it’s not chipped, we’re not cracked: a letter to Heroes

Oh we’re shattered. [MC - Memoirs]
Dear Heroes,
I’ve been a little busy lately, and it seems that you thought I was just letting it all slide.  I wasn’t.  I was just getting around to this letter, as it’s been a long time coming.
This may not mean much to you since I’m not a die-hard-fan kinda [...]

Read Full Post »

small town life: community theatre

Last week I went to the opening of a play here in Podunk.  The kids of Podunk were putting on a limited engagement of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, ending today.  A coworker of mine had a child in the production, and described rehearsals to us at work.  Since they sounded cute, I [...]

Read Full Post »

no shortage of handbaskets

Ummmm…have people been taking crazy pills across the country?  Or is this the real Obama effect – he causes most of America to go stark, raving, …you know.
Last year, people were writing songs for him, making signs all over the world, turning his speeches into musical rallying cries.  This year, other people are calling him [...]

Read Full Post »

same ish, different century

My dad has been into real estate since before I was born.  It’s what he likes to do – buy a place that needs some fixing up, fix it up, and rent it out.  Well, he bought some places earlier this year, and has been fixing them up for the past several months.  The cops [...]

Read Full Post »

what we see

Catching up on news over at the root this morning, I ended up reminiscing on Erin Evans’ pop-cultural survey of black preachers.  And as I watched the very last video, “Stand Up” from Polly (1989), I got tears in my eyes.

Also included in the same video survey is the opening sequence [...]

Read Full Post »

necessarily uncomfortable reading

My father has always been interested in economics/money/business issues, and being a black man, has of course dealt with those issues as they intersect with race.  So a couple months ago, when I saw that Latoya was reading a book called The Color of Wealth: the story behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Divide, I knew [...]

Read Full Post »

gravity and responsibility

The time between Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and March 1st is normally America’s media foray into Black History.  I’m certain there will be a particular and peculiar focus this year because of our new president.  I’m looking forward to Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story that will be airing on TNT.  [I'm *almost* related [...]

Read Full Post »

conflicted

My dad is semi-old.  64 this year.  So he remembers a lot, having grown up in the South.  And he generally tends to gauge the white people he meets by how they respond to him.  He has enough experience to be pretty accurate with how they are – whether they’ve got race issues that are [...]

Read Full Post »

loaded terms (the n-word for [some] white people)

As the presidential race nears its end, and tensions rise, it has become abundantly clear to most that race is playing a huge role in this…race.
Exhibit A:

A coworker speaks:
America’s not ready for a black president.
and
I just can’t get past his name.
and
He [Obama] is best friends with a terrorist [Ayers] – they’re next-door neighbors!  He [Ayers] [...]

Read Full Post »

in the black

I’m just now realizing how big the intersection between politics and race has become.  It’s like a volcano that’s been puffing for awhile, and is getting ready to blow up.  I knew that there were people out there who couldn’t bring themselves to vote for a black man [whatever the personal cost to themselves], but [...]

Read Full Post »