Sharing a piece of my heart today—what makes me feel most confident. ✨ My writing, my speaking, and my eyes! Here’s to embracing our unique strengths and shining bright! What makes you feel most confident?
Some people are upset at Forever 21 because a white model online modeled a Black Panther movie “Wakanda Forever” t-shirt? Forever 21 apologized and pulled the ad. Maybe it’s just me but I appreciate everyone of all races celebrating the movie and what it stands for. Go figure...
I’m a native Kentuckian. Two innocent Black Kentuckians get slaughtered in a Kroger grocery store by a white man and our Prez says nothing. Yet a white kid at an upscale KY school (my son once attended)smirks at an Indian elder and gets invited to the White House...very telling.
The world values the idea of celebrity but I am most drawn to people who are most overlooked. There is a star in the single mother, the single father, the cook, the janitor, the mailman, the worker and the teacher. There are heroes and lights inside them too. Respect everyone.
A president’s voice is meant to be a calming presence. Very few want to admit that the current president has contributed to the deadly mass shootings in the US by his reckless rhetorical flame throwing. At one point does the country demand change?
It’s 2019 make this New Year a year that transforms and reshapes you. If you are a leader then lead, if you are a creator then create, if you are a writer, then write but by all means do something new and unexpected you’ll be proud of yourself for and that challenges you.
Creativity is something that comes from deep within. I feel most strong, most alive when I am still and I can somehow listen to my own voice. Stillness is power.
Propaganda, tainted journalism paints and reinforces negative images of Black Life getting arrested, going to jail. Calling out the media for not displaying more positive images of Black men and women. Let’s celebrate positivity!
I see being a Black woman as more of an advantage than a disadvantage. Our ancestors were fearless queens building nations, there is nothing we can’t accomplish once we set our minds to it. There is nothing we can’t do.
There is nothing more special to me than sitting down with old Black women; the Queens, the Matriarchs sharing their lives well spent, their hurts, their regrets, their wisdom....all while playing a good game of Bingo.
As I grow older I care much less about who I am related to and much more about who I relate to. If you bring kindness, if you bring peace and you bring love...then you are my family too.
My mother just told me, "I bought a new dress to wear for when you win first Oscar." I laughed and she said..."No really, I bought a new dress for when you win your first Oscar."
#loveyourmomma
Huge fan of this young lady...my daughter (19) Alexia Faith Roberts. Not only is she an amazing actress, writer, director and filmmaker but her integrity and character is incredibly genuine. Truly blessed to have brought this beautiful soul life.
So Chicago PD gives out an indictment for 16 felony counts against Jussie Smollett but no counts for the death and murder of 17 year old Laquan McDonald at the hands of Chicago Police...”This is America”.
Not saying that Bill Cosby is innocent but how does an 81-year-old man remain dying in prison while Harvey Weinstein is still free? Something is very wrong with that picture. 🤔
Be original and unafraid. Don’t mimic other people’s vision. Instead stay authentic and create your own vision for your life. What is meant for you is for you.
Respect everyone. I remember as a little girl my Dad having a 2nd job cleaning buildings & I’d watch kids laugh at him. I thought to myself, where is your heart? This is someone’s Father.
When I hear someone say, “Stay Woke”, the Nerd in me wants to correct and say, “Stay Awoken”, but then the Black girl in me says, “Girl, hush and stick to the point.”
“In writing the difference between the almost right word and the right word is … the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
—Mark Twain
The most challenging part of becoming a great writer is you have to face your hurt, your scars and everything else that has ever haunted you. So face it, be free and leave it all on the page.
Black people as a whole are disappointed in
#Kanye
West not just for his constant ignorant comments but of his acts of aggression on the people that helped him get where he is. We thought he stood for us...only to learn he stands only for himself.
My Grandmother worked in a hot factory and spent a lot of time teaching me that no matter how high I in life I reached I was never better than anyone else. Every time I see a janitor, a cook, a maid, a worker...I almost want to bow. They work hard everyday and deserve honor too.
At the end of your life, sitting in that old rocking chair, you can’t blame or point fingers at anyone else but yourself if you don’t live your dreams. The only way to lose is to quit. So don’t quit.....
So
@kanyewest
here’s the thing. You can’t talk about the second part of the 13th amendment without offending millions of people about the first part. Can one of your aunties pull you to the side and slow you down like mine used to. Boundaries
@kanyewest
boundaries.
I can’t describe what it feels like sending your Black son into this world. Hoping those who encounter him will recognize he is special, he is loved and he is valued. And that those blinded by the color of his skin will not seek to destroy what took years of prayer to build.
One of the great things about being a Black woman is that because we are challenged so much, it makes us stronger. We are not defined by the challenges, but we do triumph because of them.
One of my issues with government is the Senate and House leaders are meant to be a calming force when the man or (hopefully woman one day) at the top goes off the rails. The Senate leader is afraid to speak up and has no backbone. We need new leadership all the way around.
I think in pushing causes you support you have to be careful not to become the bully you feel is bullying you. Cooler heads must prevail so everyone’s views can be respected.
With every year that passes I grow as a writer and a woman. As a woman I have so much to say and as a writer I have even more to express. I’m proud of both.
Writing for me is an experience. Still to this day, there is something incredibly therapeutic, almost beautiful about seeing a blank piece of paper and filling it up with words.
I am not phased at all by offensive comments about race from anyone. Black Americans have been through too much...survived too much to be deterred, slowed down or moved. We are unshakable.
#Ishallnotbemoved
The more I enjoy watching my own life take shape, the less I spend on watching TV. In writing research is essential but listening to my own thoughts is crucial as well. Stillness speaks to me.
My Dad was humble. He worked at GE then cleaned buildings as a 2nd job. Pretentious people bother me. If you’re a person who disregards the janitor, who walks past the maid and doesn’t speak, who thinks their money & status define them, you are not someone I want to get to know.
Think higher than what you see, higher than the doubt, higher than your circumstances, higher than the hate...your purpose is bigger than what you can imagine.
Was just thinking about my 6th grade talent show when I formed an amateur singing group. I was on stage and the bullies were laughing and pointing at me in the audience. Same bullies asked me for tickets to my original plays years later. Lesson: Ignore your haters. Stay focused.
Create projects you believe in. Hollywood is open now more than ever for new writers, new producers and new talent. Don’t doubt yourself. If there is something you don’t see...write it.
This has been a pretty amazing year. I’ve had two scripts get optioned by Production companies and more big things to come. 2019 is poised to be a great year!
#workingdayandnight
#Godisamazing
Cable news has already shifted the conversation away from catastrophic Hurricane Dorian which claimed so many precious lives in the Bahamas. It will be up to our brothers & sisters of all races to keep the focus on those beautiful souls until they recover from this nightmare.
A coldness is brewing in America. Children being separated from their parents at the Mexican border recalls a dark time when African Mother’s and Father’s children were ripped from their arms and thrown into the gulf of American slavery. Unconscionable.
My grandmother used to say everyone wants things fast. Slow down Baby. Life moves at the pace it’s supposed to in God’s time. Trust the process. It’ll happen bigger than you ever imagined when you’re ready for the blessing. So true.