R.I.P Travis...

It is western culture to naturally cling to and adopt pets as part of the family--dogs and cats being the top two. Lets face it, us westerns love our pets just a much as we love our mothers, fathers, siblings and children. In my household our dog Shadow, a 70 lb Germaine Shepard mixed with Lab  is the center of attention. My mother talks to him all the time, asking him questions like "how is mommy's baby?," as if he is supposed to answer--( ok, ok, I am slightly guilty of it too). However, there is a very fine line between "house pet" and "wild animal." Which brings me to the point of this post. In the beginning of the week an elderly woman living in Stamford, CT faced what I would call "one of the most terrifying days of her life." This woman, whose name I do not know, was the proud "pet" owner of a 14-year-old, 200 lb Chimpanezz named Travis. She raised the domesticated chimp from a baby and entered him in numerous television commercials and movies. He was even known in the community. One neighbor commented that it was usual routine to see the lady and Travis taking walks and driving together.  

Yet, earlier this week Travis' innate barbarian nature kicked in. According to reports, Travis wanted to go for a drive. After being told no by his owner, Travis took the car keys and attempted to leave by himself. Now after this the details become a bit construe, but essentially, the woman calls a friend to come over and help tame Travis. When the woman gets to the house, Travis brutally attacked her, (resulting in her hospitalization and leaving her with no eyes, no nose, and half a jaw). From there, the lady proceeds to call the police. A team of policemen come to the house and end up shooting Travis down due to his dangerously violent rampage. A couple of days later reports claim the woman had giving her chimp Xanax to help calm him down.  And as the days pass, more and more information reveal that this is not the first time Travis has shown signs of aggressive behavior. 

Experts say it is not uncommon for people to "foster" baby chimps. However, due to their natural aggressive behavior, it is highly suggested giving them up at 5-6 years of age--Travis was 14-years-old and 200 lbs. Why in the world would someone want to sleep with an aggressive 200 lb animal in their home? It is in good intention that people take in pets and care for them. Yet, sometimes our good intentions end up hindering the natural order of things. In this case, one woman's neglectfulness to obey the law cost the life of Travis and mutually scared a good friend. CHeck out the story by clicking on the link below. Its crazy!

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6901843

"Drunken Negro Cookies"

We take one step forward, only to take three steps back.

That's what it seems like after watching this story about a pastry shop in Greenwich Village, NY whose owner--Ted Kefalinos constructed what he called the "Drunken Negro Cookie," in honor of our new President Barack Obama. MyFoxNY.com reporter Arnold Diaz questioned Kefalinos about the inappropriateness of the name and image of his cookies. Diaz asked Kefalinos if he felt the cookies were racist and thought Blacks would be offended by the "unflattering image?"

"No its not [unflattering]. Its an expression of freedom, for me its just a fun thing, that's all it was, and anybody who says anything else [should] be a shamed of themselves," said Kefalinos in the television interview. 

Consequently, Diaz's report generated hundreds of strong reactions, and of course just 24 hours later, the Lafayette French Pastry's owner issued an apology to the community, saying, "seriously and from the bottom of my heart, it was an innocent design that I created and was nothing more than just a piece of art." He hopes that in the spirit of Martin Luther King, he would like to be forgiven for his mistakes. 

Reading the comments from Diaz's blog, the overall reaction to the cookies is not necessarily that of anger. Comments like: "While I think this is a despicable person to create such a cookie that promotes prejudice views, it's freedom of speech that makes our nation great."

and 

"Drunken Negro Head/Face...LMAO that is hilarious...I am Back and I think that is funny, but it would NOT be something I would sell on the street...that would be something I might joke about with my close friends...you would think folks would be a little more ware now a days."

Suggests that people are not angry at this man, they just think he is ignorant for not realizing he's being bluntly disrespectful.  What do you think? Is this something that suggests we have not come as far as we think we have. Or is this something that just illustrates the rights of the 1st Amendment and should be brushed off as ignorance?

Boondocks' Creator Feedup with Media Misinterpretations

Boondocks' creator Aaron McGruder tells press he just may stop talking period.
      After being misquoted during a speech he gave at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind, the cartoonist says not talking is the only way to avoid "this kind of thing." According to the Washington Post blog Comic Riffs, the paper quoted McGruder saying, "The person who is one of us in the White House is Michelle Obama and her momma..Obama is not black because he is not a descendant of a slave.
           In a statement issued a couple of days later, McGruder says, "it was a simple conversation about the difference between race, ethnicity, nationality, and trying to draw distinctions that most of the media and public seemed to be casually ignoring. That somehow became me calling someone who is obviously black not black." He goes on to say, '[s]adly, it no longer matters how carefully you choose your words--you said what the dumbest person in the audience said you said, I've certainly had my share of criticism for the 'legit' media--in fact, I largely stopped doing press because I hate being misquoted or misinterpreted by journalists--but this new kind of 'gutter news' from sites...[is] going to make it extremely difficult to engage in any sort of intelligent discourse."

Can you imagine Huey silencing his revolutionist rhetoric?

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/comic-riffs/2009/01/obama_talk_boondocks_creator_d.html

"At Last"...Black Love

It has been said that in the context of Black America, sitings of "real," authentic love is missing. Originating from colonial times, Black men were taught to oppress and objectify Black women. Black women were taught to hate themselves and use sexuality for fulfillment; in return, coming to resent the Black man, looking at him as their oppressor, rather than their companion. In essence, the lack of self love in Blacks created their incapability to love one another--If I can not fully learn to love and appreciate myself, how can I fully love and appreciate someone else? Even writers such as activist and feminist bell hooks has written about her experiences growing up having no real tangible sense of what "real" Black love was. In retrospect, there were, (and still are), few public displays of Black love, and, besides the Cosby Show, there were no other black family shows on television to show Black America how a husband and wife should love, (or at least none i can think of). In fact, I am sure many young Blacks who watched the Cosby Show usually dreamt about their families becoming the Huxtables.

Yet, on Tuesday, at about 8:15 pm, the world got a glimpse of what Black love looks like. As Beyonce sang the Etta James classic  "At Last" the Obama's slow danced their first dance as President and First Lady in front of millions. Throughout this presidential race journalists have blogged and complied footage of the affectionate displays and gestures shared between President and First Lady Obama. In a November 2008 issue of the Chicago Tribune, one journalist wrote, "[o]ver the last two years the future first couple has made a practice of sharing such small, intimate moments on the grandest of stages, whether trading fist bumps, whispering "I love you" or stealing quick kisses on the campaign trail. The Obama's unabashed affection for each other suggests they could become one of the most engaging sets of lovebirds in White House history."

And I must agree It was a moment that I am sure will stick in the minds of Black America for years to come.

Where were you when history was made?

On Tuesday January 20th, 2009, the United States of America sworn in its 44th and fifth-youngest President...it's first Black President--Barack Obama. It was, and is a monumental history maker.

That is why, for reasons self-explanatory, it bothered me that on the day history was being made in my existence I was...at work. Not in Washington, DC, covering the inauguration for a big time magazine, but at work...at Washington Mutual on Chicago's Southside. As gregarious crowds gathered at the NAtional Mall in Washington, to watch history, I, Danielle Nicole Hester, aspiring magazine writer, was conducting deposit and withdrawal transactions, and listening to people blame the bank for them only having $10.26 in their checking account. By the time I got home and turned on my television to ABC, remnants of Mariah Carey's performance at the Neighborhood Ball played--lucky me! I imagine years from now, my kids coming home from school, sitting at the dinner table reading the assigned social studies chapter "The New Millennium," and asking, "Mommy where were you when Obama became president?" Will I tell then I was working at a bank during that time and was unable to watch him get sworn in? Or will I embellish on a story I concocted in my mind years before their existence? Having to work all day, then come home and watch the inauguration speech on Youtube, hours after it took place, made me feel like I had neglected the significance of the moment. I wish I could have told Washington Mutual I didn't need to work for them, and that I was not coming in to work because the inauguration of this nation's first Black president is more precedent then getting a pay check. But reality is a pay check is precedent, so there I was.

In hindsight, as I watched recaps of his speech on my Macbook, while sitting in bed, my body got tingles as our President spoke to all peoples and nations. My heart swelled with pride as he spoke of being the son of a man "who less than 60 years ago, might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath," and encouraged us to "mark this day with remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled." I imagined this must have been how our parents and grandparents felt on August 28, 1963, when Martin Luther King Jr gave his "I have a Dream" speech--history in the making. I imagined watching "Eyes on the Prize" videos and thinking how i wanted to feel the struggles and movements of the Black Power Movement (just for a day). And I imagined how good it would have felt to be a working journalist in Washington, DC, covering this moment.

Aside from his entire speech being inspirational, President Obama said something that stuck with me-- "we are keepers of this legacy." Each generation experiences something that makes them want to act and change systems of power. For Blacks, it has been a long struggle, and the struggle does not end now; it only continues. Moments like this--rare moments in time when your soul knows change is happening right in front of your eyes--are moments that no matter where you were, fact is you were there (in existence); living, breathing, able to see and sense its meaningfulness, able to talk to people who never thought they would live to see the day a Black man becomes President. This is what i will tell my children, not that I was working at a meaningless job and couldn't see an 18 minute speech; but that I lived during the time of Obama and his presidency. And prayerfully, I will tell them about how this man--a man for the people--helped restore our economy, our education system, our foreign affairs...our nation as a whole.

Teen Gospel Singer Excels By Living Her Life Outloud!

When I interned at Ebony Magazine this summer I had the opportunity to interview this talented young gospel singer. At 15, she spoke with such poise. She is such a positive young lady. Check out my Q&A below and her video:

Fifteen-year-old gospel singer Spensha Baker has done what most her age, and many much older, only dream about:She sang at the White House and debuted her first album Outloud! Spensha, signed to Geffen Records, got her big break at age 12 as a finalist on Star Search. Since then, she has performed with some of gospel’s biggest talents, such as CeCe Winans, Kirk Franklin, Byron Cage and Yolanda Adams.Her most memorable event thus far has been participating in the “Grammy Jams-Tribute to Stevie Wonder.”In June, she performed at the White House for its Black Music Month “Salute to Gospel.”Spensha chatted with EBONY about the album and how she is living her life Outloud!

How did your Pentecostal upbringing
influence your music?
* I grew up Pente-
costal but I’ve always loved Christian contem-
porary music, more like your Steven Curtis
Chapman, your Natalie Grant.But I’ve grown
up and come to really appreciate traditional
gospel, and so I’ve been getting into TheClark
Sisters and Tramaine Hawkins and all of that.

Does the title of your album Outloud!
have a particular meaning?
*Outloud! is the
message behind the whole thing, to live your
life out loud and not to be afraid of who you are
and whose you are, and just to really be confi-
dent and stand firm in what you believe in.I’m
putting it all out on the table and saying this is
me, this is Spensha.I want listeners, especially
this generation, to put it all on the line and say
this is who I am and who I believe in.That’s
what you’ll get as you hear this album.You’ll
get inspired to live your life out loud.

Did you bring in other genre influences
for this CD?
*Absolutely! Yes, we pulled from
R&B and pop, but we tried to stay true to tra-
ditional [gospel] and praise and worship and
Christian contemporary.So you’ll get every-
thing in one package.

What is your favorite scripture?
*It is I Timothy [4:12], where Paul is talking to young
Timothy [a protégé] and he’s telling him don’t let
the older generation look down on you because
you are young.In turn, live a life of purity and
bring unity and just live your life as an example
so that they can see you are not just preaching
it but you’re living it.I write that scripture on
every autograph that I sign because that’s kinda
what I’m doing with my life.

What kind of image do you want to dis-
play?
*Just very modest and a classy young
lady that wants to sing the gospel.I’m not try-
ing to fit anybody else’s molds.I’m not trying to
be the next this or the next who.I’m just trying
to be me and just sing my music and be happy.
That’s the kind of image I want people to see—
that I’m modest and I’m young, but I’m singing
about the right things.

––Danielle Hester

How Many Puffs of Hookah does it take for an Intellectual to Tweak?

Obvious not many. 

A few weeks ago a couple of friends and I went to a Hookah bar in Hyde Park. Now I am not a smoker--never have and never will be. I don't smoke cigarettes or any other narcotics, yet I don't have a problem with smokers or being around smoke. But I went because I find that just about anything  that involves getting out the house has the potential to turn into good writing. About an half hour into watching my friends routinely pass the hoses to and from, I decided to join in, considering they had explained to me that Hookah does not contain the addicting stimulant of nicotine, but it may give you a little high. As Middle Eastern music played in the background, we sat on the floor surrounded by deep red velvet pillows discussing issues surrounding education in Chicago: the lack of resources that goes into Chicago Public schools, the overworked teachers who can't control outside socioeconomic factors hindering their students ability and capability to learn, etc, etc. Then, my friend sitting next to me transitions into a one on one conversation with me. He looks at me, face blurred by smoke, and says, "Man i can't believe it's already 2009, that shit sounds crazy to say...you know the Mayan calendar only goes up to 2012." I turned to him after taking another puff of Rawen flavored tobacco and said, "Wow, that's crazy what they gone do after that?"My Friend: "Huh, I don't think nothing...they're dead..."