Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Hear Ye! - Meghan Markle and her subtle, quiet road to becoming a princess? A dutchess?

Now, almost a week out and I can barely hear anymore crying and rending of clothing by blonde, pale, female members of the the nobility the world over. Prince Harry is off the market and a Markle got him. I'm happy to see the young man find love like his brother has. Let's face it. Harry is the spare, and with almost 5 folks in front of him before he would even get a smell of the throne...He's lucky. He can live his life as he sees fit as he'll never be king and have to kowtow to tradition like William. I do not keep up with every English royal family story, but i did like Diana. Even little, ole, young me back in 1980 thought, "Guuuurl. You makin a mistake. That man don't love you. You will be a broodmare and be paid in tiaras and ball gowns.  Run!" Well, Diana didn't. She tied the knot, had the kids, and got the fabulous wardrobe. She smartened up but too late in the game. Well, she did have her freedom for a bit before her death.

Which brings me to her children. I like William and Henry (his gov't name) too as they SEEM to be not as stuffy as their elders. But I'm certain they know how to pull rank when needed. I am truly happy for this couple.

Miss Meghan Markle. She's an outsider too like Diana except she is not 19 and hasn't been raised on Harlequin romance novels. Megham is an unwrinkled 36. No shy retiring flower. A divorcee. A worldly woman. A seasoned actress who knows how to deflect rude, stupid questions and remarks and how to navigate shark-infested waters, no matter how gentile. Her Crenshaw California side gave that to her. Life at Windsor Castle, or whereever she and Harry end up, should be a piece of cake. I believe she'll do well in "The Firm" as its members have been handsomely paid actors for centuries. I applaud her that she is not insulting Black woman around the globe by saying she is Black. Good for her. She is biracial and claims it. No shame in that. She's not denying any side of her lineage. She's gone on record to say she is "mixed race" or "biracial." She claims it all. I wish that truth would sink into the brains of the Black women who label her Black only..I mean c'mon. Are we that desperate? That thirsty? Living that vicariously through another that we put a biracial woman ABOVE us as an example? No. Let her alone and think more of yourself. She and we wear different crowns. They are not interchangeable. She knows that. Why not us? Stop it.

That is the debate going on in a zillion think pieces, written by Black women,  tearing up the internetz. Like I said Meghan Markle is biracial and has stated so. I follow her lead on what she calls herself. But Black women of the blog -o-sphere? Have some pride.Stop putting her in the "Black" box with you. It's not fair to her or us. Let her be her. You be you.

P. S. I do see her "blackness" breaking through at times. Her edges were a tad crispy. That rainy weather was wreaking havoc with those edges. And I bet her kitchen was screaming too. Pointblank: Her relaxer needed a touch-up. As those Sunken Garden engagement pics were testifying. But I see in today's snaps that girlfriend has got that hair relaxed and flat-ironed and slayed within an inch of its life.

I wish Harry and Meghan all the best. I ain't mad at her. I respect game.

Remembering those not here on World Aids Day

Another year. Another image. This needs to end. But before it does it needs to be understood. Something that I STILL believe eludes many. Number one. You do NOT have to contract the virus. Okay? Read some info. Get informed. Slow your roll. Number Two. If you do contract it, you can live for many years IF you KNOW and have access to, and take the protocol implemented today.

Personally, I take the day to remember my uncle Cy and his friends who were like extra uncles to me. George, Tracey, Calvin. Beautiful men. Beautiful souls. All gone. No. I have not left out women. It is just that I have not listed any women because I do not know any myself who have been cut down by this virus. But, unfortunately, Black and Hispanic women in the US, behind bisexual men, lead the pack in new infections. 

No one. No one should be getting infected, or losing their life to this disease in 2017. But people are. Why? I can only speak on the Black community. In it, it is a mix of shame, denial, recrimination, and non-support from friends and family, the Black church and and let us not forget the price of the treatment that prevents the infected person from seeking help.

A cure any time soon? Who knows? All I know until then: SAFE SEX. SAFE SEX. SAFE SEX. And SLOW YOUR ROLL WITH FOLK SEXUALLY. Geez! Not everyone who grins at you is worthy of, or should have access to, your parts. GET CHECKED AND KNOW YOUR STATUS.

Now, I know you got your panties in a twist, muttering, "Who does she think she is?"Who am I? I'm someone sick of the devastation the virus brings. My advice might not be the answer you wanna hear, but get real, it's part of the solution.

So, today I'll light a candle for my lost ones. I'll wish they were here. I'll shed some tears but I'll smile and tell them their deaths were not in vain.

The onlinebookclub reviews DISSENT and loves it!

http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=51784

The previous is a link to a pretty darn-good review of Dissent. It was written by katiequilts a reviewer at Onlinebookclub.org. She was fair and balanced (unlike that news channel), and adored the not-your-usual-suspects main characters, and the HISTORICAL DETAIL in the book. Something I was jazzed about 'cuz the book is a HISTORICAL! A reviewer "got it!" She actually got it! A historical romance with equal parts of romance and HISTORY! Thank you, katiequilts! Your other disappointments with the book I can live with. Believe me. After "professionals" griped about "not understanding" a lot of the motivation behind the characters and plots in "multicultural" historicals, you, my dear, are a breath of fresh air. Again, thank you for hunkering down,, opening your mind,  immersing yourself in another culture and time (ATTENTION! This historical is NOT set in the REGENCY and has Black people in it who ain't servants!), and enjoying, a new take on an old experience.

https://www.amazon.com/Dissent-Love-Vanquishes-All-Book-ebook/dp/B01N0NY53L/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

It's lonely in the Black 1% - Welp!

This is something I didn't expect because, hey, the few that there are, if they are lonely...Hang together! Anyhoo, The mimi-interviews offered in the segment affirm the nasty, little open secret that floats through the world of the stinking rich.

The nasty open secret? It's terribly segregated. That even in that supposedly-learned, intelligent, color-blind cocoon, the Whites there can be, and are, as rabidly racist as their poor or working-class counterparts. They just do it with a rye-and-water in one hand as they smirk and ring for Jeeves.

This tiny CNN Money segment highlights financier Eddie C. Brown and his wife Sylvia, and Sheila C. Johnson. Let's just say that they could buy and sell Guam a few times BEFORE breakfast. That's how loaded they are. But as they recount, no matter how rich, they will ALWAYS only be seen as Black.

See. I'm so weird that that wouldn't bother me. Number One? It's true! Number Two? I harken back to the words of my late grandfather. "I don't want to eat with no folk who might poison my food!"

So, I say, Black 1%? Make that money. Be comfy. No crime in that. Give back to where you came from. As for the rye-and-water drinkers? Do business. Be civil. Keep your dignity but under your breath tell 'em to go kick rocks.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/14/news/economy/black-1-unstereotyped/index.html

P. S. my personal experience with the uber-rich came when I attended college. Little, old, poor, scholarship me (you know the students who weren't 'legacy'; the ones who couldn't afford to coast on the fumes of prior wealthy generations who'd attended; the students who HAD to study) went to this all-women's college in the NE. A place as idyllic as the brochure. A place where some students return to campus came in the form of a stretch  limo, an entourage and a flurry of professional movers. Oh, yes. The first few Septembers during my attendance, the campus grounds were awash in beehived, chain-smoking "Millicents" swathed in pearls and twinsets; the "Rogers" were in tweed and bourbon breath.

I discovered then, as I stood gripping my best, vinyl Woolworth handbag, and watched the Return-of the-Spawn -of-the-Masters-of-the-Universe,  that the rich, oh man, they really are different.

Mr. Eddie C. Brown - From moonshine runner to financial wizard

Talk a bout a success story. I am sure when Mr. Brown was a little kid, he didn't think he was going to be a 'shine runner, let alone a money maven. But when fate,destiny, determination collide, anything can happen. I adore these kinds of life histories. It just flies in the face of "experts' who live by nature over nurture.

Mr. Brown owns and runs Brown Capital Management, a Baltimore-based firm, with holdings of over 8 billion. Son, I said, 8 billion, son! This man worked his butt off to get his as the now popular "come-up" didn't exist then. Plus, he doesn't seem the IG attention-hound type.

Through his wealth, he and his wife have given back to the city of Baltimore's troubled youth by funding and establishing empowerment programs and providing monetary assistance to the gifted of little means.

Read up on his accomplishments at https://blackamericaweb.com/2017/11/15/little-known-black-history-fact-eddie-c-brown/

info courtesy: blackamerica web

Fighting on all fronts for what? For whom? Honoring Black U. S. service men and women this Veterans' Day 2017

As Veterans' Day, November 11th, falls on Saturday this year for the U. S., the holiday is being celebrated today. Since this blog's emphasis is on seeing the American Experience in all things in this land through African-American eyes, today, I salute the brave, Black service members who fought on two fronts in almost every friggin' war, conflict, battle, skirmish, you name it, for America's freedom, while never having that same afforded them at home.

I salute my ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, WW1, WW2, the Korean War, the Vietnam Conflict, and on and on. An on-and-on presently which appears to be pushing deeper into Black Africa as ISIS and Al-Qaeda flee the Middle East. Ugh. Incursions which leave them dead and left behind. Think Niger and Sgt. LaDavid Johnson. All harrowing missions carried out without questions from these men, and with scant thanks, and boatloads of denials from the country that sends them there as fodder.

Okay. Got that off my chest. Just had to say it because I had family members who saw action and were NEVER the same after it. Meanwhile, the armed services whistled and twiddled their thumbs. But from what I see now that same shoulder shrug is offered to ALL who served and are hurting.

Anyhoo, back to this post's topic.

PBS is broadcasting an excellent series called, FIGHTING ON BOTH FRONTS; THE STORY OF THE 370TH. It chronicles an all African-American regiment who fought during WW1. The 370th consisted of men from Illinois, mostly from Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood . Fighting on two fronts? Yes, the Germans and racism and inequality back home (I'm certain in basic training too. I always used to wonder why basic always took place down South). Consult PBS listings for dates and times.

http://www.pbs.org/show/fighting-both-fronts-story-370th/


These scenarios of disrespected, brave men have repeated themselves throughout U. S. history. But consult a number of "history" books, and it looks like the rescue was all White. There are a number of books African-Americans and their struggle when fighting in 'Nam.












In any case, this weekend, I chose to honor them with a phrase that is pretty inadequate, and has become rather trite, but I mean it from the bottom of my heart.

"Thank you for your service! "

Oh man. Say it ain't so - Bunny and Keith?

Well, I can see that this year is sizing up to end just like last year as far as the music world goes. Two giants gone in two weeks. Now, if you read this blog with any regularity, you are familiar with the fact that I love 70s funk bands and soul singers from the period. Sadly, two men who represented those two loves have passed.

1 ) Bunny Sigler (March 27, 1941 - October 6, 2017), a record executive who along with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, created the "Philly Sound" known as "The Sound of Philadelphia" and the MFSB (Mother, Father, Sister, Brother) musicians in the early 70s. He was a talent on many levels so besides being a producer he was a performer too. He was known for his artistry in either singing the following songs, or for engineering their "sound" -  That's How Long I'll Be Loving You,  By the Way You Dance,  Love Train (an O'Jays classic)  In later yeas, he connected with the younger generation by co-writing The Ruler's Back, the opening track on Jay-Z's 2011 album, The Blueprint.







One of Bunny's engineering masterpieces :The O'Jays Love Train

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vTKmVvyNRc




2) Keith Wilder of one of my fav funk bands, HEATWAVE, is gone at 65. This is another blow to the group as his brother Johnnie Wilder, Jr. passed in 2006 after years of living paralyzed from a car accident. They used to switch places on certain songs in the lead spot. Johnnie's beautiful falsetto is heard on the recording of Always and Forever (an amazingly beautiful song. Requested at lots of weddings to this day), but Keith could sing it too.  Wilder was still on the road doing his thing until a few weeks ago. He'd been the survivor of several strokes which had left him with limited mobility, and warranted his use of a stool when performing. his family said he'd simply laid down for a nap on the Sunday afternoon  of October 29th and didn't wake up. This group lost its other mega-talent,  Rod Temperton,  just last year too. Though no longer performing with them, he was still a part of HEATWAVE. Known for those signature hits of the late 70s/early 80s, Wilder's voice , and the other, will be missed.







Keith Wilder




Sigh.

My girlhood music innovators are leaving this planet fast.

Goodnight, gentlemen.

All of HEATWAVE'S songs were gold (Groove Line, Boogie Nights) but Always and Forever is platinum. Listen, kiddies, to perfection. Take notes. It won't pass this way again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiI42aZ5F40