Taylor Jay Collection Presents "End of the Decade" Photo Shoot and Gathering, Sunday March 1, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.

Taylor Jay Collection Presents End of the Decade Photo Shoot and Gathering  

    Oakland, CA– Taylor Jay Collection will present the End of the Decade Photo  Shoot, taking place at Lake Merritt at 1520 Lakeside Drive on Sunday, March 1,  2020, at 10:00am, featuring Taylor Jay, lite bites and drinks, giveaways and much  more! Come dressed in your favorite Taylor Jay and photo ready!    Taylor Jay is proud to bring End of the Decade Photo shoot to the beautiful Lake  Merritt. This event is presented in celebration of Women’s Month, and Taylor Jay  Collection’s 5th Anniversary. We will feature a multi-generational, ethnically  diverse and all-body inclusive group of women who represent the beauty of  Oakland and the Bay Area.     This is a FREE Event for all TJ supporters and members of our community. If you  are a local small business owner or sustainable brand and would like to  participate by contributing to this event (sponsorship or donation of giveaway  items)please contact ola@taylorjaycollection.com so we can include you as a  trusted business partner.    Taylor Jay Collection is a local woman owned sustainable fashion brand with its  design studio and a brick and mortar location right here in Oakland. Learn more  about our brand here: www.taylorjaycollection.com 

For further information, please contact CathyAdams, CDA Consulting Group

Rest In Peace, B. Smith - A Very Extraordinary Woman

We have lost another African American icon.

Barbara Elaine Smith (B. Smith) passed away on February 22, 2020 of early-onset Alzheimer's Disease.

B. Smith's name was synonymous with class, beauty, elegance, style.  For me, long before Martha Stewart, there was B. Smith.

At only 70 years of age, she seemed far too young to pass away of a disease that impacts many people, and in disproportionate numbers, African Americans.

This might be a good time for those of us (including myself) who haven't done the work we should toward helping to fight this monster of a disease to get busy.

I can imagine she's hosting elegant parties in heaven.

With love and gratitude to B. Smith for all she symbolized and brought to the world.

Writer's Block, New Year Resolutions and Why Black History Month Still Matters

It's been a very long time since I posted here.  Too long.

Full disclosure.  I've had a bit of writer's block fueled by pressure to change my habits in 2020.

I began to wonder if my ramblings and musings make a difference to anyone.  

And then I realized they make a difference.  The difference they make is to me because when I'm able to express how I'm feeling, even if I don't have any earth shattering announcements or events, it's part of my personal development and I'm still learning to get out of my own way.

That said, I wanted to talk about Black History Month.  

This February seemed to roll around quicker than others and I think that's a lot to do with Thanksgiving and Christmas being so close together this year and so much to do with so little time.

Black History Month still matters.  It matters because even though it may seem that we already know all of the stories that PBS is telling this month, we don't.  The fact is that in 2019 we lost a lot of important people in Black America.

Bernard Tyson, John Conyers, Elijah Cummings, Ernest James and Jessye Norman to name a few.

Who will make sure that their stories live on for the next generation and the generation after?  If we forget the past we will surely have no future.  Our imprint is important.  Our history is America's history.

We're over halfway through February.  Don't let the month go by without learning something new about someone in Black History that you didn't know.

For me, it was the story of Nellie Jackson in "Mississippi Madam" on Amazon.  

February Challenge:  Pick at least one documentary or book to watch or read before the end of this month.  It would be better if you picked at least three - but one is a good place to start.

HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH