Of Omarosa’s Alleged Firing, Black Women Voting for Alabama’s Doug Jones & More…

Hello World,

Last week was a memorable week for black women in America! And let me breakdown how…Although most of us don’t live in Alabama, I’m reasonably sure that many of us not living in the state were nevertheless tuning into election coverage of the senate race of Doug Jones versus Roy Moore like we had real estate in 205. For weeks leading up to this critical election, we’ve heard story after story revealed regarding Moore’s alleged proclivity for teenage girls when he was a fully grown man working as an assistant district attorney against the backdrop of other high-powered men and sexual harassment claims.

I’ve been especially puzzled by people’s willingness to overlook these stories in favor of Moore’s supposed Christian/political values aside from cruising girls at a local mall (from which he was later banned allegedly) and elsewhere. Juxatapose that with Doug Jones, who instead of allegedly cruising high school-aged girls, honored the legacy of four little black girls who were killed in Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church in 1953 after Ku Klux Klan members planted bombs there. When Jones served as the U.S. Attorney in Alabama, he prosecuted two of the klan members responsible for the church bombing which is remarkable since Jones skipped law school classes to watch the trial against the first klan member prosecuted for this crime in 1977. While many across the country hoped that Doug Jones would win, it seemed highly unlikely since a Democrat has not been elected a senator in that state for quarter of a century! But some black girl magic was sprinkled from heaven it seems since 98 percent of black women who voted in Alabama cast their ballot for Doug Jones. Black women showed up and showed out for Doug Jones and are a huge reason why he was elected. Poetic justice playing out! And I hope somehow in Heaven, Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley are smiling from on high as they look below!

Below is Lisa McNair, sister Denise McNair, talking about this historic win with CNN’s Don Lemon…

Even as this historic win unfolded, however, what we didn’t know until the next day that Omarosa, another black woman, was making history herself. The world learned the day after the election that Omarosa may have been the first black woman to be allegedly booted out of the White House. Ha! Something to note in Black History Month two months from now. Originally known as a villain on “The Apprentice” through which she met President Trump when he was simply a reality television star and businessman, Trump installed her as director of AfricanAmerican outreach for his presidential campaign in 2016 although many African Americans don’t seem to like her. And when he was elected, she became Trump’s director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison. Although she is a minister of the gospel and should be an advocate to bowing down to Jesus, Omarosa has said that people should bow down to President Trump.

I guess that’s why when White House Chief of Staff General John Kelly fired her, the infamous bad girl allegedly tried to break into the president’s private quarters to plead her case before her deity. Another black woman, one of my journalism heroes “Good Morning America’s” Robin Roberts, quietly shut her down when Omarosa attempted to refute earlier reports of her “resignation.” Although she is the consummate journalist, Roberts slipped in the pop culture reference “Bye Felicia” as she recapped Omarosa’s “quite a story” that she will be likely selling to the highest bidder…For those who don’t know, “Bye Felicia” is a term from the cult classic movie “Friday” in which actor Ice Cube’s character Craig dismissed an annoying female character with those two words…

So following this comment, Omarosa texted “Inside Edition,” stating that it was a “black woman’s civil war” in reference to Roberts’ slick snub. But I wonder if Omarosa, who seems more like a minister of Messy than a minister of the Gospel, knows that if no one is on your side, there is no war!

I don’t know what God is up to, but I find it rather curious that on the night that black women scored a huge victory for this country, the one woman who was supposed to representing black women in the White House was fired allegedly…

Any thoughts?

Why the ‘Good Morning America’ Headline About Meghan Markle and ‘Hope’ for Black Women Wasn’t Offensive To Me…

It's Not the First Time That ABC News Offended Black Women Either...

Hello World,

ABC News’ (courtesy of “Good Morning America” )recent article originally entitled  “For Many Black Women, Meghan Markle’s Engagement Offers ‘Hope’” posted last week had black women all up in their feelings last week! In fact, the article has even caused the author Joi-Marie McKenzie to get hate mail, according to thegrio.com!

A few of the reactions to the controversial headline:

The backlash is so fierce that ABC News changed the headline to “After Meghan Markle’s Engagement, Some Are Celebrating” with an editor’s note:

The story headline has been updated. The original headline misrepresented the intention of the story, which was to report on the excitement among some black women about Meghan Markle’s joining the British royal family. 

But this isn’t the first time that black women have been all up in a tizzy and ready to rush ABC News! In fact, the last time I remember this type of backlash was December of 2009. Remember this article from ABC News: “Single, Black, Female — and Plenty of Company?” From the article, you already know what’s up and the worse part about the article was that black women in Atlanta, specifically, were the focus. At the time, I was a single, black female in Atlanta and so weary from looking for love that I really couldn’t collect my thoughts on what I thought was an attack until January.  Here is what I wrote on this blog:

I had composed what I thought was an eloquent, sociological diatribe of a post about the ABC “Nightline” piece that aired last month about black women, particularly those living in Atlanta, and their inability to find mates due to the shortage of black men…But since this is the Internet and in the interest of self-preservation, I thought better of it…

And now I don’t feel like sugar coating what I originally said…

So I simply want to know what y’all think…take a look at the video if you haven’t seen it already, and let me know…

‘Preciate your thoughts…i.am.out…

And here is the original video of the segment on which the article was based:

From this article came this dismal statistic:  “Forty-two percent of U.S. black women have never been married, double the number of white women who’ve never tied the knot.” In fact, this article and the statistics quoted in the article caused such a seismic shift that that the article was linked to in an article published just a few a months ago  “Black, Single, and Waiting: For 15 years, The Bachelor Franchise Has Made a Caricature of Blackness. Could This Season Finally Be different?” on slate.com.

While I was initially horrified that I and black women were written about like we truly are the “de mule uh de world” (a reference to how black women are viewed in one of my favorite books “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston), the report, article and subsequent debate Why Can’t a Successful Black Woman Find a Man?  held in Atlanta in April 2010 by ABC News in response to this article forced me to get real clear about what I wanted and needed in a husband and the fact that I wanted and needed a husband. And to be apologetic about it as well. It’s funny that two months after that report, I went on my very first date with my husband.

So when I saw all of this fervor online last week, it reminded me of how I once felt: victimized, a bit ashamed (if I am being completely honest) and unable to hide one of my deepest desires anymore. But those feelings led to one of the best decisions of my life. So the headline last week wasn’t the best, I’ll admit, but if you (and this is for single black women reading this post) find yourself ready to fight after reading the ABC News article, consider focusing inward instead of outward.

And if somewhere down deep the fact that Meghan Markle has found her Prince Charming (or he found her) has given you hope that your Prince Charming is somewhere out there, do what needs to be done (and only you can determine that) so that you are ready to meet him despite negative statistics. For me, it took kissing frogs, dating mentors, professional assistance, online dating, a slew of dating books, prayers and more, but my husband, perfect-for- me-with- all-of-his imperfections (I aine perfect either) Prince Charming, finally came along…

So no, to recap, ABC News (courtesy of Good Morning America) headline “For Many Black Women, Meghan Markle’s Engagement Offers ‘Hope’” wasn’t offensive…

Any thoughts?

 

 

The Next Big Thing…aka My Next Book in Progress…

Hello World,

Senalda in my next book

Senalda in my next book

I’m never been one to participate in chain letters, but sometimes you have to stretch yourself a bit to grow sooo…I’m taking the plunge to participate in a writer chain letter where different writers tag one another and write about “the next big thing” that they are working on…It’s an exercise to help us formulate our ideas around our next books in progress and promote other writers at the same time…So I will answer questions about my next book and at the end of this post, you will see information about other writers…Those writers will then post about “the next big thing” they are working on and on and on…Get it?

Tempestt would be a great Jarena!

What is the working title of your book?  I’m not sure yet…It’s about being a single black woman in Atlanta in particular and a single black woman anywhere in general…

Where did the idea for the book come from? My journey as a single black woman…Now that I’m about to be married and entering into another phase in my life, I feel I want to capture the feeling of being single and wanting romantic love while I can still taste it…so to speak…

What genre does the book fall under? Literary fiction

Which actors would you choose to play the characters? Senalda, Malinda Williams; Jarena, Tempestt Bledsoe; Mimi, Goapele; and Whitney, Essence Atkins…I will have more main characters, but these are the ones I have so far…

Goapele as Mimi…

What is a one sentence synopsis? I’m looking for love. Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can’t-live-without-each-other love…Okay, so this is not one sentence…And these aren’t my words…these are the words of Carrie Bradshaw from my all-time favorite show “Sex and the City.” And yes, my next big thing is partly inspired by this show…

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I’m not sure yet. I’m open to God’s plan…

How long did it take you to write the first draft? I want to write the whole thing in six months, preferably by my wedding date…Really, I’ve been writing this book since I was 30 years old so it should come pretty easily…Lord please…Also, I am starting to work with a critique group tomorrow so hopefully that will get me going…y’all pray for me…

Whitney in my next big thing…

What other books would you compare it to? I’m not sure yet…Am I being vague? Yes…I don’t really like to share the dish while I’m still cooking it, but I thought it would be cool to get some feedback while I can rework things…

Who or what inspired it? Chile, love.

What else about your book will pique the reader’s interest? I intend for this to be my love letter to single ladies all over…Although I will be married in a few months, I will treasure my single journey forever…after all, we came in this world alone and that is how we will leave it… I pray this book will be available in 2014. Please check out some of my author friends to see what they are up to…

“hallucination” is a story about unexpected occurrences and how they can stop your life and change it whether you are ready for change or not. This is a story of surviving some of life’s unavoidable miseries and coming out on the other side, a little wiser and a little closer to yourself. “hallucination” is a story of regular life, sudden illness and irregular outcomes. “hallucination” is NOT a story about being sick. It’s a story of becoming well…inside and out…Check out Kim Green at hallucinationthenovel.com. (By the way, she invited me to participate in “The Next Big Thing.”)

When former chart-topper Tiffany Knightly learns that she’s dying from cancer, she leaves behind her plush California lifestyle to return to Hempstead, New York, with Karlie, her reluctant teenaged daughter. Her fans think she has simply gone home to die, but Tiffany has another mission. She desperately wishes she could leave her past in the past,
but in order to secure her daughter’s future, she must tear open past wounds…This is from the book “Sing A New Song” by debut author Michelle Lindo-Rice…Check out Michelle Lindo-Rice at michellelindorice.com.

Ciara is an ambitious freshman, sure that life will only get better as she joins her long-time boyfriend at Aurbor Grove University. Before the first day of class, she’s hit with a tragedy and finds herself at the center of controversy. Raised by a no-nonsense, Christian grandmother, going to college is a non-negotiable for Nick. Once there, the study hard, play harder culture awakens a dangerous addiction that could not only cause him to lose his scholarship, but his livelihood. “Don’t Let Me Fall” is the first in The Village Series by L. Michelle…Check L. Michelle out at TheVillagebyLMichelle.com.

Any thoughts?