Posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Minister Develops All Natural Skincare Line to Combat Aging – Presenting The Wright Skincare….

annette-wright-the-wright-skincare

Hello World,

In Ecclesiastes 3, we learn there is a time for everything…And over time, we all age…I never thought about aging and what it does to the body until recently. I’ve had a few gray hairs since I was a teenager (my family grays early) but now, gray hairs are sprouting like they are trying to form a crowd on my crown :).

If you are concerned about aging and how to “preserve the sexy,” Annette Wright, who developed The Wright Skincare, needs to be on your radar!

The line includes 3-in-1 Micellar Water, Facial Wash and Eye and Facial Repair Serum.

A no-rinse, soothing cleanser for face, eyes and lips, 3-in-1 Micellar Water gently cleanses, purifies and tones the skin, leaving it refreshed and nourished. Soap-free and sulfate-free, 3-in-1 Micellar Water is PEG free with neutral pH for skin to maintain its physiological balance.

A great companion to 3-in-1 Micellar Water, Facial Wash is a face-peeling gel that cleans and purifies skin with fine micro granules, helping to remove dead cells, leaving skin soft and smooth. Facial Wash is packed with alpha hydroxyl acids (fruit extracts) and hyaluronic acid that improves skin’s texture and boosts hydration.

Eye and Facial Repair Serum reduces the appearance of dark circles and rosacea, through an advanced blend of age-fighting peptides, vitamins and other powerful ingredients. Skin is left hydrated as the serum — containing hyaluronic acid — brightens the eye area, tightens skin and restores skin’s protective moisture barrier.

Pricing for The Wright Skincare line is $50 for 3-in-1 Micellar Water (4 oz.); $25 for Facial Wash (4 oz.) and $70 for Eye and Facial Repair Serum (2 oz.).

Check out my interview with Annette below. Read and share!

1.What inspired you to create The Wright Skincare?

When I turned the big 50, I noticed under my eyes that I began to see wrinkles. So I prayed and asked God what to do. The word of the Lord said two things. You can age gracefully by using natural fruit and you should not put anything on your face if you can’t eat it. So I started using natural fruit that can improve the wrinkles and texture of the skin.

I searched the Internet and found out that European women were using a product that came from donkey milk to maintain the skin beautifully. So I went to Europe in 2013 to pursue the vision. There, I met with World Natural Care (WNC), a cosmetic manufacturer of natural skincare products for private label cosmetic companies. In 2014, WNC and The Wright Skincare (WSC) signed an agreement to manufacture a waterless skincare line for The Wright Skincare.

2.How long did it take to create The Wright Skincare and tell me about the process.

In 2014, WNC and The Wright Skincare entered into an agreement to manufacture a waterless skincare line for The Wright Skincare. The first shipment of product was made in 2015 and sold in the United States. The initial products included micellar water, facial wash and serum.

3.Tell me about the type of women who will most benefit from The Wright Skincare?

All ethnicities, all skin types, all ages

4.Your products don’t contain harsh chemicals or animal-derived ingredients. Tell me about some of the ingredients in The Wright Skincare and why they are healthy for women to use in aging gracefully.

The micellar water is made from micelles that are naturally produced in the body to hydrate the skin naturally. The facial wash is made from milk, and the serum is made with natural fruit acids.

5. Have your products been endorsed by dermatologists? Please explain your answer.

WNC products are scientifically tested by dermatologists in Europe.

6.What kind of feedback have you received from women who have used The Wright Skincare?

Women who are using The Wright Skincare are excited that they don’t have to use tap water to cleanse their skin. They see an enormous difference in the texture of the skin. Skin is smooth and hydrated.

7.You are a minister. How has your faith impacted your development of The Wright Skincare?

Aging is the natural process of life. The body is aging from the point of birth until death. No product can stop or provide anti-aging. My brand incorporates three simple principles: Aging gracefully, all ethnicities, all skin types. I am committed to provide women with natural skincare products to age gracefully — minus any harsh chemicals.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

The Wright Skincare invites you to join us for the official launch of our skincare line this spring. The launch event will take place Saturday, April 1 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta at 181 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30303. We’ll have product giveaways and industry professionals on hand.

Also, please take a look at us at thewrightskincare.com and on social media at:

Twitter: @awrightwsc

Facebook: facebook.com/thewrightskincare/

Instagram: awthewrightskincare

Any thoughts?

Posted on Wednesday, January 18, 2017

What We Can Learn from the Life & Death of Bishop Eddie L. Long…

bishop eddie long book cover Hello World,

Do we deserve to be judged by the best of what we accomplished in our lives or by the worst of what we did or did not do?

This is a question I’ve been asking myself since I heard V-103’s Larry Tinsley, host of Sunday Morning Praise, announce the death of Bishop Eddie L. Long while I drove to church Sunday morning. While I took part in my church’s service in which the focus was racial reconciliation and honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I knew that a corner of my mind was pondering the life and death of Bishop Eddie L. Long. And once church was over, my mind was free to organize my random thoughts about what had I heard.

For many, Bishop Eddie L. Long, pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, a black megachurch in Decatur, Georgia that once reportedly boasted 25,000 members at its zenith was a man who not only transformed his church through his pastorate but the city of Decatur and beyond through various programs assisting prisoners, drug addicts, the homeless and more. Over the years, many of my friends and associates were once members of the church. I remember hearing him on V-103 years ago when he delivered empowering messages during the “Inspirational Vitamin” of The Frank and Wanda Morning Show, and I interviewed him once for a magazine article I wrote about domestic violence in the church.

But what about the convincing allegations of four young men who accused him of targeting them through the black church’s now defunct LongFellows Youth Academy and cultivating sexual relationships with them 7 years ago in 2010? As we all know by now, the allegations were never aired out in a courtroom but instead a settlement out of court was reached between Bishop Long and these men. A settlement does not necessarily denote guilt but given the egregious actions Bishop Long was accused of and his declaration that he was going to fight these allegations, guilt does not seem like an unlikely conclusion in this case.

So what lives matter more? All of the lives of people Bishop Eddie L. Long positively influenced during his life or the lives of the four young men whose lives will be forever linked to Bishop Eddie L. Long?

Now there will probably be some who read this blog post and say, Who are you to judge? Only God can judge? And to those I say, yes, I agree. Only God can decide if you go ascend to the glory of Heaven or sink to the abyss of hell. But there are many verses in the Bible that encourage us to make assessments and act accordingly…Below are a few…

Even small children are known by their actions, so is their conduct really pure and upright. Proverbs 20:11

By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Matthew 7:16

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1

I’m not putting these verses out there not to condemn Bishop Long. I’m simply putting them out there to say that God encourages us to assess and act which is a form of judgment but not the same as the judgment in which God determines our final home. Life is nothing if not a series of lessons and we would be wise to learn from those who have completed their journey ahead of us.

In pondering what I have learned from the life and death of Bishop Eddie L. Long, I have come to a few conclusions…

The gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to impact an entire community and beyond. As my father, who is a pastor, says, “People really do need the Lord.” There are some out there who think that what happened with Bishop Eddie L. Long is an indictment of the black church or church in general. I say to you as long as you judge (or assess) the Word of God by imperfect human beings, there will always be a reason to doubt the Word of God. Pastors are sinful people. Christians are sinful people. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God Romans 3:23…And here’s the thing, I haven’t seen sins ranked in the Bible …Anyone from a murderer to a student who cheated on a test has committed a sin and yet is still eligible for entry into Heaven if God has forgiven them. (Although we all know that some some sins naturally have more consequences than others.)Don’t get it twisted. Judge the Word of God by the Word of God. A pastor may lead you to God, but he or she is not God….
All lives matter. All of the people who continue to sing the praises of Bishop Long to those who cannot see past the sexual allegations of the four young men matter. The paradox of this statement is that whatever group you find yourself in or even if you are somewhere in the middle, each person is valid and should be treated as such. If you were helped by the ministry of Bishop Long, who am I tell that help did not matter. And on the other hand, you absolutely cannot disparage the young men who claim they were victimized by Bishop Long. The word of God says that there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents in Luke 15:10. If we believe in the God of the Bible, we see that each and every person is valuable.
Bishop Eddie L. Long is dead, but you are still alive. For all of our commentaries on Bishop Eddie L. Long whether on social media or in whispered conversations, Bishop Eddie L. Long is only God’s business now. In Luke 9:60, we are told to, Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God. What I interpret that verse to mean is that if you are alive, you have to get on with your life. If you are a Christian, what are you doing to proclaim the Word of God? As my father said when we briefly discussed Bishop Eddie L. Long on Sunday, “we are only here for a brief time.”

So as far as the answer of my original question is concerned, I guess it is truly up to to the person who is making the judgment…What say you?

Any thoughts?

Posted on Monday, January 16, 2017

Discovering Atlanta Through the Eyes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Driver Tom Houck…A Repost…

(me and my hubby & Tom Houck and another tour goer)

Editor’s Note: I originally wrote this post in 2016, but in honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday today, I thought I would share it again. Enjoy 🙂

Hello World,

Last week my husband Robert and I were thinking about what we could do to celebrate the sixth anniversary of our first date yesterday. As I was listening to 1380AM WAOK on the way home from work on Wednesday, I realized I had a fun and educational option. Derrick Boazman host of “Too Much Truth” was interviewing Tom Houck whom I had never heard of before. Tom, a white man, was the driver of Dr. King and his family for several months. In a gruff, hearty voice likely emboldened because of the precious history he possesses, Tom described how being kicked out of high school in Jacksonville, Florida for merely participating in a Selma march in 1965 eventually led to being in the inner sanctum of the very leader of the Civil Rights Movement as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s driver.

In 1966, Tom’s civil rights activism brought him to Atlanta to work for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In one of those fortuitous moments that forever changes someone’s life, Dr. King saw Tom across the street from the SCLC where he had gone to make a call on the pay phone and invited the 19-year-old to have lunch with him and his family. That lunch led to him being asked to drive for the King Family. Tom describes his experiences as their driver as a part of his Civil Rights Tour, a bus tour in which Tom takes people to see the historic sites in Atlanta that provided the landscape of the capital of the Civil Rights Movement.

At the end of the conversation, Tom offered two tickets to the first person who e-mailed him the answer to this question: What was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s real first name. I was literally pulling into my driveway when I heard him ask the question. I parked, unlocked my front door and ran to my computer, hurriedly e-mailing him the answer: Michael. For the first five years of Dr. King’s life, his name was Michael. However, when his father Michael King Sr. changed his name to Martin Luther King Sr. after becoming inspired by Martin Luther, his son, who was Michael King Jr., became Martin Luther King Jr. I nearly fell off of my bed when I received an e-mail later that evening from Tom letting me know that I had won the tickets! I told my husband we could celebrate our history as a couple by celebrating the history of our beloved city. He agreed that it would be a great way to celebrate our first date anniversary!

Tom Houck beginning his tour…

My hubby focusing on Tom…

Dr. King’s first home is in the Old Fourth Ward area of Atlanta which was once known as Shermantown after General Sherman took over the area during the Civil War. The home is on Auburn Avenue known as Sweet Auburn, but I didn’t know that Auburn Avenue was once Wheat Street. However, the name of the street was later changed because Wheat Street was thought to be too rural of a name for a metropolitan street. Yes, Sweet Wheat doesn’t sound as cool for sure! But that explains the name of the historical Wheat Street Baptist Church on Auburn Avenue. Wheat Street Baptist Church was the site of the church scenes filmed in the movie “Selma,” Tom told us.

In the beginning of the tour, we went by Dr. King’s elementary school Howard Elementary School. The school building, which is vacant, later became a high school which has notable graduates including Maynard Jackson, Atlanta’s first black mayor; Walt Frazier and Vernon Jordan. Tom also took us to the SNCC Freedom House. Freedom Houses were designated places where civil rights workers could retreat and reside.

The site of the pay phone where Tom met Dr. King…

Tom met Dr. King across the street of the SCLC headquarters, which I took a picture of from the bus…Not the best picture, but you get the idea hopefully…

Morris Brown College, the only HBCU founded by black people, was organized in the basement of Big Bethel AME Church, which is located in the Sweet Auburn district…Civil rights leader Hosea Williams and Derrick Bozeman are Morris Brown College graduates…

See that blue sign? It is the sign for the original site of the Atlanta Daily World, the oldest black newspaper in the city…It was once a Republican newspaper as blacks were mostly Republican years ago since most segregationists were Democrats…

A Loss Prevention Hero series mural honoring Congressman John Lewis…

The second The Loss Prevention Hero series mural honoring Mrs. Evelyn Gibson Lowery, the deceased wife of Rev. Joseph Lowery. Mrs. Lowery founded SCLC/Women’s Organizational Movement for Equality Now, Inc.

Although it wasn’t an official part of the tour, Tom told us that Citizens Trust Bank, which was founded by black businessman Heman Perry, on Auburn Avenue, was where he received his first car loan! AND Daddy King, who was on the bank’s board of directors, co-signed the loan!!!

Before we left the Sweet Auburn district, we learned about John Wesley Dobbs, a rail clerk who was unofficially named the mayor of Sweet Auburn because of his work to achieve equality for black people…Seemingly in homage to Dobbs, Atlanta’s public schools were integrated on the day of this death, August 30, 1961, Tom told us…Above is a statue honoring Dobbs, who is the grandfather of Maynard Jackson…All of his six daughters graduated from Spelman College. They are reported to be the largest group of sisters to graduate from the school…Incidentally, I interviewed Dr. June Dobbs Butts, the youngest of the sisters and a sex therapist, for an UPSCALE magazine article I wrote years ago…

We rode by the now defunct Terminal Station, which was once a prominent train station in the city. Atlanta was once named Terminus which I originally learned after watching “The Walking Dead,” which is back tonight!!! Yay!!! And before Terminus, Atlanta was known as Marthasville. I cannot see Atlanta residents calling ourselves Termliens or Marthaaliens so I’m glad we changed to Atlanta because ATLlien is so doggone cool…

We passed through the Castleberry Hill District, which was revitalized by Herman J. Russell, a construction magnate…I had the opportunity to meet him just months before he passed away in 2014. He attended the National Book Club Conference while promoting his book Building Atlanta: How I Broke Through Segregation to Launch a Business Empire.”

Tom took us to Dr. King’s last home before he died which is located at 234 Sunset Avenue…

Daryl, a recent graduate of Clark Atlanta University, sang freedom songs as we passed by some of the historical stops…

Along the way, we passed by Washington High School where Dr. King graduated from when he was 15 years old to attend Morehouse College. I did not know that Lena Horne also attended Washington High School!

One of the stops was the home of Alonzo Herndon, who was once Atlanta’s wealthiest black man. Herndon built his fortune on his barbering business. His stately home is across the street from the home of Grace Towns Hamilton, the first black woman elected to the Georgia General Assembly. Unfortunately, her home was barely visible due to the overgrowth of weeds as well as the overall decay of the structure…We also passed through the Atlanta University Center and by the original Paschal’s Restaurant location as well as Busy Bee Café.

One of our final stops was South-View Cemetery, which is located on Jonesboro Road and was designed “to provide a respectable place for Christian burials” for all people including black people who were once not allowed to be buried in certain cemetaries. It opened on April 21, 1886. It began as 26 acres and is now over 100 acres. 80,000 people are buried there including Herman J. Russell and the wife of John Lewis, Lillian Miles Lewis. Below are pics of the graves of other important people who are also buried there…

The grave site of John Wesley Dobbs

The grave sites of Daddy King and his wife Alberta King…

If you look at to upper left of the grave marker, you can see this tiny picture of Daddy King….

Dr. King was originally buried in South-View cemetery before his body was moved in 1970 to its current location alongside his wife at the King Center. One the way back to Auburn Avenue where we started the tour, we passed by Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. Tom told us that Marcus Garvey was imprisoned there which is interesting to me as the daughter of Jamaican immigrants.

We learned much more that I wasn’t even able to include in this already lengthy blog post!

And hopefully, you will be inspired to take a Civil Rights Tour with Tom Houck, the driver of Dr. King and his family. For more information, go to civilrightstour.com.

Enjoy your Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday!

Any thoughts?