Soul Flashback of the Week

This morning,

we are feeling Sly and The Family Stone's "If You Want Me To Stay".

We love Sly. Check out this retro video with commentary:

Venus and Serena Not Fine Enough For Austrailian Tennis

Even though Venus and Serena recently made it rain at the Australian Open, they were left off of Tennis' most beautiful women list. It not surprising to me.... we've never been anything but exotic or ass and hips.

Author Jewel Woods recently wrote an article based on this dilemma.

Venus and Serena's Bogus Score

Per usual, Venus and Serena Williams continued to dominate on the court last weekend with big sister winning her 40th singles title in Dubai, after barely nudging past younger sister in the semifinals.

And, as always, the more uncomfortable questions about their extraordinary careers are taking place outside the tennis court lines. In the lily-white world of women's professional tennis, the two statuesque sisters with chocolate skin, flamboyant style and curvaceous figures are pretty hard to ignore. But somehow the Williams sisters were omitted from a list of the 10 Most Beautiful Women posted on the official Web site of the 2009 Australian Open.

The list was filled with sleek, thin images, and European names such as Dementieva and Hantuchova, and gushings over Jelena Jankovic’s “No. 1 body to go along with her No. 1 ranking.” Curiously, there was no mention of the two women of color whose unique looks have challenged Eurocentric standards of beauty all around the world...

Check out the full article at The Root.

Remarkable Connectedness via the NAACP Centennial Celebration and Image Awards

...200 years to the date of Abraham Lincon's Birth
...100 years to the date of the founding of the NAACP
...40 years to the date of the first NAACP Image Awards
... Black actors nominated for Oscars Again
... Black singers sweeping the Grammy's
... Black Nobel Prize Winners
... A Black President of the United States of America

And then we watched the awards.

Black people have come to the point that celebration now means a reflection on the past while moving into the future realm of star power.

Tonight's NAACP Image Awards was more than a mere praise of the 40 years of the show, it was a victorious collection of the best and the brightest from across the globe.

The show's opening of Image Award winner, Beyonce Knowles, was certainly appropriate. Beyonce's performance of her smash hit "Halo" was accompanied by an array of Civil Rights Movement-era photos. Surprisingly, the song became an anthem which tied together the theme of the night with the idea that our forefathers have been "watching over" us for all of these years.

Nonetheless, the major highlight was Jennifer Hudson's acceptance of the Image Award for Best New Artist. She absolutely deserved the honor and it was heart-warming to see the crowd applaud her with a standing ovation. She would later appear in an highly emotional tribute to activist Muhammad Ali, performing "The Impossible Dream".

Will.I.Am's song about the need for social reform was absolutely needed in this time of turmoil in America. We are beginning to see the makings of a new Renaissance of artistry.

The awards, in and of themselves, were for the most part predictable. We knew that Will Smith and Rosario Dawson would win the best actor and best actress trophies. We knew that Beyonce would hands-down win for best female artists. And that Secret Life of Bees would be crowned the best film of the year (seeing that these were all winners of Goldie Awards).

Yet in still, the waving of American flags made our stomach turn a bit. Although we are celebrating a newness associated with President Obama, we are still on the helms of a highly racialized society. We must beg the question as to the symbolism in every audience member waving a mini red, white and blue around. Have we overcome the historical bloodshed of the flag? Does the flag now mean hope to our Black babies? Is it okay to be patriotic now that we have a Black president?

Although we are concerned about the ending of the award show, we were thrilled at the abundance of stars which graced the stage (Cicely Tyson, Halle Berry, Tyler Perry, Monique, Muhammad Ali, and the list goes on and on).

NAACP is so important to our struggle and we felt a sense of pride along with an immense connectedness as we wrapped up one of the most historical nights in Black American History.

Happy Birthday NAACP!

On The 100th Anniversary of the NAACP

100 years later, our dreams are materializing... still slower than expected... happening nonetheless.

Social Activism, Legislative Direction, and International Connectedness: the NAACP has been a primary support in our famous Brown v. Board of Education 1950s victory.

Among other things, we celebrate a long legacy in Black activism! Power to the People.