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What is a BAP - Black American Princess?
In Love's Troubadours - Karma:
Book One, I tell the story of Karma Francois, a BoHo BAP ... Bohemian Black American Princess. Many readers have
asked me why I decided to write about a BoHo BAP. My answer has been that I write about my personal experiences and what I
have witnessed in life, literature, art, music, and culture. These experiences and insights helped me to accept and express
my BoHo BAPness.
The first time that I heard the title Black American Princess was when my mother gave me the nickname
in my late teens. Many years later, I discovered The BAP Handbook: The Official Guide to the Black American Princess by
authors Kalyn Johnson, Tracey Lewis, Karla Lightfoot, and Ginger Wilson. I thought that The BAP Handbook was an entertaining
and humorous read that shed light on the various lifestyles of Black American Princesses. I especially enjoyed the BAP Quiz.
One summer evening, my mother and I were reading the book for fun and took the quiz together. We learned that:
1)
she was a Butterfly BAP, a BAP who did not come from a prominent family, but discovers her "BAPness" in college;
and
2) I was a BoHo
BAP, a BAP who comes from a prominent family, but is unorthodox in her style and her behavior.
The next day we
continued our conversation by tracing my womanline and discovered that I was the descendant of a long line of BAPs on my father’s
side. His grandmother, mother, and aunts all passed the BAP quiz with flying colors. That gave us a big laugh. It left me
with a question: What is a BAP?
For me, a BAP is Being At Peace with who
I am and who I am becoming as I walk Mother Earth as an African American woman. Being At Peace with myself is a lifetime process that calls me to discover, embrace,
and accept my whole self ... the stuff I like and the stuff I hide from... my fears, anger, mistakes, shame, guilt, weaknesses,
and emotional wounds ... all of my multilayered complex identities. To learn more about the way I live
my life as a woman Being At Peace, read my blog post: Sharing My 15 BAP Commandments - http://baplivingforbapsandebw.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2076799%3ABlogPost%3A3268. So far I have
discovered that I am the proud owner of 60 BoHo BAP identities including:
1. fortysomething, single,
heterosexual, well-educated, well-traveled, middle class Daddy's girl
2. all-girls Catholic high school graduate and
debutante
3. Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority sister and HBCU graduate
4. lawyer and homeowner of
an urban condo in Chocolate City DC
5. reformed spendthrift who now maintains a close relationship with her financial
advisor
6. life entrepreneur with a Type A personality
7. chatty Cathy who has the gift of gab
8. yogini and yoga teacher who loves to practice and teach outside in Malcolm X-Meridian Hall Park
9. Lorraine
Hansberry-Alice Walker-Toni Cade Bambara-Audre Lorde-bell hooks womanist/feminist
10. writer/poet, bohemian natural
loc wearing sistalove artist
11. neosoul Alice Coltrane and John Coltrane jazz loving music enthusiast
12. Buddhist practitioner and Unitarian with 1960s flower child energy
13. faithful magazine subscriber
of Essence, More, Jet, Town and Country, Latina, Yoga Journal, Fit Yoga, Prevention, Uptown, Yes, Ode, Shambhala Sun, Daily
Word, Science of Mind, and O-The Oprah Magazine
14. Thai, Indian, Japanese, and vegan/vegetarian foodie
(who eats seafood) with a passion for chai tea made with rice milk
15. Go Green nature lover who collects
rocks and touches trees as she walks to work every day
16. MAC and Burt's Bee lipstick and lip gloss wearer
17. A colored girl who has considered self-care, self-love, spirituality, sipping tea, staying still and meditating,
stretching with yoga poses in her bed, spending time with family, sleeping on the beach and getting a suntan, spontaneous
adventures in the US and around the world, strategic financial planning, sensuality, self-pleasure, special moments
with significant others, sistalove days with friends, sparkling cider, stimulating literature, spicey cuisine, shake your
hips music, salsa dancing, sweets and sinful chocolate desserts, and shopping at Trade Secrets, Moshood, Eileen Fisher,
Zawadi, Marshall's, Ross, Target, Ann Taylor Loft, and vintage shops when the rainbow is enuf'
18.
Afro Latina wannabe with a deep connection to Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Peru
19. Internet TV aficionado
with an addiction to Ugly Betty, Private Practice, Lipstick Jungle, Grey's Anatomy, The Game, Young and
the Restless, and various Youtube and Myspace videos
20. undercover home decor fanatic who lives in a chakra-inspired
condo
21. Scrabble game lover
22. chess/golf player in training
23. social media adventurista
who uses her lap top while sipping tea and writing at Mocha Hut, Love Cafe, and Starbucks 24. NPR.com, Pandora.com, Talkshoe.com, and Blogtalkradio.com radio
listener
25. book-a-holic with eclectic reading tastes and an uncontrollable desire to spend endless hours in bookstores
26. Sanskrit mantra chanter with a passion for using her mala beads anywhere she so desires including Malcolm X-Meridian
Hill Park and the subway
27. incense and scented candle burner
28. jewelry freak who collects vintage
and unique sets
29. world citizen with a special connection to London, Chicago, NYC, Paris, Annapolis, India, San
Francisco, and Oakland
30. appreciator of astrology, tarot, and numerology
31. beach babe who is
working on overcoming her fear of floating and swimming in the water
32. recovering overachiever who is learning
to let go and accept her imperfections
33. amateur athlete with one Marine Corps Marathon under her belt
34. amazing chef of creative salads, split pea soup, and fruit desserts who longs to learn how to use her pretty stainless
steel oven
35. eyewear fashionista with four pairs of glasses to match four separate personalities
36. joy giver who sends handmade and store bought cards, e-cards, and e-mails to brighten the lives of others
37.
shower singer who secretly wishes she could sing back up for a neosoul artist like Maxwell or Eric Roberson
38. touchy-feely friend who hugs
39. smile dispenser as she walks down the street brightening the world with
her inner and outer sunshine
40. eavesdropper who enjoys listening to other folks' conversations in public
venues because the language often gets recorded in journals for later use as dialogue for novel characters
41.
wordsmith who is married to language and writes lengthy sentences that probably need to be separated by a few periods
42. mistress of messiness when major projects occur
43. part-time goddess of bitchy-ness and impatience who sometimes
needs an attitude adjustment
44. overprotector of her time and space who seeks more balance and spontaneity
45. daily list maker who enjoys checking things off her to do list
46. morning person who moonlights
as an afternoon napper
47. mindfulness meditator who practices in her bed
48. believer in regular manicures
and pedicures
49. Nike tennis shoe wearer (since 1982)
50. essential oil user (ginger, ylang ylang,
lemongrass, and lavender)
51. technically-challenged operator of electronic equipment who is moving into the
21st century with social media tools and plans to purchase a smart phone ... maybe a mac too
52. hand-holder and
public displayer of affection when on dates with incredibly groovy men
53. eternal admirer of incredibly groovy
men
54. Yogi tea sipper who treasures the tea bag wisdom messages
55. receiver of massages, acupuncture,
Reiki healing touch, bodywork, and Ayurvedic consultations
56. supporter of neighborhood and eco-friendly
businesses
57. on/offline activist supporting love, light, peace, health, healing, justice, Black folks' rights,
people of color rights, women's rights, and gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender-queer rights
58. queen of leather
and suede boots that are comfortable and add uumph to my five foot one Napoleona complex
59. daughter
of a divine diva Butterfly BAP who is one of my greatest teachers and sistalove friends
60. lifelong learner
My
intention is to allow my spiritual practice to frame my existence as a BAP ... a woman Being At Peace ... a woman offering herself compassion and forgiveness as she
overcomes her fears, heals her wounds, learns from her choices, improves her communication and relationships skills, trusts
her intuition, releases emotional patterns and choices that no longer serve her greater good, takes responsibility for her
actions and choices, speaks her truth, and lives as Creator made her to be one breath and one step at a time. It is a journey
that I humbly walk with Spirit and the ancestors leading my way. My prayer is that I always live my best life knowing what
Lorraine Hansberry wrote:
“…life has within it that which is good, that which is beautiful and that which is love. Therefore,
since I have known all of these things, I have found them to be reason enough and—I wish to live. Moreover, because
this is so, I wish others to live for generations and generations and generations.”
Peace
and BAP Love,
Ananda Leeke
PS: Below are photos documenting
my evolution as a BAP....
| BAP @ 7 in first grade |
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| BAP Marine Corps Marathoner @ 39 |
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| BAP Neosoul Music Lover @ 42 with Eric Roberson |
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| BAP Traveler in Havana, Cuba @ 39 |
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| BAP Yogini @ 41 in Malcolm X Park |
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| BAP Womanist with friend Jill @ 39 - Women's March |
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| BAP Spirit Woman honoring ancestors @ 39 in Ghana |
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| BAP Classy Woman celebrating 40th b-day |
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| BAP Writer @ 39 writing in Love Cafe |
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| BAP Golfer learning to put @ 42 |
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| BAP Daddy's Girl @ 40 with BAP Father |
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| BAP parents, Butterfly BAP Theresa and John Leeke |
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| BAP parents' wedding - BAP Theresa & John Leeke |
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| BAP parents - BAP Theresa and John Leeke |
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