‘Cuz Ray Charles can see the ghetto,
Was told to be strong and I could beat the devil.
-Nas, Doo Rags
Work wear essentials will have to wait until tomorrow. Gotta get some other stuff off my heart and mind right now. I thought hard about whether or not I was gonna mention the now infamous New Yorker cover here. (Click on the link if you need to see it. I refuse to post that foolishness on my blog.) The cover has gotten way too much attention already. It’s ugly (I mean ugly in the way an old southern Black woman calls ignorant behavior ugly) and I didn’t want to repeat much of what everyone else has already said on their blogs. So yesterday evening I decided not to address it.
Where are the turbans, guns and burning flags I wonder?
But then earlier today, I stumbled upon the September 2007 issue of Essence magazine. In it is a feature story on our girl, Michelle Obama. I believe this was actually the article that made me fully aware of her gangsta. Well, when I revisited the article I initially read some ten months ago, I came across this quote:
"I know who I need to be. I’ve come to know myself at the age of 43. Now maybe if I were 23 or 33, I’d still be struggling with that. But I’m a grown-up. I’ve seen it up, and I’ve seen it down, and I know who I need to be to stay true to who I am and keep my family on track."
Folks, I don’t think we have seen the dirtiest this race will be just yet. And while I am still pissed about this cover (and let’s all take a moment to acknowledge how offensive it is to those of the Muslim faith, those who were/are a part of the Black Panther Party and those who are of Arabic heritage as well) and probably will be for a minute, Michelle’s above quote gave me exactly the solace I needed to deal with this. She and Barack knew when he decided to run that ish wasn’t gonna be fair. Neither of them would have accomplished what they have thus far in life if they stopped when ish wasn't fair or right. Of course I can’t know for sure but I think Michelle’s quote just perfectly sums up how she feels about this whole mess.
I started this post off with a few lyrics from one of my all-time favorite musical dudes, Nasir Jones. The lyrics are from his under the radar album, The Lost Tapes and I thought they were fitting for a time such as this. Oh and since I was so pressed to attend his concert tonight in NYC, I missed the VIP preview day of the Tracy Reese sample sale. But I honestly didn’t need to go. I need new furniture much more than I need a new dress -- I can’t afford both right now. I wanted him to perform Doo Rags tonight and he didn’t but I have saved money (for my new plasma) as I result of attending his show. See, Nas is a poet and a budget enforcer! The regularly scheduled blogging should resume tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
P.S. - I know I reached with the title of this post but I needed to get your attention.
