I would like to announce that my work with colorism will be featured in this year’s “Black in America” documentary! This year’s documentary is about racial identity. The documentary airs December 9th on CNN. Check your local listings! Thank you all for your continued support of what I do. The glory goes to God!
Soledad O’Brien and I
Actress Gabrielle Union opened up to Ebony Magazine recently with a letter to her younger self, hoping to inspire women and girls going through hard times, dealing with things like colorism and low self-esteem.
From her letter:
“Your deep Mahogany skin may not resemble that of the others in your family, but it’s just as gorgeous and you’re just as worthy….One day you’ll appreciate how much your brown skin shines in the moonlight, glistens in the sun and ages ever so slowly…”
“Don’t let that pesky low self-esteem creep in and fool you into believing that you don’t have value…don’t allow it to crush your will or dampen your spirit…Never worry about LOVE….real love will find you….an incredible love with an incredible man….there is a beautiful rainbow at the end of your storm…”
“…Don’t let other people’s needs, wants, desires, fantasies, hopes or dreams dictate your choices and decisions. Follow your own path, and don’t worry that you’re being selfish or disloyal…”
Rich, poor, famous or not, light or dark, short or tall, COLORISM and self-esteem don’t discriminate. Let’s embrace our stories and the stories of others so we call can learn from painful pasts and move forward! And to read the rest of Gabrielle Union’s letter, check out October’s Ebony Magazine, in stores this coming week!
Looking for something fun, educational and cultural for this coming weekend? Stop by the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond Saturday morning (August 11th at 10:30A) for the unique opportunity to meet and mingle with Henry “Pistol” Mason, Joe “Pop” Durham, Mamie “Peanut” Johnson-Goodman, and Pedro Sierra — four Negro League Baseball players. Attendees will be able to take pictures, get autographs and ask the players about life in the Negro League.
At 12:30P, a ticketed fundraiser luncheon and auction will follow the free educational event. Proceeds from the auction benefit the Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project, which serves to provide proper headstones for deceased Negro League players with unmarked graves.
For more information, please visit the info page at the Virginia Historical Society’s website here.
Richmond: Looking for a positive outlet for your 13-18 year old daughter/ niece/ friend/ etc. ? Look no further. God’s Royal Daughters Day Camp is a one-day camp that strives to provide young girls with self-esteen, confidence, spirituality and other gems crucial to womanhood.“The teens will learn how to be a Godly young lady from A to Z,” says Kyia Hobson, Liberty University student and co-founder of the camp (along with her mother). The camp includes but isn’t limited to etiquette instruction, health and fitness education, skin care and make-up tips, abstinence education, modeling techniques, and much more!
“My mom and I both have a heart for this generation and we want to train and push them into their destiny. My mother actually came up with the vision for this day camp. We wanted to do something that would train teens to be the girls that God called them to be by equipping them practically and spiritually,” Hobson says. Hobson has high hopes for the camp. “We hope the girls will receive everything that the team has poured out to them at God’s Royal Daughters’ Day Camp. The team has been carefully handpicked to meet the needs of the girls. We want each girl to be impacted. It is our goal that every girl in attendance leave changed, impacted, and transformed by Christ,” says Hobson.
The world is FULL of its issues, especially for us females. As we all know, it is vital to cultivate young girls as soon as possible, so they have the tools to become the BEST women they can be and combat the pressures life presents. God’s Royal Daughters seems like a great step forward in a positive direction!
God’s Royal Daughter’s Day Camp will take place on June 23rd, 2012 from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. at Martins’ Community Center at Cross Ridge on Staples Mill Road. The cost for one girl to attend is $30 (2 or more $25 each; 10 or more $20 each), including lunch. Register online at Godsroyaldaughters.com or by phone at 804-592-8527. Registration CLOSES on JUNE 21st. Call 804-592-8527 or email support@godsroyaldaughters.com for questions and concerns and check out Godsroyaldaughters.com for more information about the camp, its initiatives and its founders!
Ladies, are you “gymtimidated?”
Nervous about looking & feeling bad at the gym?
NO WORRIES! Check out this article about looking and feeling your BEST at the gym!
This past Monday, I spoke at the Virginia Baptist State Convention. I had a blast and the women I got to speak to thoroughly enjoyed what I had to say. I was asked to bring copies of “Light-Skinned, Dark-Skinned or In-Between?” and I sold every copy I brought with me. My mother and I befriended a woman who is involved in the Women’s Auxiliary unit of the Convention and she has taken me under her wing ever since. The women, who are predominately older, traditional Baptists, have all treated me like family. “We have to hold on to the young ones, because young people don’t often become involved with the Convention!” one lady said to me, while embracing me with a big, warm hug. I’m looking forward to working with the Woman’s Auxiliary and the Convention as a whole in the near future!
Last week, “Under the Rug,” debuted at my school, University of Richmond. There was a FULL HOUSE in the audience — standing room only at one point. A lot of my family and even my best friend travelled from Chesapeake to come see it! After a semester of hard work, writing, researching and rehearsing with my cast, I must say the finished product was nothing short of glorious. We (my faculty mentor Dr. Holland, the cast and I) managed to come together to not only create art but to start dialogue.
To see more pictures from the show & my creative process, check out theBlackertheBerry’s fanpage on Facebook:(http://www.facebook.com/#!/theblackertheberry)
Here are a few snapshots from the night:
Check out my student theatre production on Thursday, April 19th at University of Richmond! “Under the Rug” is a provocative piece that explores the ills of colorism in the black community. Colorism is discrimination, usually within an ethnic group, where one’s value is based on the shade of his or her skin. This is a show you will NOT want to miss! Check out the event page on Facebook here:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/331066580285870/
Shame. Shame. Shame. Gets back to the whole “talking white” stigma. When will people learn, people?
Here’s the full story:
A veteran Fairfax County high school teacher has been accused of using racially insensitive language by telling a student to read a Langston Hughes poem in a “blacker” style.
Jordan Shumate, a ninth-grader at George C. Marshall High School in Falls Church, Va., told the Washington Post that he was reading Hughes’ “Ballad of the Landlord” when the English teacher interrupted him.
“She told me, ‘Blacker, Jordan. C’mon, blacker. I thought you were black,'” Shumate told the Post. The 14-year-old student claimed that when he refused to continue reading the poem, the teacher read it herself, apparently to demonstrate the style of speaking she meant.
Read NBCWashington.com’s coverage of the Fairfax school investigation
“She sounded like a maid on the 1960s,” Shumate told the Post, saying he asked the teacher if she thought all black people spoke that way. “She read the poem like a slave, basically.”
He said he was reprimanded for talking out of turn and was told to sit down.
Shumate told his mother, Nicole Cober Page, about the incident on Tuesday, the Post said.
According to the Post, mother and son identified the teacher as Marilyn Bart. Bart has not spoken publicly about the alleged incident, the Post reported.
Principal Jay Pearson declined to provide further details on Friday, adding, “We take these allegations very seriously, and we’re investigating.”
Hello Beautiful People! Check out this GREAT community event coming up in April here in RVA:
Unique Senior Care Benefit Dinner & Dance
Like to eat? Like to dance? Like to give money back to our community for a wonderful cause? OF COURSE YOU DO! Sounds like you need to make your way to the Unique Senior Care Benefit Dinner & Dance this April! This event will be full of live entertainment, speaking, dancing and more. All the proceeds will go toward future Unique Senior Care, Inc. training programs and a scholarship fund. Unique Senior Care works to provide people who normally couldn’t afford to enter the nursing field training and education. In addition, USC also works to provide local seniors with care & companionship. Please visit their website at http://www.uniqueseniorcare.org/default.html for more information about their initiatives.
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TICKET COST: $30.00 (adults); $15.00 (children 10 and under); children 3 and under — free
WHERE: Smoketree Community Center, 11100 Smoketree Drive, RIchmond, VA 23236
WHEN: April 28th, 2012 at 6 PM
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* BYOB
* For ticket info, please call Unique Senior Care at (804)-303-0305 OR (804)-245-1995
I’m very excited for this event, as it is for a good cause, great people are behind it and I have the honor of serving as the keynote speaker! Hope to see you there!
Dr. Kiara Shanay Lee 