Hello World,

I know you don’t come here for the tea on Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, my beloved sorority, but allow me this  indulgence as Jan. 13 is my sorority’s Founders Day! Back in 2016, I was blessed to have the opportunity to share in my local newspaper The Atlanta Journal-Constitution why I wanted to pledge my sorority 26 years ago! Please see below…

 My introduction to black Greek collegiate culture was the same as many of us who grew up in the ‘1990s, the golden age of black pop culture.

I tuned into “A Different World” week after week as a high school student. I remember the episode when Whitley pushed too hard while pledging her roommate Kim, who was attempting to be initiated into her sorority.

Whitley’s drill sergeant attitude backfires when Kim and the rest of the pledges simultaneously stop taking orders from her. In the span of the 30-minute sitcom, they, of course, work out their differences, becoming not only sisters in friendship but sorority sisters.

That sorority seed was planted then and began to grow when an older friend pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. at Wake Forest University. Read the rest of the story on ajc.com.

Any thoughts?

The post My Sorority Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated Celebrates 108 Years of Service! appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Hello World,

Ms. Patti On-My-Own, Why-Did-It-End-This-Way (Sung in My James Wright Chanel Voice), Mrs. Adele Wayne from “A Different World and Kick Off Her Shoes Off in a Concert Labelle is joining the cast of OWN’s “Greenleaf” Season 3 which kicks off this summer!!! Ms. Patti been cast in the recurring role of “Maxine Patterson,” a famous Christian motivational speaker and the CEO of a global Christian self-help empire. An old friend of Mae’s from college days, Maxine will be Lady Mae’s sounding board and greatest ally as Mae attempts to consolidate her power at Calvary.

Remember this hairstyle?

Officially, Ms. Patti , who is represented by WME Entertainment and WPR, is known and revered for belting out classic rhythm and blues renditions, pop standards and spiritual sonnets have created the unique platform of versatility. However, she has also written six books, Don’t Block the Blessings, LaBelle Cuisine: Recipes to Sing About, Patti’s Pearls, Patti LaBelle’s Lite Cuisine, Recipes for the Good Life and her most recent, Desserts LaBelle. Several years ago, she introduced Patti’s Good Life, a successful product line that includes a variety of sauces, sweet potato pie, cobblers and cakes. She stars in her own highly rated cooking show, Patti LaBelle’s Place, which premiered its second season on the Cooking Channel in 2017. Additionally, Patti released her first jazz album, Bel Hommage, and a holiday album, Patti LaBelle and Friends – Home for the Holidays, in 2017.

World renowned for her dynamic career as an entertainer and entrepreneurial success, Ms. Patti’s work as a humanitarian is just as legendary. She remains an advocate for adoption, diabetes, cancer, HIV / AIDS and many other causes and non-profit initiatives. While she has reached the heights of success throughout her 50-plus year career, Ms. Patti has also endured and survived personal strife. Within a ten-year period, she lost her mother, three sisters and best friend to diabetes and cancer. In 1994, she was diagnosed with diabetes and shortly thereafter became a spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association.

The same motivation that had Patricia Louise Holte blossom from a choir member to lead vocalist for Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles and later Labelle, to a solo artist is the same energy that keeps her fire burning at seventy-three years young. “Each year I grow, and that’s a blessing from God. I do what I can do. I do what I feel God has given me the energy to do, so I just go out there and I do it…It’s not about making money because I don’t need money, but I need to sing. With a voice or without, I’ve got to get on that stage.” And the world is thankful that Ms. Patti’s voice sounds so good to our ears.

I’m so here for Season 3 of OWN’s “Greenleaf!” Will you be watching Season 3 OWN’s “Greenleaf” when it returns this summer? For those of you who read my OWN “Greenleaf” recaps, would you like for me to interview Ms. Patti?

Any thoughts?

P.S. Why does Ms. Patti look as young as the now grown college students from “A Different World?”

The post Patti LaBelle Cast on Season 3 of OWN’s ‘Greenleaf!’ appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Hello World,

I hope y’all had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends yesterday! However your year has been, I know that we all have something that we can thank God for, right? And now, it’s the most wonderful time of the year: Christmas!!! One of my favorite ways to celebrate this season is watching Christmas movies! And y’all know that pop culture is never far from my mind as evidenced by the tagline of this blog (blogging the cross section of faith, relationships and pop culture)! On Saturday, a Christmas movie with some of my favorite pop culture icons “Wrapped Up in Christmas” is debuting tomorrow night at 8 p.m. on Lifetime!!!

See the description below:

Christmas is one of Heather’s (Tatyana Ali or Ashley Banks from the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air”) favorite times of year but this year, as the manager of the upscale Town Center Mall, she has to be the Christmas Grinch and cancel the leases of under-performing stores. One afternoon, Heather’s niece, Molly asks the mall Santa to help find a boyfriend for her beloved aunt. Unbeknownst to Molly and Heather, “Santa” is actually Ryan (Brendan Fehr, “Guardians of the Galaxy”), who is working at the mall for the holidays and helping his Aunt Patty run her failing toy store. As Heather and Ryan begin to fall for each other, they have no idea of one another’s true identity: Heather who is tasked with closing his aunt’s store and Ryan who is too ashamed to tell Heather that he is the actually the mall Santa. Will Molly’s Christmas wish come true, or will Heather be stuck as the Town Center Grinch? The film also stars Kim Fields (Régine Hunter from “Living Single”), Jasmine Guy (Whitley Gilbert Wayne from “A Different World”), Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey the butler from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”), Dan Lauria, Jackée Harry (Lisa Landry from “Sister, Sister”) and Mindy Sterling. “Wrapped Up In Christmas” premieres Saturday, November 25th at 8/7c on Lifetime and is produced by ARO Entertainment. Jeff Schenck executive produces. Peter Sullivan serves as a director from a script by Jennifer Notas Shapiro.

Check out the trailer below:

Any thoughts?

The post See Kim Fields, Jasmine Guy, Tatyana Ali & More Star in Lifetime’s “Wrapped Up in Christmas” on Saturday, Nov. 27! appeared first on After the Altar Call.