Thelma's Story

Thelma Streeter (circa 1948)

Earlier today I was chatting online with a friend and colleague about the surreal and exhausting state of the world, and he made the following statement: 

Sometimes, I feel like an imposter in the conversation [about equity work], as I am the quintessential benefactor of this historic class system, but I still feel like it has to be much more difficult to be a mouthpiece as a black American. So often, it has to feel like people immediately shut down when you start talking about inequality. Or systemic racism.

To which I replied:

If you're the imposter, then I'm the sleeper. I, too, have benefited from the same class system. My parents circumvented and exploited it, and then taught my brother and I to not only do the same but to also conduct ourselves as if we have always been here. And that was just the most recent generation. Some day, we'll talk about my social-climbing, paternal grandmother.

*****

Thelma Streeter (née Dennis) was born on July 13, 1913 in Corsicana, Texas. Although she would not have been surprised by the current state of the world, she would have been appalled by it. She would have had some choice words to say about recent events, and she definitely would have had some choice words for me about the amount of stress, anxiety, and depression they’ve caused me.

Thelma was a woman who explained to me when I was sixteen that she learned to drive on a tractor, so I was not going to be intimidated by learning on a 5-speed manual transmission. Furthermore, at 90ish, she explained to her doctors that her then late twenties grand-daughter has been giving herself insulin shots multiple times a day since she was 17, so she’d muster the nerve to give herself the medicinal injections she needed as well. I never told her that, to this day, I hate needles and I wrestle with the inchoate demons of body horror. I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have mattered. She would have expected nothing less and would have counseled that fear can't be allowed to stop me from doing what needs to be done.

At age 22, Grandmother married my grandfather—Clarence—who was 15 years older than she, her second husband, and a Pullman porter. Together they moved to Dallas where she spent a year in domestic service. Deciding she was constitutionally unsuited for this work, Grandmother studied to become a licensed beautician and small business owner—co-owner of Tru-Thel Beauty Nook and later the proprietress of Streeter Beauty Shop.

Being a graduate of the Madam C. J. Walker College of Beauty Culture was one of her prized achievements. It not only launched her career but facilitated her active membership in a beloved sorority. Thelma Streeter truly re-invented herself, emerging as a prominent business owner and influencer in South Dallas' black community. Even though she rarely talked about these accomplishments, she quietly maintained a scrapbook over the years documenting and privately celebrating what she’d accomplished.

Graduating Class Photo (circa 1943)

Top row, 5th from right

*****

I was raised by strong women--blood relatives on both sides of my family tree as well as my family-of-choice--who believed in protecting home and hearth foremost and then leveraging whatever soft power you have in order to keep the world from holding you and yours back. Sometimes I forget that, but thinking about my Grandmother always reminds me that I was groomed to NOT be a victim.

... And to this day, driving a 5-speed is still one my greatest visceral joys.

My matriarchs:

Thelma & Maxine Streeter 

MLIS Graduation Ceremony at Texas Women's University

Additional Photos