Walter Cronkite "Uncle Walt"

Walter Cronkite was the voice that is etched in my head from the time that I was a little girl. The news was something that my family and many African Americans families tuned into about twice a day. This was our way of being aware of what was going on in our country. It was also the time of the civil rights movement with two of the most prominent and well loved figures of our history, Martin Luther King, Jr. and President John F. Kennedy. It was normal for African American families to gather in front of the television after dinner as a family to watch Walter Cronkite. He was trusted by our community to report fairly and truthfully what was happening during this time; the 60's. A time when African Americans were fighting so hard for racial equality in a country that brought us here, but wanted to keep up 2nd class citizens and less than human, segregated from those that thought of themselves as more human. Even at two years old I watched the news, and was told by my family that I was watching the day that President Kennedy was assassinated and called to them in the kitchen telling them that "President Kennedy was shot" and they came running. My mother says that I was talking before I was walking, and I have yet to slow down.

This was a time when families were still families, and they had dinner together and watched the news together, we all watched " Uncle Walt" because our parents and grandparents watched and trusted his reporting.


In 1940 Cronkite married Mary Maxwell, who was his wife for 65 years until her passing in 2005.

Walter Cronkite defined what it meant to be an anchorman.
The first radio news broadcast was in 1938 and the first television news broadcast was in 1948, but it was not until 1963 when the three largest networks, NBC, CBS and ABC extended their news coverage from 15 minutes to 30 minutes.

On March 6th, 1981 Walter Cronkite delivered his last news broadcast for CBS, and was replaced by Dan Rather.

Walter Cronkite will always be remember and we greatly appreciated his work.
photos taken from LA Times

Valley Club, Absolutely Unbelievable

There is an ongoing debate on whether the day campers were turned away from The Valley Club because they were black and hispanic. These sentiments were verbalized by various adults surrounding the pool as they retrieve their own children from the now tainted environment. The debate should be what to do about this situation not whether it happened or not. Some of these kids were in tears, from shear disbelief and from the fact that there were adults not accepting them because of the color of their skin.

We so often don't want to believe that these things are still happening in such a developed world, but hatred is very much alive, and racism is merely a form of this hatred. We see this in the media all of the time, just look at the frenzy surrounding Michael Jackson, O.J. Simpson, and many other people of color.
This is why it is so important for us as African- Americans to build strong families and a strong communities to safeguard our young children and give them the strength and foundation necessary to help them cope with what they may have to endure in their lives. We need to own more of what we use, and this is what I truly admire about the Tyler Perry's and Ervin 'Magic' Johnsons of our time.
Our children experienced this hatred in the 50's and 60's but this fifty years later and our children are still feeling the pain of discrimination. If law suits are necessary then so be it, but use the award to build a beautiful community center where these children have a beautiful pool where the various day camps can go and not feel the humiliation, but a senses of pride.

Still Controversial after Death

It amazes me how Michael Jackson is still such a controversial figure. Why is it necessary to know who are the biological parents of his adopted children, when in many cases we have gone to great lengths to conceal this exact information.

Whether he chose not to use his sperm because of fear of passing on his genetic misfortune to his children or he wanted to create his own children is nothing different than what many others do. Science is even to the point where you are able to chose the gender of your child if you chose. Why does it matter? He is legally thier father and that is all that matters. He is the only parent that they know and they certain appear to be happy well adjusted and very bright children.

Why is it important if he bleached his skin because he wanted to be lighter or he had undergone some medical procedure for vitiligo. He had the money and the connections to do what ever it is that he chose to do. It is no different than many others bleaching their skin, changing their nose, breast implant, calf implants, etc.

Who is to say that his life was strange? By whose standards? Why are we always imposing our standards on others? It is just sickening how this is all playing out.


Bill O'Reilly and Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, Ph.D. debates the racial issues in reference to Michael Jackson. As usual O'Reilly doesn't let a person disagree with him on his show even though he calls them on to debate an issue.
It appears when it comes to people of color there are always racial issues, and as Dr. Hill says, it is not always racism, but always racial.

I will leave you a post by a blogger for The Root, by Jimi Izrael, entitled, Now He's Home.
This post is beautifully written and were my exact sentiments of familiarity of MJ's memorial service. Even though I was not there and merely watching it on television as were millions of others, the tone and the program was so much like many I had been to, just on a grander scale.

Michael Jackson Will Never Be Forgotten

Gone Too Soon by Michael Jackson



The news of Michael Jackson's death traveled faster than the speed of light. It was reported that text messages were sent at a rate of 65,000 per second all across the world.


















People were gathering at UCLA hospital, his star on Hollywood Blvd. his family home in Encino, California, his present residence in Holmby Hills, California, the Apollo Theatre in New York City, and many many other places around the globe. The people are in shock and are very sad at the news of his death. The television programming came to a hault with breaking news of his death, and there was no more regular programming on most channels for the rest of the day.

I started this post on the day of his death but it is now three days later and there are still some cable channels that are running his videos all day long. For at least two consecutive days the television has been dominated by Michael Jackson, his life, his legacy, and unfortunately his troubles. I learned things while being glued to the television that I didn't know, and the one thing that resonates the most is that Michael is in the Guiness Book of World Records for contributing to the most charities of any celebrity. He gave millions of dollars to 39 charities. He donated his five million dollars earned on the Victory Tour to three different charities. This was the concert of the century


Michael not only made his mark as the King of Pop, but also as a Humanitarian. He broke color barriers around the world, he brought issues of inhumane practices around the world to the forefront,i,e, homelessness, hunger, sickness, and AIDS, and he spent a great deal of his time and money to help eradicate these issues for as many as he could. His favorite of all was sick children. He spent a great deal of his own money paying hospital bills of terminally ill children as well as helping their families, and granting the wishes of these children. Many of these children only wished to meet him, and that he did and more. He truly made the world a better place.



This was a great man that gave so much of himself to people of all races, of all colors, of all religions, and of all nationalities, and unfortunately he got a lot of dirt kicked in his face. There are many that are grateful for all of the sacrifices that he has made to be who he was.

It is hard to know where to start. Just remembering when I first saw The Jackson 5 on the Ed Sullivan Show when I was a little girl. The first concert they had in Savannah, Georgia when I was 12 years old and how my mother made my dress and I wore my first Afro. I took pictures of this concert with my instamatic camera and they were moving so fast on that stage that the picture came out a colorful blur. When I talked to Michael on the phone the next day after the concert, because he was staying at the Desoto Hilton, and I knew someone that worked there that put me through. How my bedroom was covered in posters of Michael and the Jackson 5. How I knew the words to every song, by stopping the record many times to write them down. This was before the days when they published the lyrics. When there were many neighborhood kids starting singing groups to be the next Jackson 5. It was an amazing time, and I didn't believe that it could get any more amazing, but little did I know. That this little fellow would later become the biggest thing the music industry has ever seen.




As he grew so did his message to the world. Some of these messages were of his loneliness and pain, and often addressed to those that continued to conflict this pain upon him. Then there were those beautiful messages that appeal to the heart, that appealed to all of mankind, to right the wrongs in this world. He challenged us to be kinder to one another, to reach out to those that needed us, to speak for those that had no voice, to just be HUMAN. He was a man that felt deeply the pain of others, because he felt deeply his own pain. I have learned when you are one that feels the hurt of what is going on in the world it becomes heavy and that heaviness often times becomes physical. His music was the only thing that made him happy, truly happy. Michael enjoyed children not only because he missed out on his own childhood, but because of their innocence, they were not tainted by hatred and prejudice, they experienced pure joy from life and that is always what he wanted to be around. That too made him a target for those that harbored hatred and greed.


Michael Jackson's Humanitarian Efforts 1979-2003

I want to thank Michael for what he gave to the world, for the joy he has given me in growing up in the same generation as he did, therefore allowing me to grow with him. Michael Joe Jackson, you are truly loved by many all over the world and you will be missed.

May You Rest in Peace my brother!

Update

July 7, 2009

Today was the memorial of Michael Joseph Jackson and it was the most touching thing that I have ever seen. It was beautifully done and it most definitely showed the world the human side of MJ, and that is something the world needed to see. Even though he was greatly loved by his fans for his music, but many never saw him with his family or his family with him. Today they got to see MJ as a child of God, a son, a brother, an uncle, a father, and a friend.
I never knew that the passing of a man that I didn't personally know would effect me the way that it has, but it has. I believe that God gave MJ not just the gift of music, but also the gift of love. The gift, as Brooks Shield put it, to see with his heart. It must have been a beautiful thing just to know him, I am thankful to know him from afar, and thankful to live in this time when he was (A) Present.






Michael Jackson's children

Children of the Street

photo by Kimberley Miles
"Children of the Streets. They're there but no one notices them....."



It is amazing how many of our children are living on the streets in this country. You read about this in many poor underdeveloped countries, but you never think about it being in your own backyard. It is sad to think of this happening anywhere, but it is frightening to think of it happening here in America. A place where so many come for opportunities to better their lives and the lives of their families both here and abroad.



There is a story that I read just this morning in the Los Angeles Times about Khadijah Williams who has been homeless her entire childhood and now she is off on a full scholarship to Harvard University. As much as this is a wonderful success story, there are quite a few things that few of us see. Her transition from the streets of California to the Ive League halls of Harvard along side so many privileged young people. There is no doubt that she can stay focused on her studies, because she has proven that in the worst situations, but what does she internalize in order to keep that focus. Then there is the situation with not knowing the whereabouts and well being of the two people that she loves the most, her mother and her younger sister. How much guilt will she feel for leaving them behind, and especially if anything happens to them, or if her sister's life turns out much different than hers. This is a story that I would love to follow and watch her in this transition, her growth and the demons that she has to slay along the way. We can just hope and pray that she will be ok, and when the time comes that she is able to help her mother and her sister that it is not too late.





Update
Oprah has gotten a hold of this story and tells more of what her life has been like since starting Harvard. You can check it out here.

American Bondage

It has been known for sometime that Americans love to own stuff, and the more stuff there is the more stuff we want to own. The weirdest thing about this is that once we acquire the stuff, the thrill is over. This type of bondage has dominated most of my life. It was actually when I went back to school and moved in with my parents that I realized that I could live with a great deal less than I thought possible. I chose to move in with my parents because I didn't want to work full time and attend school part time, knowing how long this process could be. I wanted to make this happen as quickly as possible. So going to school full time was the only thing I could do and that included summers. I also wanted to make the process as painless as possible, not my pain but my daughter's pain. Finding a way that would not disrupt her life anymore than necessary. I knew that if I went back to school full time and worked full time, then parenting would take a backseat. This was not an option for me, not even for a short time. The time that it was going to take for me to earn my degree was going to take a few years. I was not willing to sacrifice her, but I was willing to sacrifice stuff.
When I made this decision, I was up against a great deal of resistance, but I was determined. I had to put all of my stuff in storage. The antique furniture that I had been collecting, the beautiful china, and antique dishes, all of the dolls my daughter had been collecting with her grandmother, and the three closets of designer clothes and shoes that defined me. That was heartbreaking.
After enrolling in school and getting involved in all that was put before me, with the determination an tunnel vision that I equipped myself with, that heartbreak became less and less. I was excelling quite rapidly in school, I was a full time student, a full time mother of a 12 year old girl, and now a member of the honor society that just happened to be featured in the school's campaign for non-traditional students. My face was now plastered all over the newspapers in this campaign, in brochures, and college fairs. All of this happened without the the stuff that use to be so very important to me. So life was lighter and freer, and I was able to soar.
This type of thing also happens when we clean out our houses, our minds, our debts, and our hearts. Sometimes getting rid of the house that sucks our resources, the constant wants that sucks our energy and eventually our money, and then our energy again. It becomes a cycle that we become painfully comfortable with. A cycle that becomes easier to live within than it is to move away from.
Many Americans are being stripped of these tangible possessions in today's economy, and they are discovering that there is a great deal that they are able to live without. Americans are becoming grateful for their loved ones and good health, and with that they are able to attain all that they need and want. The difference now is that their wants are have evolved. Instead of things, they are wanting peace of mind and simple happiness with those that are the most important to them. Through this many will not go back to the way they use to live, because what they value in life is different. They will not go back to the credit card debt, to robbing Peter to pay Paul, the buying more house than they need or can afford, or the keeping up with the Jones. By being stripped by all of these possessions they will discover themselves, who they are , what they want from this life, and what they value the most, and these possessions will no longer be necessary to show the world who they are. However, there are a number of people that is going to jump right back into that frying pan, and there is a part of me that understands why. For some, the pain of change is unbearable and bondage is all that they know.

Los Angeles Parade: Celebrating the Lakers Win

Yesterday while watching the local news the topic at the moment was the Laker's Championship Parade to be held in city of Los Angeles. They were discussing the costs involved in putting on this display of support for this highly esteemed basketball team. The Lakers has contributed 1 million dollars to this effort but there is over a million dollars still needed to make sure that this even is nothing short of what the fans and the team expects.
There has been an effort to cut back on these expenses and shorting the parade route was one way to do that.
Mayor Villaraigosa has been soliciting private donations to cover the city's possible expense for the celebratory event and says that he has raised several hundred thousand dollars. He knows the people would be outraged if he were to spend city's money on this event when there are so many people out of work, so many programs being cut, the threat of teacher layoffs, the insistence of government employees taking furloughs, as well as the enormous deficit that is at the forefront of the minds of those mostly effected.
I became irate at the thought of the city paying any of the taxpayers monies for this celebration. Any type of celebration is a welcome distraction and is actually needed to uplift the spirit of so many that are effected by our present economic situation, both as a city and as a country, but the idea of the city even paying a dine for this was just more than I could wrap my head around. It is a relief to know that this city and its officials are not insensitive.

Update: Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The mayor came through. All of the monies that the city would have paid for the parade today is being taken care of by the business community. Americans come through again for their own.