February 28, 2014

Culture: The Wire


The Wire: 2002 - 2008




---

Goodnight Moon:

Goodnight moon
Goodnight stars
Goodnight po-pos
Goodnight fiends
Goodnight hoppers
Goodnight hustlers
Goodnight scammers
Goodnight to everybody
Goodnight to one and all.


---

Recommended Watching:




---

Recommended Reading:










Black Excellence Month: Day 28

Gabrielle Union
Actress
1972 - 


"We give a lot of others significance in our lives even when they don't deserve it. It doesn't matter if they're family or if you've known them forever. If they're not good for you, they've got to go."
-Gabrielle Union



---

Recommended Watching:
---

Recommended Reading:

February 27, 2014

Black Excellence Month: Day 27

Whoopi Goldberg
Actress  Comedian  Political Activist  Singer
1953 - 


"It's being willing to walk away that gives you strength and power - if you're willing to accept the consequences of doing what you want to do."
-Whoopi Goldberg



"Well, when I was nine years old, Star Trek came on, I looked at it and I went screaming through the house, 'Come here, mum, everybody, come quick, come quick, there's a black lady on television and she ain't no maid!' I knew right then and there I could be anything I wanted to be.”
-Whoopi Goldberg

---

Recommended Watching:
---

Recommended Reading:
  • Sugar Plum Ballerinas (series) by Whoopi Goldberg
  • Is it Just Me? Or is it Nuts Out There by Whoopi Goldberg
  • Alice by Whoopi Goldberg

February 26, 2014

Black Excellence Month: Day 26

Alfre Woodard
Actress
1952 - 

“Everybody has a part of her body that she doesn’t like, but I've stopped complaining about mine because I don’t want to critique nature's handiwork...My job is simply to allow the light to shine out of the masterpiece.” 
-Alfre Woodard



---

Recommended Watching:
---

Recommended Reading:

Well Suited Wednesday

Michael B. Jordan
Actor
1987 - 


"I want to do everything. I'm a producer at heart. Eventually, when I can produce the way I want to, my acting's going to help fuel that. And not just vehicles for myself - I'm a member of this film society, and I want to contribute. If you're in the industry, you can't just take from it; you have to deposit something back to keep it going for the next generation."
-Michael B. Jordan


---

Recommended Watching:
---

Recommended Reading


February 25, 2014

Black Excellence Month: Day 25

Shonda Rhimes
Screenwriter  Director  Producer
1970 - 


"I’m a black woman every day, and I’m not confused about that. I’m not worried about that. I don’t need to have a discussion with you about how I feel as a black woman, because I don’t feel disempowered as a black woman.”
-Shonda Rhimes




---

Recommended Watching:
---

Recommended Reading:

February 24, 2014

Black Men Monday

Ossie Davis
Actor  Playwright  Director  Social Activist
1917 - 2005


“I find, in being black, a thing of beauty: a joy; a strength; a secret cup of gladness.”
-Ossie Davis



---

Recommended Watching:

---

Recommended Reading:
  • With Ossie and Ruby by Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee
  • Just Like Martin by Ossie Davis
  • Escape to Freedom by Ossie Davis

Black Excellence Month: Day 24

Octavia E. Butler
Writer
1947 - 2006

"You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence. It's just so easy to give up!"
-Octavia Butler


---

Recommended Reading:
---

Recommended Watching:

Black Culture: A Different World


A Different World: 1987 - 1993


Denise, Dwayne, Whitley
Ron, Kim, Jaleesa, Freddie
Mr. Gaines, Col. Taylor, Walter
Lettie, Stevie
Lena, Gina, Charmaine
Dorian, Terrance 

---

Recommended Reading:


My Favorite Episodes:
  • War of the Words
  • Rudy and the Snow Queen
  • Gift of the Magi
  • Mr. Hillman
  • If Only For One Night
  • Those Who Can't...Tutor
  • Three Girls Three
  • Radio Free Hillman
  • It Happened One Night
  • It's Greek to Me
  • No Means No
  • There's No Place Like Home
  •  Strangers on a Plane
  • To Have and Have Not
  • Answered Prayers
  • The Power of the Pen
  • Pride and Prejudice
  • Ms. Understanding
  • If I Should Die Before I Wake
  • Do You Take This Woman
  • Mammy Dearest
  • Cats in the Cradle
  • Save the Best for Last
  • Honeymoon in L.A. parts 1 and 2
  • Homie, Don't Ya Know Me
  • A Rock, A River, a Lena
  • Love Taps










February 23, 2014

Black Excellence Month: Day 23

Madam C.J. Walker
Entrepreneur  Philanthropist
1867 - 1919 

"I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them."

-Madam C.J. Walker




---

Recommended Watching:
---

Recommended Reading:
  • The History of Black Business in America by Juliet Walker
  • Madam C.J. Walker: Building a Business Empire by P. Coleman
  • On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker

February 22, 2014

Black Excellence Month: Day 22

Nichelle Nichols
Actress  Singer
1932 - 

 "I was very blessed in always knowing what I wanted to do, and by the grace of God, I've been able to succeed in my chosen career."
-Nichelle Nichols



---

Recommended Watching:
---

Recommended Reading:

February 21, 2014

Black Excellence Month: Day 21

Wangari Maathai
Environmental and Political Activist
1940 - 2011


“I’m very conscious of the fact that you can’t do it alone. It’s teamwork. When you do it alone you run the risk that when you are no longer there nobody else will do it.” 
-Wangari Maathai



---

Recommended Reading:
  • Unbowed by Wangari Maathai
  • The Challenge for Africa by Wangari Maathai
  • The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience by Wangari Maathai
  • The Canopy Of Hope: My Life Campaigning For Africa, Women, And The Environment by Wangari Maathai
  • Nobel Peace Prize Biography
  • Death of a Visionary
 ---

Recommended Watching:

February 19, 2014

Black Excellence Month: Day 19

Gabrielle Douglas
Gymnast  Olympian
1995 - 


“Never give up and always keep fighting, because though times may be tough, the sacrifices do pay off, so just keep pushing towards your dream and just love it at the same time and enjoy it.”
-Gabby Douglas




---

Recommended Watching:
---

Recommended Reading:

Well Suited Wednesday

Forest Whitaker
Actor  Producer  Director
1961 - 

"As a kid, I never had dreams of becoming an actor or director. Even when I was already working professionally, it took me a long time to know whether this was what I really wanted to be. Now I feel comfortable about what I'm doing, but I see that I can continue to make it better, that I can create a deeper balance in my life, and I'm still working on that. I didn't plan for things to turn out this way at all. But I have to say, I feel good about it. I do."
-Forest Whitaker



---

Recommended Watching:

February 17, 2014

Black Men Monday

Jesse Williams
Actor 
1981 - 


"We often grow up being told that we can do this or that, but if you don't see anybody that looks like you doing it, you don't believe you can do it. But I had great teachers, and I wanted to be a great teacher."
-Jesse Williams



---

Recommended Watching:
---

Recommended Reading:

---

“Feeling threatened is not the same thing as being threatened.” 
-Jesse Williams

Motivation Monday!


-Kid President♥

Black Excellence: Day 17

Amber Riley
Actress  Singer  Dancer
1986 -


"I want to encourage young women to stand up for each other and speak up when they see others in a tough situation."
-Amber Riley



---

Recommended Watching:
---

Recommended Reading:

February 16, 2014

Black Excellence Month: Day 16

Maya Angelou 
Poet  Novelist  Activist  Educator  Producer 
1928 - 2014


"Courage is the most important of all virtues, because without courage, you cannot practice any of the other virtues consistently."
-Maya Angelou


“A woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself, and only herself.”
-Maya Angelou

---

Maya Angelou Book List:
  • I Know Why The Cage Bird Sings
  •  The Heart of a Woman
  • Letter to My Daughter
  • Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now
  • On the Pulse of Morning
  • Gather Together in My Name
  • All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes
  • Life Doesn't Frighten Me
  • Mom & Me & Mom
  • Even The Stars Look Lonesome
  • I Shall Not Be Moved
  • Just Give Me a Cool Drink A Water 'fore I Die
  • Graduation
  • Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes
---

Recommended Reading:
---

Recommended Watching:
---


“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” 
-Maya Angelou

February 15, 2014

Black Excellence Month: Day 15

bell hooks
Author  Feminist  Activist
1952 - 

“I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else's whim or to someone else's ignorance.” 
-bell hooks


---

Recommended Watching:
---

bell hooks Book List:
  • Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism
  • Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics
  • Sisters of the Yam: Black Women and Self-Recovery
  • Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center
  • Black Looks: Race and Representation
  • Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood
  • Happy to Be Nappy
  • We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity
  • Rock My Soul: Black People and Self-Esteem

February 14, 2014

Black Love: The Huxtables

The Cosby Show: The Huxtables
Clair and Cliff Huxtable
Russell and Anna
Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy
Elvin, Martin, Justine, Dabnis, Kenny "Bud"
Olivia, Winnie and Nelson
Pam, Charmaine, Lance, Cockroach






The Cosby Show: 1984-1992


Recommending Readings:

 


---

Recommended Watching:

Favorite Episodes:
  • Off To See The Wretched
  •  Father's Day
  • Physician of the Year
  • Birthday Blues
  • Cliff's Wet Adventure
  • Halloween
  • A Touch of Wonder
  • The Prom
  • The Last Barbecue
  • Cliff Babysits
  • No Way, Baby
  • Denise Kendall: Babysitter
  • The Day the Spores Landed
  • The Storyteller
  • The Infantry has Landed (and They've Fallen Off the Roof)
  • Clair's Liberation
  • For Men Only
  • Olivia Comes Out of the Closet
  • Mrs. Huxtable Goes to Kindergarten

Black Excellence Month: Day 14

Phylicia Rashad
Actress  Singer  Stage Director
1948 -


 “A great person is not great because they are famous or wealthy; a great person is great because they make others greater.” 
-Phylicia Rashad 

“A great person is not great because they are famous or wealthy; a great person is great because they make others greater.”

---
Recommended Watching:

---
Recommended Reading:





February 13, 2014

Be Inspired: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Danger of a Single Story 




"I have chosen to no longer be apologetic for my femaleness and my femininity. And I want to be respected in all of my femaleness because I deserve to be." 


We Should All Be Feminists
 



Book List: 
  •  Americanah
  • Half of a Yellow Sun
  • The Thing Around Your Neck
  • Purple Hibiscus