SAVE THE DATE - March 23, 2012 - Madam C. J. Walker Awards and Luncheon

We Will Always Love You - Rest In Peace, Whitney

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012)

Should CNN Have Suspended Roland Martin? Is He A Homophobe?

Unless you've been under a rock, you've probably heard about CNN Contributor and TV One's Roland Martin's suspension from CNN earlier this week for offensive tweets made during the Super Bowl.

I have to honestly say that I was one of the people following Roland on Twitter on Super Bowl Sunday. I'm pretty sure I saw at least one of the allegedly offensive tweets. However, since I was somewhat dozing at the time, I don't recall being offended. That's not to say the tweets were or were not offensive, just to say that I tend to take Roland Martin for what he is - an intelligent, well-informed, shoot from the hip commentator and yes someone who often leaps before he looks.

That said, I don't think he is a homophobe, advocates violence or that he meant any of his tweets in the literal sense. Here's what he said:

If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him! #superbowl

Ladies, if your man don’t like sports, send his azz back to the factory. He came to you defective! #rolandsrules

I’m sorry. I’m not down with seeing dudes walking around with bags on their shoulders that resemble women’s handbags. #helltothenaw

Who the hell was that New England Patriot they just showed in a head to toe pink suit? Oh, he needs a visit from #teamwhipdatass

This is just one more example of how social media can really come back to bite you in the rear. Especially when you're in the public eye and most especially during an election year. Add to the mix, you're on Team Obama.

The moral of the story: Be careful on the twitters-phere because free speech isn't always free.

I Miss Don Cornelius

Before there was Barack Obama, there was Don Cornelius.

I find myself sadder today, one day after hearing the news of his passing, than I was when I initially heard the report.

Mr. Cornelius, 75, died on February 1, 2012, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. I think it’s just set in for me today because when I first heard I really wasn’t surprised that he’d taken his own life. In fact, over the last few years, I had heard more about Don Cornelius’s personal life than I ever did in the entire time he hosted Soul Train.

While always upbeat and courteous to his guests and the dancers, he maintained a certain “coolness,” that while I wouldn’t describe it as cold, I wouldn’t describe him as one who allowed outsiders into Don’s world. He was somewhat mysterious. And I loved that about him. Actually, it was sort of sexy.

I overheard a lady on the train yesterday talking on the phone about how it was a shame that he tarnished such a great legacy by dying the way he did. I don’t see it that way, at all. If anything, it seems that Mr. Cornelius was a man who liked to be in control of his own destiny, though none of us are truly in control.

But to the extent he could control his fate, he did. I suspect he probably was suffering from the effects of aging (although he always appeared young in spirit), poor health and a nasty divorce. This combination can take a toll on a 75 year old man.

For me, nothing could tarnish his legacy or take away from the appeal of his sultry voice. He opened the door for so many artists when no one else did. He also gave African Americans a sense of pride about their appearance (the dancers always rocked the newest fashions). He helped to promote Ultra Sheen, Afro Sheen and Essence Magazine. And I can’t help but think he made a lot of white folks envious. Can you imagine how much they wanted to be black when watching “Soul Train?”

I’m sorry that he’s gone, but I’m happy that he left, privately, and before the tabloids could publish photos of a sick, weary and unrecognizable Don Cornelius.

I wish you “Love, Peace and Soul.”*

*Don Cornelius’s trademark signoff on “Soul Train”

DON CORNELIUS, REST IN PEACE

Don Cornelius, the creator of TV's "Soul Train," has died at the age of 75.

A press information officer at the Los Angeles Police Department told CBS Radio News that police responded to a call of a shooting at Cornelius' home in Los Angeles. There is no suspicion of foul play.

TMZ reports that Cornelius died of an apparent suicide. Law enforcement sources told the website that he died of a gunshot wound to the head that officials believe was self-inflicted.

"Soul Train" debuted on television in 1971 and ran until 2006. Cornelius produced the show and was its host from 1971-1993.

MORE DETAILS AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE

Sinners & Saints by Victoria Christopher Murray & ReShonda Tate Billingsley

I knew that there was a lot of power and prestige associated with being the First Lady of a church, particularly, an African-American church, but I never thought that anyone would go to the extremes that Jasmine Larson Bush and Rachel Jackson Adams do for the title of First Lady to the President of the American Baptist Coalition in this urban fiction novel.

I literally had to force myself to put this book down. It was better than anything happening with Nene or Phaedra or even The Braxtons. Finished it in two nights.

These sisters are - well - there's no other word - ruthless!! This book is like a 'girl-fight' to the second power. They will stop at nothing to get their husbands elected. Expect some unexpected twists. Oh, and plenty of deceit. Some people you think are saints are really sinners.

And considering the church news we've been hearing over the past year or so, it's quite plausible that events like those depicted in "Sinners & Saints" could actually happen in real life.

MediaTakeout has nothing on this.

Victoria Christopher Murray is the author of ten bestselling novels.

Reshonda Tate Billingsley is the author of twenty-one books.


I'm waiting for the sequel.

"Sinners & Saints" - a guilty pleasure :)

"RED TAILS" OPENS TODAY

RED TAILS OPENS

Friday, January 20



TODAY Lucasfilm, i.e. George "Star Wars" Lucas releases RED TAILS, the highly anticipated action-packed film based on the real-life heroics of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all African American aerial combat unit.



This is a project of passion for George, a project he had to self-finance because major studies "did not know how to market it..." Despite the obstacles, what we now have is a GREAT INSPIRATIONAL FILM. And -- it appears RED TAILS has become the litmus test for big budget films featuring an African American cast.



SUPPORT RED TAILS at the Box Office, especially during this critical opening weekend. This will prove a point to Hollywood, provide a pathway for future films of this type, inspire our youth, and most importantly expose the world to the untold story of the Tuskegee Airmen, some of our nation's greatest wartime heroes.