2015 - It's Almost Over. Thank Goodness!

2015 has been one hell of a year and I don’t know about you but I’m ready for it to come to a close. So much harm has been done throughout the world this year that it’s almost impossible to comprehend. Allow me to share with you why I’m so ready for this year to end.

From the murders of young Black men and women to the massacres at churches, schools and health facilities, White males seem to have gone on a murder spree. And make no mistake these seemingly random killings were perpetrated by White males. What’s even more disturbing is America’s silence about it all. We seem to accept these happenings with a nonchalance bordering on a collective blindness. We attempt to shush the voices calling for a change. We criminalize those who protest murder and we staunchly defend a Constitutional right that was not envisioned by its authors. I simply can’t take another report of wholesale death on the nightly news while our elected officials, the NRA and political candidates blather on about our thoughts and prayers while failing to move forward on finding solutions.

In my home town of Chicago, the jerk mayor, Rahm Emanuel, was re-elected. Karen Lewis, the dynamic head of the Chicago Teachers Union, was the popular favorite to oust Rahm. Health issues derailed her candidacy. Former alderman and former state senator Jesus “Chuy” Garcia was recruited by Lewis to run. A progressive movement was created by a number of coalitions including religious leaders, unions, teachers and countless Chicagoans in hopes of destroying machine politics in Chicago. Garcia’s numbers caused a run-off election that rocked the incumbent and made him campaign for mayor, something his predecessors almost never had to do. April’s run-off election gave us an opportunity to oust this bum but we blew it.

Planned Parenthood has always had its detractors but this year, the health organization has been under siege. Yes, it is a health organization. The vocal, uninformed group that has been attempting to destroy Planned Parenthood forgets that performing abortions is only one of the many health services provided. The group provides contraception, STD screenings, pap smears and breast and cervical cancer screenings. Planned Parenthood is funded under Title X, a federal grant program, the purpose of which is to help low-income and the uninsured get access to contraception and sexual health care. This is not an upstart organization but a nearly 100 year old nonprofit founded by Margaret Sanger in 1921to provide contraception services women who previously had none. PPFA is an affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and as such is the largest provider of reproductive services. If the ill-informed Congress has a clue, they’d be trying to increase funding for Planned Parenthood. Instead they spend countless hours and money attempting to do what they’ve been doing since the formation of this country: trying to rule the womb.

The terrorist attack in Paris that killed as many as 130 people was just one of many acts of violence around the world. From January through October of this year, more than 100 people were killed in attacks in Cameroon, Egypt, Iraq, Kenya, Nigeria, Syria and Yemen. International tourism has taken a serious economic hit and people are in fear going to seemingly peaceful locales like London or Brussels or Munich. Most of these terrorist attacks were committed by extremist Muslim groups but America has more than its share of home grown extremist Christian terrorists. Instead of pointing fingers at Muslims throughout the world, maybe we should begin rethinking what it means to be a card carrying, Bible spouting Christian right here at home. Extremism in any form hurts us all.

With all the intelligent, well-spoken and competent individuals in this country, we’ve been left with scum residue for presidential political candidates. If this were an SNL skit, it would be funny. Given this is real, it’s a damn shame. The Republican candidates amount to a group of isms masquerading as viable candidates for the most powerful position in the world. The Democratic candidates are not much better. I know many of you have high hopes for Bernie Sanders but so far, I’m not impressed. Hilary scares me as I believe she is as much a warmonger as any of the Republicans. Unfortunately I fear I have to choose between the lesser of two evils instead of the better of two candidates come November 2016. That scares the living piss out of me.

There have been some good things this year. Refugees have been taken in around the world. People have given money to help hurricane victims. A professor babysat with a single mom’s two kids so she could take her exams. McDonald’s customers are paying it forward. The price of gas is down to a reasonable price. Although climate change is bad for the environment over all, the warm weather in Chicago this December is great. Although eating bacon is bad (according to the latest report from the WHO), I discovered a new way to indulge my love for it (the maple bacon long john at Mariano’s). It’s so good that just writing about it makes me weak.

Normally years ending in “5” are great for me but 2015 was an exception. Besides those very public topics listed above, there were a number of personal issues that beset me this year. Maybe it’s been a better year for you than for me. All I know is I’m really looking forward to 2016. Although I fear there will be more of the same idiocy, more of the same destructiveness, more murderous rampages and more young Black people killed for no reason, I have to believe that next year will be better if for no other reason that it is a new year. We have an opportunity to make it better. Let’s not waste it making grandiose resolutions that never come to fruition. We can begin by following one simple rule. Let’s just be nice to each other. Make it a habit like brushing your teeth. Make the effort and change can happen. You can do it. I can do it. We can do it. Gandhi said you must be the change you wish to see in the world. Let’s be nice.

Well Thought Plan or Conspiracy, I'm Just Saying

I'd like to thank you for your well wishes as I worked through my health issues. They are not yet over but I'm on the mend and able to get back to writing.

Book TV (C-Span 2 on cable) had a panel discussion last night on ethnicity and race. The authors represented different communities of color: Bert Ashe, a Black man; Melody Moezzi, an Iranian-American woman; Wendy Ortiz, a Mexican-American woman; and Oksana Marafiotti, a Romani-American woman (otherwise known as Gypsy). Each talked about the difficulties they faced as marginalized people in the US.

Prof. Ashe spoke of the US as a country of diverse ethnicities but also related how often he hears White people at town hall meetings saying they want their country back. His immediate thought mirrored my own which was if you want your country back, you should go back to England, Ireland, Germany or your original country of origin. The only people in the US who should be wailing about wanting their country back are the Native Americans who have been silenced for centuries.

Ashe knows like me what White people mean when they bemoan the loss of "their country." They want us to go back to a time when the White man's word was law. There were few women in the workforce making advances or asking for equal pay or suing over sexual harassment. Women were quiet and subservient. People of color were subservient also, afraid to ask for better treatment out of fear of reprisal or worse. Big business was run by the Rockfellers, the Kennedys, the Vanderbilts - all well established White families. Television reflected the White ideal of servant mom, two obedient children and a well suited dad. Blacks and other minorities were in the background serving the family speaking only to say yes sir or no ma'am. The US was the big dog in the world. No country except Russia dared utter anti-US sentiment for fear our leaders would withhold all manner of aid. Having been born in the 1950's, I remember this US well.

Fast forward to 2015. The Civil Rights Movement ushered in a new age for not only Black people but other ethnic groups as well. The Feminist Movement catapulted women out of the kitchen and into the boardroom. Could you have imagined the US with a Black president? Could you imagine women sitting on the Supreme Court? Could you image a Hispanic-American Attorney General? Or an Indian-American Surgeon General. I never would have imagined it either were I not alive to see it. I rejoice at seeing the diversity of our nation and the heights to which people of my race and gender have reached. Yet I am disturbed by the silence of US citizens when another Black person is killed or when people are shot at a Planned Parenthood facility. It diminshes the accomplishments made by many, cheapens the sacrifices made by many and reminds me that many Americans are fine and even agree with these events.

Although I'm not given to conspiracy theories, I'm beginning to wonder if this targeting of young Black men for slaughter is not a plan for certain people to take back their country. At first thought, this may seem far-fetched or ridiculous but think about it for a moment. The majority of these crimes are committed by police officers, the people who are most likely to get away with murder because our society tells us the police are our protectors. So when the court upholds these shootings as justified, even when killing a young boy possessing a toy gun, is it so far fetched to believe there is a master plan here?

The same thought occurs to me when thinking about the battles being waged against women's reproductive rights. The rights of women to determine what should happen with their bodies is a battle to put women back in their imagined place. Consider the old adage "He who rocks the cradle rules the world." I would amend that to "He who rules the womb rules the world."

It's interesting to me, this convergence of violence again Black people and the government's interference with a woman's right to choose. It's interesting that the people who will benefit the most from these conflicts are White men. Regardless of the strides made by people of color and women, White males still rule this country in every aspect from business to entertainment to government. Even if you don't believe this particular conspiracy, you must admit it begs observation and serious thought. Remember that conspiracies like stereotypes have a kernel of truth.

Well thought out plan coming to fruition or conspiracy theory? I just saying.

Out of Pocket

Dear Readers,

Thank you for faithfully reading Caviar and Grits. Your comments have been especially appreciated.

I wanted to take a moment to let you know that I'll be out of pocket for the next two to four months. I'm having rotator cuff surgery and recuperation time is lengthy. Unfortunately I will be unable to use my hands to type and therefore will be unable to blog for a bit.

Thank you. I look forward to getting back to you by the end of year.

The Big Shutdown

This Labor Day weekend, I reprinting a post I wrote about two years ago regarding the impending government shutdown and our precarious national economy. We have seen workers across the nation trying to obtain economic freedom by demanding a fair wage. Hopefully this reprint will spur the rest of us to follow suit.

Today we are waiting breathlessly for the government to shutdown. We’ve been told it is going to happen at 12:01am Tuesday morning so the countdown has begun. The media pundit shows have House and Senate leaders pointing fingers at each other for this travesty and everyone is pointing fingers at the president. No one wants to take the blame for this mess but everyone is wrong. With the exception of children and the homeless, we are all to blame.

I know what you’re thinking. You‘re wondering how I have the gall to say that you and the rest of us in America are responsible for this debacle. I say it because I believe it to be true and I’m willing to call everybody including myself out.

The legislature and the president screwed around with the money needed to run our government by blatantly misusing funds in our name. They gave tax breaks to corporation and gave corporations the same rights as individuals all within our view. They waged war under the guise of national security and unashamedly gave themselves raises, pension increases and access to healthcare the rest of us would lose an arm for all while proclaiming they are working to make government better for us.

What were we doing while all this transpired? We were busy watching the Kardashians or the Housewives or never-ending sports competitions. We were tweeting and sitting for hours conversing on Facebook. We were acting as though we were doing God’s work by not engaging in politics. We were condemning workers for wanting an increase in the minimum wage while Corporate CEO’s make millions of dollars with the help of the government. We were busy telling each other that one person can’t make a difference. We were doing everything but what we should have been doing. We should have been paying attention. And we should have been objecting to everything the government has been doing in our name.

Like some of you, I believed in the fallacy that I was actually doing something. I’ve signed any number of email petitions. I’ve walked a picket line or two. I attended rallies in support of workers. I’ve gone to conferences and even facilitated an occasional workshop on worker rights. I’ve made some calls to my congressman. I’ve written essay admonishing those who have acted improperly. I’ve done what I thought I could do and patted myself on the back for my activism. But I was wrong. I have been blind to the real ills of our government. And because of my unwillingness to see what was going on, I have contributed to the upcoming fiasco.

So as we sit back and wait to see what’s going to happen as the government races towards shutdown, what should we do? The legislature certainly doesn’t seem to have a clue. They don’t have to worry really. Their pay and benefits will continue. The folks looking for their Social Security checks are worried. The war machine will continue but the troops may not receive their pay. The stock market is threatening to remain closed but corporations are still making money from those lucrative government contracts. So the only people who are losing in this shutdown are us, the “average American.”

The harangue is over. The questions for us are what do we do now? How do we do what needs to be done? Can we make things better? Can we fix things so this won’t happen again? Where do we go from here? Can I affect change?

I wish I had the answers to all these questions but I don’t. I do, however, have suggestions.

What do we do now? We start paying attention. We need to begin vetting our elected officials. We need to look at how they vote and ask them why they voted that way. We need to make them accountable for every action they make and every dime they spend. We need to remember that we have the power, not them. And then we need to start acting like it.

If we think we’ve reached bottom, you’re mistaken. Yes, we are in dire straits but things could get much worse. It is up to us to make sure it doesn’t get worse. Being vigilant is not merely being attentive to our government but being attentive to what we do as a country. We must insist that everyone have healthcare. We need to make sure everyone is fed, clothed and housed. We must do for others nothing less than we would do for ourselves. If we could all do just that, we can stand up to the bad times. By doing so, we do what needs to be done and we make things better for us all.

There must be parity. The rich and the corporations must pay their fare share. The government shutdown doesn’t seem to worry any of them because they are unaffected by the ebb and flow of government processes. They will not miss a meal. They have access to great healthcare. Their mortgages won’t be affected if FHA or Fannie Mae stops. Gas prices don’t bother their wallets. They will continue on as though nothing has happened because for them, nothing has. This has to change.

We have to find those family members and friends who keep saying one person can’t make a difference and show them otherwise. All of us know of the individuals who made a difference because they said enough. People like Marian Edelman-Wright who changed the lives of children by making them front and center in our collective consciousness. Ralph Nader who changed what information is imparted to us as consumers. Florence Nightingale who revolutionized patient care. Jonas Salk who created the polio vaccine is another. These are just a few of the lesser known people who have changed the world. There are so many more people who changed the way we think, feel, look and act more famous than those mentioned. People like Nelson Mandela, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King and Oprah Winfrey are just some of the well known individuals who have affected change in our world. All of them are individuals who decided they could make a change.

Finally we must remember that there is no them or they. There is only us. We are the United States of America not the Republic of Individuals Living Without Consequence. There are definite consequences in living like an island onto oneself. We are reaping the benefits of that view and I, for one, am surprised this has not happened sooner.

CNN.com declared today that “IT IS ABOUT YOU!” I beg to differ. It’s not about you. It’s about us and what we are prepared to do.

I’m ready. Are you?

The Cycle

The Cycle (www.thecyclefilm.com) had its Chicago premiere last night at Blue 1647 Innovation Center. The 11-minute film is a powerful cinematic endeavor meant to provoke a guttural reaction and stimulate conversation around the issue of violence in our communities. The ending was surprising but ultimately expected by those of us watching.

The group gathered for the film was intergenerational and diverse – a great representation of Chicago. Although diverse, the assembled viewers were unified by one idea, the violence in our community especially the violence between the Black community and the police department must end.

One of the themes of the film which is largely ignored by the media is the perspective of the police. Often it is assumed that the police are gunning for our young men. Many times that assumption is true. Other times, the police officer involved in a shooting is as much a victim as the young person shot. We do not generally hear that from the police department. Thus the officer involved is seen either hero or villain with nothing in between.

After the film aired, a panel was held consisting of the director/writer of the film, Michael Marantz, the film’s producer, a community activist involved in Black Lives Matter movement and a 25 year veteran of the Chicago Police Department. Many of the questions posed by the moderator were about the film, what the reaction to the film has been and what the creators hoped to accomplish. The film’s creators said their intent was to get people to think about themselves in regards to their neighborhood and to honestly think about their fears in regards to violence. They want to spur people to think, talk, debate and ultimately get involved in creating change within our communities.

This sentiment was echoed by both the community activist and the police officer. She mentioned how she was responsible and accountable to two familial units – the community and the Chicago Police Department. It was clear the officer knew she was going to take the brunt of the questions from the audience about police behavior. As she and the other panelists fielded questions from the moderator and the audience, it became clear that the film was doing its job. It spurred conversation and allowed those gathered to begin discussing what conversations needed to be had in the future along with possible solutions.
The phrase “Black on Black crime” was repeated often during the discussion. I detest this phrase. When Whites do wrong to each other, no one calls it “White on White crime.” It’s the same for the Hispanic community. Giving crime a name that is specific to the Black community makes it seem that crimes we commit against each other are worse than the crime being perpetuated by the racist institutions and organizations that do more harm in our community than we ever could. Crime is crime and it’s hurtful regardless of the race of the criminal. Instead of getting bogged down in supposed “Black on Black crime,” why don’t we work to eradicate crime in all its forms?

If the film comes to your town, please make a point to see it. Better yet, have a viewing party of your own. The film can be downloaded for free the website, www.thecyclefilm.com. Then spend the evening having the type of discussion needed to create change.

Regardless of whether you see the film at your local movie house or attend a home viewing, see the movie and begin the conversation. Every great movement starts with thoughts, conversation and then action. We can make a difference. We make a change. It starts with us. Gandhi said “Be the change you want to see.”

Let’s begin the conversation.

Karen Ford is the author of Thoughts of a Fried Chicken Watermelon Woman, a book of essays discussing race, gender, politics, religion and other current issues. It is available for purchase on her website, www.KarenFordOnline.com and Amazon.com.

Frederick Douglass and the Fourth of July

We’re nearing the end of a three day weekend celebration of the 4th of July. Friends and families gathered together to eat, drink, dance, play cards and enjoy having an extra day off work to enjoy a bright summer day. No one I know gives a whit about the meaning of Independence Day except to quote actor Bill Pullman as President Thomas Whitmore declare “This is our Independence Day.”

It’s interesting to hear that speech and listen to the plethora of speeches being made by politicians as they celebrate the birth of this nation. The speech that resonates most with me, however, is the one delivered July 5, 1852 in Rochester, NY by Frederick Douglass entitled “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

This inspired speech captures the hypocrisy of the U.S. government and the church as the nation celebrated freedom while millions were enslaved.

Douglass’ analysis of religion, the Constitution and the tyranny of slavery are as astute today as they were more than 160 years ago. The racism of this country, woven into its very fabric, is alive and well. The powers that be – business, government and the church – have profited and continue to profit greatly by the institution of slavery and its aftermath.

Those of us who are descendants of enslaved Africans recognize well the words spoken so eloquently by Douglass. We have watched America embrace immigrants from Asia, Europe and other countries while consistently treating Americans of color as less than worthy of the same. We have watched our officials all out human rights violations of other countries while refusing to acknowledge similar violations on our shores. We have endorsed war on other lands declaring we are bringing democracy to the masses even as we stamp out any vestige of democracy here at home. Douglass calls out America for the duplicity perpetuated upon Americans of color by the government and the church.

This oratory (www.thenation.com/article/what-slave-fourth-july-frederick-douglass/) is more than a worthy addition to the tradition of parades and barbeques to commemorate this day. It is a reminder of the legacy America espouses to the world but has yet to fulfill.

“What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelly to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy—a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour.”

Truer words have never been spoken.

Karen Ford is the author of Thoughts of a Fried Chicken Watermelon Woman, a collection of essays on race, gender, politics, religion and every day issues. It can be purchased on her website, www.KarenFordOnline.com.

It's Time

A young White man called my husband and me “nigger” yesterday. It surprised me so much that I was speechless for several moments. It’s not that in 58 years I’ve not been called nigger. I’ve certainly been called that behind my back and I’ve been called that to my face on occasion. This threw me because it was so unexpected, so out of the ordinary, so uncalled for that I was dumbstruck. That one little word reminded me that no matter what I’ve accomplished, no matter the number of degrees I amass, no matter the level of success I achieve, in this country I am first, last and always a nigger.

The terrorist act perpetrated at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church this past Wednesday was another way of reminding Black people we are less than nothing in this country. These words do not come lightly nor without thought but with the entire history of Black people in the United States.

Our ancestors came here as slaves relegated to the stature of property. Once the travesty that was slavery ended, the Jim Crow ushered in a different kind of slavery called sharecropping. Laws were instituted to keep Black people from achieving any modicum of real freedom. Black people were killed on a whim. They were lynched for any minor transgression as the system that was supposed to administer justice blindly did so as it was blind to the wholesale killing of Blacks. Those few who were able to rise above were generally athletes or entertainers like Jack Johnson and Bessie Smith. A select few writers and academics, notably Dr. W.E.B. DuBois and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, were able to fight their way through the inequities of Jim Crow to achieve a measure of success. Black engineers and inventors were accorded a degree of esteem because of their achievements but their names have been lost in the history books. Dr. Charles Drew who separated blood cells from blood plasma, Garrett Morgan who invented the traffic light, Alice Parker who created a new heating furnace that provided central heat and Dr. Daniel Hale Williams who performed the first open heart surgeries. These pioneering individuals have been lost to the history books. Some were never accorded their due. Yet even as our whole story is missing from American history, Black people are told to be good, law abiding, forgiving, peaceful Americans while in the same breathe those telling us these things are blaming us for economic downturns, a failing education system and over burdened criminal justice system and the general breakdown of American society.

It seems every month a new atrocity is visited among Black people in America. Another Black man is killed. A Black woman is assaulted. When we take to the streets, we’re labeled thugs and trouble makers. When we appeal to the justice system, we appear as sheep being led to the slaughter. When we speak of revolution, we’re seen as angry and unruly. When we speak of forgiveness, we’re coddled like good little boys and girls. At what juncture are we going to say enough is enough?

It is time we woke up and smelled what’s being shoveled. It’s time we awakened from the fallacy that the overall White society in America will like us or love us because we achieve or entertain or win athletic championships. It’s time we recognized that White American society is not going to save us. It’s time we realized we are always the ones doing the forgiving while others continue to harm, maim and kill us. It’s time we stopped being apologetic for loving ourselves and our people. It’s time we make America recognize that we, too, are full citizens of this country and that we will accept nothing less than all the rights and privileges that citizenship entails. It’s time we make America face the ugly truth that its history and its present are steeped in racism and that we call it out. It’s time we stopped playing along to get along. It’s time we stopped doing what we keep doing and expecting different results. That is the definition of crazy. It’s time for us to stand up straight and strong and make sure those who’ve gone before us did not die in vain. It’s time Black America. It’s time.

Author of Thoughts of a Fried Chicken Watermelon Woman, available on KarenFordOnline.com, Alibris.com, Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com and BooksAMillioninc.com.

Excuses! Excuses! Excuses!

More than 1,000 people gathered at St. Sabina to join in the festivities of a block party hosted Spike Lee and Father Michael Pfleger. With clouds threatening to drench the party goers, attendees enjoyed free food, music, and raffles and had an opportunity to take photos with the world renowned director.

There was a disc jockey playing music that enticed many to dance, children played games and basketball while others sat on their porches enjoying the day. In addition to the appearance of the usual subjects like the Rev. Jesse Jackson and radio personality Cliff Kelley, actors John Cusack, Chicago Bull Joakim Noah and NBA coach Craig Hodges were out meeting members of the community.

Conspicuous in their absence were Ald. David Moore who originally denied signing the permit for the party in his ward, Ald. Will Burns (4th) who has led much of the backlash against the title Chiraq and Mayor Rahm Emanuel who almost never misses an opportunity to stand in front of a camera.

Originally Moore was opposed to signing the permit because he doesn’t like the title. He stated he spoke with the residents, some of whom also do not like the title, but they informed him they wanted him to sign the permit.

Like Burns, Moore is using this title to justify what has been a lack of economic development in the Englewood neighborhood for years. Since the late 1970’s, economic development has been lacking in the newly formed 6th and the 17th Ward.

For many years, Halsted Avenue between 61st and 79th streets was a lively, vibrant business thoroughfare. Anchored by the now defunct Wiebolt and Sears department stores on 63rd and Peoria and 63rd and Halsted respectively and Franks department store on 79th and Halsted, there were a plethora of clothing stores, shoe stores, Walgreen’s, Woolworths, jewelers, Huck Finn donuts, bakeries and banks. In addition, the neighborhood supported three large movie theaters – the Englewood, the Empress and the Capitol.

In an effort to keep Blacks from shopping at the Evergreen Plaza mall, Mayor Richard Daley closed Halsted to traffic, tore down houses two streets east and west of Halsted to create Halsted Parkway and effectively signed the death knell to the area. The department stores anchoring the area which also included Carr’s department store on 63rd and Lowe, closed. The movie theaters closed and slowly all the other businesses closed. Eventually a mishmash of stores remained. The city eventually tore down the stores, rebuilt the Green Line train station and built a new campus for Kennedy-King College. Driving north or south of the campus, there is still little economic development. The newest businesses are a White Castle and a Burger King. Halsted is still plagued with block upon block of vacant lots and abandoned buildings.

Words have power. We have seen that over and over again as racists, misogynists and homophobes spew hatred. Maybe the title Chiraq will evoke comparisons of Chicago to Iraq. However many people think of Al Capone and his mob when they think of Chicago and that has not stopped tourists or conventioneers from pouring into the city. Those people have never dropped by the streets of Englewood to view the city. They stay within the environs of the loop, the near north side and the Gold Coast. The title of Lee’s film will not change something that was never happening anyway. This was going on long before Spike Lee set up shop at St. Sabina and will be the case long after he and his crew are gone. Who or what will Burns, Emanuel and Moore blame then?

Serena, You Go Girl!

The bad, bold and beautiful Serena Williams won the French Open yesterday. Instead of being lauded on social media for this achievement, she was once again the victim of racist, sexist rants by the many nameless, faceless cowards who denigrate both her and her sister year after year, victory after victory.

Since the Williams sisters exploded into the world of professional tennis in the late 1990’s, they have redefined the game as only they could. They are tough, athletic and competitive, no more so than when they face each other. Between 2001 and 2009, they have faced each other in eight Grand Slam singles finals. No one before and seemingly no one in the near future has close to achieving what these two ladies have achieved in tennis. Yet with all their achievements, not only in tennis but in acting and fashion, no one has had to endure as much vitriol as these two women.

Sheer moments after her win, Serena was compared to an animal. The favorite comparison is that of a gorilla. She was compared to a man and declared as horribly unattractive. It’s a sin and a shame that she is not celebrating her win with millions of congratulations from adoring fans. Instead she is met with the type of hatred that is generally reserved for likes of Hitler or Mussolini.

One of the most consistent criticisms of the Williams sisters is that they are built powerfully and therefore have an unfair advantage over their opponents. Sure, both women are strong with well defined muscles. But couldn't it also be said the reason why they are so formidable is because they are fierce competitors and strategic about how they play. Could it be they are so tough to beat because they are competitive to a fault and play each match as if it were their last? Maybe they have been and continue to be the best in women’s tennis because they are simply the best. And those critics (predominately White males) are angry because they feel their game has been sullied by two Black women.

Since Africans first arrived on this continent, Black people have excelled in every facet. Black people are scientists, inventors, doctors, politicians, Supreme Court justices and now even president. Yet the stigma remains especially when it comes to Black women. In this day and age, Black women are still deemed unattractive to the “average” man. Our voices are too loud, our butts are too big, we are unfeminine, we are angry. We are always something but that something is never anything good unless we are mamas or mammies, cooks or cleaners. Wasn’t that one of the messages of the film The Help? Yet with the accomplishments Condolezza Rice, Mae Jamison, Halle Berry, Maya Angelou and Oprah Winfrey to name a few phenomenal Black Women, we are still on the bottom rung in the United States, destined to be the stereotypical angry, emasculating, ugly Black women.

Social media is a great tool. It has allowed us to expand our circle of friends and acquaintances to include people from around the world. We are able to share ourselves in ways we had only imagined. We can not only talk to folks in other countries but play games with them as well. We get news instantaneously and we are on top of everything. Yet this wonderful tool has also allowed the nameless, faceless jerks and assholes among us to espouse hate, racism and misogyny with abandon. Surely this was not the intent of Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone or Evan Williams, the creators of Twitter. I would also imagine that Mark Zuckerberg and the four other co-founders of Facebook never envisioned their creation would give pander to the worst among us.

Through all the negativity Serena and Venus have had to face, they have remained gracious. When Danish player Caroline Wozniacki mocked Serena by stuffing her shirt and skirt with towels at an exhibition match in 2012, Serena responded that she thought Ms. Wozniacki’s joke was in bad taste. She very adroitly sidestepped the racism behind this little stunt. Neither sister has taken the bait when sports commentators have made comments about their grunts, their attire, their strength or their figures. They remained above the controversy when sportscasters compared them to animals saying they would be better suited to posing for National Geographic. The only time either sister has commented about the racism they constantly face on and off the court is their refusal to play the BNP Paribas tournament in Indian Wells, California which Serena has boycotted for more than a decade. The sisters were called nigger more than once and even threatened with bodily harm. What this says about them is courage under fire. What it says about the American public is something much worse.

Personally I love watching the sisters beat the hell out of their opponents. I cheer with each point and cry whenever either loses. A match with either Serena or Venus is like watching a gifted surgeon. They are strong, competitive and brilliant strategists who play the game at a stratospheric level. They never crack under pressure. They never pay attention publicly to the racists or the misogynists who give them hell. I admire their game but I admire their dignity even more. They are better women than me. But for all that admiration, I would love it if one of them broke decorum just once and said to all the naysayers “Kiss my bodacious Black ass.”

Kicking Courtesy to the Curb

You will never go wrong underestimating an asshole. Harsh words to live by I know. In this day of stupidity and rampant disregard for courtesy, it seems civility has gone the way of the 8-track tape. I have seen the demise of courteousness, the downfall of good manners and the death of consideration. It sickens me and I’m not the only one.

Yesterday morning I was awakened from sleep at 5:30am by some seriously loud music. I thought someone was being picked up for work and that the music would soon subside or at least the car would drive away. Silly me! After five minutes, I donned my robe and went outside to talk to the discourteous individual who was interrupting the sleep of me and my neighbors. All the windows and the sunroof of the car were opened as the music blared. Imagine my surprise when I looked into the car and found it empty. I turned toward the neighbor’s house and saw a man pulling something resembling weeds in the front yard. I asked if he was responsible for the barrage of noise. He hastily admitted he was and then asked if the music was too loud. I answered it was and he apologized as he went to the car to turn off the sound. I thanked him, went back into my house and attempted to go back to sleep but sleep did not come. I had been fully awakened by all that had transpired so sleep was out of the question. I lay awake and watched the clock mock me.

Years ago this would not have happened. People were conscious of others. Not always and not all people but for the most part people were considerate of others. Not anymore. In this fast paced world where everyone is texting while driving or making us privy to their lives as they yell into their cell phones or dropping trash in your yard, we seem to have forgotten basic human decency. It’s no longer cool to be kind.

I’d like to believe that what happened yesterday morning was an isolated incident but I know better. I’ve spoken to many others who complain about people parking a car in front of their homes leaving all forms of music blasting. This happens quite a lot to us as we live on a commercial street with a late night fast food chicken place across the street. During the summer, people park in front of our house or the chicken place from 10pm to 4am in the morning leaving music blasting.

People eat the chicken and leave half eaten chicken along with pop cans in our front yard. Every day someone on a cell phone is telling all their business to everyone on the bus or the subway car. People stand in front of our house talking about all manner of things using language suitable only for a premium cable program. Young men wear their pants so low their butt cheeks are showing. Women of all ages are wearing clothing so disgusting they look like they should be working a corner. Those of us who find this behavior appalling are told this is the way of the world, get used to it.

Sorry folks, I just can’t get used to this. I’ve tried but I just can’t do it. I’m well aware time marches forward. I know these are grown folks and not my children. I know we will never go back to a time when we were considerate and cognizant of other people. But I also know those of us who would like to see some civility in society must make others and ourselves accountable. We must talk to our young men about showing their ass to the world. We must let people know they’re talking to loud. We must make people pick up their trash and take it with them. We have to let people know they cannot park in front of our homes leaving their music blaring. We must make people accountable and drag them into a state of courteousness. It is the responsibility of all of us who would to be treated the way we treat others.

If we don’t get back to some form of civility, hell is one half step away.

What's In a Name?

Spike Lee is filming a movie in Chicago. The film is tentatively titled Chiraq. Is the title evocative? Absolutely! Is it catchy? Definitely! Will it cause the economic downfall of Chicago? Not be even an infinitesimal amount.

The powers that be lead by Ald. Will Burns wants the state of Illinois to deny Lee the millions of dollars in tax credits normally given to filmmakers who come here because he says the title reflects badly on the city. No one knows what the film is actually about although the talk is that the film is going to shine a spotlight on the great number of shootings that have happened in the city the past several years.

Mr. Lee held a press conference earlier this week to address Ald. Burns and others who are making the claim this film will be bad for the city (http://abc7chicago.com/entertainment/chiraq-director-spike-lee-speaks-on-upcoming-film/721816/). Father Michael Pfleger, Senior Pastor of the Faith Community of St. Sabina whose church has been a leading congregation in the Black community, wisely noted that Ald. Burns and his cronies are missing the point. He stated the powers that be need to be concerned about the escalating violence in the city instead of the title of a movie that will bring woefully needed jobs and money to the Black community.

Lee reminded the assembly that similar statements were made when he was filming Do the Right Thing. There were predictions that the Black community was going to take to the streets in anger and tourism in the cities was going to be adversely affected. It was predicted that fights were going to erupt at the movie theaters and people would be wise to in their homes by nightfall. He told the crowd that all the pundits were proved wrong. Much ado about nothing.

Lee was correct in his statements. We did not take to the streets. There were no riots in the theaters and the film went on to become a modern day classic.

St. Sabina is located in the Englewood neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. I grew up in Englewood and remember the vibrant neighborhood it once was. Now there are blocks of vacant land and abandoned storefronts. There is very little in the way of economic development unless you believe liquor stores, fast food establishments, currency exchanges and storefront churches economic development. Schools have been closed and there are few grocery stores or stores of any kind. The Englewood of my youth was a magical place. Mention Englewood today and people shake their heads in dismay. So a film bringing much needed revenue, hiring locals and utilizing locations normally unseen in a Hollywood production is a major boost to the residents on the south side.

Burns claims that titling the film Chiraq will make it harder to bring economic development and jobs to those communities. Considering there has been no economic development or jobs brought to those communities prior to Lee’s movie, I’d like Ald. Burns to tell us why there hasn’t been any before Chiraq came to town.

Throughout all the posturing by Ald. Burns and Mayor Emanual, it is the message of Father Pfleger that needs to be echoed throughout the city and discussed in every corridor of City Hall. Why haven’t the mayor and the city council done much in the way of stemming violence in our city? Why did the mayor close school in the neighborhoods that need them the most? Why haven't the mayor or the city council responded to the Guardian newspaper article from earlier this year about Homan Square, an off the books location used for torture and detention? Why is the city encouraging Whole Foods to open a store in a neighborhood that can ill afford the prices Whole Foods charges? With the number of vacant lots, why is the city encouraging community gardens? Why? Why? Why?

This whole mess is just another way to play divide and conquer in our community. As long as we focus on the idiocy of Burns and others like him, we miss the real issues that plague us. As long as we take sides for or against the title Chiraq, we avoid looking at the problems that birth violence. Problems like poor education, closed schools, lack of adequate healthcare, little or no economic development and the like.

Movies and television shows have been made in Chicago for decades. Never has anyone threatened a director with withholding tax credits for a production. Does the alderman intend to question the title of every production that comes here? Or is this just another ploy to keep the status quo of an already downtrodden area of the city? Only Burns and his ilk can answer that question. I can only answer one. What’s in a name? When it comes to what really matters? Not a damn thing!

Remembering Grandma

This post is a reprint of an essay from my book, Thoughts of a Fried Chicken Watermelon Woman. Although I don't celebrate Mother's Day, I would like to take this moment and submit this post to honor all the mothers and mother figures

My grandmother, Mary Liza Holmes Seavers, was the single biggest female influence in my life. My mother died when I was six. Although I have memories of her, the woman who taught me to be a woman was my grandmother.

I was a lucky girl. I grew up in an age where grandmothers were not 40 year old women trying to vie with their 20 year old daughters for the attentions of a man. My grandmother was married to one man for over 30 years and when I arrived on the scene I had the luxury of having both of them in my life until my grandfather died when I was nine.

Mary worked for over 25 years at Mercy Hospital in Chicago in housekeeping. We’ve all seen these seemingly faceless men and women who come into our hospital rooms to mop, make up beds and empty the trash. They do their job efficiently and quietly and move on to the next room as quickly as they came into ours. Every day, she awoke at 5am and quietly went about her morning routine which included combing my hair and drinking her coffee. She left at 6:15am and took three buses to work. She refused to take the el train as she didn’t trust them. She worked her eight hours, took that same three bus ride back home, made dinner, washed dinner and prepared to the next day to do it all over again.

Like so many women in my Englewood neighborhood, she worked hard. She drank Schlitz beer and smoked Salem cigarettes. She played cards and was a member of a social club that met monthly. They planned club sets at various southside lounges and divided the proceeds amongst themselves. She disciplined me and the neighborhood kids with a yell and a hard smack on the butt. She also handed out fresh fruit and shared homemade ice cream with my friends. We never once talked back or thought it was odd to be chastised by adults on our block. We were raised by the village on 73rd and Sangamon.

Grandma enjoyed travel although she refused to fly. She and my aunt Mary rode Amtrak to New York for the World’s Fair. We took Amtrak to Dallas to visit my mother’s relatives and took Greyhound to visit her brother, my great-uncle, in Michigan. We took a chartered bus to Indiana to attend the Indiana state fair and my first trip to Great America was a chartered bus trip she planned to St. Louis.

My grandmother took me to the legendary Amphitheater to see the Ice Capades, Ringling Brothers Circus, Peter Pan with Mary Martin and wrestling matches. Before Operation PUSH, there was Operation Breadbasket and we went to the expo every year and saw the blues show. She took me as often and to as many places as she could. We had wonderful times out and about town including riding the bus downtown to visit Sears and Goldblatt’s. We took a cable line bus to the west side to visit my great-grandmother. Even riding the bus to the grocery store or making a trip to the bank was an adventure. What I remember most is what she taught me. Girls today don’t have any idea what they’ve missed especially when it comes to the kitchen. Holidays were the best when Grandma cooked and I was her helper. She did the hard work and my job was to cut the vegetables she put in her dressing and potato salad. I also stirred the sweet potatoes mixture for her wonderful sweet potato pies. She always let me lick the spoon. To this day, sweet potato pie is my favorite although I have yet to find one as good as hers.

She also taught me to be a lady and a woman. She always stressed to me that there was a time to be a lady, a time to be a woman and a time to be a whore. She told me smart girls are the ones who know when to be what and never get the three confused. I learned to act like a lady whenever I was out. I learned to be a woman at work or when faced with a problem or an issue. I learned to be a whore in private with my husband. Today’s young women seem to have no idea of when to be what.

As a mother myself, I catch myself bemoaning the good old days. Those of us who do this aren’t thinking about segregation or the Viet Nam war. We aren’t thinking about gang wars and partisan politics. We aren’t thinking about the assassinations of the Kennedys, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. We’re thinking about summer nights catching lightening bugs, cold watermelon and snowmen. We’re thinking about a time when you could play outside four seasons of the year without fear. We’re thinking about knowing your neighbor and the store owners in your neighborhood. And we are thinking about the smells and the feel of grandma’s house. We remember Grandma, Big Mama and Ma Dear. She remains in my memories and my heart and I am a better person for it.