AnythingUrban - by R Eldridge

I Am Truly Scared for My Black Husband

By Cheryl Gittens-Jones, author of Being Black: Being Human

Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance  of solidarity to pure wind. - George Orwell

Last year, at a Town hall meeting in New Orleans, a young African-American boy asked President Obama, “Why do people hate you? And why, aren’t they supposed to love you, if God is love?” The President was taken off-guard but was direct and honest. He explained that people were hurting because of the economy and because he was President the anger was directed at him. He was half right but we all know that there is more to it.

My Letter to Alice Walker

Dear Alice Walker,

Alice, you are a national treasure.  I have a profound love for your work as an activist and as an author, so I would like to share my love with you.  You have an internal flame that is so beautiful.  You are one of the few women on this Earth that causes me to stop whatever it is that I am doing the moment I hear your voice.  You shared your life, your garden, and your beautiful home and memoirs with viewers for almost 3 hours last May, (see this amazing video here) and I continue to draw inspiration from your perspective, your passions, and your detail for life and all that is within.  You balance the world by sharing.

In your May 2008 interview, you share the pain and anxiety experienced in your childhood and how life events have shaped you - as an author, you bring a spiritual perspective that has forged a union with your heart.  You share how you keep your last name in memory of your Grandmother, as a former slave that lived to be 125 years old.  She walked with her children... she was relentless... and she did this tirelessly.  Your love of nature and the "oneness" that you found with the clouds, animals and the world is truly inspirational.  You are a peace activist, and your activities in seeking solidarity with humanity is renowned.  You also have a message of love that brings tears as each book is read.  And it is great to know that (as you stated), tears "are made to simply wash your window."

DAY Zero: MANChild in the Promised Land

For those that don't know, I created this blog, aptly titled MANChild Swagga, in honor of a book that I read when I was a young teenager.  This book changed my life as a wayward teenager growing up in NYC (sure... I'll elaborate on this one day).  ManChild in the Promised Land, an autobiography by Claude Brown, chronicled the hardship and glory of growing up as one of a first generation of blacks that migrated from the South in search of prosperity, equality and hope in what was referred to at the time as "the Promised Land".  Far from a land of promise, Claude painted a picture of a life as: