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“You can’t base your life on other people’s expectations” – Stevie Wonder.
Stevie Wonder’s childhood reflects this quote. He didn’t let his blindness or anybody else get in the way of his dreams. He soared above everyone’s expectations, which showed in his early life.
As a child, Wonder faced many hardships like all of us. The biggest trials concerned race, blindness, and a mother who faced many tribulations herself. But through it all, Wonder has managed to remain strong, creating the person he is today.
Everyone knew Stevie Wonder to be diplomatic, accommodating, and naturally supportive of others. Someone agreeable, composed, and steady. And from my own observations, he is determined, observative, and witty. All this can be seen in his pre-Motown days.
Blind to the world
For a while, it didn’t dawn on me that Stevie Wonder is a blind musician. I honestly was too distracted by how talented he was to notice. I thought he was trying to make a signature, like how Michael Jackson did with his bejeweled white glove. Basically, I wasn’t paying attention, and when I did notice, I didn’t think twice about it. Most people know this fact and the circumstances around it. They also even know that he wasn’t born blind. For those who don’t, this is for you.
Lula’s pregnancy with Stevie caused her issues. In fact, it was kind of complicated. The cold, beatings, and stress or something she caught from the forced prostitution by her husband could have weakened her immune system. However, that is simply a theory. During the pregnancy, she also experienced constant pain in her belly, which caused her to be immobile some days.
May 13, 1950, Steveland Hardaway Judkins (a.k.a, Stevie Wonder) was born to Calvin Judkins and Lula Hardaway in Saginaw, Michigan. At the time, he was the youngest of three, having two brothers named Milton Hardaway( half-brother) and Calvin Hardaway. What led Stevie to his abrupt blindness was too much oxygen in the incubator, in which he spent 52 days. Lula thought this was a punishment from God because of the sins she committed. As a result, she took him to the healers at the fairgrounds in Saginaw without any favorable outcomes. After Stevie learned that she took him to the healers, it pissed him off. He states,
“The healers talked that shit, but they are crazy, man,” he said, ” They can’t wake up the dead.”
Stevie also quotes what exactly is wrong with his eyes in the book Signed, Sealed, and Delivered: The Soulful Journey of Stevie Wonder,
” I have a dislocated nerve on one eye and a cataract on the other, ” which” may have happened from being in the incubator too long and receiving too much oxygen.”
Even though Stevie lost sight at a very young age, he does claim to have a vague memory of it.
“I vaguely remember light and what my mother looks like,” he recalled in a 1986 Life Interview, “but I could be dreaming.”
The interesting about it is though he lacks the ability to see, he has achieved just as much, if not more, as any other musician out there. I’m not talking about awards or placing high on Billboards either (although, that is quite an accomplishment.)I’m talking about the impressions he’s left on everyone. Stevie has left a legacy via his music, words, and actions.
Troubled Times
Before the family moved to Detroit, Michigan, there were many unfortunate events his mother went through.
- After Stevie’s birth, his mother was forced into prostitution by his father whenever they struggled to pay bills.
- Lula had been through emotional and physical abuse by Stevie’s father.
- Lula tried to escape from her husband to Detroit but realized she couldn’t do it without his connections.
Fortunately, there’s a book for those wanting more details:
This authorized biography is an insight into Lula’s life as a mother, wife, etcetera that will bring you to understand why Wonder thinks and acts the way he does.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
We’ve all heard this saying before; if you haven’t, that means one of two things. One, you live in a world where everybody despises the motto so much that they exclude it from their book of phrases. Or two, you’re lucky because I honestly don’t think you’re missing anything. I’m not a fan of this phrase; however, I find it appropriate for this experience.
Wonder has run into an incident concerning race. Race was a problem on an even larger scale in that era. In Stevie Wonder’s childhood, Jim Crow was prevalent in the South, for example. People undervalued nappy hair, and if you even looked like you had a hint of melanin, unfortunately, people started acting like you came out of E.T.
In an interview with Barney Hoskyns on the PBS “Blank on Blank” series, Stevie recalls a time when he experienced an incident with southern white kids. He says,
“I think I discovered, you know, the whole thing of color when I went down south once when my grandmother passed away,” he said, ” There were some kids, white kids or whatever, (that said), ‘Hey n*****!'” Not caring about the outcome, he then threw rocks at the kids. He continues, ” I never accepted stupidity and ignorance as making me determine how good I was or how less I was.”
In addition, Wonder says that he was actually confused after being called the N-word. In response, he said, “What? I’m from Detroit.”
It’s a line that makes me smile every time because it reminds me of a scene from Karate Kid. It also shows the cultural difference between the North and South and reveals the naivety of the young Stevie.
Blindness as a Blessing
Many would think this was the most difficult part of Stevie Wonder’s childhood; however, it wasn’t. Stevie was so clever, talented, and adventurous that the people around him forgot he was blind. Wonder didn’t let his blindness bother him. He has said,
“It bothered me that my mother was crying all the time,” Wonder recalled, so he” just told her I was happy to be blind and I was happy to be blind, and I think she felt better after that.”
His thoughts have never changed about being blind. In fact, he’s actually made various statements about seeing blindness as a positive thing.:
“Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn’t mean he lacks vision.”
“Do you know, it’s funny, but I never thought of being blind as a disadvantage….”
“Sometimes, I feel I am really blessed to be blind because I probably would not last a minute if I were able to see things.”
The last quote is from a negative experience that he happened to turn positive. It is something that remained with him as an adult.
“When I was a child, kids use to make fun of me because I was blind. But I just became more curious (he said) ‘How can I climb this tree and get an apple for this girl’ That’s what mattered to me.”
I know I didn’t mention any of his musical talents (which is a vital part of Stevie Wonder’s childhood) Still, I thought it would be interesting to see who Stevie Wonder was as a child and his hardships. He claims (like in the video above) that he got through it all because he wasn’t focused on the hardships and honestly didn’t understand the severity of the situation or circumstances. Wonder had his mind on friends, family, and the discovery of life- something he still holds onto today.
The next post in this series will focus on Stevie Wonder’s discovery and development as an artist.
References
/* inline tdc_css att */.tdi_52{margin-bottom:0px !important;}/* phone */@media (max-width: 767px){.tdi_52{text-align:left !important;display:inline-block !important;}}/* custom css */.tdb-post-meta{ margin-bottom: 16px; , Ose, By, Ose, .tdb-Author-Photo, /* C. C. */.tdb-A.-B., 7, N., 31, O., 27, O., 24, O., 31, M., 15, A., 13, D., 4, F., 21, M., Feyisayo Oluokun – August 3, -, F. O., 2, T.- A., -, T., 15, T.- J., … Chacha O – March 18. (2019, October 2). Who are Stevie Wonder’s siblings and where are they now? AnswersAfrica.com. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://answersafrica.com/stevie-wonder-siblings.html
Grimes, A. C. (2020, February 26). The untold truth of Stevie Wonder. Grunge. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://www.grunge.com/144598/the-untold-truth-of-stevie-wonder/
Love, D., & Brown, S. (2002). Blind faith: The miraculous journey of Lula Hardaway and her son, Stevie Wonder, an authorized biography of Lula Hardaway. Simon & Schuster.
Rao, S. (2016, October 6). Stevie Wonder describes racist incident, perseverance in new animated short. Colorlines. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://www.colorlines.com/articles/stevie-wonder-describes-racist-incident-perseverance-new-animated-short
Staff, R. (2016, June 6). Stevie’s childhood hell: Wonder’s mother claims she was forced into prostitution by his father. RadarOnline. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2016/06/stevie-wonder-mother-lula-mae-hardaway-prostitution-secret/
Stevie Wonder’s personality type – enneagram, 16-personality (based on types by Jung, Myers, & briggs), and disc. Crystal. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://www.crystalknows.com/personality/stevie-wonder
Uitti, J. (2022, May 19). The 22 best stevie wonder quotes. American Songwriter. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://americansongwriter.com/the-22-best-stevie-wonder-quotes/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CMusic%2C%20at%20its%20essence%2C,memories%20we%20have%20of%20it.%E2%80%9D
Xplore. (n.d.). Stevie Wonder quotes. BrainyQuote. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/stevie-wonder-quotes
YOURDICTIONARY. (n.d.). Stevie Wonder. Biography Articles & Resources. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://biography.yourdictionary.com/stevie-wonder
Ribowsky, M. (2010). Signed, sealed, and delivered: The soulful journey of stevie wonder. John Wiley & Sons.
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