'Oh Me Oh My': Finding grace after something hellified (a New Year's story)
Dec 29, 2023
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Lonnie Holley, a painter, sculptor, and musician, shares his journey of healing after a traumatic childhood in Jim Crow Alabama. He discusses intergenerational healing, turning trash into art, and the power of listening. The podcast also explores reframing New Year's resolutions and finding gratitude in difficult circumstances.
Lonnie Holley's album, Oh Me, Oh My, explores intergenerational healing and addresses the wounds of enslavement and the Jim Crow era.
Lonnie Holley encourages unity and empathy by openly sharing his experiences and those of his family, promoting healing and resilience.
Deep dives
Album about intergenerational healing and gratitude
Lonnie Holly's album, Oh Me, Oh My, is a powerful exploration of intergenerational healing. The album addresses the wounds stemming from enslavement and the Jim Crow era, expressing gratitude for both love and pain. Through his music, Holly shares memories of growing up in Jim Crow Alabama, highlighting the traumas and abuse he endured. Despite the hardships, he emphasizes the importance of gratitude and the power of healing.
Turning memories into art
Lonnie Holly, a musician and visual artist, incorporates his memories into his art. Growing up in a difficult environment, Holly found solace in creating sculptures and paintings from discarded objects. His album, Oh Me, Oh My, is an extension of this creativity, transforming his childhood memories into songs. Through his storytelling, he stretches across generations and continents, exploring the themes of lineage, healing, and resilience.
Sharing stories for intergenerational healing
Lonnie Holly believes in the importance of speaking and listening to our stories for intergenerational healing. He acknowledges the traumas and abuses experienced by his elders, recognizing how it still reverberates in his own life. By openly sharing his own experiences and those of his family, he hopes to break the cycle and inspire healing for future generations. Holly encourages unity and empathy, emphasizing the power of listening, storytelling, and the shared human experience in promoting healing and resilience.
To close out the year, Brittany is sitting down with Lonnie Holley. He's a painter, sculptor, and musician who released his latest album, Oh Me Oh My, in early 2023. In it he sings of his difficult childhood growing up in Jim Crow Alabama where he was sold, beat, and effectively enslaved. But today he sings of hope. He's been on a journey to heal his pain, and the pain of the generations that came before and the ones that will follow. It's a story of gratitude.