A Woman of Dignity and Integrity

On By thewriterfredIn Black Culture, Black History, Black Literature1 Comment

Since March is Women’s History Month, I thought I might reflect back over the past century to consider what one particular woman best personified the beauty, morality and dignity of the Black Woman within the public arena. There is a very large selection of my beautiful sisters that meet my criteria. But I have chosen the one individual who I believe easily passes the test and that is Lena Horne. One would be hard pressed to argue with my selection. What makes her such an important figure is not necessarily her beauty and her talent, but the position she took regarding the kind of roles she was willing to play on stage and in movies, and the positions she took in opposition to apartheid in this country and imperialism and colonialism internationally.

lhorneLena Horne placed the perception of Black women above her own career growth. She moved to Hollywood, California in 1940 and became the first Black actress to sign a seven-year contract with Metro-Goldwyn Mayer studio. However, unlike many Black actresses today, she made it quite clear that she would not play any roles she felt were demeaning to Black women in any way. In 1943, she accepted the role of Georgia Brown in Cabin in the Sky. This is the same role performed by Katherine Dunham on stage. That same year, she would also star in the film, Stormy Weather, a musical based on the life of Bill Bojangles Robinson and celebrates the Black music of the Harlem Renaissance, with appearances by Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, and Katherine Dunham.

During World War II Ms. Horne agreed to perform for the troops but when she protested against segregation in the military, her performances came to an abrupt end. In 1946, she participated in a rally held in Madison Square Garden protesting against colonialism. She was also the target of the infamous Senator Joseph McCarthy’s red baiting Senate communist investigation of the 1950’s. Her name, along with great entertainers like Paul Robeson, was placed on the black list of performers accused of aiding communists. She and Robeson spoke out against the atrocities of segregation in this country, and as a result both their careers suffered. Again, she put the interest of her race above the advancement of her own career. How many Hollywood stars today would make the same sacrifice?

One of the real ironies that can exist within a historical context happened when, during the 83rd Academy Awards, a tribute was paid to Lena Horne but the actress chosen to make that tribute was Halle Berry. What makes this ironical is that Berry received an academy award for a role that Lena Horne, undoubtedly, would have refused to play. It takes a stretch of the imagination to visualize Ms. Horne playing the role in Monster Ball that won Berry the award. For that matter, it would also take a stretch of the imagination to see that great lady playing Olivia Pope in Scandal or Cookie in Empire. Can you just imagine, Ms. Horne turning her hind side up to someone and exclaiming, “You don’t have this,” and then popping her butt.

Integrity must be a key consideration in the evaluation of one’s fitness to be considered great. More than any other attributes, Lena Horne possessed an inordinate amount of integrity when she considered her responsibility as an image-maker for Black women. When she sings, “Believe in Yourself,” to Dorothy in the Wiz, she is really singing to young girls of all races and cultures and the words ring true in terms of her life. She did not have to sacrifice her ethics or morals in order to become a star; she only had to believe in herself.

Striking a Blow Against Illiteracy

On By thewriterfredIn Black Literature, San Antonio, TX5 Comments

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Last Saturday evening, one hundred men and women struck a blow against illiteracy when they gathered at the Club at Sonterra in San Antonio, Texas for a tribute dinner to our local authors and to the memory of the late Dr. David Floyd. School teachers, college professors, corporate executives, business men and women and elected officials came together and offered their support for the establishment of the Dr. David Floyd Writing Project, a proposed 501 c3 foundation dedicated to teaching young men and women the craft of writing fiction, non-fiction, poetry, screen writing and autobiographies.

sbai5Our guest speaker for the event was Mrs. Aaronetta Pierce, one of the leading cultural giants in our community. She spoke eloquently on the value of one’s heritage and the importance of cultural sustainability as we reach the halfway point of the second decade of the twenty-first century. Mrs. Pierce, a very close friend of the late and great Dr. Maya Angelou, shared some of her cherished memories of that icon with us. Mrs. Pierce reminded us of just how fortunate we were to have a grand lady like Dr. Angelou as a contributor to the grace and beauty of our culture. She also read excerpts from her soon-to-be published, “Letters to My Grandchildren,” which traces her ancestry back to Tennessee and elaborates on her family’s many accomplishments, despite the extreme obstacles they faced in the racist South during their lifetime. Her message was with the love of family and with sheer determination one can realize their dreams despite obstacles. Her reflections on Dr. Angelou as well as her “Letter to My Grandchildren,” will be two of the key essays in the anthology, Black is the Color of Strength, to be released in April 2015 by Prosperity Publications.

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Mrs. Pierce’s remarks segued right into my brief words on Dr. David Floyd. David was a man who graduated from high school reading at the second grade level but despite extreme obstacles, attained a PhD in Accounting in January 2014.  Unfortunately, we lost David to cancer in October 2014. Before he passed away and at the point he knew he would die, he asked me to write his eulogy because I had helped him write his life story. In my remarks, I described a system that failed David when it passed him from grade to grade knowing he could not read. I spoke about a system that had a cell waiting for David in one of its many prisons. About a system that had a gun waiting for David, so that he could take the life of another young man just like him.  About a system that had plenty of drugs waiting for David and a system that had death waiting for David, so that his life would end without any accomplishments at all. But this system did not know David Floyd. He defied all these odds and became an example for other young boys who face the identical pathological conditions in their lives.

sbai3David is no longer here to present to young adults what is possible if you are willing to try. He is a symbol of success against overwhelming obstacles. And that is why the one hundred guests at our dinner, along with our distinguished speaker and many thousands more have made a commitment to create the Dr. David Floyd Writing Project, as a vehicle to spread his story and assist others in their goals to become just as successful as him. Last Saturday evening was our first blow, but stay tuned because there are many more blows yet to come.

You will have the opportunity to read more about David’s fantastic accomplishments in his revised autobiography, Through My Mother’s Tears, to be released in May 2015 by Prosperity Publications. Once you read his story, you will know exactly why we plan to establish our writing project in his name.

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