Last week, the Reading 1 class concluded reading For Colored Girls W ho Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange. When this book was introduced to the students they were very excited to begin reading because most of them had
previously seen the film produced by Tyler Perry. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf tells the stories of seven women who have suffered oppression in a racist and sexist society. As a choreopoem, the piece is a series of 20 separate poems that weaves interconnected stories of love, empowerment, struggle and loss into a complex representation of sisterhood. The cast consists of seven nameless African-American women only identified by the colors they are assigned. They are the lady in red, lady in orange, lady in yellow, lady in green, lady in blue, lady in brown, and lady in purple. Each student was assigned a character to read throughout the book.  Subjects from rape, abandonment, abortion and domestic violence are tackled.

Once the book came to a conclusion, Reading 1 was then able to view the film that corresponds to this book. Throughout the film, the students were able to recall certain lines that we read in the book. This film was written, directed, and produced by Tyler Perry. The cast includes Loretta Devine, Kimberly Elise, Whoopi Goldberg, Janet Jackson, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, Kerry Washington and Thandie Newton. Originally using the play’s full title,the film’s title was shortened to For Colored Girls. The students were able to appreciate that when they read something they’re interested in and that is relatable to their life in one way or another, reading can be fun.