In Honor of Our Veterans

Let's make every day "Thank A Veteran's Day..." 

I ran across this spoken word artist as I browsed the internet and thought I would share these words.  I applaud his observation and I hope we "get it right" soon.  

I served in the Marine Corps.  My brothers and sisters have (collectively) served in every branch of the military and their careers span a lifetime.  I am currently having issues with some benefits, but never had an issue with getting up at 5:00 AM and doing what was asked of me for years of uninterrupted service.  In this country, we often do more for celebrities and reality television stars than we do for our "protectors," but again, I digress....    I need not add any more...  .

But, this is just ONE Man's Opinion... What is yours?

The Death of A Diva: The Perfect Storm of Despair

After the death of an icon, many people try to point a finger of blame. 

I have watched Piers Morgan interview countless "friends of Whitney Houston" and repeatedly attempt to attribute her death to Bobby Brown's influence over her life.  Having lived around addicts, I do not believe this to be true at all.  

Chaka Khan, as interviewed by Piers Morgan, stated that she was aware of Whitney's use of drugs and even went so far as to state that "Whitney, Bobby and I were all getting high one day."  But, she also stated that Whitney was an adult and had the freedom to choose what she wanted to do as well as the limitations around such things.

We Mourn The Loss Of A True Musical Diva

We mourn the loss of the great songstress, Whitney Houston.

Words cannot easily express the heartfelt sentiment that we extend to the family and friends of the diva we all knew as Whitney Houston.  In the weeks to come, many will sing tributes to her life and the music industry will help us all to relive the many trials and triumphs of a life lived publicly and without apology.

Found in her hotel room as hundreds of guests prepared to go to a Clive Davis party where she was scheduled to perform, Houston's passing came as a surprise to many who believed her career to be on an upward swing.  Her last film, a remake of Sparkle, is  due to be released later this year.  Co-stars and friends all stated that they had seen Houston in recent weeks, but nothing seemed to be amiss.  Many openly applauded the fact that the diva had returned to her natural form and was, seemingly, free of the demons of her recent past.

Let's Correct The History Books...

Outside of immediate influences, our amazing contributions range from the potato chip to the curling iron, from the stoplight to the heart transplant, and from the number one talk show in syndication to the Presidency of the United States of America.  Why, then, are we still looked upon as secondary? As non contributors?  Is this a position to be graciously accepted? Or, is it time that we begin to re-write the history that has been taught in our schools?

In the past four decades, I have silently watched and unwittingly become part of the silent majority known as the minority in America. This has caused great turmoil, inner guilt, and cause for reflection as I have also become more than my surroundings had ever predicted I would ever be.  Mystified, I look at the many people around me who call themselves my brethren; my fellow warriors, Kings and Queens. Yet, these same heroes within my culture continually find themselves in homeless shelters and as faceless names in the unemployment lines; all begging for place in a world that was built by their ancestor's sweat, their forefather's strength, and knowledge that was once their own.

 

My middle aged revelations are not shocking, to say the least. They are the same conversations that we all have heard in our local barbershops and hair salons, around the water cooler, at the bus stops,  and yes, even in the local bar. But, these are the conversations that need to be aired in a public forum, broadcast on our radio stations, and talked about on our talk shows.

 

Decades ago, we were a stronger people. We were once joined by adversity, linked together through cause, and existed as one community hell-bent on survival. With the onset of technology, the integration of schools, and the surreal feeling of “finally getting our piece of the American dream," the African American culture as my mother knew it - as her mother knew it - has fallen apart. We no longer rely on our neighbors, our friends, or even our families to help us raise own community, our children, or even our own expectations of one another.

When Parents Get "Hip" To Their Teens Activities...

As a parent, do you monitor your child's friendships on social networking sites or do you allow them the privacy to do and say as they please?

While we sit and wonder why the world is in such a state of chaos, today's youth go un-monitored in their day-to-day happenings.  Some parents think it is an invasion of their child's privacy to "look over their shoulder" from time to time.

When I was a teenager, children were often seen, but not heard.  With the onset of the internet and advances in modern technology, everyone is able to live one life publicly and live a completely different life in secrecy.  Although a child's access to the internet is necessary to be competitive in today's world, parents must know  where to draw the line.  Is it invasive to read your child's personal posts on Facebook or in their phones?  Personally, I do not think it is a bad idea...  Once upon a time, it was just called good parenting.
 

The video here shows the reaction of an angry father who found Facebook postings and text messages that were "more than surprising" in their daughter's PRIVATE thoughts. If more parents chose to check in with their children, maybe we could decrease things like unplanned parenthood, deviant behavior, increased school drop-out rates, and drug use...

Another blog post, Deviant Behavior Begins At Home, shows how another father responds to finding his daughter's phone filled with obscene texts.  Now, more than ever, parents need to be ever-present in the lives of their children.  I urge you to do this now or it will be too late to intercede from a hospital bed or through the panes of a jail cell window.

But, then again, this is just ONE Man's Opinion.... What is yours?

What's A King To A God?

When I first heard the words, "What's a king to a God?" strategically woven into Jay-Z's rap lyrics, I realized the true depth of that simple, six-word statement.  The rhythmic "slap in the face" was aimed at T.I. who has proclaimed himself the King of the South's hip-hop dynasty.  Obviously, the self-proclaimed God wants to it to be known that he is still the Alpha and Omega when it comes to music.

Yes, I immediately laughed at the arrogance that failed to be masked by the music.  "Isn't it more vain to compare yourself to a God than it is a king?," I thought. I really thought that line probably failed to deliver the punch it was intended to and caused more people to raise their eyebrow just a little more as Jay-Z's lyrics, once again, drew more attention the the rumors of his ties to the Illuminati and the hidden messages within his music.

Who Lied To My People?

Sometimes, our basic truths are nothing more than decades - or even centuries - of lies...

Over the last 400 years, my people have been lied to repeatedly.  It started with foreign sea merchants lusting for riches through trade. When they arrived on the shores of Africa, they promised worthless material goods from their world for the natural riches of our own native land.  Once their deceptions were not easily uncovered, they soon learned how to separate the tribes, create wars among the people, and finally, have them to conspire against each other in the slave trade.  Even then, in the land of my forefathers, the "arbitrators of peace" were actually the "antagonists for war".

Even after being emancipated from slavery hundreds of years later, African-Americans have been awkwardly displaced in this country as if they were a secondary people.  Still, society uses their very essence to define almost every nuance of America. Think about it... Every major business market can credit their success on their ability to exaggerate trends started in the African-American sector as being the primary catalyst for their success. 

Sports attire, fashion labels, car manufacturers, beverage companies, restaurant chains, music and even tobacco companies base their success on trends that commonly begin within minority communities.  If you own a business in America and want it to be considered "cool", just give free items to a hip hop mogul, have a sports mogul flash your logo, or use the solid, baritone voice of an African American male to offer a rugged certainty and sense of security to your motto. 

If African-Americans wear it, drive it, drink it, or give it a nickname, then America jumps on board and endorses it.  Cadillac, Nike, and Mickey D's have all relied on the black dollar to keep their profit margins "in the black".  However, when it is time to "pass the Courvoisier" back into our neighborhoods, none of these multi-million dollar companies offer visible support in minority sectors.  

Modern television sells the impression of being "hip" to everyone as if it is "the thing to be" for everyone.  However, when African-Americans portray these same attributes off screen, our own ethnicity is looked down upon and publicly ridiculed.   In essence, it is "ok" for everyone else in America to have a "black man's swagger" except black people.   

If you don't believe me, turn on any movie and count how few black actors might be in a movie, but still, the soundtrack is full of black music.  In many instances, when a point is to be made, the actors' dialogue is freckled with urban vernacular.  Most "punch lines" can be traced back to sayings that were made popular by African-Americans.

My question is this: "Who lied to my people and told us that we ALWAYS have to be the most animated part of every joke?" Am I crazy or have you seen examples of "who you are" improperly portrayed" on television screens across America? Or, are these just the rantings of a one-sided argument?

Help me out; this is just ONE Man's Opinion...What is yours?

There Is More To Our Story Than Madea Could Ever Tell...

I took another look at the ongoing debate between Spike Lee and Tyler Perry and I would say that I am leaning more toward the understanding of Spike Lee in this matter.  Although I applaud the antics and accomplishments of Tyler Perry, I do believe that he now has a responsibility to "do more" and use his position in the media and entertainment community to offer growth and understanding to his community.

 

I feel that Spike Lee's approach proves him to be a much better writer/producer than he is an orator.  His characters cause us to look inside ourselves and "do the right thing".  I actually  understand what he was trying to say to Tyler Perry but, I do not think he was able to verbalize himself properly.  In essence, I believe Lee was challenging Perry to produce more than comedies because very few people of color have been capable of achieving his level oof success in Hollywood.  And now, whether he wants to accept it or not, Perry has a responsibility to tell more of our story...

When Madea is on stage, it lessens the impact of a serious message that needs to be scrutinized within our culture.  Madea is a very real woman in many of our lives.  I know of aunts, cousins, mothers, and grandmothers who act just as she does, but we need to begin to transcend comedy and look seriously at the issues which plague our communities.

Don Cornelius And David Peaston: Let's Not Let Their Living Be In Vain

February 1, 2012 marked the beginning of another Black History Month in America, but it also marked the end of an era of great prestige.  The original conductor of the "Soul Train" that has swept into our homes for almost four decades passed away; apparently the victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.  Don Cornelius, had been a part of the music industry since he first became a disc jockey in the 1960s.  In 1970, he debut the first episode of Soul Train and began a revolutionary movement at the way that black music was visualized, interpreted, and received in households all across America.

His bold announcement of "Love, Peace, and Soul" became the embodiment of hope and was echoed by countless Americans who could finally identify with positive, talented images of themselves in a world that was still very impartial and segregated.  If the 1960s marked a civil revolution, then Don Cornelius was the band leader who marched in the musical revolution that helped to bring about unity and solidarity during the uneasy healing process of post-Panther, King, and X-movements.

Later that same day, we found out that David Peaston had succumb to the effects of diabetes and lost his battle with this crippling disease.  Peaston was largely known as the velvet-voiced gospel singer who remade the Eddie Kendrick's hit, "Can I?" and skyrocketed to the peak of his fame by performing in stage plays opposite Cheryl Pepsi Riley.  Peaston, at the relatively young age of 54, had battled with the disease valiantly.  Even after having both legs removed, he was said to have adjusted to life with his prosthetic limbs rather well.   

Is there a lesson to be learned from the death of these two great men?

There Is Nothing Wrong With Tracy...

Tracy Morgan, comedian, was recently blasted by news media outlets because he has decided NOT to assist his mother in her time of need.  A news site, http://www.thebostonchannel.com, echoed the one-sided sentiment of a nation by writing the following: 

Their mother lost her job last year, reducing her income to $600 and causing her to fall behind on her $400 monthly mortgage, her daughter said. "If her mortgage is not paid by February 23, 2012, her home will go into foreclosure," she said. Tracy Morgan, 43, grew up in Brooklyn, but his mother moved the family to Youngstown in 1995, a decade after he left home, his sister said. He rose to fame as a "Saturday Night Live" cast member and now stars on NBC's hit sitcom "30 Rock." While Morgan may not be answering calls from his sister -- or from reporters -- her media interviews could make it hard for him to miss the story of his mother's troubles.  "He might not help my mom, but I am going to do everything in my power to make sure she is OK," Asia Morgan said.

Read more: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/entertainment/30352209/detail.html#ixzz1lAcYvSqo