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...

A day after a grand jury decided not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of an unarmed Michael Brown, I must say -- I am weary.  I am weary of reading and hearing this same news clip over and over again. And I am weary of writing and rewriting the same blog post over and over again. I wrote this same post when Trayvon Martin was killed. I wrote this same post when Mark Zimmerman's trial ended in a not-guilty verdict . And I'm certain I wrote this exact same post when Michael Brown was killed . Maybe you - like me - are ready to discuss a different topic. Maybe you'd like to move on from the issue of race relations in the US.  Maybe you're weary too. But we must speak. We must write. We must persevere despite our weariness and disillusionment. More than anything - we must have HOPE. And it's in the spirit of HOPE that I write today. It's with a heart clinging to hope that I share what I'm hoping for i...

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...