My Ree Ree

Yesterday, August 16, 2018 seemed to be the end of an era with the passing of my all time favorite recording artist Aretha Louise Franklin.

I have listened to Aretha throughout my lifetime. It all began with listening to her father, Rev. C.L. Franklin and then listening to her sing gospel as a young girl. Her God given voice was always something to behold. I feel as if I have k own her all of my life. Her music formed the tapestry of my generation.

I saw her several times, beginning with a small venue in Miami, and ending with a performance at Humphreys in San Diego. The voice never wavered throughout the years. Aretha was always Aretha.

The lady who was never without her purse, even at the Kennedy Center affair when she placed it on top of the piano😊, was a true treasure.

I loved that she honored and maintained her church roots, from her gospel inspired singing to her great church lady hats. I remember our morher’s disappointment when she began singing secular music. Mother never quite got over that.

I think I know the words to every song she ever sang, and I even sang a duet, with Ruby, at a Morse a High talent show a couple of tears before I freetired. We sang Natural Woman.

I lived that Aretha maintained her privacy and spoke only what she wanted the public to here. She was an old school secret keeper, even until the end.

Fortunately, for all of us, her legacy will last forever through her music. No one can replace her, because she was a singer for the ages.

I am sure that she was greeted at the Pearly gates where she will meet those who have gone before. What a choir that will be!

Rest in Heaven my Ree Ree. We lived you, but God loved you best.

MARVELous Black Panther

I have not blogged in a very long time because every time I thought about it, what usually came to mind was Washington D.C. and all of the shenanigans surrounding it.

However, FINALLY there is something which has thrilled me beyond belief, and increased my HOPE that good will win.  I saw this movie yesterday and am still thrilled by what I saw.  I loved seeing a young Black girl, so smart, and yet a perfect little sister.  I loved seeing STRONG, BRILLIANT, LOVELY black women as the heroines we really are!

  I loved seeing a Black movie, with a primarily Black cast, in such a positive light.  There was no sex, no violence, no cotton fields, no slave narratives, and none of the other negativity that we usually see.  I remembered the Blackploitation films of the past, and cringed.  Who created and spread those images?  It was encouraging to see FOR US, BY US.

I remember when I visited Africa for the first time, someone there told me that we had been turned against them, and taught that they were savages running around with no clothes, and they had been turned against us by being told that we were here killing each other.  Who spread that?????

I remember Tarzan movies, and I also remember a time that we all believed that that WAS Africa.  Sadly, many, even our own people, still believe that.  I remember the Black and Proud movement, and often wonder what happened to it?  I remember hearing black folks speak disparagingly of Africans, without ever knowing one, or having visited the continent.

 I remember, even us, discriminating because of colorism.  I have seen us, in many instances, becoming our own worst enemies.

NOW, a movie, based upon a comic book, has a chance to change many many things.  This movie showed the wealth of an African nation. It showed the powerful women warriors.  It showed folks who look like me doing great things.  It showed  Oakland and Wakanda, just making an important and powerful connection.  It showed two points of view, both valid, but one more powerful, and meaningful than the other.  It showed two enemies who challenged each other, coming back together.  It showed the legacy of a father, even though the son had to realize that HE was the king now.  That is so important because it showed us that the young must find their own way, using some of what they need from the past, and some of what their present requires.

It showed an abandoned child and all that comes with that--at least he had a chance to see his true homeland and appreciate the beauty of it.  His hurt was so great that he could not get past it.  Sometimes HURT just HURTS.  In the end, however, his town will benefit from what some from his true home, will do for it.

It is my hope that all who see this movie will use it as a starting point for us to come together as we did in the past.  It is my hope that we will know our power, know and EMBRACE our heritage, and realize that all throughout the diaspora, the African blood runs deep. I have seen it all over the world, and there is no denial of it. We ARE African!!! I have seen it in Salvador, in Bahia. I have seen in it Cuba. I have seen it all over the Caribbean. . I have even seen it in South Carolina, which, I believe is the most African like state in the United States.  Even the dialect is West African like.  It thrills me to see those connections.

Let us make WAKANDA a rallying cry, a beacon in the darkness, a call for unity, a return to what made us who we REALLY are. Let us praise our ancestors, and be proud of all they have done to bring us this far.

 As we cross our arms across our chests, LET US ALSO MOVE OUR FEET. #Wakanda Forever!