On January 28-29 I auditioned for a production of FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW WAS ENUF. A fan of the choreopoem, I HAD to audition. That day I had A LOT going on! I had a brunch with my friend/colleague, a shoot for my friend Gian’s short BOTCHED, an audition for a student film at UNO and lastly, the FOR COLORED GIRLS audition. By the time I got to the audition I was excited but while waiting for my turn, I got a bit cocky. I could tell I was the oldest in the room and the girls were so chatty…not like film/tv auditions where it is dead silent. My ego got ahead of itself and when it was finally my turn to audition, I sucked! It was the kind of suck where I had to just keep smiling because I knew it was horrific. Luckily the director was looking for a bubbly, smily type so I got the callback. I knew I had to bring it the next day and boy was I right-she had us all perform in front of one another and these young women were bringing it! I was overjoyed when I got the word I had made the play because it was truly a competitive field. I felt a sense of accomplishment and instantly began to feel overwhelmed. The play opened in just seven weeks!
We rehearsed everyday except a few days off for Mardi Gras. The material was unlike anything else I’d ever experienced. There wasn’t any dialogue or stage direction so paying attention to our director’s notes during practice was essential. During this I was still working daily as a travel coordinator on a TV, getting to know my new boo, wrapping up one job and starting a new one in the midst of rehearsal – so things were crazy. But the material, the cast/crew and the director made me feel as if it was going to pan out. And did it ever!
The show opened on Friday, March 30 and to say it was well received would be an understatement. There were audience members who had seen the piece in the 70s and thought it was on point and clearly presented. On Sunday when we wrapped after our set nine performances, I felt an extreme sense of empowerment. I had set a goal of delivering a good performance and had done the work to make it a reality. Every night was new and that forced me to grow more and more as an actress and as a person. Moreso every night I had to listen to Ntozake’s words over and over again. And they sank in. This was a process I had no idea would move me as much as it did. As one of the last lines of the show states, “I found God in myself and loved her fiercely,” exactly what this project made me do! I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity and can’t wait to see what comes next!
It has finally arrived…the future…2012 is here. Now what?
So many people have theories on what this time means. Of course there’s the doom and gloom faction who say that the world is coming to an end on the Winter Solstice this year. The astrological community is excited because this will mark a unique planetary alignment we haven’t seen in our lifetime. The New Age spiritual community feels this December will mark a rise in humans resulting in an evolved consciousness. Everyone feels that SOMETHING will happen this year.
I’ve got a theory too. I feel that this year there is an urgency in my spirit to accomplish my goals and realize my dreams. Now I’m a big dreamer all the time but now it is different…it feels VITAL to my existence that I DO ME. I don’t know if it is because the end of days is actually near but I’ve given myself a new project. I’ve got to use the 366 days of 2012 to TRULY go in the direction of the life I desire…on all levels. Spiritually, mentally, physically, financially…I’m ready to realize the life I dream of…and I’m ready to do the work.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve BEEN working but not like I’m planning to do this year. Unlike the times before, this work is about ME! My entire focus is on ME! And not in a selfish manner but more of in a self-LESS manner that requires me to put aside ego, fear, thoughts of what others will think and go balls to the wall in pursuit of my destiny. If the world really does come to an end on December 21, 2012, I want to leave in a blaze of glory and accomplishment…like when TV shows give their best season right before they are cancelled…yeah like that.
So the blog will be updated more with posts showing my progress. I hope you’ll follow my journey…and more importantly, embark on your own.
No time like the present!
So today was a good day. I successfully fixed a plumbing issue-I clogged my drain w/my natural hair. Normally and in the past in apartments when this type of thing happened, I called my landlord like a helpless person who had no power. Today though, I did it myself! I consulted YouTube for advice on how to get it done then I got it done! I felt so…independent! Like I can do it! I’m working on embracing what is so instead of my normal reaction (OH MY LAWD I can’t believe I clogged the drain and I can’t believe I’m single because if I had a man he could fix it and I don’t have a man because I…yada yada yada). That “normal” reaction could have gone on for weeks, months if I was in the mood for self-loathing. But today I was not on that. Today I did it myself and that felt AMAZING! So the motivational Monday song…
Destiny’s Child “Independent Women, Part 1″
I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can’t say; I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.
I try my best to help people. I think it is a part of what makes me me. I am not always good at it though. When people piss me off frustrate me or don’t do what I want them to act in their best interest, I am quick to wash my hands with them and continue on my way. I take the attitude that they’ll get it when they get it and I can’t stop my progress to bring them along. Afterall, if I can make it, they should be able to right? We all have the same opportunities, it’s not my fault they aren’t stepping up to the plate! I know that there are times when helping others is not helpful to anyone but I also know there are times when people are in a position where help is needed. They need someone who has experienced and has overcome their current situation to reach back and help them out. That’s what Harriet Tubman was all about. After she received her freedom, she could have easily lived her life and never returned to the cruel South which she escaped. I mean it was no guarentee she’d remain free when she got there! Luckily she choose to use her freedom to free others despite the fact it could put her right back into the situation she left. How noble! I think today we (I) often look at situations thinking we (I) can”t let those slacker people bring me down. Sometimes the folk we (I) think we (I) think will surely bring us down are the exact ones that will help lift us (me) up…I’m constantly working on better assisting folks and I think Harriet Tubman’s story is a great one to start with!
HARRI
ET TUBMAN (1920-March 1913)
Harriet Tubman is perhaps the most well-known of all the Underground Railroad’s “conductors.” During a ten-year span she made 19 trips into the South and escorted over 300 slaves to freedom. And, as she once proudly pointed out to Frederick Douglass, in all of her journeys she “never lost a single passenger.”
Tubman was born a slave in Maryland’s Dorchester County around 1820. At age five or six, she began to work as a house servant. Seven years later she was sent to work in the fields. While she was still in her early teens, she suffered an injury that would follow her for the rest of her life. Always ready to stand up for someone else, Tubman blocked a doorway to protect another field hand from an angry overseer. The overseer picked up and threw a two-pound weight at the field hand. It fell short, striking Tubman on the head. She never fully recovered from the blow, which subjected her to spells in which she would fall into a deep sleep. Read More
Growing up, Black History Month was a really big deal especially at church. We had an awesome youth director, Marcus Glasper. He was a high school student and I must have been in middle school at the time. Every third Sunday he’d put on awesome programs but his Black History Month program was THE program of the year! He’d get all the cool kids I looked up to come and be a part of the program-no matter what church other folk went to, they’d take that Sunday out to come and perform for us. They’d do great reenactments of historic figures. He’d culminate the event with a guest speaker who was well known that would inspire the entire congregation. One year he had State Representative Cleo Fields, who at the time was the most sought after young politician in the state. Year after year I awaited my chance to be a part of those spectacular programs and finally my chance came. For me it was more than just getting to say a part, it was an opportunity to speak about the people who changed history with the people who were doing things I thought would change history. The program would end every year with us all joining hands and singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” I had a conversation with my sister who is 17 and she doesn’t know that song…she said she never heard it…
I admit when I graduated college and for sure when I graduated law school, I didn’t see as much of a need for black history month as I did growing up. We were living the dream! Black people were going to college in record numbers. All my black friends were college graduates! We were getting amazing jobs our forefathers would have never even conceived. In my own family I had a cousin who attended one of the most prestigious boarding schools in America. We had arrived. No need in dredging up the past, we had truly overcome…or had we? We hadn’t! I think I was viewing the world through the small box I was in and didn’t really see what was happening outside of my sphere.
When I moved to L.A. to pursue my career in entertainment, my second job was at a huge talent management company. I had the best co-workers in the world but I was one of two blacks that worked there and we were both at the assistant level. I joined a group that was for young blacks in the profession and we only had about 30-50 members because we simply weren’t represented in the field. That’s just in my small world but across the board, we as a people (not just blacks) seem to be regressing. Educational standards and performances are down. Economically blacks are behind. Killing and murder rates are the only stats that relate to blacks that seem to be going up…oops I almost forgot, we top the numbers in new cases of the AIDS virus. It makes me see the error in my thought. Not only is black history still needed, it is necessary. Black history instilled pride in me growing up. Those stories of the days of old showed me how far a determined people can go. It didn’t make me think I was better than any other race but that I was the same and I think that’s the point. Black history isn’t about showing “white folk” or any other folk blacks are better, but that we too have a strong history of which we are proud. I think that if we can remember that, maybe we can continue to move forward! Every day this month, I’m going to share a “Profile In Black History”. I hijacked the name from one of my fav specials that would air on LPB back in the day that focused on influential blacks in history. I look forward to sharing the facts on who has inspired me and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Now more than ever, I find this to be so necessary! Oh and if you’re like my sister, please listen to “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” below. This is my favorite version of the song.
I’m brought to tears every year on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. He did so much in his lifetime. I feel a responsibility to do more…he had a dream now it’s up to ME (and you). We all have so much potential to make this world a better place. I’m ready to turn my potential into real action. No time like the present…
Happy Birthday Dr. King!!!!
Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.
Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.
Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.
I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.
I’ve been working out in the gym since October, but got REALLY serious since Jan. 1. Like most people, I made
a resolution to work out more. Unlike most, I didn’t not make a resolution to lose weight. The truth is deep down I don’t care what my weight is. I REALLY care about becoming more healthy, having more tone and looking svelte in my clothes (and out of my clothes lol). I don’t care about a certain number on the scale, I care more about a certain look and I care most about my body fat percentage and hip to waist ratio (yep Dr. Oz said to watch for those numbers!). When I started out the year, my body fat percentage was 34 percent, my waist was 32 and my hips were 43. According to an online body fat calculator this put me at a 34% body fat percentage. NOT GOOD and technically that percentage deemed me obese. Well I weigh myself every Sunday morning and had planned to not check my measurements until the end of the month. Today I was feeling like I was smaller. I lost a pound on the scale and decided to see if my hunch about losing inches was correct. IT WAS! I now have a waist measurement of 29 inches and my hips are at 39 inches!!!! This brought my body fat percentage down to 32% (still not good BUT the acceptable range is 25-31 percent so I’m almost there!) I’ve really been working on it-I got a new workout plan and have been eating much better. I’ve also eliminated alcohol until Mardi Gras which is in March (that was due to Jeff Williams and his get fit at 30 challenge NOT because I wanted to lol). Another addition was using a pedometer. I attempt to average 5,000 steps a day, not including any steps done at the gym, which is two miles (I generally go over and on Friday work was busy so I put in 11,000 steps!). All in all I’m feeling great about my progress! This time it is different that other times I’ve tried to lose weight or diet because I really feel better about the process. I never would have thought I’d ENJOY working out and learning about the things I put into my body has been quite interesting. I can not wait to see where I am at the beginning of March!
I hate oatmeal. I don’t like the taste, smell or texture of the popular breakfast food. It’s never appealed to me (probably because I grew up on grits and its totally not grits). Oatmeal is just…ewww to me. But, for the last 9 days (excluding cheat days) I wake up every day and eat it. But DaVida, you always say on your blog and twitter that you only do what you want to do right!?! This is true but even me, Ms. Do What I Want, has realized sometimes it behooves me to not only do what I don’t want to do but to also even eat things I do not like in pursuit of what I really want. On January 3, I started a new fitness program. Unlike before, this one is about my total health (mind, body and spirit), not just a certain number on the scale or certain body part slimming down (or trying to get an Amber Rose body lol). I do believe if I overhauled my life for 60 days I could get the results I seek. I picked 60 days
because if I’m focused I know I can do anything (even things I hate) if I know it’ll be over in roughly 8 weeks-I’ve already completed 9 days 
My old trainer swore by starting the day w/oatmeal for a great mix of “good” carbs (and some brands now have a good amount of protein) that would stick with me throughout the workout and into the rest of my morning. Medical professionals have said oatmeal lowers cholesterol and is a heart healthy food. So if for 60 days I have to eat something I don’t like to achieve the results I desire, then so be it! What could you do for 60 days to become a better you even if you didn’t like it?
From first grade through graduation, I pretty much went to school with the same people. Every now and then we’d get a transfer student. I remember this REALLY cute boy transferred to our school-I’m sketchy on when but I’m pretty sure it was in middle school. Jacques was super cute with these great eyes but I can remember that he was REALLY skinny. Shortly after arriving, he was out sick for at least a month. A teacher shared that he had Sickle Cell Anemia. I vaguely knew of the disease-I remember Kim Fields would do a charity event once a year to raise money for it. Jacques was the first person I ever knew KNEW that was affected. Come to find out Jacques was my cousin (like pretty much everyone else in my town!) and his mom moved back to wherever they were before he had come. I often wonder how he is…if he’s alive…
Sickle Cell Disease is an inherited blood disorder, which causes severe pain, damage to vital organs, and for some, death in childhood. It affects 1 in 500 African Americans, whose average life expectancy is 45 years. Carriers of Sickle Cell often have pain attacks and other medical problems that place them in the hospital often, costing the United States approximately $475 million per year. While there are a few treatment options available for some carriers, there is currently no cure for Sickle Cell. Very few organizations focus on raising funds to fight Sickle Cell so when I hear of someone or some group that does, I’m all about supporting it. I jumped on board when I heard about BLACKout!
IdleMindz Media & Entertainment Group presents BLACKout! 2010 the third Annual Red Carpet Benefit Concert for Sickle Cell Disease. This event will take place November 14, 2010 at Republic New Orleans. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Sickle Cell fund started by the group and will be used in part to help supplement the cost of registration for Sickle Cell carriers wishing to attend the Northern California Sickle Cell summer camp as well as help to bring more awareness to Sickle Cell Disease.
BLACKout! 2010 feature a performance from two of HBO’s Def Jam Poets: Sunni Patterson of New Orleans and Abyss of Atlanta, GA. The evening will also showcase performances by talented singers, poets, and a live band. Some of these performers include Kourtney Heart, Rantz Davis, Chelsea Blanco and R&B/Soul & Funk band, 3rd Degree and more. TheSeKondElement will host and the legendary E.F. Cuttin will be the DJ for the evening.
To support this event, purchase tickets, become an official sponsor, or learn more about Sickle Cell Disease please visit the group’s official website: www.idlemindz.org. Unfortunately in 2010, there are so many people still affected by this disease. Maybe by supporting events such as this we can all do a part to make this disease a thing of the past.
Democracy:
One of the most fab things about living in America is that we get to elect our officials. If you know anything about American history, this right has not always been granted to all the people. As a black woman, I hold the right to vote in the highest regard. Today is election day and a lot of things are going on in the country right now I do not like. There’s an emerging group of people who seem to view what it means to be American a lot differently than I do. The fact is at this period in time, America is still a democracy. We all get the opportunity to voice our opinion. I urge my fellow Americans to get out there and VOTE! These are interesting times in which we live-I feel they’ll go on to be historical! Do your part to get your views heard in the next chapter of American history!
