Black Coffee discussion

Here is where we will be discussing Just as I Am by Cicely Tyson.

Synopsis: “Just as I Am is my truth. It is me, plain and unvarnished, with the glitter and garland set aside. Here, I am indeed Cicely, the actress who has been blessed to grace the stage and screen for six decades. Yet I am also the church girl who once rarely spoke a word. I am the teenager who sought solace in the verses of the old hymn for which this book is named. I am a daughter and mother, a sister, and a friend. I am an observer of human nature and the dreamer of audacious dreams. I am a woman who has hurt as immeasurably as I have loved, a child of God divinely guided by His hand. And here in my ninth decade, I am a woman who, at long last, has something meaningful to say.

Will you be joining us?

Count me in!

Locked and loaded!

The audiobook is excellent! Robin Miles is the narrator.

Thanks, Monica; I'll get it to read along with my FIRST EDITION hard copy.

Yay!

Ordering my copy today!

Definitely. I was given a hard copy for my bday in March. I may get the audio version from the library as well.

Okay, cool! This is already on my want to read shelf, so I am looking forward to this. I'm hoping to listen to it on audiobook.

Sounds like a great read

Yes just got this from the library. Had to start the intro by Viola Davis - already in tears. Also looked at all the photos. Already in love with this book.

I got this from the library--on audio and in print--and am going to start it soon. I've been wanting to read this for a while now.

I listened to this in December. It was excellent. I hope to contribute to the discussion. I will also say that I listened to Miles: The Autobiography a few years ago. Some parts of Just as I Am are the other side of the coin for Miles Davis. They complement each other in an odd way. By the end of this, I thought Cecily Tyson was just an amazing person. Michelle Burford also gets some love from me for making this fantastic book so immersive and readable!

I have the audio and the text. I intend to go back and forth. It was my understanding that Viola Davis and Cicely Tyson were narrating? No?

Both Viola Davis and Cicely Tyson narrate the Forward and the Introduction. Robin Miles narrates the book.

Gotcha! I am looking forward to it.

Oh, my mistake--I just saw her name twice and haven't really looked at the back of the audiobook cover yet. I have the book in print and may end up using a combination for this. I haven't listened to the Miles one since I have been more interested in reading biographies, memoirs and autobiographies of black women in music and entertainment than men for the most part. I haven't read a lot of them, but at least 5 or 6 since I got interested in the history of black women singers back in university in the 1980s when we studied Women in Music (in Vancouver where in my school we covered racism when it was combined with sexism, but not racism within the then contemporary feminism that I can remember since women's studies was still a fairly new field and interdisciplinary--we had no profs with degrees in it ) but got sidetracked until the past few years as I have a lot of interests.

Karin, it sounds like you come to “Just As I Am” well prepared. C

Dosha (Bluestocking7) wrote: "Karin, it sounds like you come to “Just As I Am” well prepared. C"

Somewhat :)

So far I like it, but it's slow going since I'm not doing a lot of driving. The audio narrator is quite good. I have to say that I don't know much about Cicely Tyson.

Did you know her mother was called Dosha as a child? So now I've heard of two :)

Have the audiobook from the library. Looking forward to it.

I started it today. I am listening on audible and reading along using my hardcover. It is fun to see my name in print. Now I know of four of us. I am named after my maternal grandmother, there used to a music teacher named Dosha Dockett and now Cicely Tyson’s mom. Very interesting so far and Cicely is still a little girl.

Yes, I will be joining the group!

Hope everyone is doing well! If you are an audible member, this audiobook is currently $3.95 (not sure how long the sale will last).

And the narrator is awesome!

I just started reading (only 9%). At the mention of Sounder, I had to stop to watch the movie. LOL! If I keep this up every time she references a movie, it will take months for me to finish this book. I adore her!!!

I am having fun with this book too. I always loved me some Ms. Tyson.

Now, I have to admit that I am looking forward to the part when she meets and then marries Miles Davis because I read his autobiography and, well let’s just say, there were not a lot of positive things he had to say about her. I can hardly wait to learn her side of the story.

I think she was a so dignified in her retelling of her relationship with Miles. She kept it classy. I wanted the tea, but I had to learn that's not what this was for. Keeping it class is who she was.

Dosha (Bluestocking7) wrote: "I am having fun with this book too. I always loved me some Ms. Tyson.

Now, I have to admit that I am looking forward to the part when she meets and then marries Miles Davis because I read his aut..."

Yes, you'll see what led up to him doing this based on her side of the story!

I've finished it--I love her as an actress and the stand she took for black women and black people, but found the book itself a bit uneven in the writing, etc.

This book is so good, I finish it yesterday…..

I’m halfway through it, so please don’t give anything away.

Ohhh… so much of this is my childhood. Tiggers, triggers and more triggers!

I know, right. I Have put the book down and have decided the video is the only way to go.

Dosha (Bluestocking7) wrote: "I know, right. I Have put the book down and have decided the video is the only way to go."

Dosha, do you mean the “audio”?

Yes, my bad! The Audio, not the video.

Dosha (Bluestocking7) wrote: "I know, right. I Have put the book down and have decided the video is the only way to go."

I "read" most of this by listening to the audio while driving, etc :)

Karin wrote: "Dosha (Bluestocking7) wrote: "I know, right. I Have put the book down and have decided the video is the only way to go."

I "read" most of this by listening to the audio while driving, etc :)"

Following your lead. I just got the audio version from my library. It is very good. Thanks!

You are welcome!

To me, it even sounds like Cicely is doing the talking. The narrator is on point.

That whole section of the myth of the strong black woman….WHEW!!!!!

I KNOW, right? I’m loving it 😍

Okay, now I’m watching Paris Blues! LOL!

Miles Davis 1967 Sorcerer

Sorcerer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015XWUGS/...

The Hair Section!!! 💗

Dosha (Bluestocking7) wrote: "You are welcome!

To me, it even sounds like Cicely is doing the talking. The narrator is on point."

Heyyyy, Dosha!!
Those were my exact thoughts while reading a few pages from CENTER STAGE 😉
(Especially when Cicely Tyson is 'speaking' to herself)

Since I come from the west coast of Canada originally I came at this from an entirely different direction. As I've mentioned, I didn't grow up knowing the American (and probably some others as well) stereotypes of black women or much about Jim Crow other than what I saw on the news at times (not much since I was a child and didn't watch it personally) or later read in the newspaper. We also didn't have any black people living there until I was older.

So when Cicely Tyson discussed the strong black woman myth, it was one of a number of things I learned reading this book.

Another thing I hadn't realized how many black people moved to the states from the West Indies in the early part of the 20th century--we didn't even study American history as a subject, although no doubt it was missing in American classrooms as well--so much of immigration was.

Finished. LOVED IT!

Discussion Questions:

1. What did you learn about Tyson from her memoir that you didn’t know previously? What was a revelation to you?

2. Of all the roles played by Tyson, which is your favorite? Why?

3. If you ran into Tyson walking across 70th Street and (this time!) she had the time to sit and speak with you one-on-one, what would you ask her?

4. Tyson was a serious and dedicated performer/artist. After reading her memoir, what do you think inspired her to embark upon an acting career?

5. Why do you think Tyson’s relationship with her mother was so fraught?

6. Why do you think Tyson was so drawn to Miles Davis?

7. What aspects of Tyson’s emotional make up or personality stood out to you the most? What personal qualities do you think she possessed that enabled her to create such an incredible body of work, and take on such memorable roles?

1. I had no idea she had a child

2. I really enjoyed Sipsy

1. I had no idea about the background of Dianne Carroll and Sidney Poitier.

2. Ophelia Harkness - How to Get Away with Murder. It seemed like it was a fun role for her.

6. She wanted to fix him emotionally as well as physically.

This is my second time reading her memoir but reading along with the audio version this go round was better for me.

1. The fact that Cecily Tyson has a daughter was surprising. But in a good way since she does have a heir as part of her legacy..

2. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman because that progression from young to 100 years old was mesmerizing. And the other is the movie Sounder because Cicely Tyson went al-naturale. It was pure raw acting.

6. I thought her mom was too strict. It was do things my way or hit the highway. And fortunately for us, she followed her heart.

Dang it, I meant #5 for my last comment, not #6.