Like One of the Family: To Hell with That!
...is one of trickster in a folkloric retelling of ancient stories placed in a modern setting for the African American community. Much like the trickster, Mildred has full control of her language skills, and gives no worries to who is on the receiving end of her observations. Despite the sense of hyperbole, the reader remains strongly on her side because she is truthful or what could be called too honest. Mildred’s courageousness and sense of humor also bring the reader in as the events she recounts are what readers want all African Americans have gotten away in saying to some white boss or a bus driver or hoity toity African American socialite who is too good to remember that every “colored family… [can] trace a domestic worker somewhere in their history… (37)”. Mildred’s attitude shows a person ready to rejoice in the good life can bring because of the suppression of freedom in history for African Americans. Despite the danger a simple picnic can pose in the 1950s, Mildred says that yes, she will go “take my life in my hands and go to the beach” (25) within the piece “Got to Go Someplace”. This survival instinct is present within “Buying Presents” too, as she recognizes the importance of something that will truly assist those in the community rather than just decorate it with glass beads. Within the short “Listen to the Music”, a real sense of ownership to the creat...