IDKMYDE: Grace Wisher

On todays episode of IDKMYDE hear how Grace Wisher helped sew the American flag, but somehow history left her out of the spotlight—kind of like that one friend who does all the work, but gets none of the credit. Guess some stars just don’t get recognized

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
On today's episode. If I didn't know, maybe you didn't either.
Let's discuss the American flag. Whenever I'm quizing folks on
the American flag, I asked three questions. How many stars
on the flag, how many stripes on the flag, and
who created the flag. Now, if your answer was fifty
thirteen and Betsy Ross, you got two out of three,

(00:21):
I'll explain I didn't know.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Maybe I didn't know. I didn't know. Maybe I didn't know.
I didn't know. I didn't know.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Now, when folks talk about the American flag, all you
ever hear is bet See Ross this and bet See
Ross that, But Betsy don't know ish because Betsy came
round out like that Bo Jackson commercial.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Keep up.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
Look, the point is folks is always talking about Betsy
Ross in that flag, like she the Beyonce in the
so On World or something. But what they don't tell
you is that there was someone else putting in the work,
a young black woman named Grace Wisher. Now Grace wasn't
a prentcess right there with Betsy Ross helping stitch that
flag together. But you think Betsy ever gave her as

(01:04):
much as a shout out. Nope, that Joe, don't say
the flag was created by Betsy Ross featuring Grace Wisher
at the bottom of it.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
Nothing. It's like Grace was the AZ to Betsy's.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Nas, you know what I'm saying, Like a z a
lyrical genius co wrote some of the best verses on
io Matic. But when folks talk about that album, they
act like he wasn't even there.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Grace was in the same boat, y'all.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
And let me tell you, Grace didn't even have the
option to shine. It wasn't like she could hop on
Instagram and post herself in like day three of stitching
the stars and stripes on y'all hashtag black girl magic. No,
this was the seventeen hundreds. Grace wasn't gonna get no
flowers because back then black women didn't get no flowers. Hell,
black people weren't even allowed to get near the bouquet.
Grace's story is wild to me though, because her hands

(01:47):
were literally on the symbol of freedom.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Freedom, but she didn't even get a seat at the table.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
She like most death or y'all seeing Bay now that
what we call him, see another one of them dope MC's.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
But he wasn't chasing commercial fame.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
He was out there spitting truth, making classics like black
on both sides, but mainstream was like, nah, we're good
on that. Grace was out here sewing up history, and
society was like, nah, we good on that. See, Betsy
Ross is like the doctor dre of the whole operation.
While she had the connections, she got the credit, and
Grace she were like Goodie Mob in the South, pioneering

(02:23):
doing soul for conscious work.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
But usually our cast get all the credit for the South.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
And I mean, come on, like, without Goodie Mob, Southern
hip hop wouldn't have been the same. Without Grace Wisher,
that flag wouldn't have been the same either. So here's
the real talk. When you see that American flag flying, Hugh,
don't just think about Betsy Ross. Think about sixteen year
old Grace Wisher, a little black apprentice that was behind
the scenes making it happen even though she was not

(02:49):
allowed to shine. She like Ray Kwan from Wutang, only
built for Cuban Lynx, is a masterpiece. But you know,
folks is always like, oh method man, oh ghost face,
nah ma, give Ray Kwany's flowers and give Grace Wisher
her flowers. Che's proof the history ain't all about who
gets the credit. It's about who did the work. So
next time you see that fifty star, thirteen striped American flag,

(03:13):
you just remember sixteen year old black woman helped to
make it happen, and I didn't know.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
Maybe you didn't either.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
I