For the husband whose wife who is also a mom, Mother’s Day is a great opportunity to show some extra appreciation to the woman in your life. She’s not your mom, but she’s a mom and she’s yours. So here are some ideas to help you cherish her—ten solid tips for cherishing your wife, both on Mother’s Day and all year long.

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article courtesy of StreamingFaith.com

A while back, I was playing basketball with our son, Jonathan. For years we’ve played one on one, and that day for the first time, he beat me fair and square, 15 to 14. But at one point during the game, he got around me and went up for a shot. I stumbled and lost my footing, but I regained it, and he didn’t see me. I came in from behind him, jumped as high as I could, timed it just right, and blocked his shot. I mean, I swatted that ball out of the air. I felt like I was Shaquille O’Neal! I was so proud of myself!

A couple of days later we were at the gym playing with some friends. Jonathan said, “Hey, Dad! Tell everybody what happened the other night.” My mind immediately went to the blocked shot. I said, “Oh, yeah. Jonathan went up, and he didn’t see me. I timed it perfectly…” He said, “No, Dad. I meant tell them how I beat you for the first time.”

I had to laugh because at that moment, I didn’t remember my defeat. I remembered my victory. The first thing that came to my mind was not that I lost the game, but it was the fact that I had done something good. A lot of people today do just the opposite. Even though they win the game, they remember all the mistakes they made. They never feel good about themselves because they’re too busy pushing themselves down.

We have to decide that we are not going to go through life being against ourselves. We need to be our own biggest fan! Instead of staying focused on your defeats, failures, or shortcomings, focus on your good qualities. Of course, God is always at work in our lives to help us improve. We need to cooperate with Him, but let’s remember our victories and downplay our defeats. Let’s stay focused in the right direction and keep an attitude of faith which opens the door for God to do great things in our lives!

Remember the wonders He has done… (I Chronicles 16:12, NIV).

When Mo’Nique’s name was called for best supporting actress at the Academy Awards I literally got chills and felt the hairs on my arms stand up.

Mo’Nique has paid her dues in the entertainment industry. She has seen some ups and I’m sure she’s seen some downs. I’m sure along the road someone has told her she’s too fat. Too black. Too loud. But what I appreciate about people like Mo’Nique and others who attain a high level of success is their resilience and unwavering determination to see their dreams through to fruition. Someone I respect once told me to make my haters my motivators.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the following passage in the bible:
Matthew 25:14-15

Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents[a] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.”

What are you doing with your talents? What are you doing with your gifts? How are you managing your money? I have been raising this question to myself. What is that deep desire within you? You know, the dream you had when you were a little boy or a little girl. Remember when you used to practice in front of a mirror? Did you grow up and someone told you that you were ridiculous to dream such a dream? Did you talk yourself out of your own dream because you were simply afraid?

I know that I’ve allowed myself to abandon a dream or two because I bought into someone telling me I was too old and should have pursued this dream when I was a little kid. I’ve talked myself out of pursuing a few opportunities based on fear. I was afraid that I would not be accepted or would simply look foolish. It’s funny the mind games we play on ourselves before others even have a chance. Actually it’s not so funny. It’s scary.

I wrote a blog last week that I would get healthy and in shape after my five year old son told me that my butt was too big. Well I’ve been sticking to the work out plan for the most part. I say the most part because I was a tad bit under the weather for a few days and had to forego a work out here or there. But I’m declaring right here and now to refocus and actually pursue my dreams again. I started doing stand up after being way too afraid to do so in the past because it’s one of those dreams I buried years ago.

I don’t proclaim to be the next coming of Eddie Murphy or Mo’Nique. I do however, enjoy making folks laugh. I do enjoy the “rush” of getting up on stage and conquering a fear. After all fear is simply bondage. Courage is doing something in spite of that fear. Will you join me in becoming fearless? What are your dreams? Chile Please! Live Them!

Read more: http://elev8.com/daily-offerings/tarveniajones/never-give-up-on-your-dreams/#ixzz0hcj0iZ8d

VIA:  SmokeyRobinson.Com

The dictionary defines the popular term “comfort food” as “food prepared in a traditional style having a usually nostalgic or sentimental appeal.” It has been known to have a buffering effect as it soothes the soul and spurs memories of more “comforting” times. If that concept holds up in the kitchen, then it makes perfect sense that it should hold true in the living room with its aural equivalent. While it’s already a known fact that popular songs often connect with listeners in a highly personal way, often recalled alongside life’s more personal moments, only a few distinctive voices in popular music can achieve that same effect with instantaneous familiarity. With his eternally smooth and instantly recognizable falsetto alone – without the strings, bass, guitar or drums – legendary singer/songwriter/producer SMOKEY ROBINSON’s honey-coated voice absolutely is the audio equivalent of comfort food…comfort food for the soul…with soul. In following with the aforementioned definition, the Motown legend’s forthcoming ROBSO Records CD, Time Flies When You’re Having Fun has certainly been “prepared in a traditional style,” while that oh-so-familiar, highly identifiable crooning has an indisputable “nostalgic or sentimental appeal.”

Indeed, the “traditional” element of Time Flies When You’re Having Fun had already been determined while Robinson was recording his last CD, 2006’s pop/jazz standards collection Timeless Love. Just as that particular project had been recorded live in the studio with musicians – the first time he had recorded a full LP that way in years – Smokey knew he wanted to record his newly-written contemporary R&B songs in the very same fashion. In fact, he was so inspired by recording the “old school way” that the recording schedule for both projects actually overlapped. “I was having such a ball making that project (Timeless Love),” he explains. “I hadn’t intended on doing them simultaneously because I knew that Timeless Love was the one I was going to come out with. But things were going so well with that project that I said, ‘I’m gonna start putting in some of the original material I’d written for my new CD (Time Flies When You’re Having Fun) and record it this way too.’ I knew I was going to do these particular songs, but I didn’t realize I was going to wind up recording them live like I did with Timeless Love. So I did and we had a ball.” Though he’s the first to acknowledge and appreciate the technologically advanced way that recording for most releases are done today, like the cleaner sound and creative lee-way afforded by ProTools, Robinson was steadfast in his penchant for live instrumentation for this CD. “I think that you still don’t get that feeling that you used to get in the old days when everybody was in the studio together,” says Robinson, whose early Motown classics were recorded in this fashion. “That way was like doing a concert, because everybody was feeding off of each other. It’s just that live vibe.”

Click here to read more on Smokey Robinson…

Check out “Ebony Eyes” by Smokey Robinson and Rick James:

Among the artists who contributed their gifts to the recording of “Are You Listening” were Yolanda Adams, Jeremy Camp, Shirley Caesar, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Natalie Grant, Fred Hammond, Tamela & David Mann, Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin, Bishop Paul S. Morton, J. Moss, Smokie Norful, Marvin Sapp, Karen Clark-Sheard, Kierra “KiKi” Sheard, BeBe Winans, CeCe Winans and Marvin Winans.

The song gets support from an an all-star choir which includes Shari Addison, Kathy Taylor Brown, John Gray, Bishop Darryl Hines, Stephen Hurd, Karima Kibble, Judith McAllister, Nicole C. Mullen, Jessica Reedy, The Neville Sisters, Troy Sneed, Micah Stampley, Melinda Watts, and Brian Courtney Wilson.

Enjoy the video of the song that was created to offer the help that is so desperately needed.

Suggested charities: UNICEF, Red Cross, Compassion International, World Vision, Samaritan’s Purse, or Yéle Haiti.

“Are You Listening: A Love Song for Haiti” is available from digital retailers all over the net, such as iTunes, Amazon.

VIA:  AltheaGibson.Com

Born August 25, 1927 in Silver, SC, A right-hander, grew up in Harlem. Her family was poor, but she was fortunate in coming to the attention of Dr. Walter Johnson,
a Lynchburg VA physician who was active in the black tennis community. He became her patron as he would later for Arthur Ashe, the black champion at Forest Hills (1968) and Wimbledon (1975). Through Dr. Johnson, Gibson received better instruction and competition, and contacts were set up with the USTA to inject her into the recognized tennis scene.

A trailblazing athlete who become the first African American to win championships at Grand Slam tournaments such as Wimbledon, the French Open, the Australian Doubles and the United States Open in the late 1950s. Gibson had a scintillating amateur career in spite of segregated offerings earlier in the decade.

She won 56 singles and doubles titles during her amateur career in the 1950s before gaining international and national acclaim for her athletic prowess on the professional level in tennis.

Gibson won 11 major titles in the late 1950s, including singles titles at the French Open (1956), Wimbledon (1957, 1958) and the U. S. Open (1957, 1958), as well as three straight doubles crowns at the French Open (1956, 1957, 1958).

Check out this tribute to Althea Gibson:

Watch Althea win @ Forest Hills 1957:

Washington, D.C., native Taraji P. Henson didn’t always know that her smoldering charisma and beautiful face would make her a professional actress.

On the contrary, she originally studied electrical engineering when she enrolled at North Carolina Agric & Tech. She later transferred to Howard University, where she attended classes while working as a secretary at the Pentagon, and as a singer and dancer aboard a cruise ship. She eventually changed her academic focus to theater and graduated in 1995.

Henson’s career began with appearances on Homicide: Life on the Street and ER, but it really took off when she was cast in a major supporting role in 2001’s Baby_Boyand 2004’s Hustle_&_Flow, in which she also showcased her vocal talents, singing on the track “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” for the movie’s soundtrack, which took home the Best Song Oscar that year. Henson later moved on to take major roles in Smokin’_Aces and Talk to Me. Henson made the most of her work as the mother of the backward-aging man in David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and her performance garnered Best Supporting Actress nominations from both the Screen Actors Guild, and the Academy.

VIA:  YAHOO MOVIES.COM:

Denzel Washington burst onto the big screen with an Oscar and Golden Globe-winning role in the Civil War epic “Glory” (1989). But over the following decade, the matinee-idol handsome actor became the first of his generation’s African-American movie stars to land squarely on Hollywood’s A-list – as likely to be tapped to play a heroic lead as any white actor would have been a shoe-in for only a decade prior.

Likened to Sidney Poitier for his ability to appeal to a multiracial audience, Washington’s grounding force was a critical and audience favorite in historical dramas like “Cry Freedom” (1987), “Malcolm X” (1992) and “American Gangster” (2007), as well in more action-driven dramas such as “The Pelican Brief” (1993), “Remember the Titans” (2000) and “Training Day” (2001). Rising above the “black actor” moniker, Washington not only held a firm position as one of Hollywood’s top dramatic leads well into the new millennium, he also earned industry respect for his filmmaking efforts – directing and producing both “Antwone Fisher” (2002) and “The Great Debaters” (2007).

Washington has been awarded three Golden Globe awards and two Academy Awards for his work. He is notable as the second African Americanman (afterSidney Poitier) to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, which he received for his role in the 2001 film Training Day.

Are you a true Denzel fan?  Take the Denzel Washington trivia quiz below and test how you rate.

1) On with 1980’s television drama was Denzel Washington a regular?

a) E.R.
b) St. Elsewhere
c) Chicago Hope

2) One of Denzel Washington’s early movies was the comedy Carbon Copy but he’s only made three comedies in his long career. The second was The Preacher’s Wife, what was the third?

a) Heart Condition
b) The Mighty Quinn
c) Mo’ Better Blues

3) Denzel Washington’s character was paralyzed in which movie?

a) Virtuosity
b) The Bone Collector
c) Ricochet

4) Denzel Washington won an Academy Award for which movie?

a) The Hurricane
b) Malcolm X
c) Training Day

5) American Gangster wasn’t the only movie Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe appeared in together – what was the first?

a) Virtuosity
b) Fallen
c) Devil in a Blue Dress

6) What was Denzel Washington’s first feature film?

a) A Soldier’s Story
b) Carbon Copy
c) Cry Freedom

7) Denzel was in a movie version of which William Shakespeare play?

a) Hamlet
b) Much Ado About Nothing
c) Othello

Answers:  1) b;  2) b;  3) b; 4) c; 5) a; 6) a; 7) b

Denzel Washington responds to the debate over why some of his roles haven’t been honored by the Academy. Check local listings for airdates of Tavis Smiley on PBS.

VIA: SpeakOutNow.Org

Through her activism and her scholarship over the last decades, Angela Davis has been deeply involved in our nation’s quest for social justice. Her work as an educator – both at the university level and in the larger public sphere – has always emphasized the importance of building communities of struggle for economic, racial, and gender equality.

Professor Davis’ teaching career has taken her to San Francisco State University, Mills College, and UC Berkeley. She has also taught at UCLA, Vassar, the Claremont Colleges, and Stanford University. She has spent the last fifteen years at the University of California Santa Cruz where she is Professor of History of Consciousness, an interdisciplinary Ph.D program, and Professor of Feminist Studies.

Angela Davis is the author of eight books and has lectured throughout the United States as well as in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America. In recent years a persistent theme of her work has been the range of social problems associated with incarceration and the generalized criminalization of those communities that are most affected by poverty and racial discrimination. She draws upon her own experiences in the early seventies as a person who spent eighteen months in jail and on trial, after being placed on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted List.” She has also conducted extensive research on numerous issues related to race, gender and imprisonment. Her most recent books are Abolition Democracy and Are Prisons Obsolete? She is now completing a book on Prisons and American History.

Click here to read more on Angela Davis…

Check out this video of Anglea speaking at UCLA:

Check out this video of Angela’s 1984 appearance on Buchanan/Braden debating Racism:

In tackling the problem of childhood obesity, first lady Michelle Obama is doing something that her husband rarely does — talking about an issue bluntly in terms of race and helping urban America.

She is, some say, filling a role that Barack Obama seems less inclined to fill, serving as a kind of bridge from the White House to black America in much the same way that she functioned during the campaign, observers said.

Where President Obama has been reluctant at times to address domestic policy in terms of how it would specifically affect African-Americans or Hispanics, Michelle Obama has approached her signature issue differently, frequently bringing up issues of race, region and inequality.

The first lady provided a vivid example Friday of her approach to childhood obesity, touring the Fresh Grocer in North Philadelphia, a predominantly black neighborhood that had been without a grocery store for more than a decade. The $15 million store opened in December, created 270 jobs and has a 96 percent minority workforce. The store, located near Temple University, is located in Progress Plaza. Aides to the first lady said the goal is to highlight how neighborhoods have addressed the problem of “food deserts,” neighborhoods that lack a full-service grocery store.

“It’s a nuanced conversation about race and place and economic inequality, and at the same time, she is staying within the first lady framework,” said Melissa Gilbert, a professor in the urban studies department at Temple University. “It’s a very smart approach because she is bringing up issues that people haven’t thought about in the popular mainstream society.”

Over the past month, as she has rolled out her Let’s Move initiative, the first lady has spoken broadly of childhood obesity as a problem that confronts children everywhere, but she also frequently mentions the disproportionate effect it has on black and Hispanic children. One in two minority children deal with being overweight compared to one in three white children.

“Because right now, if we think about our children, nearly a third of them in this country are overweight or obese, and a third will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lifetimes. In the African-American and Hispanic communities, that number goes up to half,” she said during one recent speech on health care and childhood obesity.

And in speeches and interviews, she has also addressed the issue of unsafe neighborhoods and often framed the problem as a particularly urban one.

She spoke of the difficulty some children have getting daily exercise. “Urban sprawl and fears about safety often mean the only walking they do is out their front door to a bus or a car,” she said when she launched the program earlier this month.

Speaking of the lack of healthy food options in some urban neighborhoods, Obama said, “And we certainly can’t ask parents who are living in the midst of food deserts without the resources to buy the products and the items for their families, we definitely can’t put them into that trick bag of telling them that they need to do something that is completely out of their reach.”

And she told of her own experiences as the mother of two young daughters. “I was fortunate enough to have a pediatrician who worked in an urban environment in the African-American community,” she told CNN’s Larry King about how she came to the issue. “And he was tracking BMI [Body Mass Index]. And he saw a little uptick in the kids’ BMI and he kind of pulled me aside.”

East Wing aides worked with the White House Office of Urban Affairs in planning for the trip to Philadelphia. And on Saturday the first lady will address the National Governors Association convention in Washington, and appear on Mike Huckabee’s Fox News show, as she ramps up her national public education initiative to fight childhood obesity.

The effort marks her first full foray into policy after a year marked by sustained outreach to metro Washington. She has visited schools, started a mentoring program for young women and invited students to help cultivate and harvest the garden on the South Lawn.

And even when the first lady traveled abroad last spring to London, she made her first speech to a group of inner-city minority students, telling them that she was raised in the “real part of Chicago” and that it was “important for the world to know that there are wonderful girls like you all over the world.”

It was similar to what she told a group of students at Anacostia High School as she sat with them in a classroom, recalling that she had been ribbed for talking like a white girl.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said that Obama “plunged into the district” and hasn’t been content to see “D.C. as a nice backdrop with a lot of black and Hispanic faces.”

“In a country where race rules, she is seen over and over with black children, but it doesn’t send out the same racial vibes,” Norton said. “Barack hasn’t hung back, but she does have greater license to go into the black community without seeming to cut off white people as the president might. And he wouldn’t be doing that, but perception is reality.”

It is an approach, both symbolic and substantive, that hasn’t gone unnoticed by observers of race and urban policy, who had hoped that her husband would live up to his tag of being the first big city, urban president, but have since been disappointed.

For some, Obama’s four-hour trip to New Orleans exemplified his approach to the issues confronting urban America. Critics say that though he created the White House Office of Urban Affairs, he has yet to articulate an urban agenda that has taken hold in the public consciousness.

Last year in a White House meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus, Barack Obama privately told the group “we have to do something about obesity among our people.”

Speaking more broadly, he told American Urban Radio Networks recently that: “The only thing I cannot do is, by law I can’t pass laws that say I’m just helping black folks. I’m the president of the entire United States.”

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