Posted on Friday, June 26, 2015

Tamela Mann Shares About ‘The Gospel Tradition: In Performance At The White House’ & More: MY INTERVIEW…

Tamela Mann performs during “The Gospel Tradition: In Performance at the White House” in the East Room of the White House, April 14, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Hello World,

As you can see (if you’ve been to my blog before), I have moved into a new blog space!!! Check out the new After the Altar Call!!! Don’t you love it? More information to come in a later post, but I’m honored today to share my interview with all around entertainer Tamela Mann!!!

Tonight at 9PM/ET, TV One, along with PBS, will jointly premiere the Black Music Month special The Gospel Tradition: In Performance at the White House. Showcasing an evening of celebration with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House, the spectacular event honors gospel music and its profound influence on American music. The broadcast event also includes exclusive behind-the-scenes content including exclusive interviews with the artist and footage from the First Lady Michelle Obama-hosted “History of Gospel Music” workshop.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks during “The Gospel Tradition: In Performance at the White House” in the East Room of the White House, April 14, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)

The evening features performances:

Aretha Franklin – I Love the Lord He Heard My Cry & Higher Ground

Bishop Rance Allen – I Stood On The Banks of Jordan

Pastor Shirley Caesar – Sweeping Through the City

Rhiannon Giddens – Up Above My Head

Darlene Love – People Get Ready

Lyle Lovett – I’m Gonna Wait

Tamela Mann – Take Me to the King

Michelle Williams – Say Yes

T Bone Burnett as Executive Music Director, Bill Maxwell as Music Director and Robin Roberts as program host.

Below is my interview with Tamela Mann –

1. What was it like to perform for President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama?

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama listen to Michelle Williams perform during “The Gospel Tradition: In Performance at the White House” in the East Room of the White House, April 14, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

It was such an honor to sing for them. But you know what, let me back up a little bit. I was really, when I got the call, when I was told I had the opportunity to sing there, I was like, ‘WHAT?!’ But I was quite loud! I was a lot louder than I am right now. I told David (her husband), but my eyes just really watered because I could not believe that this was happening. And my mom is deceased, and she used to always tell me that if I love the Lord with my whole heart, God would take me far. But I never dreamed or imagined something like this happening to me, me being there. I never even thought. That was not even in my plan, like one day singing for him or any president period. So when it happened, I was like, ‘Oh My God!’ Like I can’t believe that this. I actually said it while I was singing. Oh God, Oh Lord, I couldn’t believe that this was happening to me. Them standing or sitting right there in front of me. It was an amazing night! Everybody did a great job. And just to be a part of it. When I finished, of course, I’m a church girl so I just kept praising God while I was coming off of the stage because I was just thanking God for the opportunity to just do what I do and just show hopefully people the Christ that I live through me on that night. And that was wonderful for me.

2. Congratulations on being the first artist on the Billboard Gospel Radio charts to have three consecutive songs from one album to earn the No. 1 spot! Of those songs, “Take Me to the King,” “I Can Only Imagine” and “This Place,” which one is your favorite song and why?

My favorite out of all those three songs is “This Place.” And the reason why I say “This Place” is because I couldn’t even imagine being at this place. For all of these things to have happened the way that they have happened. You know you kind of plan stuff. And you say that this may happen like this, this may happen like that, but I didn’t know any of that. And I’m just in amazement of God and the doors that He has opened so “This Place.” So I’m talking right now, but my eyes are just watering up because I’m just so grateful because I feel like there are so many other people that are better than me. Not that I don’t have great confidence in myself. But I don’t feel like I’m the best. I feel like I do pretty good, but I’m just really honored for the opportunity to be able to stand before God’s people, and I want to make Him proud bottom line. So “This Place” would be my song.

3. You’ve done theater, television, film and music. What is your favorite of what you have done and why? Is a book in the works?

Singing is my favorite. Singing is my passion. And acting is like icing on the cake. But singing would be my first love because that’s the one thing that I feel like I do the best. It’s like when people ask you what is your favorite meal to cook? I feel like meat loaf is my best meal. (Laughs), but singing is the best for me.

Me and David do have a marriage book in the works. But we’ve just got to sit down. I’m talking to myself right now, and get this done! It should have been out yesterday! Hopefully, next year. I’m going to put it in the air, next year. I’m going to say by the second quarter.

4. You work with your husband David in various ventures. Along with your husband, you are the co-star of the Bounce TV comedy, ‘Mann & Wife,’ and you have a family reality show on BET, ‘It’s A Mann’s World. And the two of you have been married for 27 years. What is it like to spend so much time together?

It’s the bomb! And I’m not kidding! He’s my best friend, and you know you tell your best friend everything. And I like him. I’m not just in love with him. I like my husband. Like I was just sitting with him outside earlier because he was doing some stuff outside. And just doing stuff together. It’s just simple. We’re simple people. We’re not really flashy. We have a few nice things, but it’s not about the things. It’s about our family, loving each other, loving the Lord. And by us pleasing the Lord, the Lord has given us the desires of our hearts. We always say we’re taking the world over together. It’s just about being together and doing it all together. It’s just amazing that after 27 years, he still gives me goose bumps, and I still enjoy his company. And he still makes me cackle like a teenager, blush, all that! And we’re just still enjoying each other. And we prayed for that, that the Lord would keep that in us and with us for each other until we die.

I’m going to say this, and I know I have to move on because David always says I should keep my answers short. But we were riding, and we were just saying that it is inevitable that one of us one day is going to have to, we may die or go. And I was sitting in the car and my eyes just, Jacqueline, they just filled up with water. And he was like, ‘What?’ And I was like, I say, ‘It’s true, but I just wouldn’t want to live without you.’ We both feel the same way. And I know that one day, it’s gon happen, but our prayer is that we go together. I know that’s hard because we have kids and grandkids, but it would be rough, Jacqueline. That would be a hard pill to swallow.

5. What is your secret for being married for 27 years?

That’s not a secret. I’m in love. It’s love. Love is not a secret. But that is what has kept our marriage together. We’re in love, and we like each other and spending time together. Divorce is not an option. It’s not even on the table. We’re just in it to win it. That’s what I encourage and try to pass on to other couples. That you stay in love and yes, there are going to be some times that are going to be rough. Marriage is just like your job. You have to work at it. It’s not something that is just going to fall in your lap. You have to please each other. And we try to outdo each other doing for each other. And then nothing goes lacking because you’re making sure that I get the things that I want and need and me vice versa doing the same for him.

So what have you done recently to outdo David?

Well, for Father’s Day, I went and got him this Egg (a grill). He’s a griller. And he has this Egg, but he wanted the bigger one, but he was like it costs too much. For my birthday, they really went out, the family went out. I just wanted a birthday party, a pool party. And they really went out for me. The day before I was like, ‘Wouldn’t it be just cool for us to just watch movies outside?’ So they went and got me this big screen and had it outside for my birthday. It was around the playoffs. So we watched the playoffs from the pool. And we had a whole bunch of people over there. And we had the game on and a lot of people were just watching it. So I used my birthday money to get him his gift. And he was like, ‘That was too much!’ And I was like, ‘No, I used my money.’ So I’m on the ups right now! (Laughter)

6. I’ve read that David revamped his diet since being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and that you’ve lost over 100 pounds? How long did it take to lose the weight, and how do you keep it off?

Over a year or so. And I’ve put some on because I’ve dealt with weight my whole life. To me, that’s my thorn in my side. It’s something that I have to constantly work on even right now getting back in the gym and eating right. I’ve been blessed because I haven’t had any problems or been diagnosed with high blood pressure or diabetes. I’m just a thick girl. David has overcome his with working out and changing his diet. He has regulated his where he is no longer diabetic. He still has to watch and really pay attention to what he is eating and all that kind of stuff. So he is really mindful of what he does. We both kind of try to monitor each other so that is how we go about it.

7. I read that you and David come from humble beginnings and couldn’t afford to have a wedding which one reason why the two of you had a wedding vow renewal ceremony in 2013. What is your favorite perk of being a celebrity and making more money?

I don’t know. You know, honestly, I don’t look at myself as being a celeb. I tell people I’m a regular Joe. I know that sounds probably lame, but it’s true. I just tell people that we’re all stars in God’s eyes. There may be a few more people that know me than know you, but there’s no difference between me and you. I notice now that people give me stuff and when I didn’t have anything people wasn’t giving me nothing. (Laughing). People should be more giving. But I just try to give back and just be helpful to my family and others. I don’t know Jacqueline. I don’t have an answer for that. I never prayed to be rich. My prayer to God was to be well off so that when I helped somebody, I wouldn’t have to worry about the money if I loaned it. I wouldn’t have to worry about getting it back. That’s my prayer.

Please be sure to watch The Gospel Tradition: In Performance at the White House at 9PM/ET Tonight on TV One!!!

Any thoughts?

Posted on Sunday, May 3, 2015

‪#‎IAmBaltimore‬ : Black, White, Blue… And Gray

Hello World,

I must admit I’ve grown weary of trying to comprehend the incomprehensible : the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott and more…So when I first heard about the death of Freddie Gray, I simply didn’t want to allow it to penetrate my consciousness….It had/has become too much…

And then Monday, April 27, in Baltimore happened…riots that resulted in a senior center, that Southern Baptist Church had raised money for eight years to build, being destroyed by fire…a CVS was looted…Then, came the emergence of the “hero mom,” President Obama’s speech referring to the rioters as “thugs,” declarations by Rev. Al Sharpton and Pastor Jamal Bryant and finally Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s Friday, May 1 announcement that six Baltimore police officers involved in Freddie Gray’s arrest would be prosecuted for his death…

But beyond all of the news stories and angry commentaries, I wanted a perspective of someone simply living in the city…someone that I knew…that opportunity came when my friend Leslie J. Sherrod, who lives in Baltimore, wanted to tell her own story using the hastag ‪#‎IAmBaltimore‬…I asked her to share her story here on my blog and she thankfully obliged…Below is her story…

My father grew up on a little street named Ruxton Avenue. It’s in West Baltimore, off of North Avenue and behind Mondawmin Mall, the area at the very epicenter where Baltimore exploded in reaction to the death of Freddie Gray. My father has been quiet this week. When I asked him his thoughts about the past few days, sorrow filled his voice as he reflected on what the whole nation witnessed on Monday. “It’s hard to watch your old neighborhood be destroyed,” he said. That’s all he said. He’s turned off the TV and has watched little coverage since then.

Someone I know shared with me a story about her brother. “He was killed by the cops several years ago,” she says, “and nothing was ever done about it.” She and her family members witnessed the entire incident, him dying before their eyes as his throat was crushed. She pulls up the Internet, shows me a short paragraph of the event that made it into the Baltimore Sun back then. The article blames him for his own death. He choked on something, it reads; no mention of authorities involved. This woman, his sister, shrugs as she speaks to me. Her eyes glaze over with tears and then she turns back to her workstation to continue with her day.

A former supervisor tells me that she is surprised by the violent anger. Though a social worker in Baltimore City for many decades, she admits to being unaware of the rage, disillusionment, and angst simmering just under the surface of so many affected by poverty, addictions, limited job opportunities, failing schools and ongoing personal and public trauma. Not of the urban community, but working in it, she just didn’t know and could not imagine the depth – and repercussions – of such desperation, despite her years of experience.

Stories, memories, questions, observations.

Though we do not yet know how the current events in Baltimore will conclude, we will all make personal assessments based on our individual interactions, conversations, and through the lenses which we see our lives and others. The tragedy of Freddie Gray blew off the lid of a Pandora ’s Box of social ills we have as a society tried to ignore. What we have learned this week is that those ills do not just fade away if not addressed. We’ve been forced to air out our thoughts and weigh our opinions on every topic from racism, parental discipline, authority figures, politics, media representation, and more. The media has especially played a large role in shaping the national discourse, repeatedly highlighting the several blocks or so where the most damage was done, yet ignoring the 99% of Baltimore’s citizens who’ve engaged in peaceful protests, assisted with clean-up efforts, prayed together, and begun the work of healing.

I will not pretend to explore the deep social, emotional, institutional, and spiritual factors that contributed to the events of my city this week. I will, however, challenge everyone to consider their own lens.

Before Christ took up his cross, he pulled together those closest to him to have dinner one last time. Everyone at the table had a role, a perspective: the doubter, the denier, the betrayer, the confused. Everyone at Christ’s table had a lens through which they viewed the history they were living, and everyone had a purpose that somehow contributed to the greater goal of redemption.

America, this is a redeeming moment in our history. Whether black or white; whether wearing blue uniforms or orange jumpsuits; whether a resident, an activist, a victim, a rioter, a journalist, or a bystander, we all bring perspective to the table and it is at the table of our communities and cities where we must collectively commune and dine. Like a family dinner gone awry, we often sit across from each other in our respective seats in society and blame and scream and break dishes and storm out.

This week I’ve heard the roars of helicopters, the blares of sirens, and the chants of protesters. However, I’ve also heard about gang members tying their colors together and meeting with church leaders; about reporters being challenged by concerned citizens off camera regarding the often negative spin of news segments; about people pooling their money together to rebuild destroyed homes and businesses; about students and drivers organizing to provide assistance to seniors who depended on a neighborhood pharmacy that was burned down.

We are at a moment right now to hear each other, to sit down and talk. Let’s go beyond Black and White and Blue. Let’s not be afraid to address the difficult Gray areas of justice and redemption.

Everyone’s story deserves to be heard.

Let’s listen and learn.

Leslie J. Sherrod is a social worker in Baltimore where she lives with her husband and three children. She is also the author of six novels, most of which are set in her hometown, all of which address social concerns with intrigue and inspiration. Visit her website, LeslieJSherrod.com for more information about her work and her mission.

Any thoughts?

Posted on Sunday, March 29, 2015

Atlanta’s First Black First Lady Pens New Church for Churches…

Hello World,

I wanted to end Women’s History Month by devoting today’s blog entry to an important woman in Atlanta history. That woman is Ms. Bunnie Jackson-Ransom, president and CEO of firstClass, Inc., a full-service public relations and marketing firm she founded in 1975. Her clients lengthy list of clients have included but are definitely not limited to: The National Conference of Black Mayors, Burger King Corporation, the Trumpet Awards, The King Center, American Traffic Solutions, Jackmont Hospitality, Inc. and Edmond, Lindsay & Hoffler, LLC.

Ms. Jackson-Ransom has enjoyed a multifaceted career. While serving as president and owner of firstClass, she responded to a request to manage the careers of several performing artists; and from 1978 through 1988, she was the chief administrative officer of a conglomerate company under the umbrella of Atlanta Artists. She began her career in the music industry after she had already distinguished herself as a business woman in the areas of education, government and public relations. As president of Atlanta Artists Management, she was also responsible for the daily activities of Atlanta Artist Productions and Atlanta Artists Records, and managed the recording career of acts such as CAMEO and Larry Blackmon and The SOS Band.

Ms. Jackson-Ransom is a member of the National Council of Negro Women; Atlanta Association of Black Journalists; the Atlanta Branch of the NAACP; The Links, Inc.; the Metropolitan Atlanta Coalition of 100 Black Women. She is also an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority where she served as past local chapter president and past chairman of the National Projects Committee. In the early 1970’s she served the City of Atlanta as its first black “First Lady” during her marriage to the late Mayor Maynard Jackson before they divorced in 1976. She is the proud mother of three daughters and one son. More recently, she is the grandmother of five. She is an active member of Cascade United Methodist Church. To read her complete biography, please go to her Ms. Jackson-Ransom’s website.

Ms. Jackson-Ransom is also the author of Getting The Word Out: How To Market Your Ministry: Communication Tools & Tactics You Need For Evangelism, which was originally published in 2010 but recently revised. Her book is the reason that I wanted to feature her on this blog.

1. Why did you write Getting the Word Out?

I wrote this book because I had been doing public relations for churches for a long time. It started with a project that I did for Apostle Collette Gumby and a church called Green Pastures. She was doing a play called “King of Glory,” and I got excited about the play. I was working for Burger King. Burger King was a client, and my job was community affairs for Burger King. So I presented the project to Burger King. They liked it, and they became a sponsor for the church’s play. As a result of my working with Rev. Gumby, I found myself doing things for the church, press releases about the church, getting interviews for the church about the play and so forth and put that in my bucket of things I had done so to speak.

So when I joined Cascade United Methodist Church, the pastor there was Rev. Walter Kimbrough. He put me to work on doing some things for him like handling the project for his retirement and before the retirement, his anniversary. And I kept on doing work for my church. There was a need for someone to do the things that I was doing for the church. I finally said to Rev. Kimbrough, ‘I’m treating you like a client. You have a spot in my computer. You have a folder in my files. How about considering retaining my services?’ And he did. So I worked for the church for at least five or six years before he retired.

What I discovered was that I had a plan in my head for handling marketing for churches. It wasn’t that much different from the way one goes about handling marketing for any other organization or corporation. You have a product. The product has to be pushed out into the marketplace for use. And so I said this is a book.

2. Why is getting the word out important for churches?

If nobody knows that you are there, nobody will come. God is a master marketer. The reason I say that is because of Matthew 2:2. We saw a star in the east and have come to worship Him. That star is a billboard that God put in the sky. If the wise men hadn’t seen it, they would not have come to worship the baby Jesus. God has been marketing Christianity, and Jesus was a marketing person. He rode in cities with palms. That is like a parade.

And look at Romans 10: 14 . How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? This verse says to me, How can they do any of that if you don’t get the word out and compel them to come into God’s house. When you drive up and down Cascade Road, there are at least seven churches within a mile. What makes me go to church A and rather than church B? It’s marketing. It’s how you get the word out about your church.

3. I understand that you are also available to present your book as a workshop to churches.

Yes, several pastors have invited me to their churches. Pastor William Flippin of Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church in DeKalb County bought several copies of the book and gave them to his leadership team. He brought me in to do a session on the book, and then he took it a step further, he asked me to come back and do a session on crisis communications. I just returned from a session in Little Rock, Arkansas with Pastor Ronnie Miller-Yow. He brought me in to do a seminar before several United Methodist churches from that district. I worked with Jeffries Cross Church in Burlington, North Carolina.

I have several plans that I offer churches. With one plan I just come in and do the seminar and another one, I do the seminar and help you start your communications committee. I leave the committee with job descriptions and help them develop a media database for the area that they are in, show them how to write a press release, or I can give the church the plan and come back in six months to see what you’ve done or you call me up and say, ‘Bunnie, I’ve written a press release, can you tweak it?’

4. Why did you revise the book?

It had holes in it. Social media happened. I didn’t give that much attention to it in the first book. I just mentioned it. Now I discuss about three or four platforms that would work for the church. And then I put in a chapter in it about crisis communications.

5. It seems that many churches are having crises. How should churches handle crises?

First of all, get ready for it, because the bigger you get, the more apt you are to have some kind of crisis. Whether it spills over into the media or not, that is irrelevant. If it spills over into the media, then you really have a public crisis, but there are some crises inside the pews that no one ever knows about but the church.

First of all, appoint a crisis committee. I mention the type of people who should be on that committee. If it’s a legal crisis, then you pull in your lawyer. But let’s say it is the kind of crisis that spills over into the media, you need to have a crisis go-to person. It doesn’t have to be the senior pastor, it could be the associate pastor. If you have a communications committee, it might be the chair of that committee. That is the person who calls the crisis team together.

Let’s say one of the deacons absconded with the collection plate. How do we fix this? We start talking to the congregation about the positive things that are going on in the church. If it’s in the media, talk about the positive the church is doing and give the media something else to talk about because if you don’t give the media something, they will do their job and report the story that they know about.

6. How did you get your start in public relations?

When Ernie Barnes asked for my help. He was the artist that did the paintings for J.J. on “Good Times.” Ernie and I went to school together. I was married to the mayor and people would ask me to help them do things. So Ernie wanted to penetrate the Atlanta market and sell some paintings so I asked Ernie if he would do an exhibit and connect it to my (then) husband’s campaign to show that the Mayor Jackson campaign had a sensitivity for the arts.

So I went to the High Museum and asked if they would let us do something there with Ernie Barnes and the answer was no because they already had a schedule and we couldn’t fit in the schedule. So then I could found out that I could rent the lobby of the High Museum. So Ernie and I rented the lobby and we hung his paintings in the lobby. In the lobby, you could see his paintings on the way to Symphony Hall or going to the theatre or going anywhere there. We did a catalog of his paintings, and we hired someone to sit there. Well, Ernie sold out.

I took Ernie’s paintings to the president of the Coca-Cola Company who at that time was Paul Austin and asked if he would support the project and he did. Ernie did some paintings called the ‘The Beauty of the Ghetto.’ That was the exhibit was called and we donated prints to all of the boys and girls clubs in Atlanta. And we got Ernie on the front page of the Sunday section of the newspaper with some of his paintings. I asked Ernie how much would you have paid someone to do this. He said, ‘Oh about $5,000.’ And remember this was a long time ago. I said, ‘Okay, I’m not volunteering anymore.’ And that’s how I got started. That’s how I realized what I was doing had value.

7. As Atlanta’s first black First Lady, have you ever wanted to give advice to our nation’s black First Lady Michelle Obama?

When President Obama was first elected, I used to say to myself, ‘Lord, just let me get to her.’ I’ve spoken to her, but there was such a flurry of people that I couldn’t say what I wanted to say. What I wanted to way was, ‘Hang in there. This too shall pass.’ When I was First Lady, I wanted my own thing so to speak. And I get the same feeling about Michelle. I mean she’s a lawyer so she’s got to have an ego. She’s got to have a dream of her own. And being the First Lady for me and most likely for her meant that I had to put my goals on the back burner so I want to say, ‘Hang in there, Sister. In eight years, it will be over.”

To buy a copy of Ms. Jackson-Ransom’s book, please go click on the link: Getting the Word Out: How to Market Your Ministry.

Any thoughts?