Every baby in the room seemed to be wailing. Parents, siblings, grandparents pressed their faces forward looking at the names on the transparent plastic cribs that would identify the newborn that belonged to them. The babies screamed and tiny limbs flailed against the feather soft blankets that confined them. On closer observation, there was one enfant that was not crying. Her new-born eyes were wide and searching around as if looking for her family. This was the beginning of Joilet Frances Harris’ life on center stage. She shared this event in an interview on In The Basement.
Joilet was a television actor (The Wire, Law & Order, Do No Harm), and on stage in Philadelphia theatres (Walnut Street Theatre, Act 2 Playhouse, People’s Light and Theatre Company). She was the founder and former board member of the Philadelphia Black Theatre Festival. She was a member of the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church where she served as soloist choir member and assistant choir director. This is not an exhaustive listing.
Joliet traveled the globe but was surrounding by her family and intimate friends who were her village that allowed her to perform wherever she decided. She did not define her success by her roles on stages, or television shows. Her denotation of success was having a family, close friends, the capability to pay bills, and a home to which family and friends could gather to enjoy the company of one another.
At the center of her being was the Holy Spirit; Joliet shared that before every engagement she checked out the churches in the city, because when she arrived, she was going to attend worship somewhere. Worship of God was central to her life, and she nurtured that need.
Her life was a performance before God; she played all the intervals of her life as instructed by the director of life, Jesus Christ. When Joilet was at home she was singing with the choir at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church. If you came to rehearsal in a foul mood, by the time it was over you were laughing because Joilet was present.
We remember her and our eyelids cannot hold the weight of our tears; mini-water channels flow down our faces. Then someone remembers something funny that Joilet said or did and more tears come from the laughter. Laughter and grief are one—this is the way of life. Joilet Frances Harris-Lawton lived in the fullness of life.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Love you neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.
Matthew 22:37, 39, 40, NKJV
Dorothy Watson Tatem, D.Min., ACC
Senior Associates
Next Step Associates
Cassandra W. Jones, Ed.D.
CEO & President
Recent Comments