DEEP WATERS

I will never forget the day I truly understood the significance of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. My family had just moved to Franklin, Tennessee and it was election day. I was talking with my mother on the phone, and we were discussing the elections in my new home in Tennessee and the elections in my native Baltimore, Maryland. Our conversation went something like this... "So who were you all voting for this time," my mother inquired. "Senators and City Council members, like us?" "Yeah, Senators, City Council, and some other positions too," I replied. "Oh, so did you already vote earlier?" "No, I didn't vote, Mom." My eyes watered as I fought an impending yawn. "We just moved here, and honestly, I don't know any of these folks running for office." A few seconds went by...  "Hello?" I glanced at the phone, wondering if she'd gotten disconnected. "I'm still here." Her to...

I loved the movie 42 . This weekend my husband and I went to see the movie we'd been waiting to see -- the biographical sketch of famed MLB Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson , played by my fellow Howard University Alum Chadwick Boseman . On opening weekend, 42  made box office history , bringing in $27.3 million, more than any other baseball-themed movie in history. It warmed my heart to watch the start of Jackie's MLB career play out on the widescreen. I laughed. I cried. I got spitting mad. In the end, I celebrated the life of a man who lived with courage and determination . He could have given up a million times. I'm so glad he didn't. But what can we, living in the year 2013, learn from 42 ? I can think of a few things. 1. Never Underestimate the Influence of One Man or Woman History books are full of men and women who led powerful movements. In the Sixteenth Century, Martin Luther led the Protestant Reformation, seeking to make Christianity and th...