Thirteen Thursday Thoughts

“Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it’s my very good honor to meet you…”

Music

It’s been a quiet week (thankfully), so this set of Thursday Thoughts will largely dwell on the past. First and foremost, Dick Clark (1) passed yesterday at the age of 82. Although he was before my time with the exception of New Year’s Eve every year, I must take a moment to salute the man. Clark basically made it acceptable to bring black music by black people to white households on television. American Bandstand (2) was one of the first shows to allow blacks and whites to perform on the same stage, have black performers, and a desegregated audience. My prayers are with his family and friends.

Coachella (3) started this past weekend, and the biggest news came during Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s performance. A hologram of Tupac (4) appeared during the set and performed “Hail Mary” and “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted”. Technology has come a long way. It certainly gives credence to the idea that one’s legacy lives on and never really dies. It has subsequently stirred up some debate, though. Personally, I have to give Dre credit for giving us this glimpse of ‘Pac again. Along with his Beats headphones, he has had a huge couple years. Now…about that Detox album.

Perhaps one of the more unheralded performances last weekend came from The Weeknd (5). I really didn’t mean that as a pun. As some of you know, I am a HUGE Weeknd fan, so I was looking forward to hearing his performance. Watch it here. His live vocals need work, but it’s worth a look, since most fans have never seen him perform live. The Weeknd is still a bit of an enigmatic character. His cryptic and often disturbingly obscure videos on YouTube don’t give us a good idea of who this mysterious Canadian really is. I’m almost holding out hope that he stays the shadowy artist that he is. If he blows up, I fear the limelight from the mainstream will severely cripple the dark persona that he has meticulously created.

Sports

In news that isn’t really news, the wife of Antonio Cromartie (6) announced that her and her husband are expecting twins. For those of you keeping score at home, these will be numbers 11 and 12 for Cromartie; three and four for the couple. As for the other eight, they are dispersed between seven other women. My head suddenly hurts. Now, I’m not one to judge, but…do none of these people believe in some kind of birth control?? There was talk of a reality show featuring all of the mothers, kids, and Cromartie, but apparently, he declined the idea. I’ll just put this out there. Cromartie shouldn’t decline any form of income. He won’t be a cornerback forever and that $252,000 a year in child support will start to hurt soon if it doesn’t already.

Major League Baseball celebrated its annual Jackie Robinson Day (7) earlier this week in which every player dons the number 42. Every year, this commemoration brings with it negativity concerning the lack of African Americans in baseball. As it stands now, 8.05% of all MLB baseball players are black, the lowest in 60 years. Enter Marlon Byrd (8), Chicago Cubs outfielder. I will just quote him because I think he hit the nail on the head, and I can’t say it any better myself.

“If you want to take polls, then take polls asking how many black lawyers do we have now, or how many black judges or black doctors there are now. Just because we’re black doesn’t mean we have to play sports. You can go through other avenues. If the decrease (in baseball) is because they’re going into academic fields, so be it. More power to them.” -Marlon Byrd

He is absolutely right. More power to you, good sir.

To wrap up sports news, a basketball legend stepped down this week. Notice that I said basketball and not women’s basketball. Pat Summitt (9) stepped down from her post as head coach of the women’s basketball team at Tennessee, and I’m honestly pretty sad about it. I don’t pretend to be the biggest women’s basketball fan, but she was one of the best and most dominant coaches, and it is a shame to see her go because of health concerns. She is battling early onset dementia. I pray for her and her family. Well done on the press conference today, Tennessee.

The Week of Tragedy

Today is April 19, 2012. Can you believe it has been 19 years since the Waco Tragedy (10)? Can you believe it has been 17 years since the Oklahoma City bombing (11)? I was a kid, but I still remember those days like they were yesterday. There are haunting images firmly entrenched in my head from those days. Waco is like a second home to me. Seventy-six people lost their lives, including 27 children on this day in 1993 at the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco.  Two years later, 168 people lost their lives in Oklahoma City. Hundreds more were injured. I was fortunate enough to visit the memorial in Oklahoma City a few years ago, and I advise everyone to experience that place. It’s amazing that they were able to create a space of such peace and serenity when it was anything but on that tragic morning of April 19, 1995. We observed the five-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting (12) this week (April 17, 2007) as well. On the day we all became Hokies, 32 people lost their lives, while 30 more were injured. I was a junior in college. I remember being in the library when I heard the news of a gunman on a rampage on the campus of Virginia Tech. We have lived through entirely too many of these depressing events. The 13-year anniversary of Columbine (13) is tomorrow. Fourteen students and a teacher died that day in Littleton, Colorado. Sadly, It takes times like these to remind us just how precious life is and how quickly it could end.

-23

 

2012 Thread NFL Mock Draft Part 1

Welcome everyone to the 2012 Thread NFL Mock Draft. The NFL Draft officially starts on April 26th this year and will prove to be as fascinating as ever. The 3 of us that brought you the Thread Mock Draft of last year, are all back for another go. If you’ve forgotten who we are, the trio consists of myself, MYH, and friend of the Thread, Mark Rodriguez. The picks will be alternating after the first two picks (Which I’m writing up) like this: 1st: Mark 2: MichaelYoungHistory 3rd: Myself. *Note that we’ve done some moving of picks to allow all of us to make the announcement for our favorite team or teams. And with the ground rules in place, the Indianapolis Colts are on the clock.

With the 1st overall pick in the 2012 Thread Mock Draft, the Indianapolis Colts select, Andrew Luck, Quarterback, Stanford.

The consensus number one pick for the last 2 years, Andrew Luck, is just as advertised. The best QB prospect since Peyton or John Elway. We’ve heard it all before. And as of this morning, the Colts have finally made it official that he will be the #1 pick. He has all the skills to make a difference in this league from jump. But this guy has a very empty cupboard to go to in Indianapolis. Plus there’s the whole replacing that #18 guy. Oh, and Jim Irsay might be crazy. So good Luck…Andrew (see what I did there?)? The good thing for Andrew is he’s in a weak division (aside from the defenses) right now. He’s going to get beaten up pretty badly by the defenses at least, especially Houston, but he could win a possible game from both Jacksonville and Tennessee. Plus, Reggie Wayne was crazy enough to want to stay in Indianapolis. So it isn’t a total loss. If Andrew Luck has half the career Peyton Manning has had for the Colts, the Colts fan base can’t be too disappointed in letting Peyton go.

 

Gravity Night on Thread Radio: Religion & Relationships

Hey thREADERS,

Here is tonight’s ThreadRadio show on “Religion and Relationships”. It also features the 7-minute aftershow, so if you listened live, fast-forward; and if you didn’t, enjoy the longer discussion. As always, thanks for your support! Tune in next Monday at 10pm Central for our much anticipated show on “Think Like A Man” where we dive into the book and into the movie. Without any further ado…

Listen to
internet radio with ThreadRadio on Blog Talk Radio

 

Thirteen Thursday Thoughts

“Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.”

The Tale of Five Lawyers

It’s been another week full of news surrounding the Trayvon Martin case. Of course, George Zimmerman was charged with second degree murder yesterday. That’s not what I want to focus on, though. Let me preface all of this by saying that I am not an attorney. I don’t have a law background aside from the Sports Law classes I took in undergrad and grad school. I want to focus on the parade of lawyers that I’ve seen this week. First, there were Zimmerman’s first two lawyers, Hal Uhrig (1) and Craig Sonner (2). I saw these two on a late-night political show, and they quickly pissed me off. I was amazed by how abrasive and unprofessional they came off. I was honestly sickened by the whole interview. So when Uhrig and Sonner withdrew as Zimmerman’s counsel on Tuesday, I was thrilled and concerned at the same time. If they had stayed on the case, I think it would have been an easier case for the prosecution. Prosecution. Enter Angela Corey (3). I watched her press conference last night, and she impressed me. She was very sharp and astute, and for the first time, I felt like this case was in very good hands. She took control of the presser and I think she has some damning evidence that has yet to be presented to the public. Just a hunch. Like I said, I’m not a lawyer. You know who is a lawyer, though? Benjamin Crump (4). *sigh*

Really???

Now, I’ve gotten some flack from some of my followers on Twitter for voicing my disapproval of Crump. I respect and applaud his efforts with such a high-profile situation. He has been relentless when it comes to justice for Trayvon Martin, and I have the utmost respect for that. Now that that’s out of the way, I think the guy is a joke. Every time I see him on TV, which has a been A LOT the past few weeks, I cringe. I realize that he’s the family lawyer, and maybe he’s the best they could get. I don’t know. That doesn’t change my opinion of him, though. I find him extremely rough around the edges, and he struggles to form literate sentences. When I compare the 10 minutes I saw of Corey and the 3 weeks I’ve seen of Crump, I thank God she’s running the show from here. Finally, there’s Mark O’Mara (5), who has now become my biggest concern. Why? I like the guy. He is the first breath of fresh air coming from the Zimmerman camp. I’ve now seen three of his interviews in the past 24 hours, and he has nailed all of them. The first words I heard him utter were condolences to the Martin family. He comes off as a genuine human being who knows that his life has changed forever and who understands that a parent should never have to bury a child. This will surely get very interesting. Stay tuned…

Sports

The juxtaposition of Bobby Petrino (6) and Ozzie Guillen (7) this week would be comical if both weren’t involved in such incredibly stupid situations. Petrino essentially got fired for dipping his pen in company ink that he helped pay for and urged the company to invest in. Yeah, I can milk metaphors. The 25-year-old Jessica Dorrell (8) and 51-year-old Petrino have been involved in an “inappropriate relationship” for the past seven months. The worst part…Dorrell is engaged. Her fiancé is the loser in all of this. He’s a swim coach at Arkansas and has to deal with this mess. All in the family, I suppose. The formerly happy couple had a wedding website up a few days ago, but it has been taken down. If you’re curious about that guestbook and how it got absolutely mutilated, look here. By the way, Petrino and his wife put their $2.5 million dollar house on the market. A $2.5 million house for coaching kids whose compensation is a scholarship and stipend? I digress. Wait…there’s more… Now, for Ozzie Guillen. I’ve gone back and forth in my head debating whether or not I think Guillen should’ve been fired for his comments regarding Fidel Castro. On one hand, by offending a huge percentage of the Miami Marlins fanbase, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to keep him around. However, after watching his press conference, I think Guillen is sincerely remorseful. He made a mistake, acknowledged it, and I would say that he deserves a second chance…if he wasn’t already on his fifth or sixth chance. Let’s face it. Guillen is a hothead who has said a lot of stupid stuff. The media has made him the brazen manager that he is, and he should thank all things holy that the media didn’t destroy him.

I was going to talk about Lamar Odom (9) finally getting cut from the Dallas Mavericks, but he seems like such a waste of a precious spot. Then, I remembered that he’s a Kardashian. He gets paid for doing nothing. Good riddance. Speaking of Dallas-area sports, have you heard about this two-foot-long hot dog (10) available at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington??? Does Subway have some competition? Not with the $26 price tag. Yeah, there’s a reason why Americans are fat. No, thank you.

This just looks disgusting.

Techy Stuff

Facebook bought Instagram (11) for $1 billion. Let that marinate. For what? Why is something that lets people take pictures, mess with them, and post them even worth $1 billion? Facebook already has some absurd amount of users. What is it, 850 million? What’s something as trendy as Instragram going to do for Facebook? Is this a way of infultrating Twitter? That’s the only reason that would make sense to me. To be frank, I’d get rid of Facebook if I wasn’t on this thing we call The Thread and tagged in over 1,000 pictures. Twitter is my social media platform of choice. Now, that my mom, aunts, uncles, and random church members are friends of mine on Facebook, I have little use for it. #Twitter > #Facebook

Music

I am not mad at you, bro.

I can’t keep up with Jennifer Lopez (12) and her flavors of the week. Her boo, Casper Smart, is probably the envy of 25-year-olds everywhere, though. J. Lo is doing the cougar thing, and those of you who know me know that my ears perk up at the sound of cougars. I like the idea of cougardom. I happened to see this video late one night, and Mr. Smart, I approve. Good for you, sir.

I want to set my sights on someone who can actually sing, though, and that is Melanie Fiona (13). I’ve been listening to her album, The MF Life, for a little over a week now, and I love it. I wasn’t even the biggest fan of her music, but something told me to give this album a listen. Maybe it was “4 AM”. Either way, it is a wonderful album. Here are my five favorites:

1. Like I Love You
2. Can’t Do This No More
3. Bones
4. Break Down These Walls
5. Change the Record

-23

 

Gravity Night: The State of Black Entertainment: Black Cinema

Hey thREADERS,

Check out the replay of the first installment of “The State of Black Entertainment: Black Cinema” from The ThreadRadio Show.

We’ll have another great show for you next Monday night at 10 PM Central. As always, thanks for your support!

Listen to
internet radio with ThreadRadio on Blog Talk Radio

 

Tune in: The Thread Radio Show Live Tonight at 10 Central!

Ever wonder what happened to the classic black movies? Friday, Boyz N Tha Hood, The Wood, Love Jones, Eve’s Bayou, Jason’s Lyric…the blaxploitation era? Is Tyler Perry the best we’ve got now? What does the future hold? Warnessa and Meagan explore where the industry has been, where it is, and where it’s going in the first installation of “The State of Black Entertainment” series.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/threadradio/2012/04/10/the-state-of-black-entertainment-black-cinema

 

MCB: “How to be Private in Public Bathrooms”

 

I'd like to consider myself a "Bathroom Ninja".

When I go to the restroom, it's for one reason...well, sometimes two. And when I go for "two reasons", I don't want to be seen or bothered.

I'm serious, you won't catch me. I leave no trace (pun intended)

 

I stay invisible in the bathroom

 

 

Thirteen Thursday Thoughts

“To making it count…”

Movies

Just as I finished digesting the news of Whitney Houston’s toxicology reports, TriStar released the trailer for Sparkle (1), starring Whitney Houston, Mike Epps, Derek Luke, Cee-Lo (2) (more on him later), and Jordin Sparks. I realize that this is a remake, but I’m really excited about it, and I have high hopes for it. I’m going to see it, if for no other reason than to see Whitney and hear her angelic voice one more time. 

Music

I finally got to see The Hunger Games, and I loved it! It wasn’t as good as the book, but what movie is ever as good as the book that precedes it? I felt that the movie did it justice, and I’m excited to start reading Catching Fire. Since I’m on the topic, Lenny Kravitz (2) as Cinna just might have been my favorite character outside of Katniss. I loved Rue, too. I won’t spoil the plot for those who have yet to read the book or see the movie, but I will say that he added a serenity to the movie, and he nailed his role. I’m glad to see that Helen, I mean Roxie Roker (3) passed some acting skills down to her son. Movin’ on up…here’s a list of my 5 favorite Lenny Kravitz songs.

1. “Little Girl’s Eyes” (duh…)
2. “Fly Away”
3. “Again”
4. “I Belong to You”
5. “I’ll Be Waiting”

Kanye West (4) made the news again this week for his song, “Theraflu”, where he admits to falling in love with Kim Kardashian, throws his respect for Wiz Khalifa, and well…here:

“And I’ll admit, I fell in love with Kim, ’round the same time she had fell in love with him, well, that’s cool, baby girl, do ya thing, lucky I ain’t have Jay drop him from the team,”

I think Kanye is disturbed in all honesty. I’ve thought something was off ever since 808’s & Heartbreak. His “Runaway” video was the icing on the cake for me (even though I loved it). Fellow Threader, Terry the Trainer, eloquently nails my sentiments with this gem:

“Kanye’s new song reminds me of how badly I do NOT. WANT. FAME. Ever. Falling in love with Kim K while she falls in love with the dude she marries on your watch, just to dump him two months later, and leave you feeling empty…Now one ex is with an inferior rap guy (Wiz) and another ex is over you, overpaid, and thanks to your own big mouth, over-publicized as you openly admit defeat to an NBA guy who is as famous as he has recently become…Because of your ex. At a certain point, you are so celebrated, you just chase what (and who) is celebrated. You forget what you once were and what type of company you once pursued. I feel sorry for that in a way at the same time. You CAN’T be normal anymore.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. “The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul” (5) found her way into my “Thirteen Thoughts”…again. By now, you’ve probably seen, heard, or heard about the now infamous Burger King commercial that has her looking like Catwoman on a table singing about crispy chicken, fresh lettuce, an assortment of cheeses, and ranch dressing. I suppose her days of drama, real love, goin’ down, and breaking through are over. utpipeline gave us a classic post yesterday, so I’ll just leave this subject with that. *walks away* *looks back* *shakes head* *continues walking* Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary… *sigh*

Cee-Lo (6) is quickly becoming another all-star on my Thoughts, but I’m not happy with him at the moment. A few weeks ago, Cee-Lo performed the unedited version of his hit single, “F*** You” at a fundraiser for President Obama, which was hosted by Tyler Perry (6) (more on him in a second). Dammit, Cee-Lo, you can’t do that!!! My people, my people…while I’m sure this is a popular sentiment directed at several of Obama’s opponents, it will certainly not help get the President reelected. *slightly head-bops*

Radio Show

Thread Radio is off and rolling now, and we’ll keep it chugging next as we talk about Tyler Perry (7). He has been the subject of several debates over on the Thread, so we figured we’d bring it to the public. So many people love him; so many people hate him. Is he good for black entertainment or is he bad for it? However, you feel, be sure to tune in Monday night at 10 Central at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/threadradio. Here are our first and second shows in case you missed them.

Sports

The Masters started today, and Tiger Woods (8) seems to be an early favorite. Timeout. You mean to tell me that it only took one win after 2 years for people to hop back on Tiger’s bandwagon? That’s it? I’ve watched so many “experts” and “analysts” say that they believe he’ll end up with the green jacket on Sunday. Color me skeptical. Oh, congratulations to Baylor for winning the title in women’s basketball! I got my wish of getting to see Skylar and Brittney Griner (9) square off, but I knew Baylor would prevail. Griner is simply unstoppable. I suppose Baylor Law School (10) was too excited about the win, and pushed some of the wrong buttons. Congratulations to the new class…I suppose.

YouTube

YouTube has done what it always does and provided some great entertainment for people this week.Here’s the 5-year-old comedian who calls out lazy parents (11). 

On a Personal Note

I’m not Catholic, but I am a Christian, and I’ve been taking part in a fast in observance of Lent (12). I usually give up all liquids except water, which is also a tribute to my grandmother as she used to do the same thing. I also gave up fast food. Let me just say that this was probably the most challenging fast to get through. It’s not over until Easter, but goodness. I’ve been the awkward guy at the social outing at a bar who asks for water far too many times this past several weeks. All for good reason, but I’m glad it’s almost over. To God be the glory. Finally, it’s been a tough few days for me as tragedy (13) struck entirely too close to home. This guy that I grew up with and went to church with murdered his mother, who also went to church with me. There really isn’t much I can say because it’s such a tragic and heart-wrenching situation, but my thoughts and prayers are with the immediately family and close friends. I wish there was something we could’ve done. We knew the young man was on the wrong path. Maybe we didn’t pray hard enough. Maybe we didn’t reach out to him enough. Maybe we didn’t keep him close enough to us. I don’t know, but my heart is heavy. Let’s take care of each other.

-23

 

“What Do We Do In the Mean Time?” asked Mary J. Blige to the WB Frog

So I cheated. I’ve already posted this to my other blog http://www.theblackhollywoodreporter.wordpress.com (check it out), but I thought I should just share the love!

I come to you today realizing there is a paradigm in Black Hollywood, and I don’t know how I feel about it. This realization comes after the backlash of Mary J. Blige’s Burger King Commercial.

Click Here to Watch the Video

Many believe it was coonish for Blige to sing the song about chicken, burgers, and even ranch dressing, but as I sit on the other side of the industry, my gut just wouldn’t let me get as mad as I probably would have a few years ago. My mind didn’t directly move to disgust and dissecting the “issue”, but it DID make me wonder about the meeting Blige had with her team. I could picture her agent presenting the opportunity her. It was probably like, “Burger King wants you to do a song.” If I came to you and plainly said, “Burger King wants you to do a song,” would you honestly shut it down? Would chicken and ranch dressing be the first thing to pop into your mind? Maybe not, so let’s just say that you agreed. Once you read the lyrics, even if a red flag was raised, what would the conversation be like with your manager about the backlash of your career?  Before you answer, let me tell you that commercials make people a lot of money for a little time. While movie shoots would probably last 100 days, a commercial lasts 3. While making an album may last months or even years, you would probably spend a day in the studio to record the song. And the residuals for a national commercial bring in some nice bread… very nice. So think about the complexity of her decision especially when the digital boom has cut musical artists’ income.

But trust, Blige is not alone in the struggle. Think about Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. With the scarcity of parts, should [black] actors turn down roles? Did people stop working for BP waiting on them to clean up the spill? Did the LAPD officers quit the force after those police officers were acquitted for beating Rodney King? So as we wait for more quality television shows and movies, what do black artist do in the mean time while whites offer a narrow scope of characters and blacks don’t take the time to educate themselves in order to create quality work? Artists still need income, and inactivity is the best way to be forgotten. How does Black Hollywood deal with this paradigm?

Honestly, the resolution of this paradigm doesn’t bother me as much as the realization that we are dealing with the same predicament Robert Townsend dealt with in Hollywood Shuffle. It’s been at least 30 years, and we really haven’t progressed. I’ve racked my brain trying to find solutions to this problem. Each solution seems to cancel each other out, and in the time of quick, fast, and in a hurry products (reality tv), it’s so hard to find someone willing to take their time and make something of quality. To be transparent, The Game and Let’s Stay Together are a chore to watch, and I won’t even get on Love That Girl. No one supports Treme resulting next season being their last season, and after Red Tails, it seems we cannot rely on someone else to tell our story. We are slowly getting mainstream roles, but “they” protest. For example, the backlash of Idris Elba in the movie Thor: http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/05/02/thor-star-idris-elba-on-fan-racism-and-ghost-rider-sequel-but-not-prometheus/ , or recently the African Americans casted in Hunger Games: http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/hunger-games-fans-have-racist-debate-over-stars-playing-rue-thresh-2012263 ? So in this slow transformation, what do we do… because BILLS are do!

 

Remember the Lorraine

#NeverForget

I wrote about this a year ago, but I always keep coming back.

44 years seems like a long time ago. But it’s hard to believe not even half a century has passed since the most prominent face in American Civil Rights history had his life stolen away from him on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, just when he was embarking on his newest territory to conquer.

“… and I’ve looked over, and I have SEEN the Promised Land! I may not get there with you… but I want you to know tonight that we as a people WILL get to the Promised Land…”

I sometimes return to that quote every now and then. Admittedly, these days it’s moreso because of Aaron McGruder, but it still amazes me how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., seemed to know his death was imminent. He just knew that his life was about to end, but that that the fight was far from over as well. As the popular saying goes, “one monkey don’t stop no show.” Dr. King wasn’t the first person to lose his life fighting for justice, and he certainly wouldn’t be the last. But what I appreciated about King, even more than the oft-overquoted “I Have a Dream” speech, even more than the marches, even more than the vigilance, even more than the fact that he was about to turn America’s attention to the hard issues of poverty and the problems with Vietnam just before he was killed… was the fact that this man had HOPE.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to make the obvious Obama parallel here.

Y'all can't stop me from posting this picture though. Obama 2012.

But that goes far. That went far in the 1960s and it would go SO much farther in the 21st Century if people – but Black people especially – believed in themselves. While it’s true that we on The Thread often joke about “coonery,” I think that in general everyone spends a substantial amount of time cracking on Black folks and our worst, than we do encouraging and reminding each other that we really do have the capacity and potential to do the things that must be done.

I can’t say for sure what “the Promised Land” was, and I won’t speculate on it. But it’s saying something that MLK accepted his fate and wasn’t dismissive. He was not so prideful as to assume that the movement would die with him. King was like, “I’m going home soon… but y’all GOT this.” Even today, King’s words seem prophetic, in light of such movements as the Trayvon Martin incident –

“If one recognizes [the yearning for Freedom] that has engulfed the Negro community, one should readily understand why public demonstrations are taking place. The Negro has many pent up resentments and latent frustrations, and he must release them. So let him march; let him make prayer pilgrimages to the city hall; let him go on freedom rides -and try to understand why he must do so. If his repressed emotions are not released in nonviolent ways, they will seek expression through violence; this is not a threat, but a fact of history.”

And progress was made. America as a country and Black people have certainly made many strides, but we still have so much farther to go. Surprisingly, electing a Black/Kenyan/biracial president didn’t solve all of America’s racial problems like so many thought it would.

“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed… For years now I have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.” We must come to see… that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

So today, once more, I remember a King. I remember his legacy. I remember his prophecy. Because he believed in Him as much as he believed in us, I believe in you. Don’t “wait” to do something. As a friend of mine once said, “Find [a cause] worth dying for and live for it.” And always, always… Remember the Lorraine.