CHANGING FACE OF HARLEM....A DOCUMENTARY FILM BY SHAWN BATEY

Yesterday, I decided to ring up my mom and see if she was interested in attending a screening of a documentary film about Harlem with me.  The film is called "Changing Face of Harlem" and it was directed and produced by my neighbor (and friend) Shawn Batey.

Mom said yes and we decided that we would meet at the venue, which was All Souls Episcopalian Church on St. Nicholas Avenue.  I selected a cute pair of summer slacks in a black/white/yellow print that I had recently copped from an Ashley Stewart Sample Sale and I paired that with a yellow v-neck tee shirt and my old reliable pewter sandals.  Mom arrived via taxi all done up in pale pink and white.  

We made our way to the basement (mom rode the lift and I walked down carrying her walker) and took our seats.  The film which I think was a little over an hour long covered the early beginnings of Harlem and her heyday, the white flight, the heroin years and eventually the black flight during the crack cocaine years.  It brought us all the way up to 2012 when the film ended with the battle to keep the culture and the color in Harlem and the eventual gentrification that's happening currently.

After the film there was a lively discussion about what we watched and how folks felt about what they viewed and what is happening today.  There was quite a bit of diversity in the group that viewed the film with us and the Q&A segment was most enjoyable for both me and my mom.  It's a really great film and if you get a moment, please try to get out and see it, I guarantee you will enjoy it.  Check out their website for info on upcoming screenings and dvd information here: http://changingfaceofharlem.com/  

Nice work Shawn!  Thanks for inviting us, i'm glad I could finally make it!

Here is the trailer for the film:

Mom was getting antsy because she was hungry so we decided to make our way outside to look for a place to eat.  We narrowed our choices down to Amy Ruth's and Billie's Black.  My mom had never been to Billie's Black before so I suggested she try something new because I have been frequently and I always enjoy myself there.

The owner Adriane Ferguson was outside when our taxi pulled up and she greeted us with a smile and a hug once we got seated.  My mom remembered her instantly from us all being seated at the same table at Eda Francois & Crystal Smith's wedding reception last September.  We also passed on our condolences as we had learned just before arriving that she (Adriane) had recently lost her father.
We chatted for a few moments and then she had to leave.  We decided to go with the Sampler Platter with a side of mac & cheese and collard greens and the Ox Tails.  I am really funny about potato salad (not everyone makes it in a manner that I find to be edible) so I asked our server if I could have a spoonful to taste....(I have done this many times in the past when potato salad is on the menu and I NEVER have a problem with the chef allowing me to taste it first rather wasting a whole order by sending it back because I don't like it).  This did not happen on this particular occasion and I will only say that this particular chef/cook absolutely ruined our dining experience with her horrible attitude and I will leave it at that.  

After we paid our bill, we caught a taxi to the Bronx where we chatted for a bit, I made sure mom was comfortable and resting then I made my way back to Manhattan via the bus (I LOVE the bus y'all....don't ask me why....I just do!) as I was waiting for the connecting bus to take me home, I got a text from my friend Tonya alerting me that she was in my hood and I should come by and get a plate of food and birthday cake from Make My Cake to take home.  So I took a taxi over to 136th Street and met Tonya at the most FABU townhouse near the Schomburg Museum.  I met her family, had a nightcap and hung out for bit..... all the while salivating over of all things....their refrigerator (don't ask).  Tonya dropped me off at home where I had a glass of Sweet Red and wound up watching James Bond movies until about 2am....when I finally made myself go to sleep.

It was a great Saturday afternoon and I love hanging out with my mama!


"My mother's wonderful. To me she's perfection." - Michael Jackson

Farewell Lena Horne (1917-2010)

Lena Horne, the singer and actress who died Sunday at 92, cut a singular path through modern culture.

She was the first black actress to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio (MGM in 1942) and the first black actress to be popularly accepted in roles that were as glamorous as any bestowed on the studio's other top singing talent. She was beautiful, to be sure, and was quickly made a pin-up for (black) wartime soldiers.

But almost as rapidly as she rose to international fame, she quickly became disillusioned with her groundbreaking career. Her appearances in movie musicals were often scissored from the final cut when the films ran at theaters in the segregated South. She said she experienced jealousy from unexpected quarters -- black performers in Hollywood who depended on servant and jungle native parts for their livelihood. And most of all Ms. Horne grew to resent playing the role of a "good little symbol." .....(CLICK HERE to read the rest of this article)

From Wikipedia:

Horne was born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn.^[1] Reported to be

descended from the John C. Calhoun family, both sides of her family were a mixture of African, European, and Native American descent. Each side belonged to what W. E. B. Du Bois called "The Talented Tenth," the upper stratum of middle-class, well-educated blacks.^[2] She grew up in an upper-middle-class black community in the Hill District community of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[3] Her father, Edwin "Teddy" Horne (died 1970),^[4] a numbers kingpin in the gambling trade, left the family when she was three. Her mother, Edna Scottron, daughter of inventor Samuel R. Scottron, was an actress with a black theater troupe and traveled extensively.

In the fall of 1933, Horne joined the chorus line of the Cotton Club in New York City. In the spring of 1934, she had a featured role in the Cotton Club Parade. A few years later she joined Noble Sissle's Orchestra, with which she toured. After she separated from her first husband, Horne toured with bandleader Charlie Barnet in 1940–41, but disliked the travel and left the band to work at the Café Society in New York. She replaced Dinah Shore as the featured vocalist on NBC's popular jazz series The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street. The show's resident maestros, Henry Levine and Paul Laval, recorded with Horne in June 1941 for RCA Victor. Horne left the show after only six months to headline a nightclub revue on the west coast; she was replaced by Linda Keene.

Horne already had two low-budget movies to her credit: a 1938 musical feature called The Duke is Tops (later reissued with Horne's name above the title as The Bronze Venus); and a 1941 two-reel short subject, Boogie Woogie Dream, featuring pianists Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons. Horne's songs from Boogie Woogie Dream were later released individually as soundies. Horne was primarily a nightclub performer during this period, and it was during a 1943 club engagement in Hollywood that talent scouts approached Horne to work in pictures. She chose Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the most prestigious studio in the world, and became the first black performer to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio.

She made her debut with MGM in 1942's Panama Hattie, and performed the title song of Stormy Weather (1943), which she made at 20th Century Fox, on loan from MGM. She appeared in a number of MGM musicals, most notably Cabin in the Sky (also 1943), but was never featured in a leading role because of her ethnicity and the fact that films featuring her had to be re-edited for showing in states where theaters could not show films with black performers. As a result, most of Horne's film appearances were stand-alone sequences that had no bearing on the rest of the film, so editing caused no disruption to the storyline; a notable exception was the all-black musical Cabin in the Sky, though even then one of her numbers had to be cut because it was considered too suggestive by the censors. "Ain't it the Truth" was the song (and scene) cut before the release of the film Cabin in the Sky. It featured Horne singing "Ain't it the Truth," while taking a bubble bath (considered too "risqué" by the film's executives).

By the mid-1950s, Horne was disenchanted with Hollywood and increasingly focused on her

nightclub career. She only made two major appearances in MGM films during the decade, 1950's Duchess of Idaho (which was also Eleanor Powell's film swan song), and the 1956 musical Meet Me in Las Vegas. She was blacklistedduring the 1950s for her political views.^[6] She returned to the screen three more times, playing chanteuse Claire Quintana in the 1969 film Death of a Gunfighter,Glinda in The Wiz (1978), and co-hosting the 1994 MGM retrospective That's Entertainment! III, in which she was candid about her treatment by the studio during the filming of Cabin in the Sky.

Horne was long involved with the Civil Rights movement. In 1941, she sang at Cafe Society and worked with Paul Robeson, a singer who also combated American racial

discrimination. During World War II, when entertaining the troops for the USO, she refused to perform "for segregated audiences or for groups in which GermanPOWs were seated in front of African American servicemen",^[7] according to her Kennedy Center biography. Since the US Army refused to allow integrated audiences, she wound up putting on a show for a mixed audience of black US soldiers and white German POWs. She was at an NAACP rally with Medgar Evers in Jackson, Mississippi, the weekend before Evers was assassinated. She also met President John F. Kennedy at the White House two days before he was assassinated. She was at the March on Washington and spoke and performed on behalf of the NAACP, SNCC and the National Council of Negro Women. She also worked with Eleanor Roosevelt to pass anti-lynching laws.^[8] She was a member of the prominent organization Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

(Full Wikipedia page here)

Lena Horne died Sunday night in a New York hospital. She was 92. She is survived by her daughter Gail Buckley. While she broke racial barriers and saw huge success in her professional life, Horne had a stormy personal life. At age 19 in 1937, she married Louis J. Jones, a preacher's son and friend of her father's. They had two children, Gail and Edwin before the marriage ended in 1944.

In 1947, she married white conductor and bandleader Lennie Hayton, to advance her career because "he could get me into places no black manager could," she once said. (CLICK HERE to read the rest of THIS article)

Her son died in 1970, at 29, from a kidney ailment. Hayton, from whom she had long been separated, died in 1971. Other men in her life included prize fighter Joe Louis, bandleader Artie Shaw and filmmaker Orson Welles. But her one true, true, lasting, relationship was with openly gay Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington's arranger and pianist.

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"I no longer have to be a "credit", I don't have to be a "symbol" to anybody. I don't have to be a "first" to anybody. I don't have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I'd become. I'm me, and I'm like nobody else." - Lena Horne

Happy Birthday James Brown!!!

Happy Birthday to The Godfather of Soul who would have turned 77 years old today!!

Rest in Peace Soul Brother #1 - There will NEVER be another like you!

You were TRULY

"The Hardest Working Man in Show Business"

Gabby Sidibe makes People Mag's Most Beautiful People's List!!!

2010 is shaping up to be a phenomenal year for Gabby Sidibe....From The Examiner:

People Magazine has released their picks for their annual Most Beautiful People’s List with the return of the same old beauties paired with a dash of something new with Gabourey Sidibe being named as one of the 100 for 2010!

Usually when these list roll around, people are either pleased with the list or just confused. As the selection process not only relies on just aesthetics, the title can be a little misleading. One inclusion will definitely bring a smile to many a faces.

Precious breakout star Gabourey Sidibe has been named as one of the 100 Most Beautiful People. Gabby has received some negativity after achieving the success of a great film plus a nomination for an Academy Award......

CLICK HERE to read this article in it's entirety!

'The View' snags Gabourey Sidibe as guest co-host;

Gabourey Sidibe has already tried her hand at hosting "Saturday Night Live," and next week she'll get her shot at co-hosting "The View." A few days later, "Iron Mike" Tyson will make his first-ever guest appearance.

ABC announced Wednesday (April 28) that the "Precious" star will get her chance to gab alongside the ladies of "The View" on Tuesday, May 4, followed by Tyson's guest appearance on Friday, May 7th.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of this article!

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President Barack Obama Signs Historic Health Care Reform Bill

Still loving my President....

From AP...

Claiming a historic triumph that could define his presidency, a jubilant Barack Obama signed a massive, nearly $1 trillion health care overhaul on Tuesday that will for the first time cement insurance coverage as the right of every U.S. citizen and begin to reshape the way virtually all Americans receive and pay for treatment.

After more than a year of hyperpartisan struggle — and numerous near-death moments for the measure — Obama declared "a new season in America" as he sealed a victory denied to a line of presidents stretching back more than half a century. Democratic lawmakers cheered him on, giving the White House signing ceremonya rally-like atmosphere as they shouted and snapped photos with pocket cameras or cell phones.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of this article...

So why am I NOT surprised that the Republicans are behaving like Klansmen (and women)...SMDH...Hell, they've be behaving that way ever since his name was put on the ballot. As a currently uninsured American, I am breathing a sigh of relief at this bill...It's a bad feeling when you hurt yourself and you have to make a decision that comes down to going to a hospital for emergency care OR paying your rent.....

It should NEVER, EVER come down to that choice....we live in one of the richest countries in the world....healthcare should be equal and available to ALL Americans....not just the folks who can afford it nor should the quality of your care come down to what you can afford to pay. Profits should NEVER come before the people.

Now that they realize that the fear-mongering and race-baiting is not going to work....it will be interesting to see how they will try to attack him next.

Curvy Carpet Alert: The 2010 Academy Awards

The curvy girls came out swinging on the Curvy (red) Carpet at this year's 2010 Academy Awards Ceremony...Check out some of the beautiful fashions below:

Jennifer Hudson has been bringing her A game to the red carpet of late....You GO GIRL!!

Mo'Nique accepting the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture

Mo'Nique & Hubby Sidney Hicks

Queen Latifah

Oprah Winfrey

Director Tyler Perry

Academy Award Nominee Gabourey Sidibe

Meryl Streep gets props here cuz I love the dress

AND a big boy (Project Runway's Chris March) designed it

I absolutely LOVED this dress on Jennifer Lopez! Stunning!

Black History Month Moment #3: Dr. Ben Carson

Today's Black History Month Moment is brought to you by the letter C:

C is for

Dr. Ben Carson

Dr. Benjamin Carson has written over ninety neurosurgical publications. He has been awarded 24 honorary degrees and numerous national citations of merit. Carson has written three best selling books, Gifted Hands, Think Big. and The Big Picture. Currently, Benjamin Carson serves as the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 1987, he gained world-wide recognition as the principal surgeon in the twenty-two hour separation of the Binder Siamese twins from Germany.

To read more about Dr. Benjamin Carson CLICK HERE.

Black History Month Moment #2: Marie Brown

Today's Black History Moment is brought to you by the letter B.

B is for:

Marie Brown

On December 2, 1969, the first video home security system was patented (patent # 3,482,037) to Marie Brown. The system used television surveillance.

To see a blueprint of the actual design CLICK HERE.

February is Black History Month!!

February is Black History Month.....28 Days to celebrate our history in all it's Glory!

I say we should celebrate OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS each and EVERY DAY....

Whaddya think fam?

Today's Black History Moment is brought to you by the letter A:

A is for

Nathaniel Alexander,

Inventor of the Folding Chair...

On July 7, 1911 Nathaniel Alexander of Lynchburg, Virginia patented a folding chair. According to his patent, Nathaniel Alexander designed his chair to be used in schools, churches, and other auditoriums. His design included a book rest that was usable for the person sitting in the seat behind was ideal for church or choir use.

To see a blueprint of the original design CLICK HERE.

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