Scottie Beam & Sylvia Obell On The Power Of Sisterhood

In her1977 novel Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison  wrote, “if you surrendered to the air, you could ride it.” Scottie Beam and Sylvia Obell embody that quote. Their journey from friendship, to Netflix, to Raedio has seen many peaks and valleys in their respective personal and professional lives. But they’ve stayed true to their path and, more critically, they’ve stayed true to themselves. Beam and Obell have tapped into the frequency of “Black Girl Magic” that Morrison was writing about. This kind of magic can’t be commodified or packaged for easy replication. No; this magic is what results from the deep knowing that your win is my win is our win. Sisterhood is what saves us. It’s our liferaft in a sea designed to drown us, and Beam and Obell are not only committed to keeping us afloat but also making sure that no one will ever have the power to silence any of our stories again. Beam and Obell have tuned out the noise, and when you do that, you release the baggage that weighs you down, and you can soar. This is what it means to ride the air. To use your voice as a tool for liberation. That’s the reciprocity of Black womanhood that has kept us flourishing for millennia. From mother to daughter, writer to subject, friend to friend, sister to sister, it’ is the uplifting of all through one — or in this case, two. And when you’re listening to The Scottie & Sylvia Show, Beam and Obell want you to know they’re listening to you, too.