Our hearts are so full after the annual journey to the sacred grounds of our ancestors. This is a life-affirming, energy-elevating, soul-liberating safe space. The power that emanates from this soil is tangible. We deeply bow to the wisdom of generations before us who knew we would need this in our lives.
Grateful for the numerous people and businesses that choose to follow our Facebook page over the last few months:
Chasidy Robinson + Atlanta Lions Club + John Wesley Scales + Shailu Reddy + Diane Rice Williams + Jeffrey Moore + DJ Beauty and the Beats + Vita Earl Gardner + Orange Green Red and Blue Whilom + Richard Green + Terri Bentley + Judy Jones + Dwight Hughes + Carla Mills + Wanda Waters + Eddie Miller + Daryl Carter + Daryl Donald + Sheila Peters + Diantha McLeod + Erin Clements + Sheila Cook Jones + WA Tolbert + Sandis Cooper + Vernon Dixon + Hollie Stephenson + Bryan Varo + Patrick Valentine + John Evans + Aleccis Coleman + Henry Belin III + Dianne Sawl + Kim Syms + Anton Burrell + Avis Easley + Jason Harter + Catricia Baxter + Dorothy Cobbett + Tamela Sain + Ebony Carney + Angelina Hesseltine + Frankie Lee and Inferno + Leah Young + Maximus MH + 100 Black Men of Dekalb + The Payroll Company + Total Dominion Male + The Paragon Group + Isari Events + Evelyn Menzies + Rudy Dirl + Shey Tripathi + Ken Taylor + Daryl Williams Dotson + Rey Cojaque Palmares Gomez + Cleatrice McTorry and more to come...
From less than humble beginnings, sometimes greatness can breakthrough and can come forth. I am on the road again this time visiting the home of the Jackson Five in Gary, Indiana. It sits unassumingly in a mixed income urban neighborhood that I’m sure was a bustling cradle of comfort for people of color at its height. The structure is less than 1000 square feet and held 11 people. This is the incubator that birthed the creative juggernauts that made women and men scream in their presence.
I am driving along a somewhat isolated roadway in the early morning. There is a man laid out by the side of the road near the curb. His arms were stretched out, hands curled, legs up and bent at the knees. I stopped to see if he would move; he did not. I called 911. They asked me to wait and flag-down the ambulance; I agreed. So as I sat waiting, a security guard from an adjacent property stopped and got out of his vehicle. He thought I needed help because I had my hazard lights on. I pointed to the man on the side of the road. The security guard went to a nearby tree and pulled a branch off. I was not sure why he did that until he walked over and started poking this man with the tree branch. Low and behold this man raised himself up and said; “oh hello officer” just as clear as a bell. About this time the ambulance rolled-up. The security guard said, “I’ll take it from here, ma’am”. The universe was conspiring for his good for sure.
Everybody always got something to say about the south. But at the end of the day, the people of this region will keep it real; greet you with a smile and a hardy hug. This is one of the fastest growing regions in North America. That is why we have and continue to invest in our community. It must be that southern hospitality. It’s hard to resist the charm for sure.
Paisley Park Purple Pilgrimage done! When business travel takes you to the land of Paisley Park, you must lay your eyes on the place where genius lived, and greatness flourished. Minneapolis held so many pivotal places that shaped the brilliance of Prince.
While out walking on a beautiful spring evening, I heard a gang of feet coming up behind me. I gripped my walking stick a little tighter and turned around only to find some puppies joining me on my walk. They trailed along with appropriate social distancing, followed me home and turned around to return to their street after the walk was complete. They made me smile.
A former colleague reached out to me from the other side of the world to make sure I was not swept up by the weather events happening across the country. I was sincerely touched by their concern. I have crossed paths with so many kind and caring souls as I travelled the world. When one you have not heard from in sometime checks on your well-being it touches you in unexpected ways and blows your skirt up.
February is a month where we celebrate love and history.
Let’s embrace this as the month of Black Love.
Take time to love on your Negro, Colored, Black, Indigenous, People of
Color or African American sisters and brothers however they may refer to
themselves. Reinforce their value, worth and beauty in a world where they
may be “othered”. Honor them with thoughtful intention this month and every month. We can shift the narrative. The evolution continues!
We all experience the impacts of trauma whether we are aware or it is unacknowledged. When it manifests in ways that hinder our momentum or growth, we must learn to sit with those feelings. In order to adequately heal, we must learn to properly comfort ourselves in ways that correct the neglect. Numbing or ignoring the injury only delays the inevitable. Let the emotions freely flow through you and listen for the lessons.
