WINNIE MANDELA Biopic is a Must-See

WINNIE MANDELA traces the fascinating story of the second Mrs. Mandela from tomboy and champion stick fighter to social worker, reluctant revolutionary to disgraced political leader. Insightful performances by Jennifer Hudson as Winnie Mandela and an astonishingly spot-on turn byRead the Rest »

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West Indian-American Carnival An Embarrassment to Caribbean People of Conscience

Each year I cringe as the spectacle known as the West Indian-American Day parade gyrates its way into the public consciousness. With this substandard event, complete with the annual shooting/stabbing/fight, are costumes that look like they were glued together onRead the Rest »

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Baldhead Empress’ Favorite Things 2012

As the year comes to a close, I remember some of the people and things that have made it a cheery one for me.   I hope you enjoy!  Love, peace and joy, Affirming Community. Happy New Year! BE. SELF CARE Bedford-StuyvesantRead the Rest »

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Score One for Democracy—Election Buying and Voter Nullification Fail in the Election of 2012

While some see the presidential election of 2012 as a moratorium on one  candidate or the other, for me it has been about the buying of an election. The notion that corporations could thwart the people’s will and simply purchase theRead the Rest »

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GLOBAL WOMAN: Margaret Smellie

Vibrant Margaret Smellie exudes confidence and positive energy.  Always on the go, her full life includes a social work career, a host of friends and social activities—and she is a 21-year survivor of breast cancer. Birthplace:  Kingston, Jamaica Residence:  Bronx,Read the Rest »

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How Many Jelly Beans Are in This Canister? Voter Nullification & the 2012 Presidential Election

Myriad reports from across the nation of new voter I.D. requirements aimed at disenfranchising mostly people of color and older people hearken to the day when targeted Americans, principally African Americans in the South, had to pass preposterous tests toRead the Rest »

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Rapa-Nui All Over Again: Recent Events in the Middle East Demythologize Democracy

  The recent events in the Middle East have left much of the public here in the United States stunned, confused, saddened, and even angry.  As the pundits wrestle with whether the attacks on the embassies were spontaneous or planned,Read the Rest »

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Lessons in Love

Sex and the Single Girl:  Remembering Helen Gurley Brown Helen Gurley-Brown, the doyenne of the cleavage-bearing, sex-obsessed young woman, passed away last week at the age of 90.  Gurley Brown, who served as editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for more thanRead the Rest »

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THE OLYMPICS AND THE ENDURING LESSONS OF SPORTS

 “Big-Up” to the Jamaicans and the Jamaican-Diasporic People! Okay, Affirming Community, you’re on to me.  I’ll start my Olympics roundup with yet another love letter to the island of my parents’ birth Jamaica, and just get it out of theRead the Rest »

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Becoming Wilmot Stubblefield

When I was a child growing up in Liberia, I would listen to a weekly radio show called the “Wilmot Stubblefield Experience.”  After spinning the latest R&B and disco records (yes, it was the 1970s), Wilmot would close the showRead the Rest »

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