After the Altar Call: 2010 In Posts…

Hello World,

I don’t have to tell you it’s NYE! For all of the obvious reasons, I am reflecting on the journey that was 2010 and optimistic about the path that awaits me and you in 2011. With that in mind, indulge me as I refresh your memory about the topics that found their way to After the Altar Call in 2010!

As of January, 2010 was christened the year of the Single Black Woman with the circulation of this video….While this story originally aired on ABC in December 2009, it really started to be the topic of conversation the following month and created a year of events, books, shows, etc. all dedicated to finding husbands for single black women at all costs…Lord help us!

With a black president in the white house, Black History Month, which is celebrated in February, has taken on a new meaning for all of America’s people…In the A, we were a little shaken when the Epsilon Chapter of Zeta Tau Alpa, a white sorority, beat out members of the Divine Nine Black fraternities and sororities in the Sprite Step Off …But hey, if a black men is finally president, then white steppers can show out too…

In March, I blogged about the messages  in our dreams in Dream a little dream…(R.I.P. Corey Haim) Sadly, one of the teen idols of my youth, Corey Haim, passed away in March and so I dedicated the post to him as he starred in the movie “Dream a Little Dream” in 1989…

In April, I met Sherri Shepherd from “The View” at ABC News’  “Nightline” debate “Why Can’t a Successful Black Woman Find a Man?” This debate, which took place in the Dec (Decatur), happened due to the popularity of the aforementioned video dedicated to the plight of single black women…Did I forget to mention that Atlanta seems to be the capital of single black women?

My aspiration is to be an author, journalist and speaker so I felt particularly blessed to be chosen to be the keynote speaker at the 31st Annual Christian Women’s Retreat banquet which was held at the Westin Atlanta Airport hotel in May. My girl Latoicha from Luxe Tips did my makeup!

In June, I blogged about author Sherri Lewis’ book “The List” as I was asked to moderate a discussion on the book at  the Faith & Fiction Retreat which was held in the A this year…I could not help but post my own list…

front page of my list...yes, the back of this page is completely filled up...

I tried to avoid blogging on the plight of single black women in July, but the slant of this article, The Black Church: How Black Churches Keep African American Women Single and Lonely forced me to reckon with this topic again…We took a licking but we kept on ticking…

In August, I was saddened to hear that R&B star Fantasia Barrino, another single black woman, attempted to commit suicide  after being ”overwhelmed by the lawsuit and the media attention”  concerning her alleged relationship with her married boyfriend Antwaun Cook, her rep told TMZ.com. Just a week or so ago, a judge declared that Barrino did not break up the Cook’s marriage as his ex-wife originally claimed in the lawsuit against Barrino…

In September, I was blessed to see “the Black Man-O-logues II” written by Jacquay Waller! R&I had a good time that night…

In October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, my sorors of DST actually donned pink  in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk at Atlantic Station to honor our line sister Kimberly Hudson Causby, who we lost to this disease and honor those who are survivors!

In November, my girl Tess Gadwa, the designer of this blog, released her book, Southern Cross: True Stories of miracles, visions, voodoo, snake handling, civil disobedience, and my search for existential answers along the back roads of the Bible Belt.  Again, You got to check out this book…and it’s free on her website!

As love and relationships is one of my favorite topics, this month, I blogged about marriage as The National Marriage Project, which provides research and analysis on the health of marriage in its yearly State of Our Unions Report, released its 2010 report. To read the entire report, please go here.

I also want to mention that my sorority lost two influential and beloved sorors this year – Sorors Dorothy Height & Lena Horne…I would be remiss if I did not mention them.

I thank you for taking this journey with me!!!  How was your 2010?

Any thoughts?

Let the countdown begin…

Hello World,

Due to pending deadlines with writing projects, I don’t have much time to blog this morning. But I will, God willing, post a more thorough post about my thoughts about the upcoming New Year on NYE…so check back on Friday….

In the mean time, I am pondering what a difference 365 days can make…In 2010, Gospel Giant Marvin Sapp released arguably one of the best gospel songs in history, “The Best In Me” and lost his wife of 15 years to colon cancer…

I pray the best for you and me in 2011…

Any thoughts?

I Love the A (aka Peace Up. A-Town Down Shawty…)

Hello World!

Yesterday, I was chatting it up with a teenager at my church. She moved from L.A. about a year or so ago and forthrightly told me that she plans to return to her hometown as soon as she finishes high school and will attend UCLA or Pepperdine University. And then she started listing reasons why she loves L.A. and is not as enthralled about the A…As she eloquently listed her reasons from the A’s lack of a beach to most of her family living in L.A., I found myself being slightly ruffled while trying to appear understanding…But then again, after she finished, I got it…I love my city too…Most people who grew up in a particular city or hometown have an affinity for it like other…Although I was born in Hays, Kansas and my family hails from the best Caribbean isle in the world – Jamaica, I have lived in the A since I was six years old and claim it as my hometown…

A friend of mine hipped me to this cool website last week named Atlanta Time Machine, which includes pictures of various structures and interesting locales the city from years pasts juxtaposed with the same structures and locales now. Read an article about how the website came to be here.

Below  are a few pictures from the website…

This theater was located in the infamous West End, specifically 960 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd., SW, which was named Gordon Street in 1946…

And y’all see how times have changed…the same location as of 2004…

A pic of the Decatur branch of the First National Bank located in downtown Decatur or the Dec if you are straight from the A…apparently no date information is available about this postcard, but obviously it was long time ago…

And the same location as of 2004…no bank in sight…

I did not know that the A has a replica of the White House…it’s located at 3687 Briarcliff Road NE…I might have to check that out…Someone needs to invite President Obama to take a look if it hasn’t been done already…

You know I had to post a picture of a church…This is Mt. Moriah Baptist Church as of 1963 located at the 200 Ashby Street SW…

And now 200 Ashby Street SW is 200 Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard…Hmm, I prefer the older architecture…what say you?

To peruse more of these wonderful photographs, please go to the website…

And now I will offer my Top Ten Ways to Know if the A is Your Hometown

10. You remember the A before the 1996 Summer Olympics…It seems that the A attracted so many people after the Olympics that fateful and beautiful summer of 1996, but I think the A was a world-class city even before…

9. You remember when Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway was Bankhead Highway and Metropolitan Parkway was Stewart Avenue…Although the names have changed, I still think Bankhead Highway and Stewart Avenue when I am driving on these thoroughfares…

8. You remember Freaknik at its prime…Read my post about Freaknik memories…

7. You remember when black people did not live in Clayton County…

6. You remember when no one had heard of T.I., the self-proclaimed King of the South and Ludacris was a radio deejay named Chris Lova Lova. And you remember when rapper Kilo Ali was on the rise and everything Raheem the Dream made was  the jam…

5. And speaking of jams, you remember the show “Atlanta Jams,” a A-version of “Soul Train.” I once appeared on the show, and yes, Mom, that would mean that I did visit a night club before I turned 18 years old…Sorry Mom, I had to do it..

4. And speaking of night clubs, you remember Mr. V’s Figure 8 on Campbellton Road…I don’t think I actually visited the night club because it was one of the hot spots in the ’80s and the early ’90s…but I do remember passing by the night club and wondering what went on there as I sat in the back seat of my parents car…

5. You rode in the Pink Pig ride on top of the now closed Rich’s department store in downtown…

4. You remember the first  Martin Luther King Jr. holiday celebration after it became an official federal holiday..Thank you Lord!

3. You remember being scared Wayne Williams was going to snatch you out of your bed in the middle of the night…Google him if you are not from the A…

2. You remember when nearly everyone you met in the A grew up in the A…

1. You remember the A before it the A or the ATL and was just simply Atlanta…

 

What do you remember? Any thoughts?

 

And I have to give a special shout out to DJ Smurf now known as Mr. Collipark! Benjamin E. Banneker High School Alum Baby…