FROM MY BROWN EYED VIEW

WORD ON WEDNESDAY

2012-01-26T00:50:00.000-06:00

"Education System" Spoken Word Artist: Aadil Malik

LET ME DOWN EASY : A CULTURAL PERFORMANCE RECOMMENDATION

2012-01-25T05:29:00.000-06:00

Great Performances is currently featuring a one woman titled Let Me Down Easy featuring Anna Deavere Smith. Smith portrays a group of people from personal interviews who are dealing with health care issues. It is a stunning live performance that provides a look at how people relate the cycle of life from birth to death. Smith does an amazing job of moving from one character into

THOMAS SANKARA-THE UPRIGHT MAN; A DOCUMENTARY FILM RECOMMENDATION

2012-01-23T21:39:00.004-06:00

Thomas Sankara-The Upright Man is a documentary film that is available for viewing on You Tube. Sankara was the leader of Burkina Faso formerly known as Upper Volta from 1983 until 1987. Sankara promoted the ideas of self-reliant on the resources that were available within Burkina Faso. He championed women's rights, employment for all people, a style of governing that worked for the

2012 FROM MY BROWN EYED VIEW

2012-01-23T12:08:00.000-06:00

The Tea Party people in Tennessee want to revise the state's history text to enhance the virtues of the Founding Fathers of this nation. In order to make the founders of America appear to be untainted there has to be exclusions of facts. America's status as a participant in the slave trade would need to be excluded to make the story read proper. But if you know the national story

2012 FROM MY BROWN EYED VIEW

2012-01-23T00:15:00.000-06:00

Books are an important part of my personal and professional life. I cannot imagine what my life would be like if there was not a supply of books for me to borrow to read. I have spent a nice portion of my personal income to feed my need to read appetite. It is difficult for me to accept limitations on what type of materials I can select to read. When I attended public school a lot of the

2012, FROM MY BROWN EYED VIEW

2012-01-19T22:42:00.000-06:00

Natalie and Derrica Wilson: Image from Ebony Magazine online Derrica Wilson and Natalie Wilson have established a non-profit organization that specializes in search for missing Black people. Black and Missing grew out of their recognition that a large number of people of color were missing. According to the article featured on Ebony Magazine on line; these two DC mothers began a simple

FINDING OUR MISSING: RACE AND WHY THE BLACK COMMUNITY NEEDS THIS PROGRAM

2012-01-17T20:06:00.000-06:00

Image from TV One featuring S. Ephata Merkison One of the topics that MBEV has touched upon at different times is the subject of missing people of color. I have shared information about the sites that post frequently about missing people and shared information from those sources. I have also raised the criticism here and on the different social media sites that I frequent about media

2012, FROM MY BROWN EYED VIEW

2012-01-15T16:01:00.003-06:00

Gil Scott Heron left us one final gift from his talents. He authored a book titled The Last Holiday:A Memoir. NPR has a review of this memoir by GSH that gives the details about this work. You can read it here. I am bringing attention to this work because Gil Scott Heron worked with Stevie Wonder to bring about Martin Luther King Day. Gil want to make sure that Stevie receives the

IN THIS REVOLUTION NO PLANS HAVE BEEN WRITTEN FOR RETREAT!

2012-01-15T03:49:00.000-06:00

Image of Dr. King by Howard Sochurek/Life "In this Revolution no plans have been written for retreat."~ Martin Luther King, Jr This is probably not the quotation you would use to begin a post about celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I selected it because it is a quotation that reminds us that we cannot back down from the struggles that continue to be a part

HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS DAY 2012

2012-01-11T13:38:00.000-06:00

The U.S. State Department estimates that there are 12.3 million adults and children in modern day slavery (Kaiser Report, 2010). My post for this subject is not going to be a repeat of facts or figures on Human Trafficking. You can link to the Sixteen Days of Activism Against Gender Violence to retrieve the statistical information on this human rights violation. I want to share

WORD ON WEDNESDAY

2012-01-10T23:35:00.000-06:00

"And Then the Rain God Screamed for Love" Poet: Aberjhani Spoken Word Artist: Nordette Adams

2012, FROM MY BROWN EYED VIEW

2012-01-08T22:57:00.000-06:00

Imagine that your child comes home with math packet for homework and asks for your help. You sit down with you son or daughter and pick up the paper and begin to read the word problems. Then you come upon this particular one: Did the wording of this particular problem capture your attention? What would you say to your child if this type of problem appeared on their homework? How would

THE GARDEN: A FILM RECOMMENDATION

2012-01-08T14:54:00.000-06:00

The Garden is a 2008 documentary about the struggle of South Central Farmers to retain use and ownership of 14 acres of land in the middle of L.A. The farm was developed on land that was once blighted and occupied by homeless people. The farmers cleared the land and planted it into a garden that provided food for 347 families. Their fight to continue to use and own the land is a candid look

WORD ON WEDNESDAY

2012-01-05T01:18:00.000-06:00

Spoken Word Artist: Staceyann Chinn

WOMEN WAR and PEACE

2012-01-01T15:25:00.000-06:00

I made the transition from 2011 into 2012 by spending time watching Women War and Peace. This is a PBS documentary series that has made me really sit down and rethink my ideas about what type of social advocate I want to become as I mature. The women who are featured in this series live in conflict zones around the world. This series provides a wealth of information on why women's

2012, FROM MY BROWN EYED VIEW

2012-01-01T15:00:00.000-06:00

It's January 1, 2012. I hope that you and your loved ones are enjoying the first day of this year. Everybody needs to take time during the week to just slow down for a moment of reflection, rest and relaxation. It is not written anywhere that Americans will be on the go 24/7/365. I can bear honest witness to the fact that setting up 'me time' is the best thing you can do for yourself. I use

WORD ON WEDNESDAY

2011-12-28T21:17:00.000-06:00

"Innocent Criminal" Spoken Word Artist: pat's justice

AM I NOT HUMAN?

2011-12-27T21:46:00.000-06:00

This is the last post for the year. I wanted to draw attention to the issue of Child Brides. There is a video that sums up the situation titled "Too Young to Wed: The Secret Lives of Child Brides. Photographer Stephanie Sinclair spent eight years investigating child marriages in India, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nepal and Ethiopia. Child marriage restricts the rights of girls to obtain an

THE BEST GIFTS ARE NEVER PURCHASED: THEY JUST HAPPEN IN LIFE

2011-12-26T09:40:00.000-06:00

Season's Greetings! I hope that you and your loved ones have the opportunity to spend time together and enjoy what is important about this time in the world. I want you and your family to be safe, happy and uplifted everyday of your life. I appreciate you taking the time to read my posts and the sharing of your opinions. It was quite busy in my living space on Christmas Day. Our family

CUTTING FOR STONE: A PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION

2011-12-20T09:28:00.000-06:00

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese This novel was published in 2009 by Knopf and released in paperback by Random House in 2010. It has risen on the best sellers chart in paperback. In March of 2011 it ranked #2 on the New York Times list. I obtained an audio book version from CML (Columbus Metropolitan Library). The reader is Sunil Mahotra I am sharing information about who the

2011, FROM MY BROWN EYED VIEW

2011-12-19T16:50:00.000-06:00

I would like to share a link to The Intersection of Madness and Reality with you. Rippa has posted a video featuring novelist Chimamanda Adichie from Nigeria. The title of her TED Talk is: The Danger of Embracing Negative Stereotypes-The 'Othering' of a People. Adichie shares some very thought provoking ideas from her experiences regarding stereotyping of people. I hope that you will

IT ONLY TAKES A GIRL

2011-12-16T21:03:00.000-06:00

One of my friends on Facebook share this video today. I found the message to be important enough to share with you on the subject of Human Rights.

WORD ON WEDNESDAY

2011-12-14T22:36:00.000-06:00

"Children of War" Spoken Word Artist: Yagazie Emezi

2011, FROM MY BROWN EYED VIEW

2011-12-13T21:00:00.000-06:00

Today on Forbes website there is an article titled: If I Was A Poor Black Kid" by Gene Marks. This particular blog post has caused quite a stir today among people who have read Gene's remarks. Before you read my comments on this particular post, please read what Gene's remedy for success. You can link to the article here. I read Gene's post twice before commenting directly on Forbes. My

16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER VIOLENCE

2011-12-09T23:01:00.001-06:00

There are results from a study conducted by Black Women's Blueprint that need to be shared throughout our community. More Than Half of Black Girls Are Sexually Assaulted Sixty percent of Black girls experience sexual abuse at the hands of Black men before reaching the age of 18. This on-going study was conducted by Black Women's Blueprint. A similar study was conducted by Black