The 37th Stellar Gospel Music Awards Taping in Atlanta this Saturday!

Hello World,

Central City Productions has announced the nominees for the 37th Stellar Gospel Music Awards, the annual celebration honoring excellence in Gospel music. The Stellar Awards will return to Atlanta for the live-taped ceremony on Saturday, July 16, at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, as part of an illustrious weekend of events that will include a special announcement about the upcoming launch of the Stellar TV Network. Stellar Award-winning artists Jekalyn Carr and Kierra Sheard-Kelly will co-host this year’s event, which will air on BET, BET HER, and BET International in August, and will be syndicated in various local markets across the country between August 13 and September 11.

The 37th Stellar Gospel Music Awards will feature performances by Tye Tribbett, Marvin Sapp, Maranda Curtis, Ricky Dillard, Kelontae Gavin, Rudy Currence, Chrisette Michele, DOE, James Fortune, Jason Nelson, Travis Greene, Darrel Walls, and Jor’Dan Armstrong.

Leading this year’s nominations is Gospel music legend CeCe Winans, widely considered the best-selling female Gospel artist of all time. Winans has 9 total nominations including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Albertina Walker Female Artist of the Year, all stemming from her critically acclaimed album, “Believe For It.”

Pastor Mike, Jr., the 2021 Stellar Award winner for Artist of the Year, received 8 total nominations, including Producer of the Year, Artist of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year, tied to “I Got It: Single’s Ministry Vol 1.” 2018 James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Tamela Mann, Jonathan McReynolds & Mali Music, and Todd Dulaney all received 6 nominations, with Mali Music receiving an additional nomination for a feature on a separate project. Kelontae Gavin received 5 nominations. Other artists with several nominations for this year’s Stellar Awards include Maverick City Music, Israel Houghton, Ricky Dillard, E. Dewey Smith, and Jason Clayborn, all of whom received 4 nominations each.

“Gospel music has encouraged millions of people through more than two unrelenting years of the pandemic, and the Stellar Awards will, again, deliver in bringing the praise and recognizing the artists who bless us with their inspirational sounds,” said Don Jackson, Chairman and CEO of Central City Productions, which established the Stellar Awards. “Those who love Black, faith, and family-centric programs can look forward to both the Stellar Awards and to all that our Stellar TV Network has to offer when it premieres in September.”

The Stellar Gospel Music Awards also bestows special honors to industry titans who continue creating a legacy of excellence that reaches and influences the masses, both within and outside of the Gospel genre. Six-time Grammy Award-winning hitmaker and producer Aaron Lindsey will receive the Aretha Franklin Icon Award presented by Aflac, and renowned choir leader and recording artist Ricky Dillard will receive the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Toyota. The Ambassador Dr. Bobby Jones Legends Award is presented to Candi Staton, a music pioneer who, for nearly seven decades, has been a captivating Gospel music artist.

The Stellar Gospel Music Awards is proud to be presented this year by AT&T Dream in Black. This year’s sponsors also include Proctor & Gamble (P&G), Walmart, State Farm, Toyota, McDonald’s – Black & Positively Golden, and Aflac. The Stellar Gospel Music Awards are also proud to partner with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Spotify.

For a full list of nominees and for additional updates, follow The Stellar Awards on social media — @thestellars on Instagram and Twitter and Stellar Gospel Music Awards on Facebook — and check out the Stellar Awards website.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT: WWW.STELLARAWARDS.COM.

Bishop Eddie Long’s Son Edward Long Releases Book ‘Son of a Bishop,’ Appears on YouTube’s Unwine With Tasha K…

Hello World,

So a lot went down when I was in the motherly way and I missed some things…but I’m trying to catch up!

I noticed through my analytics that a post I did on Bishop Eddie Long’s son Edward Long back in 2019(Bishop Eddie Long’s Son Edward Long Carves Out Radio Career Following Dr. Jamal Bryant Becoming New Birth Missionary Baptist Church’s Pastor… has been receiving a lot of attention lately so I Googled his name to determine why…After a few minutes, I realized why people were suddenly coming to After the Altar  Call to learn more about Edward Long…He was interviewed by Tasha K on her YouTube channel Unwine With Tasha K.  in April. (Yes, Cardi B.’s Tasha K…) I have yet to listen to the whole interview, but I plan to do so when I have time…

However, I missed that Edward Long released a book “Son of a Bishop” back in January…Below is the description of the book…

ED Long, Jr. is a true prodigy, whose multi-dimensional talents and alluring personality make him the eye-catching 3rd generation global minister, award winning music artist and intrepreneurial multimedia producer. ED is also son of Grammy award winning, Telly award winning, Trumpet award winning author & trailblazing pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Bishop Eddie Lee Long. ED Long, Jr. shares heartfelt memoirs concerning he and his father, Bishop Eddie Lee Long, to aid parents in connecting with their offsprings and to empower the next generation with tools for developing their voice while embracing the responsibility of inherent legacy.

QUESTIONNAIRE

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a preacher’s kid?

Are you looking for help on how to develop your own personality while being under

the umbrella of influential parents?

Are your parents leading or serving in a ministry?

Do you need help navigating the nuisances of balancing your personal growth and

development with the calling or pressures of ministry?

Are you pastoring or leading a ministry while also parenting?

Are you struggling to relate to your son or daughter?

Are you looking for insight on how to help them to live a normal life while ensuring that they develop a relationship with Jesus Christ and their own calling?

Apparently, “Son of a Bishop” was endorsed by Bishop Paul S Morton Sr….See that endorsement below…

“He (ED) is getting into what it’s all about being the son of a bishop. I was a son of a bishop, so I know the privileges, but I also knew the pressure. You need this book, it is going to bless you. Many of you are in leadership, you need this for yourself, you need this for your children so that they will be able to relate as son or daughter of leadership.” – Bishop Paul S. Morton, Sr.

Looks like he recently held a book signing…

Apparently, yesterday he raised money to support pancreatic cancer as his father suffered from this disease…

And the happiest news of this post is that Edward Long and his wife are expecting a baby as a baby shower was recently held according to his social media…See the picture below…I see his mother Mrs. Vanessa Long is in the picture as well…

I won’t rehash the allegations against Bishop Eddie Long in this post, but we all know what they were. And I’m not downplaying the allegations either…They were what they were…That being said, as a pastor’s daughter, I empathize with Edward Long the most. I’m glad that he is finding a way to reconcile his relationship with his deceased father and he is moving forward with his life…

Any thoughts?

Mother & Daughter Survivors Treated for Breast Cancer One Year Apart, Inspired By Deceased Relative’s Fight…FIVE-YEAR UPDATE!!!

Keisha Pooler, her mother Mary Marshall and Keisha’s daughter

Hello World,

As this is the last week of October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I wanted to  tell you that five years later after I originally wrote this post Keisha Pooler and her mother Mary Marshall are still surviving and thriving!!! What follows is my original post in 2015…

I lost two of my Delta line sisters to this hideous disease so this is a cause that is very dear to me. When another one of my sorors Keisha Pooler shared on Facebook that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and began posting pictures of herself at her chemotherapy treatments, I was inspired by her openness and bravery so I thought I would tell her story here. I hope her openness and bravery inspires you as they did me.

Jacquelyn Pullins aka Aunt Jackie

Jacquelyn Pullins aka Aunt Jackie

As an invincible and healthy college freshman at Morris Brown College in 1992 with nothing but time ahead of her, the last thing on then Keisha Pullins’ mind was breast cancer. But an arbitrary search for a pen in the lingerie drawer of her Aunt Jackie Pullins, who the Dublin, Georgia native lived with while enrolled in the Atlanta school, put her in the path of the deadly disease in a way that forever changed her trajectory. “I was digging in her drawer, trying to find a pen, and I ran across her prosthetic. It was shaped in foam and had a nipple on it.  I asked her, ‘Jackie, What is this?’ She said, ‘It’s a fake titty. What do you think it is?'” Her aunt’s clear-eyed, straightforward answer was representative of the sister relationship that Keisha had with her mother’s baby sister, who was in early 40s, who Keisha saw as mostly a sister but a sometime surrogate mother. Her Aunt Jackie also told her niece to not tell anyone as she did not want anyone to worry about her. However, Keisha was worried. “Her diagnosis changed my life. It was representative of something that could transfer into death in my home, in my family.” From then on, at the recommendation of her Aunt Jackie, who found the lump in her breast, Keisha began doing self-exams and has ever since. While Keisha kept her Aunt Jackie’s secret, her secret revealed itself when her aunt came home to Dublin several months later by the end of Keisha’s freshman year to go the the funeral of Keisha’s stepfather. “At the funeral, she became very ill so she started chemotherapy in Dublin. She never made it back to Atlanta.”

While Keisha continued at Morris Brown College, she returned to Dublin periodically to check on her Aunt Jackie and go with her to her chemotherapy treatments when she could. “She was not married, and she had no children so my sister and I were her kids.” After her treatment, her aunt went into remission for roughly four to five years but the cancer came back in 1997 or 1998. She was told she had months to live, but she didn’t want to go through chemotherapy again. Despite her prognosis, she didn’t pass away until 2001. During that time, however, she continued to live and deliver her deadpan humor. When Keisha asked her Aunt Jackie why she was adamant on getting a loan at one point, her Aunt Jackie replied, “Keisha, I’ll be dead before they get the money back.” “I remember thinking that in that moment, she was laughing and dying simultaneously.” However, there were serious moments too. Her aunt made her the beneficiary of her life insurance policies and showed her where to find all of her important documents. Although Keisha’s mother was her Aunt Jackie’s official caretaker, she felt like the then 25-year-old Keisha would be more responsible. “My Aunt Jackie was adamant about my mom getting a mammogram, but she never did. She always said she was scared to find out.”

Keisha and her husband at the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on Saturday, October 24.

Keisha and her husband at the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on Saturday, October 24. Their daughter is in the background.

In fact, Keisha’s mother, Mary Marshall, would not have a mammogram until she was 68 years old, in May 2013. It was recommended that she get a mammogram as part of a full-body exam after she got sick with shingles. Keisha was concerned when her mother called her after her mammogram and told her that a biopsy was the next step. She called the medical center and asked about her mother’s results. “I said, ‘I know you’re limited in what information you can give, but do I need to make a trip to Dublin to see my mother?”’ She was told that she should come to Dublin so Keisha and her sister made the trip. The same doctor, Dr. Samson, who took care of her Aunt Jackie during her breast cancer treatment was the same doctor that told Keisha’s mother Mary Marshall in front of her daughters that she, too, had breast cancer. “My sister had to leave the room. I took out my pen and started taking notes and asking questions. My mom took a deep breath and said, ‘Okay, what do we do next?’ There were no tears. She was stoic.” She was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer in June 2013, and six months of chemotherapy followed by four to six months of radiation was recommended for treatment. Mary Marshall says she cannot pinpoint exactly why she waited so long to have her first mammogram except to say that she saw what her sister went through and did not want that for herself. “I just put it out of my mind.” However, her sister’s example came back to her when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. “In my mind, I said, ‘I’m going to be strong like Jackie. ‘”

In fact, her sister’s strength inspired Mary Marshall so much that she urged her daughter to have a follow up exam after Keisha’s first mammogram at 40 years old revealed that she had some cysts that needed to be further evaluated. Keisha delayed making and keeping the appointment for roughly eight to nine months. While she spent spring break with her daughter in Atlanta earlier this year, she told her that she would not leave until Keisha made the appointment. “I had that feeling that she might follow in my footsteps so I said, ‘Keisha, have you gone?'” So Keisha made and kept her follow up

"The beautiful thing about breast cancer is that puts you in a sorority you never asked to be in."

“The beautiful thing about breast cancer is that it puts you in a sorority you never asked to be in.”

appointment. An ultrasound was done, and a more in-depth evaluation was recommended. She was told she get the results in a week. “I went about my life, but I felt like I was in a cloud like when you see a character in a Spike Lee film and their feet aren’t moving. It felt like I was floating,” says Keisha, who is an instructional coach at Maynard Jackson High School in Atlanta. When she got the call, she was at the school. The news wasn’t what she hoped for. “I stopped breathing for a second. I went outside and sat on one of the benches and took my legs up under me. I asked the doctor, ‘Am I going to die?’ He said, ‘I’m not telling you that is going to happen. Let’s take one thing at a time.” Keisha was reassured when her doctor told her he would be meeting with a team of medical professionals to immediately work on a treatment plan for her stage 1 breast cancer. She was also encouraged when he told her that not all breast cancers are the same as Keisha has borderline triple-negative breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy in June and started chemotherapy in July. Now, she is undergoing radiation. She did not hesitate to share her story on Facebook with her community of friends and has shared photographs throughout her treatment. “I’ve been given the gift of speaking and writing. I think I got it from my mother’s father who was a preacher. He was so influential in the community, and he was always being vocal. It something sits inside of me, it sickens me. And I feel like I am soldier on the front lines, and if I kept it to myself, I’m not only doing an injustice to myself but to Jehovah Jireh.”

After she was told about her diagnosis, she told the news to Marcus, her husband of 16 years. “He said, ‘We’re gonna kick cancer’s @$$! You’ve seen your mama. You’ve seen your aunt.'” The couple then told their 10-year-old daughter. Although her eyes were filled with tears, she said, “‘Okay, mama we got this!'” She gave me a high five, and she gave her daddy a high five.” Providentially it seems, after Keisha’s diagnosis, her husband broke his hand in a car accident and as result, he has had to recover at home with Keisha.  “I feel like I am a seed that was planted, but I was not meant to be buried, I am planted to bloom.”

If you haven’t supported breast cancer awareness through organizations such as The Lola Brown Foundation (the organization named after my deceased Delta line sister) and breast cancer cure research through organizations such as the American Cancer Society, please consider doing so…

Any thoughts?