Guess what, my friend Jean said.
What? I replied.
I just joined Black Girls Run!
Black girls... do what???
Black Girls Run!
Hmmph, I said.
What’s that supposed to
mean?
It means what are they running for? Or from? Freddy Krueger? (I laughed at my clever joke.)
Jean just gave me “the look”. (The look is a facial expression you'd give a clueless child.)
Here’s the thing, I said. It doesn’t square with nature.
Nature!!! She says while getting irritated. What’s that supposed to mean?
Well, Jean, take zebras for example. Imagine a zebra spending her entire day grazing… just to cover her daily caloric needs. Then imagine her saying to her fellow zebras, hey everybody, I just joined Zebras Run. Now I’m going to run around in circles and burn these calories it took all day to acquire.
Silence... accompanied by "the look".
A zebra wouldn’t do that Jean. They only run when it’s absolutely necessary. Like if a lion was chasing them.
Silence... accompanied by "the look".
Then Jean said, you’re into fitness and wellness, aren’t you?
Yes.
And part of your routine involves lifting weights, does it not?
Yes.
Well… correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve never seen a zebra lifting weights. Have you?
Silence... while I tried to think of a comeback. But I was drawing a blank.
Then we both burst out laughing. She had me there.
Jean was that kind of friend, the one you could enjoy a playful, back-and-forth banter with.
That playful banter is something I will miss.
I’ll miss it because Jean passed away on March 19, 2023 at the age of 64. She, and her "live life to the fullest" vibe, are definitely gone too soon.
I’m telling the Ethnic Expressions ecosystem about Jean because, although there would be thousands more, she was the
very first Ethnic Expressions consultant.
But she was much more than that. She was also one of our closest friends and our children's godmother.
If fact, she was always in and out of our house to the point that I once asked if I needed to set aside one of our bedrooms for her.
You can, she said. As long
as it's the master. And we laughed.
Jean was always quick with a comeback like that.
On one of her visits, she said, you’ve been building Ethnic Expressions for a year. Are you ready to start taking on art consultants yet? Because, if you’re not, I’m going to have to go back to work.
(She
had quit her job the year before after having her second child.)
I’m not ready yet, I said. We're working from can to can't, but there are still a lot of things that need to be done. I think you'd struggle making a go of it.
Well in that case, I need to get my typewriter back so I can work on my resume. (I had borrowed her typewriter the year before to keep my expenses low.)
But I need your typewriter, I said. It's how I do my invitations. How long are you wanting to borrow
it?
Well, I can't borrow my own typewriter, can I? But to answer your question, I'll need it until I get a job. Then… she said with a smile, if you let me get started,
I won’t need it.
And that is how Jean became the first EE consultant.
I was doubtful as to how well she would do because so many processes weren’t smoothed out.
But I was soon proven wrong… because Jean slayed it. Her love for black history and black art proved to be the perfect combination. She took to the business like an eagle takes to the air and tore the business up.
At one of her
shows, a man was so moved by her presentation that he stood up and shouted to the other guests, "This sister... is bad! She is young! She is gifted! And she is blaaaaaaaaack!!!
As a natural born leader, Jean also built a sales team. It was a phenomenal team too. She built her organization to the Emerald level. Only one other consultant ever built it to the level Jean did. And, trust me, we had some
unbelievably talented consultants and leaders. They were all bad! They were all amazing. They were all young, gifted and blaaaaaaaack.
But Jean... was one of one.
So, putting heartbreak aside, I must say we were truly blessed to have her as a good friend and surrogate mom. And the EE family was blessed to have her as a Harriet.
