lifted back. Mature ladies were a novelty in this venue, and tonight we were here to cuff it, cuff it, cuff it for you, baby!

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An Open Letter to My Inner Mean Girl

Hey, Sis,

I confess that when I’m talking about you to my friends I call you my inner mean girl. But, to be honest, I know you’re not really mean.

I know that hurt people hurt people. And you, I, we have been hurt.

We’ve been disappointed, embarrassed, picked on and taken advantage of. And you don’t want any of that to happen again.

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Reflecting on Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Message to Birmingham

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court, speaks at the 60th Commemoration of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Pool Photo/Butch Dill)

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court, spoke on Friday, September 15 at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham for the 60th anniversary memorial service in honor of the four girls killed in the 1963 bombing at the church.

Though she stressed that she was raised by parents who made sure she knew Alabama’s rich history, Jackson shared that this week marked her first visit to the state.

“I felt in my spirit that I had to come,” she said to us, explaining why she’d decided to make the trip. “I’ve come to Alabama to commemorate and mourn, celebrate and warn,” she said.

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Who says freedom isn’t free?

Editor’s Note: See Jane Write now publishes articles and personal essays by writers who identify as women, non-binary folks, and our allies. Learn more here.

by Kecia L. Lightner

“Freedom is not something that anybody can be given; freedom is something people take and people are as free as they want to be.” James Baldwin radically made this declaration in 1960 at the third annual Esquire Magazine symposium, later to be included in his essay collection, Nobody Knows My Name.  Little did I know how this quote would resonate with me so succinctly on the day I unexpectedly walked away from a 21-year career.

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How I’m Preparing for Fall

The cool air that kisses my face during my morning walks lets me know that fall is just around the corner. While some folks are stocking up on all things pumpkin spice, I’m preparing for autumn in a different way, the writer’s way.

Here’s how I’m preparing for fall and some journaling prompts to help you do the same.

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