Posted on Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Where Was Issa Rae When I Was an ‘Awkward Black Girl?’ Check Out Her New Book!!!

Issa Rae and Me 🙂

Hello World,

On Monday, awkward black girls from around the A as well as people that appreciate Issa Rae’s special brand of quirky, self-deprecating and smart humor swarmed the Alliance Theatre to attend a book signing for debut author Issa Rae. Her recently released book The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, now a New York Times Best Seller, is a collection of heartfelt essays charting her love affair with the Internet and how she become a YouTube sensation with her comedy series Awkward Black Girl, her journey to loving her natural hair and weight, growing up with an African dad, connecting with other types of (not awkward) black people and more. Since she created her web series in 2011, she has secured more than 25 million views and over 200,000 subscribers on YouTube. And her astonishing success has led to other opportunities including being one of the co-hosts of ASPire’s popularly weekly talk series exhale which will have four new episodes in June. In addition, she developed a TV series with Shonda Rhimes for ABC and is currently developing a half-hour comedy for HBO.

“I ultimately want to be a super producer like a Shonda Rhimes meets Oprah meets Diddy meets Ellen,” Issa Rae said with a laugh after I asked what is her ultimate career goal.

So that ends my official journo recap of Issa Rae’s book signing…Up next, my personal connection with “Awkward Black Girl.”

Author and playwright Pearl Cleage interviewing Issa Rae….

I’m now at that age (41) where I’m still young enough to look up to people, but I’m just old enough to be inspired by people younger than me as well. It’s an awkward age, but I’m trying to embrace it a day at a time. While chatting with (interviewing) Issa Rae, watching her officially be interviewed by Pearl Cleage at the book signing and listening to her read from her book, I realized that knowing that someone like her would have gone a long way to encouraging the awkward black girl that I was…

So here is a picture of me when I was at my most awkward…that’s me in the pink sweater vest…so cool, lemme tell ya…I was one of three black people in my sixth grade class at Sandy Springs Middle School as you can see…That was awkward enough, but there is more…Although I was of one of three black people, I was the only one bussed to the school that was in a primarily white neighborhood from the south side of Fulton County as a part of the Minority to Majority Program. People assumed I came from the ghetto although I was in private school the year before…I remember one of the white boys in my class asked me if I could rap seeing I was from the hood and all…Did I look I could rap? Yeah, right…With my button-down shirt and clear school boy glasses…My best friends were Judy Blume books and chocolate bars…I think not…(Although Issa Rae can bus a rhyme) And this was around the time that my interest in boys was most painful (other than in my ’30s) because I liked black boys and there were very few of them at the school…And then I couldn’t figure out what to do with my hair…My hair was permed, but I didn’t know how to style it…And let’s just say my fashion sense was in transition…Did I mention I love/loved chocolate? (Yes, I did. See above…) So I was plump (not fat) on top of everything else that made me awkward…

So last night, all of this came back to me particularly as Issa Rae read from her book and later as I sped read through a few of her essays…(I will leisurely read and highlight over the weekend)…

Issa Rae read an excerpt of her first essay, A/S/L, of her book last night in which she described being drawn to the Internet at 11 years old and how her interest in boys burgeoned behind the safe or not-so-safe anonymity of a computer screen…(So glad the Internet wasn’t around when I was that age or I would have been in trooouble…)

Before my parents caught wind of frightening news reports of child predators, I spent my days and after-school evenings in chat rooms, learning to speed read, talking to kids my age who were also ahead of the curve. Or pedophiles, who were remarkably creative and persistent in their forbidden pursuit. Pedos actually had it made in the mid-nineties, before the media exposed them. Talk about the glory days.

My friends at school, other fifth graders, didn’t seem to relate when I mentioned “chat rooms” and “profiles” or when I sang along to the dial-up internet song I made up in my head. It seemed that, for a brief moment, only I was privy to this alternate American universe that lived online.By the time my family moved to Los Angeles to join my dad, a pediatrician, who had seized an opportunity to open his own family clinic there, my relationship with the computer had grown immensely, much to the dismay and irritation of my mother.“You’re always on the computer! Go do your homework.”“I already finished.”“Well then, go outside and play!”She just didn’t get it. Only recently, in my late twenties, did she come to realize that my excessive computer use is what led me to becoming the self-employed, almost-focused career woman I am today.

Just delicious, don’t you think?!!! And if you want to read more, you have to buy your own copy of The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl!!!

But before you go, check out more pics from this fun book signing….Shout out to my soror and photographer extraordinaire Tiffany Powell for the awesome pics!!!…Check out her blog www.powell-pics.com.

Issa Rae reading an excerpt of her book…

Pearl interviewing Issa Rae…The sponsors for the evening behind them…

Angela Burt-Murray, co-founder of Cocoa Media Group and Issa Rae having a moment...

Angela Burt-Murray, co-founder of Cocoa Media Group and and Issa Rae having a moment…

Me interviewing Issa Rae…

Wow, this shot made my year…Me and Pearl Cleage…#inspiration…

The long line of people waiting for Issa Rae to sign their books…Incidentally, it was Natural Hair Nirvana up in there…

Any thoughts?

Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2015

See “Black or White” Starting This Friday!!!

Hello World,

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend the Atlanta screening of Kevin Costner’s new film “Black or White.” In a word, the film was “heartwarming.” Below is the official description of the film:

“Black or White” is the story of a grandfather Elliot (Academy Award® winner Kevin Costner) who is suddenly left to care for his beloved granddaughter Eloise. When her paternal grandmother Rowena (Academy Award® winner Octavia Spencer) seeks custody with the help of her attorney brother Jeremiah (Anthony Mackie), the little girl is torn between two families who love her deeply. With the best intentions at heart, both families fight for what they feel is right and are soon forced to confront their true feelings about race, forgiveness, and understanding. Anchored by an all-star cast and based on real events, the movie is a look at two seemingly different worlds, in which nothing is as simple as black or white.

Journalist Monica Pearson interviews Anthony Mackie & Kevin Costner at the screening…(still learning how to use my first smartphone 🙂 )

Although “Black or White” is a family-friendly story, assumptions that black and white people have of each other are uncovered and harsh truths on either side are also addressed, which is timely considering the current climate of American race relations in the wake of the Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown shootings. The end result is that both families, black or white, are equally loving and stable, although different and flawed. Also, in spite of some of the heavy topics of the film such as drug addiction and white privilege, there is plenty of humor! Look out for the character Duvan!

Kevin Costner & Anthony Mackie attended the screening and illuminated more about the film and what led them to get involved. Costner revealed that he believed in the film so much that he gave $9 million of his own money to make sure the film was made. “This film doesn’t victimize black people. It doesn’t victimize white people.” He also expressed his hope that as many people as possible would see what he saw in the film, but admitted that he doesn’t have control over that. “I have to turn this film over to God now because it’s not mine anymore.”

Anthony Mackie revealed that like his character Jeremiah who confronted his drug-addicted nephew, Eloise’ father, about his failure to take responsibility for his life, Mackie’s older brother Calvin Mackie, a successful entrepreneur, had a similar conversation with him years ago. Mackie also said, “Your first thought isn’t what makes you racist. It’s your second and third thought.”

Here is a trailer for the film:

Any thoughts?

Posted on Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Carol Mackey’s Next Chapter…

Hello World,

Like many people, I believe the best thing about December is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ…But this month is also “the most wonderful time of the year” because it’s the optimum time to hatch your plans to make your dreams come true in the New Year! This past August at the National Book Club Conference, I was excited to meet a giant in the publishing industry and my sorority sister Carol M. Mackey as she helped launch the careers of many African American authors as the editor-in-chief of the largest African American book club in the nation which unfortunately came to an end earlier this year…I wanted to personally thank her for acquiring my book for the book club as a debut author…It really inspired me and inspires to keep pushing in the publishing industry which I have discovered and am discovering is only for those who possess a dogged desire to see their words in print as the publishing industry continues to change…

If you are somehow unfamiliar with Carol, below is her impressive bio…

Widely recognized as a leading expert on African American literature, Carol M. Mackey has been named among the 50 Most Powerful African Americans In Publishing by Black Issues Book Review and has been featured in Literary Divas: The Top 100+ Most Admired African American Women in Literature, a compilation of biographies about African American women who have powerfully impacted America’s literary history. Mackey sits on the board for the National Book Club Conference and the African American Literary Awards Show. She has appeared on CBS-TV’s “This Morning” news show in New York and is often interviewed by other media outlets on the state of African American publishing.

She is the author of the bestselling “Sistergirl Devotions: Keeping Jesus in the Mix on the Job” published by Revell Books, which was nominated in the Best Self Help category at the 2010 African American Literary Awards Show. She was nominated for Best Female Author of 2010 and was voted the 2010 Breakout Author of the Year. A firm believer in literacy among African Americans, she presented The Carol M. Mackey Book Club Award to three local book clubs in Louisiana at the first annual Bayou Soul Readers & Writers Conference in New Orleans, LA in June 2011.

However, aside from all of her accolades, I was most impressed with her humility in spite of how many people fawned over her at the conference. And there were many! Since I’m also a journalist, I was intrigued and wanted to know more about her, particularly since she is crafting a new chapter of her life…Below is my brief conversation with her…

What is next for you?

The great thing about endings is that there’s a chance for new beginnings. I had a terrific run with my former employer. I learned a lot. I made lasting friendships and showcased the works of hundreds of African American authors over the years. I love books…and I always will. But what most people don’t’ know about me is that I’m a huge movie buff! I joined the Black Filmmaker Foundation back in the early ’90s when Reggie and Warrington Hudlin ran it. I wrote a couple of film and TV treatments and have been out to Hollywood twice to pitch my work. Nothing came of it, but the experience was exhilarating. I never forgot it.

So now, I’d like to marry my love of film with my love and vast knowledge of African American books and act as a creative producer. Eventually I’d like to have my own media company to cover all aspects of entertainment—books, film, TV, print. Hey, I dream big!

In addition to launching and helping to sustain the careers of likely countless authors, you are the author of “Sistergirl Devotions: Keeping Jesus in the Mix on the Job.” Do you have any plans to write more books?

Yes ma’am, I certainly do. I have rough outlines for two separate books—one fiction, the other nonfiction. A lot has happened to me spiritually and personally since I wrote “Sistergirl.” I’m not the same woman or the same Christian. I have a lot to share on the nonfiction side to help women empower themselves. God did it for me, and He will do it for others as well. Our toughest times show us what we’re made of. (God already knows where we are, but He wants us to see where we are so we can grow). I won’t go into much detail because I’m still tossing around ideas, but like “Sistergirl,” it will be honest and relatable. As for the novel, let’s just say I have a very vivid imagination, and I plan to let it run wild!

Also, I recently did a writing seminar for the African American Women in Higher Education and it was really well received.

What is the outlook for African Americans in publishing for authors and beyond?

The publishing industry as a whole is changing at a very rapid pace—much faster I think than anyone anticipated. But for us, specifically I think we need to continue to market and brand our work in an out-of-the box way. We are still reading—that will never stop. But as authors we need to capitalize on all that social media provides—there’s a lot out there now besides Facebook and Twitter to take advantage of.

And the book clubs are an awesome way to get the word out about your book. Curtis Bunn’s annual National Book Club Conference in Atlanta is proof positive that book clubs are still a viable source for authors to promote their work. Attendance at the NBCC continues to grow. Engagement with the readers is key. You have to pique their interest and keep it. Attention spans are short nowadays!

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I’d say believe in yourself and the vision God gave you, whatever that might be. The Bible says He is the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17), and He expects us to use it. The world needs your voice, your talent, your skill, your inspiration, so stay committed and put in the work. You will become unstoppable!