{"id":222487,"date":"2025-09-13T03:02:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T03:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/222487\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T03:02:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T03:02:11","slug":"walking-a-tightrope-backwards-in-high-heels-a-memoir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/222487\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Walking a Tightrope Backwards in High Heels\u2019 – a memoir"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blondell with her mother \u2018Nana\u2019 Sadie Reynolds and her daughter, Brielle Autumn Brown, Esq.
Photo courtesy: Blondell Reynolds-Brown<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Constance Garcia-Barrio<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former Philadelphia City Councilmember Blondell Reynolds-Brown\u2019s memoir, \u201cWalking a Tightrope Backwards in High Heels\u201d (Wordeee Publishing), sketches her early years and centers on her work in the sometimes bruising arena of City Hall politics. With a savvy that packs the pages, Reynolds-Brown could have called the book \u2018A Woman\u2019s Guide to Grace Under Fire.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen can lead in spaces where others may not envision us, but the double standard that exists for women in general is intensified for Black and Latinx women elected officials,\u201d Reynolds-Brown said in an interview.<\/p>\n

Born in Sumter, South Carolina, Reynolds-Brown, at age 5, moved with her family to Philadelphia\u2019s old Black Bottom, an area that once stretched from 33rd St. to 40th St., and from Lancaster Avenue to University Avenue. Reynolds-Brown\u2019s father, who worked in construction, and her mother, a teacher, had seven children, of whom Blondell is oldest. The family managed with slim financial resources but possessed a wealth of faith and belief in hard work. Those values proved crucial after Reynolds-Brown\u2019s mother became a widow at 37.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandparents were farmers who instilled in their children the merit of hard work and perseverance,\u201d Reynolds-Brown said, adding that her mother used to speak of \u201ceating organic\u201d long before Madison Avenue\u2019s ad men hijacked the phrase.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Blondell Reynolds-Brown at two years old.
Photo courtesy: Blondell Reynolds-Brown<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reynolds-Brown recalled other special moments from her formative years.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my favorite childhood memories is walking from home to the Zoo,\u201d she said, \u201cAnd every New Year\u2019s Eve, my mother would require us to kneel around her bed while she prayed for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Saturday nights, the family would watch \u201cThe Lawrence Welk Show,\u201d whose dancers dazzled Reynolds-Brown. At 16, while a student at the Philadelphia High School for Girls, Reynolds-Brown began working at a Gino\u2019s restaurant to pay for her dancing classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very, very late to start training as a dancer,\u201d she said, but the investment paid off. During her junior year at Penn State, where she majored in elementary education and eventually earned a master\u2019s degree in that field, Reynolds-Brown was invited to audition for the university\u2019s Jazz Dance Theatre.<\/p>\n

Performing in that group proved a steppingstone, after graduation, to Philadanco.<\/p>\n

\u201cI danced with the company for about 7 years,\u201d said Reynolds-Brown, who also sparkled on stage in Atlantic City casinos. She segued into teaching in Philly\u2019s public elementary schools in 1985.<\/p>\n

In the mid-1990s, Reynolds-Brown remade her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got married, bought a house, and had a baby,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Then she used the poise and patience gained in performing and teaching to catapult herself into politics.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Reynolds-Brown with her sisters at City Hall (from left to right) Angelina, Alesia. Blondell, Yvonne and Pandora.
Photo courtesy: Blondell Reynolds-Brown<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOn February 11, 1995, I announced my candidacy at a standing-room-only gathering at \u2026District Council 1199C.\u201d she writes.<\/p>\n

That first campaign resulted in a narrow loss. Reynolds-Brown learned lessons from that defeat and won five subsequent elections. She would go on to serve on City Council for 20 years.<\/p>\n

The memoir describes candidly the nuts and bolts of running for elected office.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoney is the mother\u2019s milk of campaigns,\u201d Reynolds-Brown writes. \u201cYou can\u2019t run a campaign and raise funds at the same time. You have to have a solid team of professionals with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The memoir encourages potential political candidates but cautions them that campaigning exacts its pound of flesh in grueling work.
\u201cThere is no smooth runway if you are an African American or Latinx woman,\u201d Reynolds-Brown said.<\/p>\n

Smarts, allies, and intuition remained critical after winning, Reynolds-Brown\u2019s writes. During her freshman year, she learned \u201c\u2026whom to trust, [and] which council members would take advantage of novice legislators.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conflict comes with the territory. \u201cOpposition is part of the legislative process,\u201d she writes. \u201cExpect it. Embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Years of teaching had given Reynolds-Brown a keen sense of the needs of children, and the birth of her daughter, Brielle in 1996, sharpened it. As a new councilmember, Reynolds-Brown, with the support of then-Mayor John F. Street, brokered the deal during sports stadium negotiations in 2000 that established the Fund for Children. Thanks to that agreement, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Philadelphia Eagles donate $1 million per year per team for 30 years to pay for children\u2019s programs and activities.<\/p>\n

Likewise, one of Brielle\u2019s science courses led Reynolds-Brown to spearhead creating the Mayor\u2019s Office of Sustainability, which works with partners to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Reynolds-Brown has garnered awards from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Philadelphia Young Playwrights Advocate Award, Girls Inc., WDAS Radio Women of Excellence Award, the School District of Philadelphia and more. Yet, as poet Langston Hughes put it, \u201cLife ain\u2019t no crystal stair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reynolds-Brown\u2019s divorce hit her hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter a painful divorce, you learn to live a new norm,\u201d she writes.<\/p>\n

The memoir also covers the \u201cmajor career firestorm\u201d that resulted in a hefty fine from the city\u2019s Board of Ethics.<\/p>\n

The book shares some of Reynolds-Brown\u2019s guideposts for navigating troubled times. She turns to quotations for insights. Readers find quotes like \u201cCommitment \u2026transforms a promise into reality,\u201d from Abraham Lincoln, and \u201cIn the midst of winter, I found in me an invincible summer,\u201d from French philosopher Albert Camus.<\/p>\n

Books also help steer her through difficulty. Reynolds-Brown mentions works like \u201cGetting to Yes, Negotiating Without Giving In,\u201d by Roger Fisher and William Ury, and \u201cLearning to Trust God,\u201d by Deborah J. Kern.<\/p>\n

The memoir also includes her personal playlist comprised of evocative songs like John Lennon\u2019s \u201cImagine\u201d and Alicia Keys\u2019 \u201cGirl on Fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can endure during tough dark years,\u201d Reynolds-Brown writes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWalking a Tightrope Backwards in High Heels\u201d is available on Amazon, at independent bookstores, or through Reynolds-Brown\u2019s website at: https:\/\/www.moxiebrb.com\/.<\/p>\n

Reynolds-Brown will give a free book talk and signing at the Central Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia on September 17. The event begins at 7 p.m. For more information, visit: https:\/\/freelibraryfoundation.org\/events\/blondell-reynolds-brown-walking-a-tightrope-backwards-in-high-heels\/.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Blondell with her mother \u2018Nana\u2019 Sadie Reynolds and her daughter, Brielle Autumn Brown, Esq.Photo courtesy: Blondell Reynolds-Brown By…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":222488,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,1448,2830,1311,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-222487","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-pa","10":"tag-pennsylvania","11":"tag-philadelphia","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115194766833181450","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}