“Our seats are on the first row to the right,” says Momma. “As they should be” Grandma replies with a smile as we pass rows of people in outta sight outfits, like dancers on Soul Train. “We could get there faster if your driver would pick up Ericka”  Grandma says, holding my hand while I waddle. “He’s not my driver. He’s my comrade” Momma  replies, referring to the enormous Panther walking with us. Grandma sighs and tugs me towards our seats. “I need to speak with Norma,” says Momma , tucking me into a seat between hers and Grandma’s. “The brother at the edge of the stage is on point if you need anything. I’ll be back” says Momma. I swing my feet at the edge of the theater seat and look at my shiny black Mary Janes shoes. “Grandma, what does it say?” I ask, pointing to the sign near the stage. The audience behind us is filling in and growing louder. I’m excited to be with Momma and Grandma. “It’s a poster for the concert tonight” says Grandma looking around “It reads ‘Survival program benefit with Ike & Tina Turner, featuring Graham Central Station’. Below that is says ‘ Elaine Brown with The Bishop Norman Williams Quintet’” Grandma continued. “Friday, July 27!” I say excitedly reading the words. “Twenty-seven is a hard word with multiple syllables. Aren’t you the smartest toddler I know” says Grandma. Momma returns briefly but leaves again as the lights in the theater dim and the loud crowd grows louder. A handsome man plays with a band. Grandma says “That’s Larry Graham, he used to be with Sly and The Family Stone”. The audience is dancing and smoking and some are singing along. When Momma comes on stage I stand up in my seat. I don’t recognize the songs, they aren’t the music I hear on Momma’s albums, but the crowd loves it. Momma looks so beautiful in her pink dress and pink high heel shoes. She looks like a doll or a lady in Jet magazine. After Momma leaves the stage, music plays for a while, but there isn’t anyone on the stage. “I don't know what is taking so long but Ike and Tina need to hit the stage soon, we’re having dinner at the Lamppost after the show” says Grandma. I smile widely hoping the show will end quickly so I can get a cheeseburger with fries and a Shirley Temple at the Lamppost.  The lights in the auditorium flicker and flash as musicians take their places and their instruments. The band begins to play and Ike & Tina appear on the stage. The Ikettes, Tina’s background singers are dressed like Tina, but not as sparkly. The crowd jumps to their feet, almost in unison. As Ike & Tina begin the show Momma comes back to sit with us. Grandma is clapping and singing along while Momma smokes a cigarette. Before she can light another smoke the music stops, after only two or three songs. Ike, the leader of the band, announces angrily “The Black Panther Party forced us to play without pay. We not singing another mother fucking note.” The crowd seemed confused as band members attempted to leave the stage. “Huey already told those mother fuckers” Momma shouts to no one and everyone. As Ike starts to lead the band off stage they are met by Panthers and a tussle ensues. “Watch Ericka!” Momma yells to Grandma while whipping off her shoes and tossing them in her seat. “Don’t move!” Momma says to me before hiking up her pretty pink dress and climbing onto the stage to chase an Ikette running from the scene.  For a moment I’m worried about Momma as I watch her pursue the woman off stage, but Grandma sits unbothered by the fights exploding in front of us,  so I guess there’s no need for me to worry. The concert seems over but the crowd stays for the fight, cheering the Panthers and Oakland. Watching  instruments flying through the air as well dressed people scuffle  reminds me of an episode of Three Stooges with zany chaos, except if the pies were punches.  “I hope this is over soon. I don’t want to  miss dinner at the Lamppost” Grandma says, slightly annoyed. “Would you like a butter rum Lifesaver?” she asks as a man in front of us kicks another man.  I nod while watching instruments being flung from the stage. Grandma unwraps the candy and hands it to me. The fights end simultaneously as the band retreats and Panthers chase them from the auditorium. Grandma and I watch as the crowd exits. Most of the people are laughing about the fight. I hear a man with a large hat perched at the tip of his large Afro say “That was Right On, That was some solid shit” as he passes us.  The brother Momma pointed out earlier approaches us. “Ms. Clark, Sister Elaine, says she’ll meet you at the Lamppost. I’ll take you and Little Ericka there now” he says. Grandma looks him up and down, holds out her hand for him to help her stand and says “It’s about time. I’m starving”

 

At the Lamppost the brother walks us to the bar where Momma is waiting. Grandma hands her her shoes and they both laugh. “Well, that was some show,” said Grandma. Momma puts on her shoes and we walk back to the booth to meet Huey. His bodyguard stands up and we sit in the booth where we’re joined by a few other adults. Everyone is laughing about the fight that should have been a concert. “Why couldn't a motherfucker wait a few hours for $500?” says a man at the table. “Look here, to me twelve thousand was already too much bread to spend on them niggas. Giving them $11,500.00 upfront should have been all they got. Ike got his band mudholed over 500 dollars” says a lady sitting on the other side of grandma. Everyone laughs. I giggle because the word “mudhole" sounds funny. Huey turns to me and asks “Little Ericka what did you think of the show tonight?” Momma smiles at him and then at me. “I liked the music and it was funny when Tina Tuna tried to run.” I say, causing Huey to laugh loudly. “They all tried to run. Did y’all hear what Little Ericka said? Tina ‘Tuna’” Huey asks the table, waiting for them to laugh as loudly as he had. “Ericka, that might be the funniest shit I heard today” Huey says smiling. Everyone at the table laughs in agreement with him. I guess Momma had already ordered for us because suddenly our table was filled with plates. I munched on my cheeseburger and sipped my Shirley Temple while the rest of the table relived the best punches and stomps of the night. I fall asleep, leaning on grandma, with a half chewed french fry in my cheeks.

 

Over the next few months I saw a couple articles in Jet Magazine about the fracas between Ike Turner and the Black Panthers. I don’t know what the articles say, but one has a photo of Momma with a caption below talking about a lawsuit. I wonder why we couldn’t have just had a concert of Momma’s albums since Ike wanted so much money and did so little performing. “Joan, what kind of suit is a lawsuit?” I ask. Joan looks puzzled until I show her the article in Jet about the Black Panthers and Ike Turner. “Oh, well, it’s not a suit of clothing, a lawsuit is an action seeking legal restitution” Joan says while smiling at me. All of the words sound like gobblygook to me but I smile back as if I understand. I love Joan as I love Momma. Joan and Momma share an apartment, clothes, a car; almost everything, but they each have their own room in the apartment on Caldecott. Joan and Momma make sure Joan’s son Geronimo and I know the name of the street. I don’t know why, but it seems important to them that we know the name of the street. The first time I said Caldecott correctly Momma said “Look at my baby, barely four years old and pronouncing multisyllabic words.”  “Mommie, what are y’all talking about?” asks Geronimo as he climbs on the chair to sit with me. “Hey Gee, Little Ericka was asking me about an article in Jet” “Oh, is it the new Jet?” Geronimo asks. “Why do you ask? You wanna see the Beauty of the Week?” I say bumping him almost off the chair we’re sharing. “I don’t want to see those girls in bikinis!” Geronimo said as if being loud would make his lie believable. “I swear you two bicker like an old married couple” says Joan, causing Geronimo and I to stick out our tongues at each other. “How about I get you some cereal and you can bicker over who has the better bowl” Joan says with a laugh making her way to the kitchen. “But, Joan, all the bowls are the same” I say puzzled. “Well then you’ll have to find another debate I suppose” says Joan. Geronimo and I head to the living room to sit on the large round orange rug in front of the TV. We follow the aztec patterns in the rug, walking behind each other in a circle until we fall over. Joan brings two bowls of cereal and hands us each a spoon. “Mommie, can we watch Scooby Doo?” asks Geronimo. “Yes, my love” says Joan, turning on the television then cranking the dial to the right channel just in time for the opening theme. “Scooby Dooby Doo where are you?” Geronimo and I sing in unison. “Ah, I see there are things about which you two can agree. Good deal comrades” says Joan leaving us in the middle of the rug singing. Geronimo says “Are we going to miss each other this summer?” “Of course not,” I say, shoveling Rice Krispies into my mouth. “Our grandmas are gonna plan it so we can see each other in Los Angeles before we come back here when school starts” I continue. “How do you know that?” Geronimo asks. “I heard my Momma tell yours that their moms would get us together over summer in LA.” I replied. “ I’m happy our grandmas are taking us to LA,” he says. “Me too. I saw an airport on television. It looks like a playground for planes” I say, imagining planes using runways like a slide. When Grandma was here for the Ike & Tina show she told me she’d have a gift for me when she came to fly me to her house for the summer in LA. I can’t wait!

 

Summer with grandma was pretty fun. She flew to Oakland and had a white stuffed dog for me. I held him in my lap for the flights and named him Fluffy. Over the summer with Grandma she took me to visit with her friends and to MacArthur Park to feed ducks, and to a place she said I shouldn’t mention to Momma where dogs ran around a long circle racing each other like horses. At the end of summer Momma meets us at the Oakland airport to take me home to the dorm. “Oh, look at how big my baby became over the season,” says Momma, pinching my cheek and looking at Grandma. “Well, she looked slim, and she likes to eat,” says Grandma. Momma rolls her eyes and says “If she was slim it's because she’s an active child”. “Well then it will work itself out as she runs around with her friends” says Grandma. Aaron, Momma’s bodyguard, takes my bag from Momma and we leave Grandma at the airport to head to my dormitory.

 

We pull up to the house us kids call The Middle Dorm. We call it that because the first dorm is for babies and the last dorm is for teenagers. Momma says “I’ll wash the clothes you took to Grandma’s for summer and have them bought here for you later this week”. She gets out of the car and opens the back door for me. I hop from the car to the curb. “Okay, Momma”.  “Tomorrow when I see you at school you can tell me more about summer with grandma. I can’t wait to hear it all. And, maybe save some things just for me. The other kids in your dorm may not have had all the fun you had so be mindful of others” says Momma, waving to Patsy at the top of the stairs. “Okay, Momma. I’ll be mind-full” I say hopping up two steps towards Patsy. “Mindful not mind-full. It means to be thoughtful or considerate” Momma says with a smile as she follows me up the stairs. “Okay, Momma. I got it” I say, reaching for Patsy’s hand. “Hi, Elaine. I have the clothes for Ericka's first day at school tomorrow” says Patsy, squeezing my hand lightly. “Aren’t you excited, Little Ericka? We’re going to have donuts tonight to celebrate the start of school tomorrow” Patsy says, causing my eyes to widen with joy thinking about a donut. Grandma let me have a donut over summer and it was delicious. Carol never lets us have sugar. A donut for dinner in the dorm sounds devine. “That sounds like fun, Ericka. Maybe you could split your donut with Leilah?” Momma suggests. “Okay, Momma”  I say, thinking I’ll give Leilah the bottom half of the donut, the part without the icing. “I’ll share with Leilah. See you tomorrow at school” I add. “See you then” says Momma before kissing me on the cheek and heading down the stairs to Aaron waiting outside the car.