Just Because...

1. My “homey-lover-friend” coaxed me into watching a Tyler Perry play last night – Diary of a Mad Black Woman. That was a first and a last for me. I thought that the movies were bad – but damn, the movies are infinitely better than the plays. I was a little disturbed when he asked her to bark like a dog. Is Tyler Perry secretly a misogynist?

2. I started reading Gentleman Jigger by Bruce Nugent the other day. I think that it is a must read. It is discussed in the introduction that he liked “rough trade.” Can you imagine what that was like during the 1920’s and 1930’s? I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.

3. Perhaps I am too involved in the election, but I am too tired of Hillary Clinton wearing this canary yellow suit with black accents. When you wear a color like canary yellow it should be a piece that you don’t wear too often. It stands out and people remember it. Can we get Max Mara, Vivienne Westwood or Chanel to send her a few suits? Hell, can someone take her to Ann Taylor Loft at Atlantic Station? Gary?

4. It is official. I am an elitist, and I am ok with it.

5. I need a trip to Atlanta – brunch at Murphy’s or Thumb’s Up. Dinner at Watershed or Bacchanalia. A facial and massage at Key Lime Pie. A little shopping. A little tea at Urban Tea Party. Catching up with old friends. O, how I miss Atlanta sometimes.

A JAMES BALDWIN TRIBUTE

My friends know that I affectionately refer to James Baldwin as my Uncle Jimmy, as I have always been able to find solace, comfort, truth and honesty in his words. I had the chance to attend a lecture last evening - a celebration of sorts for Uncle Jimmy. I left feeling renewed in spirit, capable of slaying any dragons that I may meet on my journey. His resilience to live life to the fullest should be a testament to us all. Far too often we give excuse as to why we are not able to accomplish our dreams - Uncle Jimmy shows us that even under the most challenging circumstances it is possible. Amiri Baraka summed up James Baldwin in 1987 by saying the following:

As man, he was Our friend, Our older or younger brother, we listened to him like we would somebody in our family - whatever you might think of what he might say. We could hear it. He was close, as man, as human relative, we could make it some cold seasons merely warmed by his handshake, smile or eyes. Warmed by his voice, jocular yet instantly cutting. Kind yet perfectly clear. We could make it sometimes, just remembering his arm waved in confirmation or indignation, the rapid-fire speech, pushing out at the world like urgent messages for those who would be real.

This man traveled the earth like its history and its biographer. He reported, criticized, made beautiful, analyzed, cajoled, lyricized, attacked, sang, made us think, made us better, made us consciously human or perhaps more acidly pre-human.
He was spirit because he was living.

In honor and reverence to James Baldwin I challenge you to live!

Just Because...

1. Do people really think it's ok to not cover their mouths when coughing simply because they are not inside?
2. For some reason I think that Mario is packing.
3. I don't like the fact the Angela Bassett is in that Tyler Perry movie.
4. Recently, T.I.'s You Don't Know Me has been running throught my mind. Do I have some issues?
5. I'm not sure how I feel about India Arie starring in the revivial of For Colored Girls…which hits Broadway this summer.
6. Why don't black gays buy black gay publications the way that white gays buy white gay publications.
7. 1 and 4 teenage girls has an STD. Wow!
8. Cancun or Miami?
9. I think I'm going to take in to the DR.
10. Are red lace-ups too much?

What I'll Be Wearing To The Office This Spring

The Election and Limited 23rd Edition Jordans

With another set of caucuses coming around on tomorrow, and the race for the Democratic nomination being tighter than ever, I have to say that I am definitely at a place of introspection. The fact that so many of African Americans have turned out to be active participants in this process invigorates me, while at the same time I feel encumbered with angst as so many of us still believe that our voices, despite the outcome of the impending election, will remain unheard. There’s apart of me that doesn’t blame them, as the downpour created by the trickle down effect seems to become only a light mist once it finally makes its way to the working poor. As a working professional, the opportunity afforded to me by the circumstances of my education, allows my optimism to glean a little brighter. As I look back to Super Tuesday, an event that seems apart of the distant past, I am reminded of the flood of calls and emails and text messages I sent out reminding my family and friends back in Georgia to cast their vote. In Atlanta, the local news reported that a large group, mostly African American males, waited from 1:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. in anticipation to purchase Limited 23rd Edition Jordan’s. As my friend waited in line to vote that morning, he looked for those faces, only find that he was only one of four African Americans that had turned out to the polls that early Tuesday morning. The other faces were those of parents and grandparents who were excited by the opportunity to cast their votes. There is a strange dichotomy that seems to occur in our community more than any other, where there is not a transfer of values from one generation to the next - the current belief that where there is no spotlight or camera, nothing is happening. I asked my friend why he made the choice to stand in line that morning. He told me that it was simply a fundamental belief in and genuine appreciation for the individuals who stood in line as the departed slave ships after a horrible middle passage, the individuals who stood in line as they saw their children used as currency to purchase equipment and land, the individuals who stood in line honorably to fight for a country that did not recognize them as citizens, the individuals who stood in line to enter institutions of higher learning while guarded by the US National Guard and mocked by the governor and the woman who stood in line to wave goodbye to her only son as she entrusted the only all male liberal arts college in the country to give her son the education she had not been afforded. This election isn’t so much about who you vote for, but rather to honor and pass on a legacy. Sadly, I have either been afforded more opportunity than the average black man my age, or the average black man my age has been disillusioned and lulled into such extreme apathy by what Limited 23rd Edition Jordan’s represent, that he is willing to step on the backs of all the men and women who died in order for him to wait in the line of their choice.