MIDWEEK MUSINGS: 1/534

One out of 534 Central High graduates was black and her name was Sybil we we met this afternoon as Dr. Sybil Jordan Hampton. Not one of those 534 white students ever dared to befriend her/even speak to her during her high school years there. It was a tumultuous time for racism especially in this all white Southern high school. 

Soft spoken Dr. Hampton read to us from her forthcoming memoir, A Guest in a Strange House.

In the Q&A we heard about Dr. Hampton's neighbors read about community affairs in the NAACP newspaper. 

 Dr. Hampton grew up where on opposite sides of the street of one block there were 2 grocery stores, one for the whites and one for the blacks. Little Rock was a very segregated city in the '50s. 

We heard about a lot of praying, especially when the National Guard descended upon the high school in 1957. The school was closed due to the violence (58-59). 

Forgiveness and grievance helped Dr. Hampton survive her past. Yet, race relations are still an issue in our country and sitting idly by is not helping anyone. Change is possible.  May we all have the patience and calmness Dr. Hampton exemplifies... We are all one race- humans. Let's share accountability.

Thanks to UALR's English department for sponsoring these readings.

 

tUESDAY tUNES:K POP LITTLE MISS...

tUESDAY tUNES: After spending a month in a beach city, I think I have seen it all. When you are my age and usually live in conversative cities, it's a bit jarring to see a lot of flesh and girls wearing underwear as clothing outside their bedrooms. Just saying. I am still of the mindset that the word " underwear" should be something you actually wear under your clothes... This is just a preface because seeing women, no matter their age, thong bikinis are just too much information. And burnt buns, oy... 

There is nothing demure about it, but I liked the catchy tune even if I don't like the fact 'young' girls grow up way too fast nowadays...

Take a listen this week's tune by GIRLSET's :LITTLE MISS  

MONDAY MUSING: WRITING

 MONDAY MUSING embraces the possibilities to be introduced to strong but very different authors and their writings and their life experience due to Black History month.

 

Today I will write about Thursday night's speaker, the unabashed prolific writer Reshondra Tate born in Smackover, Arkansas, who has penned 54 books.  

Her audience got to hear many details and inspiration after her newest published book, With Love from Harlem, about the 'bold, brave and flawed' Hazel Scott, the fearless 1940's- 50's, Queen of Jazz Piano, the first woman to have her own television show. a powerhouse who blended classics with swing, boogie woogie and her own wild improvisations. A powerhouse who was blacklisted during McCarthyism.

An activist who surrounded herself with legends like Billie Holiday, Langston James,  James Baldwin, Nina Simone, Miles Davis and Quincy Jones. The main man in her life was her husband Adam Clayton Powell,  had the wedding of the century with 3 thousand guests,  power couple whose light eventually was dimmed by him...  This book is historic fiction using researched facts including others's autobiographies to validate Ms Tate's work. 

Thursday night was filled with laughter as we sat enthralled with an auditorium filled with Ms Tate's fans.

 Ms Tate followed her own advice to a young author during the Q& A : "Don't wait for someone to validate you. Do your own self promotion" and then she videoed the audience holding up their new copies of With Love from Harlem... 

She won at least one new fan in me Thursday night...

Thanks to our library system for their wonderful programming.

FOTO FRIDAY : SPRINGING IN...

FOTO FRIDAY: I have to admit I saw yellow in Atlanta and knew it would be awaiting me in Little Rock. Sure enough even when yellow is not my favorite color in the garden, this means winter is on its way out and spring is springing in...

Last week's FOTO FRIDAY was ENYUCADO, a world away.

TBT: 7 Years Ago... ISLAMOPHOBIA

 TBT: Racism is still running rampant as folks forget we were all strangers once in this land unless we're indigenous. 

The La Crosse Shoulder to Shoulder group joined others to speak up against Islamophobia since racial slurs had been sprayed on this taxi's garage door now painted over with ' Our community, our family, Hate has no place here.' 2017, My Natureman left front always speaking out against injustice."

tUESDAY tUNES: AN INSTRUMENTAL TODAY AH, SWEET THING

Decided to switch it up today a bit with tUESDAY tUNES and instead of concentrating on the lyrics just hear THE instrumentall rendition of Chaka Khan's Sweet Thing played by Demola... Enjoy. I think this instrumental can bring up the images for you.. Just ry to sit still...

SWEET THING

MONDAY MUSINGS: A LONG, LONG DAY

MONDAY MUSINGS: Saturday was a day of travel. I enjoyed my last panqueque breakfast prepared by my Costa Rican daughter, Marcela. Gallo Pinto, rice dish, is more common for Tico's breakfast.  I have been so spoiled as I haven't cooked a meal in a month.  Will I even remember how to go grocery shopping, much less cook? Wink, wink.

My participation in the program included a home stay, 2 meals per day, $18 round trip bus transportation from San Jose to Quepos,  during my volunteer stint, along with an art class, weekly cooking and salsa dance classes, along with a beautiful pool to do short laps, cool off, and shower at Máximo Nivel...  

In addition the tuition for participating I also paid out of pocket for lunches, laundry, field trips, and my daily $1 roundtrip bus fare to my teaching assignment. Didn't do much shopping, yet my suitcase is expanded as far as it will go. It's what I get for travelling light.

The bus trip was going to be a long one as my supposed 3-hour bus arrived late due to construc-tion, and we would be facing the same construction heading the opposite direction with a bit less traffic. 

I enjoyed the scenery on the return to San Jose as my last trip on this route had been in the dark. 

Beautiful beaches at Jacó have a great surfing reputation, and many a home had surfboards sitting outside ready to go catch a wave...

We had a lunch stop and I grabbed a chicken empanada and a bottle of Tropical peach tea. We still were an hour out from the airport. 

By the time I got to my gate it was 1pm and they changed gates 3x- eventually transporting us to the runway by a small bus.  Departing about SJO @ 5pm  arriving Atlanta at 9pm. A long, long day...