DEEP WATERS

TODAY is MLK Day. The day we honor and remember a great man in our nation's history. A man who lived, fought and died for the freedom of African Americans and all people. TODAY I celebrate this man, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And to celebrate Dr. King and his legacy I'd like to share a few more things that have happened TODAY. TODAY I sat on a pew in one of Franklin, Tennessee's historic African American churches and listened to some amazing gospel music and powerful testimonials. TODAY I stood up in that pew and applauded the spoken word shared and raised my hands to some soul-stirring songs like God is  and Every Praise . TODAY I marched with my husband, my children and a large group of people through the streets of Franklin. A mixed group full of black folks, white folks, Latino folks and native American folks. TODAY we dreamed of unity and justice. The same dreams of Dr. King. And I also made a really fun discovery... TODAY I found a school assign...

Last night, I finished the final episode of the History Channel's TV miniseries Roots . To say I was pleasantly surprised at the historical and emotional depth of this remake of Alex Haley's 1977 miniseries Roots, based on his personal genealogical history and biography, would be an understatement. I was a young girl when I watched the first Roots with my family, and I'll never forget how much that movie impacted me so many years ago. As a matter of fact, as I watched the first episode of the remake, I sadly thought, My parents would have loved this movie. I'll miss talking about this with my Mom tomorrow. Well, in honor of my sweet parents, and my other ancestors that have gone on before me, today I want to share three themes from Roots that moved me. I could probably list ten, but here's just a few that spoke the loudest to me. 1. We African Americans were blessed with strong and brave ancestors I loved the focus on the pre-slavery era of African s...

If I know one thing for sure, it's that racial issues in the United States are still alive and well. And although African Americans now have the right to vote, own property, attend desegregated public schools, etc. etc... I still find myself saying every so often - "Wow, and it's 2013." Take this story, for example: One of my friends, who happens to be African American too, took her two daughters to see "The Butler" last week. Her daughters were deeply moved and amazed at the narrative of history being played out before them. They had learned very little of this history in school, and they wondered why. I too have questioned this lack of the "whole-story" in our country's history lessons. I think the answer is found in the rest of this story. So... one of my friend's daughter's plans to try out for a part in her private school's production of "The Great Gatsby." In order to prepare the students for tryouts,...