My mother always told me, even if a song has been done a thousand times, you can still bring something of your own to it. I’d like to think I did that.
Etta James, born Jamesetta Hawkins, has died at age 73 due to complications from leukemia just a week from her birthday.
As soon as I heard the news, I turned to listen to the song that has blared from my Itunes many times before…”At last/ My love has come along/ My lonely days are over/ and life is like a song…” Read the rest of this entry »
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
On Jan 16, 2012, I gathered with more than 100,000 other individuals along MLK Drive in San Antonio, Texas to march 2.75 miles to honor the Late Great Martin Luther King, Jr. Going into its 25th year, the San Antonio march is the largest in the country. It was beyond humbling to stand beside generations of people from different races who all stood for equality and justice. Here’s a snapshot view of what went on through my personal lens…
He’s not like the others
He calls me pretty, not sexy like I’m so accustomed to hearing
You see sexy is a synonym for “I’m attracted to your body.”
But he took the time to get to know my face,
He can tell you the shape of my eyes when I’m trying to get what I want
He values my smile
And more importantly, he dug inside to get to know my soul…
He’s not like the others Read the rest of this entry »
I stand, looking over the horizons. Trying to peek to see where it is I will be. What I will look like, what position my life will see…
Step…
Twenty percent of this ten month journey is complete. Yet I’m still in the same position. I need to find my place- hurry up and take a seat! Read the rest of this entry »
If you had of told me ten years ago that today I would be on my computer paying homage to those who died in a tragic
Front Page of New York Times on Sept 11, 2001.
historical event that I witnessed through television chronicles, I probably would of laughed. Yet here I am.
September 11, 2001 was a normal day for me. I got up and went to my 8th grade class like everyone else in my grade. I changed from my first period, to second period and then to third completely oblivious to the fact that the world I knew was crumbling outside of my brick school walls.
It wasn’t until last period, when my teacher walked in baffled by our laughter and playful gestures, that I was even clued in to the fact that something was wrong. ”Do you guys know what is going on?” he exclaimed. We looked and shook our heads no as he headed and turned on the t.v. to the local news.
Mesmerized we watched replays of the planes crashing into the twin towers. Feeling helpless, we watched as billows of smoke filled the air and both towers quickly burned to the ground. We watched as survivors fled from the rubble, and those less fortunate were carried away.
Before this day, I had no clue what the twin towers were. Now I wish I could have seen them before the fall. Unfortunately, my only memory will be their final collapse as they were consumed by fire due to the impact of two hijacked planes. However, this is a memory I can pass on to future generations as they learn about these events in history books.
Facebook and twitter lit up with rapid updates about the 2011 VMAS which aired a few hours ago on MTV. In case you missed it, here are ten things I remember about this year’s show.
1.) Beyonce is pregnant. After showing off her pregnancy bump on the “black” carpet, Beyonce gave a powerful, upbeat performance to her single “Love on top.” Following her act she opened her sparkly jacket and rubbed her stomach reinforcing the news as her husband of 3 years, Jay-Z, went wild in the crowd.
2.) Lady Gaga continues to be weird. The VMAS opened the show with Gaga giving a monologue dressed in her male alter ego, followed by her performing to “You and I.” She continued the show dressed as this male character, even when she presented Brittany Spears her Lifetime Achievement Award. At this point she even urged Spears to kiss her as she did Madonna. Spears politely declined by saying she’s done that before but Gaga later got her kiss from an old grandma who no one from my generation recognized.
3.) Adele proves gimmicks are overrated. Armed with a piano, spotlight and her voice, Adele delivered an emotional performance to her single “Someone Like You” that left both the crowd and viewers with goosebumps. She showed the nation that the voice does not need to be overshadowed with fancy lights and techno beats. Read the rest of this entry »
I know you hurt me, but F you! You stabbed me in the back, F you! You walked out of my life, F you! You left my for dead, F you!!!!!
Phrases such as these have become common in American language. Its no coincidence that artist Cee Lo Green won a grammy for his song FU. These two letters are so ubiquitous that we don’t even need to spell them all the way out to get the full meaning.
Today I’m challenging you to let the F take on the new meaning. Instead of cursing those you feel wronged them, FORGIVE them. Read the rest of this entry »
Other people help us see what we are and what we can become. When I look in the mirror, I see a full appearance of my
face. My face is flawed. It consists of countless blemishes and scars. No cleanser ever washes away them all. No matter how much I scrub or what brand I buy. It’s what I see. I am always flawed.
“Beauty is only skin deep” is something people always say. What does this really mean? As a toddler, when our parents hold up a mirror do we deam ourselves as beautiful? Are we taught to go beyond the surface?
“I see pride, I see power, I see a bad mutha who dnt take no crap from nobody!” (Cool Runnings) A reinvention of an imagine based on a friend.
If I was left to only see what I saw in the mirror and wasn’t fortunate to have those special people that look beyond my surface and realize my potential I could never see the beauty of me. I’d be left dwelling on what I see as a curse- ACNE.
Where does our beauty come from? It comes from within, and it sometimes takes people who experience your inner beauty to help you see it. Take it from me. Read the rest of this entry »
When abcNews asked Actor Charlie Sheen if he was bipolar, he informed us that he was bi-winning. According to Sheen, he wins over here and he wins over there. But there is one place his streak runs out: Detroit.
After doing several national interviews, breaking a twitter record of followers, shooting a cooking show, and going live on USTREAM, Sheen packed up to take his show on the road. Fans in Illinois jumped at the chance to see this superstar on stage, selling the show out in only 18 minutes. However, those in Detroit left wishing they had spent more than a few minutes debating the tickets. Sheen wanted a torpedo of truth and he got it in the form of boo’s, walk-outs and requests for refunds.
The 20 stop live tour featured an unpopular rapper and clips from Sheen’s self made movies. The show has been described as “sucking,” “boring” and “awful.” One person said that Sheen was “babbling on and on until I wanted to throw up at my seat.” This brings up the big question, What were patrons expecting? Sheen is famous for being a junkie and alcoholic who parties hard and rants about those who oppose his lifestyle. Even on “Two and a half Men,” he got his laughs for being a rich drunk who spends all his money on hookers. Take away the Hollywood glam, and all you are left with is an addict with a mic talking about warlocks and tigerblood. The whole thing screams disaster. Read the rest of this entry »
Let’s travel back in decades to a time of segregation. A time where the term African American was unheard of because Blacks were not considered equal citizens. A time where the term Colored had nothing to do with Crayola, and Negro was the nice way of calling someone inferior, ignorant and uncivilized.
In this time, the possession of dark skin was thought to be a curse and mandated subjection to second class treatment and undeserving cruel punishments. When someone said KKK, they were not uttering extreme agreeance, but alluding to the white hooded night riders who terrorized neighborhoods in the name of white supremacy. Black leaders had to face the realization that they would by beat, jailed, executed and lynched for speaking their beliefs.
As I take this journey back to the 1950′s, a verse from the Negro spiritual comes to mind:
Sing a song full of the faith that the
dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us
Of course at this moment I am not singing a song, yet I am doing another form of expression. I am blogging a blog to reflect on the journey my ancestors took to equality. I am blogging a blog to express gratitude to those leaders who stood in the face of adversity and fought so my generation can be the best we can be. I am blogging a blog to honor a great American Hero, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Read the rest of this entry »
