My Apologoes

My friends,

I owe you an apology for not posting in quite sometime. I could say it's because we've been trying to re-establish out lives in Chicago. I could say it's because of my health concerns and those of my husband. I could say it's because I've been so busy job hunting. But the truth is much more simple than that. I haven't posted because I did not, could not post.

So much has gone on over the past several months that I've become overwhelmed trying to make since of it all. It's more than just the Michael Brown or Eric Garner cases. It's more than the Bill Cosby sexual harassment scandals. It's more than the reports of CIA torture. It's more than the mid-term elections. It's all these things and more. I wish I could give you a better answer. I wish I ask your forgiveness. I wish I could tell you things are going to get better. But I know that is not possible or reasonable.

What I will do is offer my apologies for not keeping my word by commenting on the issues of the day and issues in general. And I give you this promise. 2015 is but a couple of weeks away. We have an opportunity to make it better than 2014. I will do my best to keep my word and offer each of you the opportunity to call me on it. Comment, argue, debate, discuss - let's do this together. I may be the engine of this blog but you are the fuel that makes it run. Fill me up!

The World's Punching Bag

Much has been written the past couple of weeks about domestic violence, child abuse and the like. In addition, several ball players have been penalized vulgarity. Referees are calling penalties for cursing. There is so much political correctness that we have managed to lose our message so as not to offend. We have become a society of wimps, punks and cowards hiding behind stupid laws, media innuendo and internet usernames.

I’ll be sharing some thoughts on these issues the next several weeks but today I’d like to tackle what I find one of the most egregious and that is domestic violence.

We’ve all see the video of Ray Rice knocking out his wife in an elevator and then dragging her out of the elevator as if she were garbage. The comments following the viewing of this display ranged from disgust to outrage. Yet there were many who wrote that Mrs. Rice had it coming since she hit him first. Still others stated this was the way a woman is supposed to be treated, that violence is necessary to keep a woman in line.

The legal definition of domestic violence is “any abusive, violent, coercive, forceful or threatening act inflicted by one member of a family or household on another.” This definition covers not only physical abuse as witnessed on that surveillance tape but emotional and/or mental abuse as well.

Domestic violence is an unfortunate, active participant in our society. It is practiced and endured by people of every ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, class and socio-economic level. Unlike eating or sleeping, it’s one of the few universal actions that every society seems to choose. What a horrifying thought!

Among the questions posed by pundits and the general public is why did she stay. Others question what she did or say that would cause him to react in such a manner? Still others ask why Ray Rice is the poster child for domestic violence when so many others have behaved in similar if not worse manners. Still others ask why this is an issue at all. There are a myriad if answers to these questions but the question we should be asking is why we have allowed this type of behavior to be perpetuated.

The answer is simple. This behavior has been allowed to continue because women are still not seen as equals in the world. Yes, I know this a rather broad pronouncement but if you think about it, you will see it is not so farfetched.

The essay “It’s All about Control” in my book Thoughts of a Fried Chicken Watermelon Woman (Total Recall Press) outlines the way men have controlled since the beginning of recorded history and still control women in 2014. Women have made great strides becoming heads of states, professional athletes, entertainers and Fortune 500 CEO’s. Yet women are still battling with the men for the right to control their bodies and their lives. Honor killings take place across the Middle East. Two years ago, a young woman was shot in the head for trying to go to school. This past April, more than 200 girls were kidnapped in Nigeria. The list of atrocities against women and girls are endless. Yet after the media shines a light on these actions for a few days or weeks, men all over the world return to the ghastly behavior we witnessed two weeks ago.

We here in the United States point fingers at the kidnappings and the honor killings saying those are isolated incidents that occur in the Third World. What a crock! We have our own rogues’ gallery of miscreants that those in Third World can point to. Those men are not only members of the NFL. They are singers, actors, law enforcement officers and judges.

This year alone, Grammy nominated singer Kevin McCall was accused of beating his ex-girlfriend. Actor Columbus Short (Scandal) was arrested for beating his wife. The deputy fire chief of Chester, NH Michael Willinsky was arrested for assaulting his wife. This is his second arrest. Three law enforcement officers in Oklahoma have been arrested for sexually assaulting women while on duty in the past two months. Federal judge Mark Fuller of Alabama was arrested last month for beating his wife. He is expected to return to the bench after undergoing a 24 week family and domestic violence program.

Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes cut Columbus Short shortly after he was charged and arrested. His character was killed at the end of the season. South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius, although found not guilty of first degree murder, was found guilty of manslaughter and will most likely serve a long jail term. Government officials in Alabama are fervently urging Fuller to resign from the bench. For the most part, few of these men will pay any penalty or serve any jail time for their crimes.

And what of those famous habitual domestic abusers like Charlie Sheen and Floyd Mayweather? CBS released Charlie Sheen from the hit television show Two and a Half Men not after consistent abuse charges but for calling show creator Chuck Lorre “a clown.” He was immediately picked up by Fox to star in the television show Anger Management.

Floyd Mayweather is expected to pocket $80 million for last week’s fight but very few are grilling him about his long history of domestic violence. It was reported that the boxing commission is going to take him to task for unsafe training conditions. They have yet to speak about his numerous domestic abuse charges and arrest.

I’d like to say that more women in positions of power across the board would stem domestic abuse. However I’m not that naïve. Domestic abuse thrives not only because women are not viewed as equals but because it’s thought of as a family affair. Those who are loathe to discuss abuse because of that view are WRONG. This is not a family affair. It is a societal affair. A recent study published by the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine found that one in five men has committed an act of domestic violence. If that is not a societal ill, I don’t know what is.

We need to stop asking why s/he stayed. It doesn’t really matter why. We need to stop saying this is a family issue. It clearly is not. We need to stop acting surprised when we hear of an athlete being arrested for domestic violence. They are not the only ones. We should stop saying this happens to the poor. We know this issue crosses all class, race and economic lines. And men must realize that women are their equals. Women should be accorded the same protection of the law and under the law as men. Women are not trophies to be won. They are not possessions to be passed around from man to man. Women are not lesser human beings needing to be controlled. Women should be respected as full human beings and treated as such.

Our society needs to recognize domestic violence is not an illness or a disorder. It is a crime against humanity and we need to punish it accordingly. Absolute zero tolerance for anyone anywhere ever.

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

In one of the most famous scenes in film history, Terry Malloy (superbly played by Marlon Brando)tells his brother Charley Malloy (equally well played by Rod Steiger) that his destiny was altered because of a fixed fight in Elia Kazan’s film, On the Waterfront. “You don’t understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am. Let’s face it. It was you, Charley.” Every night, millions of people are telling themselves some form of this speech and saying it as heartfelt as Brando when he delivered this speech in 1954.

We spend millions of dollars on self-help books. We watch Oprah and her disciples on Super Soul Sunday. We spend even more millions on life coaches and seminars and workshops that are supposed to help us figure out why we’re here and what we’re supposed to do. We pray, we meditate, we practice yoga, and we do all sorts of things trying to find out what we could be, would be and should be.

Unfortunately there is no quick answer to those questions. Just as Rod Steiger looked at Brando with a mixture of sadness and sorrow, so do we when ask ourselves those questions or when we speak to ourselves in the middle of the night decrying what we could have done or would have done or should have done.

Living in the world of coulda, woulda, shoulda is thankless. It’s a waste of time when we have so little time on this earth to do what we could, would and should. I’m not saying that we should shy away from asking the big questions. I’m saying asking the questions and not doing anything to answer the questions is futile.

I don’t believe we should just rush out and do something just to be doing something. I think we should all give these questions some thought. Each of us is here for a reason and it is never a useless activity attempting to figure out your purpose. However, there are some things we all could do and should do regardless of what our individual calling might be.

We know as humans that we are our brothers’ keeper. We know we should help people in any way possible regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual identification and the like. We see the homeless in our cities and we should advocate for them to have shelter. We know our children are getting a piss poor education and we should be demanding that the educational system be better and we should follow through on those demands. We know our healthcare system is screwed and we should be doing everything possible to make sure that everyone has access to good health care. We know our elderly are mistreated and we should do whatever is necessary for our seniors to spend the rest of their lives well and safe. We know that equal rights under the law are not equal and we should make our government make it right. We are engaging in unconscionable actions around the world and we should make our representatives accountable. We know what we should do and we know what we could do.

We don’t have to keep repeating that memorable speech made by Brando some 60 years ago. We are not bums. We may not be able to answer the questions satisfactorily to everyone who asks. But we do know that what we are all called to do is to be somebody who cares for humankind and then is willing to do something to make life better for humankind. Then we can say with conviction “I am somebody.”

Will It Ever End?

It’s almost unbearable being the mother of a young Black man in America. I know because I’m the mother of a 19 year old who works two jobs and will be a junior in college this coming September. He’s been stopped several times by Chicago policemen for “SWB” which is skateboarding while Black. Once again for the third time in as many years, I mourn with another mother who has lost a son to violence perpetuated by those who are supposed to serve and protect.

The recent shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO and Ezell Ford in Los Angeles are declarations to the world that lynching is alive and well in the United States. This country which we are constantly telling the world is a bastion of equality and freedom is in fact still practicing the same human rights violations that have been perpetuated since the beginning of the recorded history of this country.

How is it that the U.S. can point to the bombings of innocents of the Gaza Strip, the consistent rape of women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the public execution of citizens in North Korea as examples of crimes again humanity and not see the consistent harassment, torture and killing of Black men as the same? What level of hypocrisy is that?

It should be no surprise to anyone with a brain to see why the citizens of Ferguson, specifically and Black Americans in general, are in an uproar. Black men have been the targets of violence since our ancestors first arrived in this country. We have survived the indignities of slavery, the reconstruction era and Jim Crow only to see our young men subjected to legalized lynching by the police.

Since the Rodney King incident and the subsequent trials that resulted in widespread looting in Los Angeles, race relations in America has been a tinderbox waiting for a light. The shooting of Michael Brown is apparently that match. To add insult to injury, the Ferguson police chief has decided to release a video that supposedly shows Brown robbing a store just prior to his being shoot. Also released by the police department are photos of Brown flashing gang signs. I would imagine this is the chief’s way of saying Brown deserved to die because he is a robber and a gang member.

Deputy Social Media Editor, Aswin Suebsaeng of The Daily Beast wrote “"It should go without saying but vaguely intimidating photos of you do not give the police carte blanche to gun you down, and we no longer live in a country where it is OK to sentence black men to death for the crime of petty theft." These are words of truth and wisdom that should not be ignored.

Every day I live in fear that I will get that knock at the door. Every night the knock does not come, I thank God my son is alive to live another day. No mother should have to live with that especially in a country that exposes all people are created equal. I keep wondering when that day will come for me and Black people in this country.

Black people built this country. Many of the national banks and insurance companies in America were financed by slavery. We have contributed in each area of society including science, medicine, art, business and music through inventions and innovations that have moved this country forward. Our men have fought and served with distinction in every war. Our ancestors never received the 40 acres and a mule promised after the end of the Civil War. We ask for nothing more than equal treatment under the law for which we fought and died. Why is it still not enough? Will it ever be enough?

I mourn with the mothers of Michael Brown and Ezell Ford even as I decry the violence in Ferguson and the potential violence that may occur in LA. I do not condone any violent response to injustice. But I damn sure understand it.

Third World USA

It's been a month since I've posted a piece. Please accept my apologies for going so long without notice.

You may have noticed that the title of this piece is Third World USA. My husband and I moved to rural Mississippi this month which is why I've been out of touch. Being here has been an eye-opening experience. The country itself is beautiful. Plenty of hills and valleys and rivers and lakes. It's green everywhere and the sun shines brightly over it all. It's hot, almost unbearably so. The mosquitoes have made a meal of my arms and leg. It's so dark at night that folks drive the roads with their brights on so they can spot the deer peaking out through the trees. It so quiet that I can hear the beating of my heart. The people are warm and friendly. They get up early in the morning and go to bed early at night. They blow their horns in greeting as they drive by and wave as they pass you driving along the road. Mississippi is everything folks say it is and then some. As a born and bred Chicagoan who has only lived in cities, this is a real culture shock.

Before any of you begins thinking that I should have known, allow me to say that yes, I knew. I knew that moving from a major US city to anywhere rural would be extremely different. I knew there would be an adjustment and I'm fully prepared for it. What I wasn't prepared for was how much Mississippi seems to be like a third world country here in the USA.

The first inkling I had of this feeling about Mississippi was the reaction from friends when I told them we were moving here. Almost unanimously, they all talked about the south's history of racism, politics and the like. My answer was always the same. I like my racism upfront where I can see it. It's a hell of a lot better than the hidden racism I deal with in Chicago.

Banking has been a bigger issue for me. There is not one so-called national bank located in either Mississippi or Alabama. Not one. Not only are there no bank branches, none of the banks are part of any ATM networks. I can withdraw funds from an ATM (for a fee) but I can't deposit anything. Needless to say, I'm shocked that any bank calling itself a national entity has managed to ignore an entire area of the country. Actually I'm shocked that any supposed national entity ignores an area for whatever reason. It's a bit ridiculous to believe that people in south don't want any of the same things they do in New York or Chicago.

People who know me know that I love public transportation. Now I'm in a place where the notion of public transportation is unfathomable. I hate driving and now driving is necessary to visit the next door neighbor. We're 20 miles away from the nearest town (Hickory) and 35 miles away from the nearest city (Meridian). There is no commuter train, no bus, no cabs - absolutely nothing.

Nightlife is non-existent. Like many of you, I watched plenty of movies where juke joints were scattered throughout the southern landscape. Imagine my surprise when I found out those days and joints are gone. I'm not just talking about bars and clubs but restaurants and movies as well. When you look at the Meridian restaurant guide, published by the city's chamber of commerce, Subway is listed. Subway! Can you imagine that? I couldn't. Subway has never been nor will it ever be a dining destination but it's listed in the restaurant guide along with Domino's, Sonic and Hardee's. Until we go to Jackson, there will be no more gyros, pizza, sushi, taquitos or tapas. The closest thing to ethnic food I can find is Little Caesar's. On the other hand, bar-be-que is out of this world.

There may be two actual bars and there is one movie theatre which is located in the mall. On the other hand, ground has been broken on the Mississippi Arts Center which is to be located in downtown Meridian. Theater and concerts are held at the Riley Center which is part of Mississippi State University. Tony Bennett is scheduled to appear next Saturday and other artists are coming throughout the rest of the year. It may not be Chicago style concert offerings and theater goings but a Saturday evening with Tony Bennett ain't bad.

Shopping is not a high priority for me but I almost miss Chicago style shopping. There are gourmet grocery items that can't be found unless you make a sojourn to Jackson or New Orleans although a Whole Foods did open in Jackson this year. I mostly shop at bookstores which are almost non-existent everywhere in the US although most cities do have at least one or two indie stores. The only bookstore in the area is a Books-A-Million, located at the same mall as the movie theater.

Southern folks and church. These folks love their church and I applaud them for that. However I don't believe in church. I do, however, believe in God. Folks are having a difficult time distinguishing between the two. When I mention that I have no intention of joining a church here, you can hear a pin drop. The looks I get run the gamut from distaste to disgust. Doesn't matter to me. I wasn't a hypocrite about church in Chicago and I don't plan on being a hypocrite here.

Right about now, you're probably wondering exactly what we're doing here. You see my observations and wonder why in the hell would we move here? There are several ways to answer that question but the most direct answer is that I see what is and then I see what could be. I'm not the savior of Mississippi. The state doesn't need saving. Mississippi needs to be recognized as the birthplace of what the south could be if only given a chance. The national news stated this week that Mississippi had the largest unemployment of any state. That tells me there is a huge workforce just waiting to get to work. I see numbers of local Black elected officials. That tells me there is progress. Schools are getting more and more segregated and education is poor. That tells me there is room for visionary people to create programs that will educate and enlighten the youth. The nearest town to where we are has a downtown filled with vacant buildings. That tells me the town is ripe for small businesses like bookstores, ethnic restaurants, beauty shops and others to create a local economy.

For years, the US has treated the south as if it were a third world country, it's dirty little secret. Not a part of the laid back west coast or the hip east coast or the homey midwest. Big cities can only expand so much. Eventually money runs out and people leave cities for the suburbs. Big companies begin to lay off once they reach the point of saturation. It's hard to get something going in Chicago or New York or Los Angeles because the cities fee small businesses to death. But the south is waiting for its time to shine. It's waiting for its moment in the sun when people flock to the Carolinas or Tennessee or Alabama. The time is coming for the south to rise. I want more than a front row seat. I want to be a part of something that is bigger - my dream, my goal, my legacy. That's why I moved to Mississippi. I see not only what the south is but what it can be. And it is awesome!

Happy Pappy Day!

Thoughts of a Fried Chicken Watermelon Woman is available for purchase on BarnesandNoble.com. After reading, please drop me a line at info@KarenFordOnline and let me know what you think. Thanks!

We lost another giant this week with the transition of actress and activist Ruby Dee. We are saddened by her loss but overjoyed that she has gone on to continue the love story she shared with her lifetime partner, Ossie Davis. She was a great and gracious lady who will be missed.

Happy Father's Day or as we say in my house, Happy Pappy Day!

I know what you're thinking. I went on a tear a month ago about Mother's Day. How could I be so hypocritical as to exclaim Happy Father's Day? The simple answer is that I recognize this day because it makes my father happy.

Every year my father complains about the lack of respect for fathers. He notes that restaurants are packed to the roof on Mother's Day but not on Father's Day. He laments that fathers are so easily discarded in our modern world. In short, he's pissed that fathers seem to be disrespected, dishonored and forgotten. For a daddy's girl like me, I can do nothing less than celebrate a day devoted to the man who's been my rock.

Charles J. Seavers, my dad, was born in Clarksdale, MS. He lived there until the age of 10 when he came to Chicago with his parents during the great migration. Like so many others during that time, he lived on the south side of Chicago, graduated high school, worked all sorts of odd jobs, married and fathered a child. Unlike some, he was forced to raise his daughter alone when his wife died after only eight years of marriage. He was a Cook County Sheriff's police officer but resigned in order so he could guarantee his child would be taken care of.

During my childhood, my father was not only a father to me but to other children who were fatherless in our neighborhood. He taught kids how to ride a bike, he took us to Fred & Jack's for burgers and milkshakes. He was there when kids got into trouble and needed guidance. He gave away young ladies at their weddings. He was the neighborhood dad and I loved his for it.

As a girl, I did everything with my father that girls do with their mothers. He was with me when I got my first bra, my first pair of stockings and heels and my first visit to a gynecologist. He was the only man at my Girl Scout meetings and often the only man at mother-daughter events. He enjoyed the attention and once I got over the embarrassment, I enjoyed having him there.

When I began dating, he put the fear of God into a few young men. He was a commanding presence and made it quite clear he expected me to return home as untouched as when I left. He met every young man I dated at the door and grilled them mercilessly. He walked me to the door of every teenage party I attended to he could be sure the parents were there. Sometimes he stayed talking to the parents until the party was over and I left the parties with my head down and my dad in tow.

He helped me raise my son in every way possible. He's been a great role model for my child and for other young men after all these years. We still run into some of his probationers who often tell him how he helped them turn their lives around when he was their probation officer. He has made a real contribution to me, our family and the lives of others.

He's given me the most grief in my life but has also been my biggest fan. Even now, he tells people I can walk on water. He has always wanted the best for me and continues to support the dreams of my son, my husband and me.

At the age of 84, he shows no sign of slowing down. He had a stroke this year and he moves a little slower. He walks with a cane and is screaming mad that he can't drive. He has places to go and people to see. Sometimes I want to kill him and other times I want to hug the life out of him but always, always I love him.

I am blessed to still have him in my life. So if it means having him over for dinner like we did today, sending him a card as we did this week and making him feel special was the price I had to pay for all that he has given me, so be it. It was well worth it.

Happy Pappy Day, Charles Seavers! I love you.

The Passing of Two Titans

I’d like to take a moment to recognize the loss of two literary titans who made their transitions within days of each other. I’m speaking of world renowned poet laureate, writer and activist Maya Angelou. The other was Sam Greenlee, author of the critically acclaimed and highly controversial novel, The Spook Who Sat by The Door. The two of them contributed so much to the world and to the social justice and civil rights movements that words cannot begin to express the sorrow of their passing. As we mourn, let’s take some time to remember their contributions to literature and to the world.

Much has been written about Dr. Angelou’s passing and what her poetry and books have meant to the world. I, myself, am not a fan of poetry and Dr. Angelou’s was no exception although I do like the poem Phenomenal Woman. I was also deeply moved by the first volume of her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. This book spoke to me in ways literal and lyrical.

Less has been written about Sam Greenlee yet his work is as significant as that of Dr. Angelou. The Spook Who Say by the Door was published in 1969 and promptly became a work of importance due to its subject matter and unapologetic skewering of the government and in particular, the CIA.

Spook tells the story of the first Black man recruited to become a CIA agent for political reasons. The CIA in unaware that Dan Freeman, the man declared to be a model Negro, is a Black nationalist who becomes first rate agent and after enough time has passed, recruits young Black men in inner city Chicago to become Freedom Fighters. He trains his recruit in all the guerilla tactics he learned in the CIA. Eventually he and the Freedom Fighters initiate attack teams in 12 cities across America. This revolutionary work became notorious as it marked an era that had seen the victories of the Civil Rights era coupled with the assassinations of both Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy.

The film based on the book was released in 1973 directed by former Hogan Heroes actor Ivan Dixon and co-produced by Dixon and Greenlee with a screenplay written by Greenlee and Mel Gray. Although the film was critically praised, it was abruptly pulled from movie theaters across America because of its political message. For years the film was available only on bootleg video. The negative was stored in a vault under another name. Actor/producer/director Tim Reid helped to release the film on DVD in 2004. In 2012 the film was added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Films named to the registry are considered to be movies that capture American culture, history and social fabric to be preserved for future generations. A documentary about the making of the film entitled Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat by the Door was made in 2011 and featured Greenlee and others involved in the making of the film. The novel and the film continues to inspire new generations of activists and the story it tells are as prescient today as it was 45 years ago.

Obviously Greenlee’s work made quite an impact on me. I’ve read the book and even saw the movie when it was originally released. However having a chance encounter spending the better part of a June afternoon with the author had an even greater impact on me.

Several years ago on a warm Saturday in June, a slight older man approached me as I sat working a table at the Printers Row Book Fair. He asked if he could have a seat at the table and rest a bit. Of course, I instantly said yes. He inquired politely about who I was representing at the table. I explained I was a member of the National Writers Union, the only trade union for freelance writers in America and that we had a table at the fair every year reaching out to freelance writers of all genres regarding issues related to the publishing industry. We briefly discussed the union and then he introduced himself. It took a moment for me to recognize his name but before he could tell he’d written Spook, I remembered who he was and what a great book Spook was. He was flattered that I’d read the book and seen the movie. I was able to tell him how much the book and film meant to me as a teenager living in the racially torn city of Chicago and what it continues to mean to me as an adult still living in the racially divided city of Chicago.

From that moment throughout most of the afternoon, I had the pleasure of discussing Chicago, racism, politics, the government and a myriad of subjects with the man whose work I held in high regard. Never would I have imagined this slightly bent older gentleman with a well worn leather case was the man who expressed thoughts I could barely articulate. I was in wide eyed awe.

Our afternoon came to an end when Mr. Greenlee thanked me for allowing him to rest at my table. I could barely find the words to thank him for giving me the gift of his insights, his wisdom and his time. It’s rare that one has the opportunity to meet an idol. It’s even rarer to meet a visionary. I had a glorious afternoon when I had the chance doing both. Before we said goodbye, I purchased a copy of the DVD from him and he graciously signed the cover.

Now when the first Saturday in June comes around, I think back on that afternoon spent with a quiet man who lived on the south side of Chicago. And I reflect on one of the best moments of my life.

Thank you, Dr. Angelou, for the gift of your words. And thank you, Mr. Greenlee, for the gift of your activism. Our lives are better for the way you touched us.

Separate and Still Unequal

Friday, May 17th marked the 60th anniversary of the historic Brown vs. Board of Education decision in which the Supreme Court declared separate public schools for blacks and whites were unconstitutional. There was little fanfare marking this landmark but it was one of the defining moments of the civil rights movement of the 20th century.

The Brown vs. Board of Education decision overturned the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision of 1896 which allowed state sanctioned segregation in regards to public education. In the Plessy case, the Supreme Court held that separate facilities for the separate races did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment as long as the facilities were equal. Unfortunately throughout the south, facilities for Blacks were not only unequal but shabby in comparison. Public bathrooms, water fountains and especially schools were first rate for Whites while Black facilities were often unclean, unsanitary and the schools were run down with children using out of date books and hand me down materials including desks and seats. For years, Blacks were told to make do and be grateful for whatever they received regardless of the condition. They had to endure these atrocities from the Reconstruction era through the Jim Crow years with seemingly no end in sight. The Brown decision was not only a step in the right direction but the beginning of Black people deciding that they, too, deserved to equal citizens in the country of their birth.

There have been some great steps forward since the Brown decision of 1954 but separate but equal is still a part of the education system across the United States. In Chicago, the public education system is majority Black and Hispanic and the poor condition of education reflect the separate but equal mentality of the city council and the county. Schools with new books, quality buildings and up-to-date technology are found in the areas where middle to upper class Whites reside. Schools that need the most get the least and are told the only way to give the children a viable education is to make the school a charter school. Last year, over 50 public schools were closed and the school one block away from my home is under siege. Instead of finding out why schools are not performing, the political answer is to close the schools and turn the remaining ones over to corporations who know nothing about education. They merely want to turn the schools into little factories that will turn out peons who will serve the corporations upon graduation. Those who don’t graduate are already being assigned to the prison industrial complex before they've even thought about committing a crime.

To commemorate the anniversary of the decision, First Lady Michele Obama gave a speech in Topeka, KS where the class action decision. Further south in Greenville, MS, it is apparent that the 60 year old decision is still a foreign concept. The Today Show recently aired a report highlighting the public school system in that town where the schools are still separate and still unequal. Greenville, located in the Mississippi Delta, is a victim of the socioeconomic issues that are plaguing cities and towns across America. Whites makeup more than 20% of the population yet make-up only 2% of the public school system. The Blacks how make up 98% of the students in the public schools qualify for reduced breakfast and lunch programs because of the disparity of income between Blacks and Whites. Yet Mayor John H. Cox III states that this disparity is not just a race issue however does admit that he raised his two daughters in the town but did not send them to the public schools because he felt education in the public school system was lacking. One would think that the mayor of the town would be doing everything possible to make education a priority in his town but he instead chose to allow others to have a substandard education while he paid for private school for his children. I don't fault anyone fault anyone for wanting the best for their children but as mayor, isn't part of his duty to make sure every child in his town has a quality education. Silly me.

The argument made by Mayor Cox is one heard across the US and heatedly debated between wealthy suburbanites and poor city dwellers. Given the consistent song everyone sings about all children being the future, it would seem we should be able to make public education a quality institution for all children and not just for those who can afford better. Do we as a nation not realize that by allowing education to be another commodity to be purchased like clothing that we harming ourselves and our future? Or are we waiting for another decision that reflects our inequities as a have and have-not society? Whatever decision we make, our future is intertwined with that of our children. I don’t know about you but my dreams of a happy retirement sitting on a beach are over. The age of The Terminator are coming sooner and faster than you think and it won’t be Arnold Schwarzenegger on a blue screen.

Mothers and Mothers Day

Today is the 100th birthday of Mothers Day and the woman who started it all is barely remembered. We have instead turned this day into a profitable one for the card companies, florists, candy stores and restaurants. Yet the woman who started it all is merely a footnote in history and the original history of this day has been forgotten as well. Mothers Day is a holiday owing to strong feminist roots and the determination of one very special woman.

According to the National Geographic , in West Virginia in the 1850’s, a women’s organizer, Ann Reeves Jarvis, held mothers days work clubs to improve sanitary conditions and lower infant mortality by reducing milk contamination. The groups also tended wounded soldiers on both sides during the latter years of the Civil War. After the war, Jarvis and others organized Mother’s Friendship Day picnics and other events to create harmony.

After Jarvis died in 1905, her daughter Anna began holding similar friendship days in her hometown of Grafton, WV. Due to her efforts, Mothers Day was observed throughout the country. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson set aside the second Sunday in May for the holiday. This was to be a day set aside not to celebrate all mothers but for people to celebrate the best mother they’ve ever known be it a mother, father or friend.

Unfortunately Anna Jarvis vision was bastardized by the card, candy and flower companies. This was hurtful and deeply troubling for Jarvis. She organized boycotts, threatened lawsuits and went after public officials she felt were destroying the original intent of Mother’s Day. Her fight continued well until she died in 1948, penniless and suffering dementia, in Philadelphia’s Marshall Square Sanitarium. Today Mother’s Day continues to be of the most profitable holidays in the US. The National Retail Federation estimates $19.9 billion dollars will be spent this year. The National Restaurant Association states that Mother’s Day is year’s most popular day to dine out. Hallmark states Mother’s Day is the third largest card giving holiday after Christmas and Valentine’s Day. It is second only to Christmas as the most gifts giving holiday.

What started as an American holiday has spread to other parts of the world. The Arab world celebrates Mother’s Day March 21st. Panama’s celebration is December 8th and in Thailand, Mother’s Day is August 12 and Great Britain Mothering Day is celebrated the fourth Sunday during Lent. Anna Jarvis’ ode to her mother has become a worldwide phenomenon and a pantheon to consumerism. Not too shabby for a woman from West Virginia and not at all what she had in mind.

Personally I don’t celebrate Mother’s Day. There are two very important reasons why. First, I’m a mother 24/7. Just like I pray and thank God daily, I believe children should do the same for their mothers. Not a day goes by when I stop being a mother to my son. I’m special and I believe as such, I should be acknowledged on a day of my own, not one I have to share with women all over. You want to wish me Happy Mother’s Day? Do it on July 28th or January 17th or any other day I don’t have to share. Am I being ridiculous and selfish? Maybe. I don’t apologize for it because I’m a mother. I may never be some of the many things I want to be. But I will always be a mother. There are mothers all over the world and I applaud them. But I’m mother to my son and will be until death and beyond. I’ve earned that title and continue to earn that title because as a mother, I’m as infinite as time itself.

The other reason why I don’t celebrate Mother’s Day now is because I never have. My mother died when I was six so there was never anyone I made homemade cards for or gift boxes or trays or any of the myriad homemade projects kids made in school. I had wonderful mother substitutes and my father was amazing. Every event a girl shared with her mother, I shared with my dad including the Mother-Daughter fashion show at Girl Scouts, buying a first bra and buying the first pair of heels and stockings. For those of us who grew up without a mother, this day is a painful reminder of what never was. My mother didn’t get to see me attend my senior prom, never see me graduate from high school or college, never saw me walk down the aisle, never experienced my pregnancy and never got to help me become the woman I am. For me, this day is a reflection of what never was and never will be.

For those of you who do celebrate this day, I hope it’s a good one. I hope you’ve shown your mothers just how special she is and what she means to you. If you have someone in your life that has been like a mother to you, I hope you’ve shared with that person what a wonderful inspiration she has been to you. I wish that each of you who celebrates with your mother or aunt or grandmother or special friend makes the time and the effort to show your love and appreciation every day. Life is too short for anything less.

Instrument of Destruction

The release of Thoughts of a Fried Chicken Watermelon Woman has been delayed for a week. It is available for purchase on Amazon Kindle.

Adam B., a Daily Kos member, wrote a great piece April 29th titled Defendant’s rights, victims’ rights and the worst of crimes. In it, Adam describes the horrific crime of child sexual abuse in order to produce pornography and the subsequent case against one of the possessors of said pornography. In the article, Adam summarizes what Congress has to say about those who possess child pornography, the effect on the abused individual and finally, what the Supreme Court ruled on the case last week. It’s a very informative piece and hopefully many will take the time to read it.

Of the many issues addressed in Adam’s piece is the fact that once again, the Internet is being used to do irreparable damage to a person.

The Internet is surely one of the greatest inventions of all times. Utilizing the web has made it easier to do research, made communication easier and faster, created a new economy and job market and opened up to the world to those of us who are unable to travel it. The Internet has been used to give voice to those previously unheard and opened up national debates and issues to many who would otherwise be ignored. There is a great exchange of information and ideas that heretofore would have been ignored. And I owe personally owe the Internet for the platform it’s given me for my blog and subsequent book.

With all the wonderful things that can be attributed to the Internet, it’s a shame that the Internet has and continues to be used to victimize innocent people everywhere. The young lady in the Adam B. piece is one of those victims.

The young lady was sexually abused as a child by her uncle to produce pornography. The young lady was just beginning to gain control over her life when she learned her images were being trafficked on the Internet. This victimization will last for the remainder of this woman’s life. She will live under a cloud always wondering if she is being recognized because of those images. She will never know the pleasure of just being. This victimization is being perpetrated by people she doesn’t know and there will be an end to it. Unfortunately there is no way Congress, the appellate court or the Supreme Court can do to end her suffering or the suffering of other men and women who are similarly victimized.

In addition to this form of persecution, the Internet is used to keep people from getting jobs or made it easier for companies to remove employees from their jobs.

One of the way companies use to discriminate is to troll the Internet for people’s Facebook pages. They look at what’s posted and judge potential employees based on what they see although much of what they see is out of context. Is it really fair to deny someone employment because they’re drinking at a party. Isn’t drinking one of the things most of us do at a party? Are we no longer able to have fun at a party for fear that a potential employer is going to see us having fun? Is having a good time fitting criteria for employment? Or is it another way to keep people from getting ahead in an already unforgiving economy? If that’s the case, the only people who qualify for employment are Mormons and the Amish.

When not using Facebook to discriminate against an applicant, the Internet is being used to fire people for enjoying themselves during their non-work time. A Georgia teacher was forced to resign from her job because a supposed concerned parent saw her with a glass of beer and reported her to the administration. The teacher was on vacation in Europe and visiting a pub. The teacher was not drinking she was merely holding a glass of the ale. How can anyone be discriminated against for activities participated in while on vacation, especially lawful activities? Have we become so myopic that we’ve lost all modicum of common sense?

I would imagine Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Calliau, the acknowledged inventors of the World Wide Web and Robert E. Kahn and Vint Cerf, the acknowledged inventors of the Internet had any of this type of criminal and discriminative behavior in mind. I believe they were thinking of what a wonderful gift to this world these inventions would be. It’s a shame that once again, like Zyklon B an insecticide that was ultimately used to execute millions in gas chambers during the Holocaust, something that was created for good has been exploited for discrimination and used for evil.

Will we ever learn?

Watch Out for the Okey Doke

Thoughts of a Fried Chicken Watermelon Woman is being released Tuesday, April 29th. It is my book of essays, op-eds and some previous blog posts on issues of the day. It was a labor of love but it was also a labor of a different sort. Writing a book is one hell of an endeavor. There were moments when I thought I'd taken on more than I could handle. But I realized that if I didn't write the book I wanted to see, no one else would. I hope, as readers of this blog, you will spend a few dollars to buy my book and then take some time to read it. I look forward to what you have to say.

A great deal has been written about statements made by L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling and Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy. My take is entirely different than what's been reported by the media except to those in my circle. We see things differently and are aware of what's going on here. I'm going to take a moment to share it with you.

Former L.A. Laker Magic Johnson, who was a target of a statement supposedly made by Sterling, said he didn't understand how someone could dislike Black people when the NBA is more than 75% Black. Magic needs to stop by one of the Starbuck's he owns and smell the coffee. Of course Sterling can dislike Black players even the ones on his team. He pays them to play a game, a very lucrative game but a game none the less. But he doesn't have to like them. If Magic took a moment to check the history books, he'd recognize Sterling's attitude as the exact type of attitude shared by slave owners. Hell, he could probably put the film The Help in his DVD player and see Sterling's attitude articulated very clearly. I imagine Magic's reaction has nothing so much to do with how Sterling feels about Black people but more about how Sterling feels about him. It is obvious that Magic is afflicted with the same disease O.J. Simpson had. All you readers may not be aware of that disease but a hell of a lot of us recognize it. It's called the How can White people not love me when I've worked so hard to make them accept me disease.

When the verdict was read at the O.J. Simpson trial in 1995, the reaction by White America was not a shock to most Black people but O.J. Simpson didn't get it. He was under the mistaken impression that he had been forgiven and all was okay. The conversation in my circle was that he shouldn't even jaywalk because White folks were gunning for him. Not until he was convicted of robbery in 2008 did he finally get it. Last year his parole request on five concurrent sentences was granted. Later last year, however, his request for a new trial was denied and he faces more prison time. If anyone should recognize the slave master mentality at this point, he should. Perhaps he should call Magic Johnson and give him a clue.

As for rancher Bundy, I think his statements speak volumes about his fondness for slavery times. Any person who speaks of slavery and picking cotton at this point in time is obviously a person out of time. And to talk about Black people and government subsidies while he refuses to pay the government the more than $1 million he owes, should be ignored and not given a platform to spew such madness. If anyone wants to take issue with him, take issue with the fact that the government has allowed him to owe this amount of money even as the IRS threatens average folks for a few thousand dollars for taxes.

I'm not amazed by what he said. I more amazed that people are so surprised at his views. I would imagine that at any given time in this country, his views are shared by millions. His statements were just made public.

I'm surprised the Republicans embraced him and then thought better of it and decided to distance themselves. As stated above, the focus needs to be on the money he owes and what the government plans to do about it. Given there are almost no ideological differences between Democrats and Republicans, I'm waiting for the sleight of hand that going to happen soon as the government quickly and quietly sweep this under the rug and Bundy will go back to business as usual as he becomes the poster boy for the Patriotism movement.

Once again, dear readers, we're falling for the sleight of hand tricks the government and mainstream media are performing. While we spend time debating about whether or not racism is alive and well in the U.S. (it is) and whether or not these gentlemen are racists (they are), the government is passing legislation that hurts us all, the Supreme Court is giving corporations more and more control over our elections and corporation media is bombarding us with programming that is so idiotic that watching it regularly drops our IQ by a few points.

We must be diligent. We must be aware. We must get angry and we must take action. The okey doke is alive and well. And if we're not careful, we'll be knocked out before we even get in the ring.

Happy Easter!

Today is Easter Sunday and Christians the world over are celebrating the risen Christ. Oh, how I remember this day well from my youth. Not so much for the religious significance but the pomp and circumstance surrounding it. Spending the week prior finding the right dress, purchasing white patent leather shoes, getting Shirley Temple curls in my hair, dyeing eggs the night before, Easter egg hunts at church - the memories go on and on. I would bet many of you have just as many wonderful memories as I do.

As I aged, Easter was still a time of buying a new outfit but it also signaled the arrival of spring and being able to finally wear white clothes. Although the egg hunts were a think of the past, I still loved dyeing eggs the Saturday night before Easter. Our Easter dinner was the stuff of legends with a great big honey blazed ham holding court in the center of the dinner table. After stuffing ourselves, our evening culminated in watching Charleston Heston , in perhaps his greatest role, play Moses in Cecil B. DeMilles’ greatest film The Ten Commandments.

As a church going adult, I found that I enjoyed the pomp and circumstance surrounding Easter even more since our church added a part of the Jewish celebration of Passover to the mix.

Passover is celebrated by Jews worldwide. The story of Passover is found in the Old Testament book of Exodus in the Bible. After suffering from various plagues, Moses told Pharaoh that the next plague would be one he himself would declare. Pharaoh ordered the death of the firstborn in each house. Only houses where the doorposts were smeared with the blood of an unblemished lamb was the firstborn spared. Hence the term "Passover."
The meal that marks the beginning of Passover is called a Seder service." There is a retelling of the story of the Jews exodus from Egypt and some symbolic foods are eaten representing both the slavery and eventual freedom experienced by the Jews. The meal consists of eating matzo (an unleavened bread representing poverty), bitter herbs (representing the bitterness of slavery)and a sweet paste (representing the mortar that was used to cement bricks). During the second half of the meal, matzo is eaten again along with vegetables dipped in salt water (representing bitter tears) and wine. It should be remembered this is the meal eaten by Jesus the night he was betrayed and memorialized as the Last Supper. The partaking of bread and wine is known as Communion in the Christian church.

At my home church, we held a Maundy Thursday potluck after our service where we washed each other’s feet. Prior to the potluck, we had a Seder service and I always felt it was a wonderful way to connect the Old and New Testament and connect Christianity and Judaism.

Eventually my church stopped the combined Passover/Maundy Thursday celebration and I stopped going to church. We don’t have a traditional Easter meal anymore. But I still watch the Easter time movies like King of Kings, The Robe, Barabbas, Ben-Hur, Easter Parade and Jesus Christ Superstar. Many of these movies I watched since I was a child and they are just as great now as they were then. The memories are as clear as the sky is today. They take me back to a time when the biggest decision I had to make was whether or not to wear lace socks or tights.

I can’t promise that I will never attend church on an Easter Sunday. I certainly can’t promise that I’ll never make another Easter ham. But I can promise that I will celebrate Easter in my own way, eating dyed eggs and chocolate bunnies till I burst.

Happy Easter!

Too Much

The news this week has been so heavy that finding one subject to cover in this post was almost impossible. There have been additional reports of how the search for Malaysia flight #370 has been further mishandled.

The Supreme Court continues its quest to disenfranchise the American people by allowing rich people the opportunity of giving as much money to political candidates as they wish. This is the follow-up ruling to the disastrous Citizens United.

DuPont heir Robert H. Richards IV was convicted of raping his three year old daughter but was spared prison because he “would not fare well in prison.” I never realized that faring well in prison was a determining factor if one is found guilty of a felony.

In Pennsylvania and Illinois, razor blades were found duct taped to playground equipment. A two year was hurt Monday afternoon suffering a minor cut to his hand.

This is just one week’s worth of news and I’m sure I missed something important but these are the four subjects that caught my attention. Allow me to offer some thoughts on each.

Since Malaysia #370 first went missing, the search has been mishandled. The airline officials seemed rather flippant in their communication to the families and the media about the steps being taken to find the flight. For two weeks, the families and friends of those passengers hoped their loved ones would be found. In this age of instant communication, it would be close to impossible for a plane to be out of contact two hours let alone two weeks and no one can find it or any indication of where it could be. Cars have On Star. ADT can turn off appliances and lock doors with the touch of an app. Seniors have Life Alert and even dogs have GPS but a jet plane disappears and it takes over two weeks to determine the plane was down. Adding insult to injury, families were notified by email that their loved ones were lost. Yet, it would have been time consuming to contact each family but given the hell those people went through, a personal call was the least they could have done.

The Supreme Court continues to prove that it has forgotten its original mandate in that it is the final interpreter of federal constitutional law. It’s become increasingly obvious that the court believes the Constitution and the rights guaranteed by it are reserved only for the rich and powerful, the rest of us be damned. The Citizens United decision is a travesty and should be repealed immediately. If corporations are people, I’d like to see Citibank, J P Morgan Chase and other corporations sit and wait at the doctors’ office or simply do something the rest of us do like use the washroom. It’s bad enough that we have to contend with corporation lobbyist’s stranglehold on our elected officials. We now have to contend with the rich being allowed to just outright purchase the people we rely on to work in our best interest.

This is the second time this year that a judge has allowed a rich person to avoid going to jail because the individual is not responsible or is unable to survive the prison system. Are prisoners being sentenced based on their survival skills? If so, there are a number of young people and women who have been unjustly sentenced and living lives of terror because they are not capable of surviving in jail. It’s obvious why Robert Richards was given probation for raping his daughter – he is a rich White man in America. Enough said.

There is a special place in hell for the perpetrators of this type of cruelty. Anyone who intentionally hurts a child should be tossed in a hole in the deepest, darkest part of the jail. This is not an April fool’s joke. This is not a harmless prank. This is the work of someone who doesn’t deserve to see daylight let alone share space on this planet with the rest of us. Every time I think people have gotten as low as they can go, someone comes along and makes me weep with the realization that I was dead wrong. Only divine intervention can save this soul.

No History without Herstory

March is Women's History Month. The National Writers Union, celebrates annually with a Womanist Read-In. This year we had 12 participants who read poetry, history, tributes, memoirs, science fiction and spiritual pieces. The pieces were as good as they were varied and I was happy to have had the opportunity of planning and hosting this event. It gets better every year.

There has been an ongoing conversation about this month through the years. People often wonder why there is a women's history month at all. Or all the other months that celebrate the various ethnicities that helped to create this country. The answer is alarmingly simple. If there were no women's history month, herstory would never be told. No one’s story would be told. After all, history is written from the perspective of the winner and in this country, the winner is always a White male.

It is an undeniable fact that history is written by the winners. When we look at the history of the United States, it is filled with stories of White males. The rest of us are thrown in here and there. If any of us go back to our history books, we see White men triumph time and time again regardless of the contributions of women, Blacks, Native Peoples, Latinos or Asians.

The story of Christopher Columbus is all about the Europeans who came to this country. Although the Native people who were here are mentioned, they take a back seat to Chris and his gang of marauders.

The first Thanksgiving is supposedly a story of harmony and friendship but eventually the Native people are swindled, killed and moved off their land in the name of progress. Never do the English make good on any of their promises to share the land. The term "Indian giver" means someone promises something or gives you something and then takes it back. The Native people were never Indian givers. They never took the land back. It was taken from them.

Even when someone else is victorious, the story is changed to favor the White male. Remember the story of Gen. George Armstrong Custer and the last stand? He and his army lost the battle. We all know Custer's army was slaughtered but history books proclaim no one survived. But someone did survive. The Lakota, the Northern Cheyenne and the Arapaho tribes led by Crazy Horse survived. Obviously their survival didn't count.

Blacks don't make an appearance until slavery except for that lone first soldier to die in the Revolutionary War, Crispus Attucks. If Attucks was there, wouldn't it make sense that other Blacks were there as well? But no. No other appearances by Blacks until slavery. After slavery, there is a brief mention of Blacks during the Reconstruction era but the only prominent Black person mentioned is George Washington Carver. But what of the other Blacks who made contributions during this crucial time. While cities were growing, there is no mention of Garrett A. Morgan who invented the stop light. There is no mention of Lewis Latimer who assisted Thomas Edison’s work with the light bulb. Black people make a brief appearance in history and then miraculously, we're gone until the Civil Rights era.

There is even less mention of Latinos and Asians other than a brief mention of the Asian contribution to the building of the railroads in the west. Very little is taught about the Latinos and Hispanics who are part of American history. Although Latinos founded cities like San Antonio and San Francisco, that contribution is no mentioned. Similarly like Custer’s Last Stand, a major battle is waged by Mexican forces at the Alamo. All 189 troops including Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie lost to that army led by General Santa Ana. Yet instead of recognition of the event, we are left with the battle cry of “Remember the Alamo” as if the Mexican army was little more than a fly flitting around the bigger picture of Whites once again taking land that was originally owned by others. Afterwards Latinos and Hispanics are not referred to until historians mention Cesar Chavez and the farm workers.

What of the many women, both White and of color, who contributed to the history of this country? What of herstory? Betsy Ross and the making of the first flag. Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the suffragette movement. Florence Nightingale and her dedication to nursing the troops. Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. Pocahontas and Jamestown. Jane Addams and Hull House. Herstory is defined by these few mentions. History is loath to speak of the contributions of women to this country. The longest historical references in the history books are of the suffragette movement. Little attention is given to the work of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her many contributions nationally and internationally. What of Anna Dudley Broadstreet, the first published poet? Deborah Sampson was the only woman known to fight in the Revolution War. Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female doctor in America. What of the many women who made history by virtue of the work they did on behalf of women, children and the family? What of the women who were staunch abolitionists during the time of slavery? What of the women who assisted their husbands, fathers and brothers during the turbulent times of labor battles? Or the many women who worked in factories while men went off to war in Europe? What of the sacrifices made by the countless women who work, raise children, assist husbands, and care for the sick with little thought to their own needs. Sleeping like the dead only to awaken to do It all over again.

As we say goodbye to Women’s History Month 2014, maybe we should all give a shout out to the women who make up our own personal history. Although history is written by the winner, there is no winning history without herstory. Long may her story wave!

Sheroes

March is Women's History Month. I'd like to take a moment to recognize the women who've contributed to my life. Here's to my sheroes.

Mae West - this Brooklyn born, master of the double entendre and sex symbol is one of the women who taught me "too much of a good thing is wonderful." She was a woman well before her time. Arrested on morals charges more than once, she was a bawdy, sexy, racy woman who wrote her own material and more importantly, she was an independent woman at a time when most women were considered property to be controlled by a man.

Jackie "Moms" Mabley - The funniest woman I've ever seen who could make you laugh just by looking at her. Moms, like Mae West, was a woman before her time. Her comedy tackled all sorts of taboo subjects including ageism and racism but she was fearless. She was a proud lesbian who men's clothing when not performing and was addressed at Mr. Mabley when away from the stage. She was an original and there has been no one like her since.

Nikki Giovanni - I'm not a poetry buff but I love me some Nikki. She was one of the first people I heard embrace the term "Black" and after I heard her, I vowed I would never call myself colored or Negro again. To this day, I use the term "Black", not African American. Nikki made the phrase "Black is beautiful" means something to me in my formative years as the Civil Rights Movement sputtered to an end and I will always believe in my head and my heart that Black is absolutely, positively, unequivocally, unashamedly Beautiful.

Barbara Streisand - That voice, that phrasing, that clarity. I love to hear Streisand sing. Funny Girl is one of my favorite films and I still sing with Barbara when she's belting out Don't Rain on My Parade. That song gives me permission to tell anyone in my general vicinity that I won't allow anyone to get in my way. It's my theme song and nobody can sing it like Barbara.

Tananarive Due - Like poetry, I'm not a reader of science fiction or supernatural but Tananarive's African Immortals series have given me some great hours of entertainment, fear and speculation. She is a first rate writer whose worked simply cannot be confined to one genre. Her books are well worth the time and effort and shoud not be misssed if you like a good story well told.

Toni Morrison - There isn't too much left to say about this award winning, world renowned writer. Every so often, I re-read Sula or The Bluest Eyeor Song of Solomon and I remember why I wanted to write fiction (although I own up to the fact that I can't). Thank God she writes it so well. And thank God, she inspires me to continue writing even when I think I have nothing left to say.

Molly Ivins - This Texas columnist gave me the courage to write op-eds about politics. No one covered the winding road of dirty politics like Molly Ivins. She watched the underhanded bigwigs in Texas government like a hawk and had the guts to call them out when they were wrong. She's gone now but her spirit is alive and well. I hope to be as courageous as she was when some politician is lying, cheating and stealing.

Aretha Franklin> - That powerhouse of a voice moves inside and through me like nothing else in this world. No matter where in the world you are, when you hear Respect, you have to stop and sing along because everyone around you is singing it too. Only Aretha seems to understand how a woman feels desperation, sadness, humility and love. Only Aretha seems to share that pain. And Aretha can do it in different genres without breaking a sweat. She could sing the ABC song and you can feel it in your bones. Aretha's singing moves inside me like she has a map and that's why she is the undisputed Queen.

LuWillie Luster - My mother who died when I was six years old. I have only brief memories of her but they are as clear as day and remain with me. She came from Texas to study at Providence Hospital. She became a lab technician and worked on the original polio vaccine. Her dancing to the music of American Bandstand. Her singing to me at night. Her standing by the sink sticking vanilla wafers under the cold water as she ate them dripping wet. Her eating Jell-O with milk. Her walking me to kindergarten. Her stretched out in her coffin. I have these memories and although they are few, they help me to understand what kind of woman I could be. They hold the promise of what I can be.

Mary Liza Holmes Seavers - My paternal grandmother who taught me what a woman is supposed to be. She worked every day and came home to cook dinner and then start all over again. She taught me when to be a lady, when to be a woman and when to be a whore and to never get the three confused. She took me the Ice Capades and wrestling matches. She taught me to cook and do laundry. She encouraged my reading and my writing. She showed me everyday what a woman with little education but lots of drive could do. She was proud and strong and did everything in her power to make sure I was too. She loved me more than she could ever say but she showed me every day. The best of what is in me is because of her and I owe her everything that I am.

March is Women's History Month. Tell the women in your life that you love them. Take a moment to acknowledge your sheroes. The world is a better place because of them. And if you're like me, you're a better person because of them. Shine a light on them today!

The Powerful Bullet in Your Arsenal

Early voting is going on in Chicago this week for the primary. It began Monday, March 3rd and continues through Saturday, March 15th from 9am to 5pm. In addition to the usual suspects, there are judges and several very important referendum including one about domestic violence shelters, banning guns in pubs, limiting the size of clips on an automatic weapon and raising the minimum wage. There are some serious issues here and yet we have yet to get 100 voters a day. Why? Because people are listening to the pundits declare voter turnout will be low and voters decide they must be right and don't vote.

People often complain there are no good candidates in the general election. If you want great candidates for the general election, they must be voted for in the primary. If they don't win the primary, that incompetent incumbent will be on the ballot once again. They complain they never seen that incumbent until election time but if he knows he's going to win the primary which means he will absolutely win the general election, why would he do better? The challenger, the person who might just unseat that wasteful politician is on the primary ballot. If you don’t vote, a better candidate has lost before he ever had a chance. If you want to see change, do something to make change. Voting in the primary is of the best ways to do that.

As a Black person in America, I recognize that some of the most important people on the ballot are judges. Young Black people, especially males, are disproportionally part of the criminal justice system for both misdemeanors and felonies. Yet because we routinely disregard voting in the primary, we miss the opportunity of removing less than fair judges from the bench. We often wonder why there are often such blatant miscarriages of justice when part of the real problem is that we fail to look at the records of judges and vote accordingly.

It’s easy to complain. It’s easy to sign a petition. It’s easy to join a rally. You can complain every day, sign every petition and join every rally. But sound without action is noise. We’ve made plenty of noise over the years. Don’t you think it’s time to turn that noise into action? Then vote. If you don’t, then don’t complain about the useless incumbent on the ballot again in November. The fault of that is no one’s but your own.

In other words, if you don't vote, sit down and shut the f*** up. You deserve exactly who you voted for.

And The Oscar Goes To,,,

It's Oscar Day - one of my favorite days of the year. I have a special menu consisting of my favorite pates, cheeses, breads and desserts. I have a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge. My Oscar sheet is taped to the wall in the living room with my picks circled in black. Everyone who knows me knows to call before 5pm because the phone is officially off at 5pm. Oscar Day is sacred to me and everyone in my circle knows it.
(br>Yes, I recognize that with everything going on in the world, the Oscars don't mean that much. I know it's going to be long and tedious at some points. I know the speeches will be almost all the same given the two minutes the winners are given. There will be a tribute to those film people who died last year. There will be presentations I hate and songs I've never heard. Yes, I know all of this but still I watch every year and love every minute of it.

This will be my 50th Oscar celebration. And over the years, I've developed some insights about who will be taking home the golden bald guy we call Oscar.

Best Acting - Any actor who plays someone with a mental or physical defect or illness wins. Geoffrey Rush, Daniel Day Lewis, Holly Hunter, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks -to name a few, have all won playing someone with some sort of ailment. Pacino, who was great in all the Godfather movies, never won for any of them but won for playing blind in Scent of a Woman. It wasn't even close to his best performance but he was playing blind. This tells me Matthew McConaughey will win as an AIDS striken man in Dallas Buyers Club.

The same can be said for women who are nominated for Woody Allen movies. Think what you will about Woody, he writes great roles for women and his ladies usually win. Cate Blanchett doesn't have a care in the world tonight. She's bringing Oscar home...again.

Best Supporting Acting - Movies follow life in this category so this is where the Black nominee usually wins. There are more winning Black actors in this category than any other. Beginning with Hattie McDaniel in Gone with the Wind and ending with Octavia Spencer in The Help, the number of winning Black actors in this category includes Morgan Freeman, Louis Gossett, Jr., Jennifer Hudson, Whoopi Goldberg, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Monique. This is no way saying they were undeserving of their wins; it's just a reflection of Hollywood. As we marvel at what Lupita Nyong'o will be wearing, I hope she's practicing her acceptance speech.

Documentary feature or short - Any documentary that is about or features the Jewish Holocaust will win. That's not to say they are not without merit but there are a lot of really great documentaries out there that could use the boost an Oscar win would give. I haven't seen a lot of the nominated films this year but I do know that The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life will win given its subject is a 106 year old Holocaust survivor.

Best Song - This category has become one of the most surprising categories in recent years. Normally the best song was one with great radio play or something by a classical composer. Now it's populated with winners under the age of 40 whom many Oscar voters don't know. I would imagine it's because the musical branch of the academy is filled with people under the age of 40 and the musicians vote for their peers. One of my favorite Oscar moments was watching Queen Latifah annoucing rap group Three 6 Mafia winning for It's Hard Out There for a Pimp from the movie Hustle and Flow. It still gives me a kick. A close rival to that moment was Barbara Streisand announcing Eminem. As we say in my house, you could have bought her cheap.

Make-up and Costume Design - The more elaborate the make-up and costume, the better chance of a win. I think this is a bit of a cheat. It's easy to make-up a monster. After all creating a monster is subjective. It's also easy to create costumes for a period piece. But the real artistry for me is making up and costuming a character from the past 20-30 years. Although there are loads of pictures about the 60's-90's, there is no solid historical frame. So doing these times periods mean more difficult research. Doing it right separates the great from the really good. I don't really have a choice in this category. Just 50 years of watching people create Victorian era design with 20th and 21st century know-how.

Best Picture - The winner will be 12 Years a Slave. First let me say that I will scream my head off when it wins for I believe it should win. However I recognize a win is a two-fer for the Hollywood voters. First the Academy can pat itself on the back for voting for this film. They can say it proves Hollywood is not racist (which is a load of bull). After all, the cast is predominantly Black although almost all the speaking roles are done by Whites. Second, this is type of historical film the academy loves. Like so many other winning films, there is grand cinematography, classical music, wonderful acting and great direction. The film is visceral in more ways than one. It caused me great anger and anquish. It pushed every button. And in the end, good triumphs over evil.

Those are my predictions for tonight. You may agree or think I'm totally off the mark. You probably think I'm giving in to the worst of the worst by writing a post about the Oscars. To paraphrase Bill Joel, "you may be right. I may be crazy. But I just might be the lunatic you're looking for." Enjoy your night. I'm certainly going to enjoy mine. Champagne, anyone?

Jordan, Meet Trayvon.

Do you feel it? That sense of having been here before? Think about it. For the second time in as many years, a jury in Florida has determined the life of a young Black man is worthless. Stand your ground once again prevails as a defenseless young man is cut down with nothing in his hand. Instead of a grown man defying orders to stay in the car, this grown man decided to shoot up a car of Black teenagers, wounding three and killing one. I’m beginning to believe that every young Black male should leave Florida immediately and not return until middle age. I, for one, have advised my 19 year old son to go no further southeast than Georgia.

As I sit here once again stunned by the travesty of justice that continue to be be perpetuated in Florida since the election debacle of 2000, I’m waiting to hear the voices of indignation from the so-called leaders of the Black community. I’m waiting to hear the screams of Black mothers rising like steam into the atmosphere. I’m waiting to hear the roars of fathers defending their sons. I’m waiting. And what I hear is the silent resignation of a people who have been let down by the justice system we proclaim to be the greatest in the world. The silent acceptance that the scales of justice are not only not balanced but blatantly tilted in favor of the individuals whose actions tell us every day that we will never be allowed to achieve the American dream. The silent resignation that says you may have the presidency (and it’s temporary) but we have the judges, juries, defense and prosecution. The silent resignation that daily tells me and mine that I have never been nor will I ever be treated like equal in my lifetime in this country.


At the end of the week, churches will ask that we pray for the families.  Clergy will ask us to forgive Dunn and trust that God will punish him.  When Dunn us sentenced, Davis' parents will be asked whether they believe justice has been served.  The pundits will weigh in with their summary of what happened.  The members of Dunn's family along with members of the Dunn jury and Dunn himself will be asked if they think justice was fair.  But Jordan Davis will be another footnote in the history books. His death will become the scab of another wound inflicted upon Black people in this country.<br>
<br>It's always been said that justice is blind.  I would submit that Lady Justice is far from blind.  She sees exactly what she wants to see and who she wants to see when she peaks beneath her blindfold.  Unfortunately she remembers to pull down that blindfold when your skin is Black.

The One and Only Resolution Worth Keeping

It’s early February and one thing is clear. Those resolutions made New Years Day have already bit the dust. You haven’t been to the gym in the past two weeks. Eating healthy went out the door when the cold spell hit. Your television habits haven’t changed and you haven’t opened Moby Dick or Great Expectations or War and Peace or any of those classics you promised you would begin this year.

Face it. You’ve conceded defeat and you’re beating yourself up for it.

Don’t.

The problem isn’t that another year has begun and you’ve already given up any hope of keeping those resolutions. The problem is that you made the wrong resolution.

There is only one resolution each of us should make. It’s simple but it’s powerful. The resolution, you ask? BE SELFISH!

Yes, I said it. Be selfish. We’ve been taught since childhood that selfishness is a sin. Only bad children are selfish. Selfish children become selfish adults. But if you think about it, every great or successful person has been or is selfish.

If you think about selfishness like the airplane rule, you’ll understand what I mean about being selfish. The flight attendant always says in case the air masks are needed, place the mask over your own face and then assist the person with you. Why? You can’t help someone else if you are incapacitated. It’s not selfish to save yourself first. Remember the adage “self preservation is the first law of nature.” That is as true a statement as one can make. There is nothing selfish about that.

Let me reiterate. Being selfish is simple to declare but when lived, you and everyone around you will recognize the power of that resolution. And remember, how you live that resolution is as important as the resolution itself.

For example, being selfish can be used for good. Every person we think of as a good person, a hero if you will, was selfish. Recently Nelson Mandela died and his heroism was heralded around the world. He was seen as one of the most selfless beings on the planet. Yet if you think of him in the context of being selfish, his heroism proves the point. Mandela was selfish in his belief that South Africa should no longer practice apartheid. For his unwavering belief, he was imprisoned for 27 years. Was he a hero? Absolutely! Was he selfish? Absolutely! That selfishness caused his children to be raised without him and his wife to take care of the household without assistance. Yet his selfishness freed a nation and made him the first president of a democratic South Africa.

On the other hand, selfishness can be used to cause great harm. Our government has continued a war so that another country can be deprived of its natural resources. Those resources will be owned by a very select few people who will use them to gauge the rest of us. That selfishness is greed and greed can be as much a by-product of selfishness as heroism. It depends on the person being selfish and how he or she interprets the resolution of being selfish. And that’s why being selfish is such a powerful resolution.

So instead of dwelling on the bad connotations of selfishness, let's focus on the good.

Being selfish means

• waking up every day saying thank you to the Creator, giving yourself a big hug and declaring you are more than enough.

• loving yourself the way you want someone else to love you.

• ridding yourself of any person who does not recognize how wonderful you are and you won’t feel guilty about it.

• loving your body so much you will no longer treat it like a garbage can. You will eat what makes you body feel good.

• enjoying your body so much that you like to make it move by doing movements you enjoy be it dancing or swimming or walking.

• resting your body and your mind every day for eight hours sleep.

• taking time to read, nap, meditate or do nothing and not feel guilty about it.

• saying no to anything that goes against your better judgment regardless of who is doing the asking.

• being true to you without apology.

• being the best you can be without comparison.

• you share your joy.

Sounds like a lot, I know. It is but then again, it isn’t. The first two parts of the resolution will make the other parts that much easier to follow.

You made it to another year. Don’t wallow in the resolution abyss of resolutions already shot to hell. Be thankful you made it through another year. Be grateful for what you have in life. And be selfish.