Friday, February 27, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Monday, February 23, 2015
Friday, February 20, 2015
Thursday, February 19, 2015
HeirlOOm of the Week
Nikki Giovanni
Nikki Giovanni is a world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Over the past thirty years, her outspokenness, in her writing and in lectures, has brought the eyes of the world upon her. One of the most widely-read American poets, she prides herself on being "a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English." Giovanni remains as determined and committed as ever to the fight for civil rights and equality. Always insisting on presenting the truth as she sees it, she has maintained a prominent place as a strong voice of the Black community. Her focus is on the individual, specifically, on the power one has to make a difference in oneself, and thus, in the lives of others.
NIKKI GIOVANNI was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and grew up in Lincoln Heights, an all-black suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. She and her sister spent their summers with their grandparents in Knoxville, and she graduated with honors from Fisk University, her grandfather's alma mater, in 1968; after graduating from Fisk, she attended the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University. She published her first book of poetry, Black Feeling Black Talk, in 1968, and within the next year published a second book, thus launching her career as a writer. Early in her career she was dubbed the "Princess of Black Poetry," and over the course of more than three decades of publishing and lecturing she has come to be called both a "National Treasure" and, most recently, one of Oprah Winfrey's twenty-five "Living Legends."
Many of Giovanni's books have received honors and awards. Her autobiography, Gemini, was a finalist for the National Book Award; Love Poems, Blues: For All the Changes, Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea, Acolytes, and Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat were all honored with NAACP Image Awards. Blues: For All the Changes reached #4 on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller list, a rare achievement for a book of poems. Most recently, her children's picture book Rosa, about the civil rights legend Rosa Parks, became a Caldecott Honors Book, and Bryan Collier, the illustrator, was given the Coretta Scott King award for best illustration. Rosa also reached #3 on The New York Times Bestseller list. Shortly after its release, Bicycles: Love Poems reached #1 on Amazon.com for Poetry.
Giovanni's spoken word recordings have also achieved widespread recognition and honors. Her album Truth Is On Its Way, on which she reads her poetry against a background of gospel music, was a top 100 album and received the Best Spoken Word Album given by the National Association of Radio and Television Announcers. Her Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection, on which she reads and talks about her poetry, was one of five finalists for a Grammy Award.
Giovanni's honors and awards have been steady and plentiful throughout her career. The recipient of some twenty-five honorary degrees, she has been named Woman of the Year by Mademoiselle Magazine, The Ladies Home Journal, and Ebony Magazine. She was tapped for the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame and named an Outstanding Woman of Tennessee. Giovanni has also received Governor's Awards from both Tennessee and Virginia. She was the first recipient of the Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award, and she has also been awarded the Langston Hughes Medal for poetry. She is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and has received Life Membership and Scroll from The National Council of Negro Women. A member of PEN, she was honored for her life and career by The History Makers. She has received the keys to more than two dozen cities. A scientist who admires her work even named a new species of bat he discovered for her! Black Enterprise named her a Women of Power Legacy Award winner for work that expands opportunities for other women of color.
The author of some 30 books for both adults and children, Nikki Giovanni is a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Nikki Giovanni is a world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Over the past thirty years, her outspokenness, in her writing and in lectures, has brought the eyes of the world upon her. One of the most widely-read American poets, she prides herself on being "a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English." Giovanni remains as determined and committed as ever to the fight for civil rights and equality. Always insisting on presenting the truth as she sees it, she has maintained a prominent place as a strong voice of the Black community. Her focus is on the individual, specifically, on the power one has to make a difference in oneself, and thus, in the lives of others.
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Many of Giovanni's books have received honors and awards. Her autobiography, Gemini, was a finalist for the National Book Award; Love Poems, Blues: For All the Changes, Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea, Acolytes, and Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat were all honored with NAACP Image Awards. Blues: For All the Changes reached #4 on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller list, a rare achievement for a book of poems. Most recently, her children's picture book Rosa, about the civil rights legend Rosa Parks, became a Caldecott Honors Book, and Bryan Collier, the illustrator, was given the Coretta Scott King award for best illustration. Rosa also reached #3 on The New York Times Bestseller list. Shortly after its release, Bicycles: Love Poems reached #1 on Amazon.com for Poetry.
Giovanni's spoken word recordings have also achieved widespread recognition and honors. Her album Truth Is On Its Way, on which she reads her poetry against a background of gospel music, was a top 100 album and received the Best Spoken Word Album given by the National Association of Radio and Television Announcers. Her Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection, on which she reads and talks about her poetry, was one of five finalists for a Grammy Award.
Giovanni's honors and awards have been steady and plentiful throughout her career. The recipient of some twenty-five honorary degrees, she has been named Woman of the Year by Mademoiselle Magazine, The Ladies Home Journal, and Ebony Magazine. She was tapped for the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame and named an Outstanding Woman of Tennessee. Giovanni has also received Governor's Awards from both Tennessee and Virginia. She was the first recipient of the Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award, and she has also been awarded the Langston Hughes Medal for poetry. She is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and has received Life Membership and Scroll from The National Council of Negro Women. A member of PEN, she was honored for her life and career by The History Makers. She has received the keys to more than two dozen cities. A scientist who admires her work even named a new species of bat he discovered for her! Black Enterprise named her a Women of Power Legacy Award winner for work that expands opportunities for other women of color.
The author of some 30 books for both adults and children, Nikki Giovanni is a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Monday, February 16, 2015
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Monday, February 9, 2015
Friday, February 6, 2015
Thursday, February 5, 2015
In My Thoughts
In My Thoughts.... If you have a man that totally trusts and respects your freedom and space then do not take that for granted. You may feel a sense of apathy but that does not mean he doesn't care about you. By chance, if you feel that this is his way of not paying attention to you then you are the problem in the relationship. I'd suggests you talk to him first. No! Stop! Don't! Do not allow yourself a pass. Since you have so much "me time" on your hands then talk things over with him. Explain to him how you really feel and how it makes you feel that you have so much freedom. Just because he's not placing your relationship under scrutiny by stalking or questioning your every move does not mean he doesn't care about you. Again, do not activate the A$$ Pass!!!
Just my thoughts...
Just my thoughts...
HeirlOOm of the Week
Ann Lowe
ANN LOWE, 82, DESIGNED GOWNS FOR EXCLUSIVE CLIENTELE IN SOCIETY
By TIMOTHY M. PHELPS
Published: March 1, 1981
Ann Lowe, who designed gowns for debutantes and society brides, including the gown Jacqueline Bouvier wore when she married Senator John F. Kennedy, died last Wednesday after a long illness in the Queens home of her daughter, where she had lived for the last five years. She was 82 years old.
The gown the future First Lady wore for her marriage in 1953 in Newport, R.I., was described as one ''of silk taffeta, with a fitted bodice embellished with interwoven bands of tucking, finished with a portrait neckline and a bouffant skirt.''
But although her products were described in detail in the society pages, Mrs. Lowe was ''society's best-kept secret,'' according to a magazine portrait of her in 1964.
According to the article in The Saturday Evening Post, the matrons of the country's leading families, including the du Ponts, Lodges, Auchinclosses and Hamiltons, passed Mrs. Lowe's name from generation to generation. An Exclusive Clientele
She charged what was then a lot of money for a dress - $500 for the Kennedy gown - but her clients were sometimes able to talk down her prices, so that, after paying her seamstresses, she often lost money, according to the magazine article. Seventeen years ago, at the height of her career, she was said to be almost penniless.
Mrs. Lowe was determined to work for only the best families. ''I've been as careful about the people I work for as any social climber,'' she told the magazine. ''I don't do many dresses, so I have to be selective.''
Mrs. Lowe was born in Grayton, Ala. She was the daughter of a dressmaker and was educated in Montgomery at the S.T. Taylor Design School. She married Lee Cohen. Their son, Arthur Lee, was her partner in business until his death in 1958. Five Designs in Museum
She came to New York in 1928 and worked for various salons and the Saks Fifth Avenue department store, opening her own Madison Avenue shop, Ann Lowe Originals, in 1968. Her dresses were all originals, never mass-produced. Five of her designs are in the costume institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In addition to her daughter, Ruth Alexander, Mrs. Lowe is survived by a granddaughter and two great grandchildren. Her funeral will be Tuesday at St. Marks United Methodist Church, 138th Street and Edgecombe Avenue, Manhattan.
A wedding gown designed by Lowe for First Lady Jackie Kennedy
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
To be or not To be
Are you one of those people that feel you have to belong to an organization in order to be validated? If so, do you only feel important when you are receiving awards or being polished like a token? I would like to know what made you want to be associated with an organization in the first place? Did you join the organization because of a family tradition? Perhaps a friend had some influence on why you joined. For whatever the reason you joined the organization, was it solely your choice? After you joined did you feel that it was beneficial for you to do so? How and in what way?
Lately, I have found that many organizations are a fraud. Most of them want money with no intent to provide to the communities. There are some organizations where I grew up that still exists today. Most of them are on every other corner. Still the neighborhoods are condemned with dilapidated buildings, drug infestation, impoverished, underserviced communities. I do not understand why this happens when we have organizations that take in millions of dollars from the poor. Then, we are left to deal with the choatic communities while we watch the black organizational leaders drive away. Here our properties are abandoned in a cloud of perplexity.
The second hand organizations are the ones that hide behind the "black organization" title but do absolutely nothing in the black community. If you belong to a church, sorority, gang, fraternity, etc, then ask yourself what have I done to give back to the community?
Unfortunately, many of us are so focused on moving out of the hoods to "better" ourselves and that's okay. However, once you get your corporate jobs making all the corporate money then do your hood a favor and give back. So often we leave our hoods to "be all that we can be" yet your people are still in the hood. Where are your organizations when we are in the streets to fight for justice? Where are the pink & green, red & black, blue, purple and colors of the rainbow?
Personally, I feel like if you cannot give back to your community then do not claim the hood for street credibility. You are doing your hood a huge disservice. By chance, if your organization is in the hood and your organization does nothing to support community outreach then do this hood a favor and get off of their corners. To put it simple, "to be or not to be, that is the question?"
Lately, I have found that many organizations are a fraud. Most of them want money with no intent to provide to the communities. There are some organizations where I grew up that still exists today. Most of them are on every other corner. Still the neighborhoods are condemned with dilapidated buildings, drug infestation, impoverished, underserviced communities. I do not understand why this happens when we have organizations that take in millions of dollars from the poor. Then, we are left to deal with the choatic communities while we watch the black organizational leaders drive away. Here our properties are abandoned in a cloud of perplexity.
The second hand organizations are the ones that hide behind the "black organization" title but do absolutely nothing in the black community. If you belong to a church, sorority, gang, fraternity, etc, then ask yourself what have I done to give back to the community?
Unfortunately, many of us are so focused on moving out of the hoods to "better" ourselves and that's okay. However, once you get your corporate jobs making all the corporate money then do your hood a favor and give back. So often we leave our hoods to "be all that we can be" yet your people are still in the hood. Where are your organizations when we are in the streets to fight for justice? Where are the pink & green, red & black, blue, purple and colors of the rainbow?
Personally, I feel like if you cannot give back to your community then do not claim the hood for street credibility. You are doing your hood a huge disservice. By chance, if your organization is in the hood and your organization does nothing to support community outreach then do this hood a favor and get off of their corners. To put it simple, "to be or not to be, that is the question?"
Monday, February 2, 2015
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