Friday, February 28, 2014

Reverend Shirley Caesar...Pastor,Dove Award Winning Gospel Recording Artist,Durham City Councilperson,Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Member

image
image
image
Shirley Ann Caesar-Williams, known professionally as Shirley Caesar (born October 13, 1938, Durham, North Carolina) is an American Gospel music singer, songwriter and recording artist whose career has spanned over six decades. A multi-award winning artist, with eleven Grammy Awards and seven Dove Awards to her credit, she was known as "First Lady of Gospel Music" and now the "Queen of Gospel Music" now since the death of the late Queen Albertina Walker. Caesar graduated from Shaw University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1984. She also spent time studying at the Divinity School of Duke University and has received honorary doctorates from Shaw University and Southeastern University. Caesar pastors the 1,500-member Mount Calvary Word of Faith Church in Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband, Bishop Harold I. Williams

If you were beginning to worry that no significant traditional gospel albums made a mark in 2007, Shirley Caesar's After 40 Years … Still Sweeping Through the City is sure to lay those fears to rest. The title is fairly self-explanatory. This is the gospel matriarch's 40th anniversary as a solo recording artist, a career she began in 1966 after a leap of faith. A call to ministry led Caesar to leave The Caravans, arguably the most popular all-female gospel group of the 1950s, but from there she soared to new heights.

Celebrity-minded gospel luminaries would use this occasion to roll out the red carpet and make this more about the guests and the creators than about the Creator, but not Caesar. This album was recorded live at Mount Calvary Word of Faith Church—the congregation she co-pastors with her husband—as the culmination of a week of seminars and training for church leaders. It's understandable then why Sweeping sounds like a Sunday morning extravaganza, with Caesar as the officiating minister.
From top to bottom, Caesar is in command of her own celebration, roaring through a dozen tracks and 77 minutes of unbridled gospel fire. As soon as the blues-drenched "Sweeping Through the City" kicks things off, there's no stopping this disc, with every selection a masterwork in its own right, whether it's a floor-stomping hand-clapper, a choral sing-off, a storyteller, or all of the above.

In good Caesar tradition, the classic "Hold My Mule" retains its exhortative qualities. It's a sermon-ette of histrionic proportions, where the singer spews fire and brimstone for six-plus minutes before actually doing any singing. This may be a turnoff for more delicate, unschooled listeners, but it's pure gospel heaven for traditionalist devotees of the genre—a vocal showstopper and rock-solid performance that demonstrates Caesar's pipes haven't aged a bit after four decades in music and ministry.
A few Caesar essentials in the vein of "Hold My Mule" are missing from this commemorative effort, particularly the tour de force "Don't Drive Your Mama Away" and the crossover hit "No Charge," but that's nitpicking at best. There are enough Caesar classics here and old-time fervor to make Still Sweeping Through the City the best traditional gospel album of the year.

http://www.mtcalvarywordoffaith.org/wordoffaith-home/pastors.asp
http://www.shirleycaesar.com/bio.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Caesar

Reverend Dr. Della Reese...Ordained Minister,American Actress,Singer,Game Show Panelist of the 1970s,One-Time Talk-Show Hostess

image


Della's new Live album: "My Soul Feels Better Right Now"
In 1987 Della Reese-Lett, world famous singer, actress and television personality, was ordained as a minister by the Universal Foundation for Better Living, an organization of twenty-two member churches and study groups worldwide, founded by The Reverend Doctor Johnnie Colemon.  Reverend Della, as she is lovingly called, founded Understanding Principles for Better Living Church (UP) in Los Angeles, California in order to provide others with the opportunity to know members of UP Church are able to share the wisdom, revelations, and inspirations of one of this country's great spiritual leaders.  Her lesson/sermons, based upon the teachings of Jesus Christ, give all who are seeking practical ways to learn and apply the Principles that will allow them to have a better life. 

Singer and actress Della Reese, was born as as Delloreese Patricia Early in Detroit, Michigan, on July 6, 1931. Reverend Della's walk with God started when she was a child in Detroit, Michigan.  She began singing in church when she was six years old.  Through those formative years she was involved in gospel singing.  At the age of 13, she was hired by the Late Mahalia Jackson to tour and perform with her.  As Reverend Della recalls, "This opportunity to sing with the 'world's foremost gospel singer' was a thrilling experience." Later, while majoring in psychology at Wayne State University, in Detroit, Della formed her own female gospel group, "The Meditation Singers", which is listed in the "Who's Who of Gospel Music".

While her roots were still in gospel Music, Della developed an individual popular style that took her  to national prominence.  In 1953, she made the move to New York City, became a vocalist with the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra.  Her early recordings include:  "In The Still of The Night", "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm", and "Time After Time". Della had her first major hit with "And That Reminds Me (of you)".  In 1959, Della enjoyed her biggest hit, a tune adapted from puccini's "La Boheme", entitled "Don't You Know?" and was nominated for a Grammy as best female vocalist.  This led to Della performing for the next nine years in Las Vegas on the famed "Strip".  In the thirty years that followed "Don't You Know?" Della Reese has continued her string recordings and was again nominated for a Grammy in 1987 as best female soloist in Gospel.

A generous amount of television exposure followed Della's first recording successes.  In the late '50's and early '60's, she appeared on many television shows that are now considered classics.  She was also the first female to host "The Tonight Show".  She was soon asked to host her own talk show, "Della", (making her the first Black woman to host her own show) which was syndicated nationally in 1969-70. 

Television, which became the major medium of the '70's and '80's, saw a lot of Della.  Later she was to star in her own series, "The Royal Family" with Redd Foxx.  Della's received an Emmy nomination for her work in the television movie "Nightmare in Badham County".
The most recent of her television pursuits is the CBS dramatic series, "Touched By An Angel" which is in it's seventh season, and where her two talents are combined as she also sings the theme song.  Della's television work was honored in 1994, as she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Despite the demands of filming a television series in Salt Lake City, Utah, Rev. Della continues to make the trip to Los Angeles weekly so that she can continue to teach, instruct and inspire.  Through her devotion, dedication and determination, what began with eight (8) people around her dining room table has grown into a Love and Spirit-filled ministry which now has a weekly attendance of close to 300.  Rev. Della's message of Practical Christianity has been an inspiration to so many and the church is growing so rapidly that plans for UP's new church home are underway.

Della Reese is more than an entertainer, more than an actress, more than a minister - Della is living proof that with God as your partner, you can dream larger dreams and watch them come true.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Della_Reese
http://www.upchurch.org/Founder.htm
http://www.biography.com/people/della-reese-9542106

Dr. Juanita Bynum...Prophetess,Author,Televangelist,International Empowerment Lecturer, Recording Artist, Author, Conference Host and Entrepreneur

image
image
image
Juanita Bynum was born on January 16, 1959 in Chicago, Illinois and is one of five children, from the marriage of Elder Thomas Bynum Sr. and Katherine Bynum. She grew up in Chicago, and received a starring role in Perry Middle School's annual play, My Fair Lady. Bynum attended Saints' Academy Church of God in Christ (COGIC) High School (a boarding school) in Lexington, Mississippi. She was raised as an attendee at St. Luke Church of God in Christ, in Chicago, a Pentecostal church.
Dr. Juanita Bynum sits as President of Juanita Bynum Ministries and CEO of Juanita Bynum Enterprises, with headquarters in Waycross and Atlanta, Georgia. Over the last two decades, Dr. Bynum has become a fixture of inspiration, hope and new life and served as an inspirational example to men and women everywhere. With accomplishments including being a New York Times Best Selling Author, Gold Recording Artist, Awarded Actress and Television Host, as well as a record breaking Conference Host, Dr. Juanita Bynum has turned her humble beginnings into an inspirational and philanthropic movement educating, equipping and empowering people from all walks of life.

Fueled by a passion for character building, life coaching and spiritual rejuvenation, Dr. Bynum merges spirituality with the practicality of everyday life. Her candid and revealing approach has engaged followers worldwide provoking them to pursue a lifestyle of integrity, success and happiness. Wherever Dr. Bynum goes, she exhorts, encourages and empowers her listeners to reach their full potential in their personal, entrepreneurial and spiritual lives.

Unashamed to use her life as teaching mechanism, Dr. Bynum's in your face messages have drawn thousands of men and women to her conferences and events over the last decade , often addressing crowds of 50,000-70,000 people as the keynote speaker. As one of the most notable conference hosts in America, Dr. Bynum made history as she saw over 68,000 registrants convene on the Georgia Dome in 2006 for her first Threshing Floor Conference to experience this movement. Her previous conferences in Pensacola, St. Louis and Orlando broke records drawing over 30,000 attendees and was broadcast live on major Christian networks worldwide include Trinity Broadcasting Network, Daystar and The Word Network.

In addition, Dr. Bynum has been featured on the front cover of ESSENCE where she is annual speaker at the world renowned ESSENCE Music Festival. She frequents many leading Christian magazines such as Charisma, Ministries Today, Spirit Led Woman, as well as Upscale magazine and many more. Dr. Bynum is one of the most sought after 21st Century female speakers, teachers, lecturers and entrepreneurs.

In addition to her record breaking accomplishments in ministry, Juanita Bynum is also known as an entrepreneurial genius as she sits at the helm of her multi-faceted corporation, Juanita Bynum Enterprises. Through such mediums, Bynum has released several musical projects, including certified gold record A Piece of My Passion through her own record label, now Son Flower Records, and is now slated to release her new project, The Diary of Juanita Bynum in partnership with Music World Entertainment and Mathew Knowles. Bynum has also released several best selling literary works such as Matters of the Heart, My Spiritual Inheritance, Threshing Floor and most notably No More Sheets. Bynum has also played roles in the ABC Family original series Lincoln Heights and starred in the movie Mama, I want to sing starring Ciara, Patti LaBelle, Lynn Whitfield and many others.

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Juanita-Bynum-Biography/A8E1A4732F20316D48257A230083C66D
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juanita_Bynum
http://www.juanitabynum.com/index.php/about-dr-bynum

Before Rosa Parks, There Was Claudette Colvin

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice cover image
A young Claudette Colvin
On that supercharged day in 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Ala., she rode her way into history books, credited with helping to ignite the civil rights movement.
But there was another woman, named Claudette Colvin, who refused to be treated like a substandard citizen on one of those Montgomery buses — and she did it nine months before Mrs. Parks. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made his political debut fighting her arrest. Moreover, she was the star witness in the legal case that eventually forced bus desegregation.

Yet instead of being celebrated, Ms. Colvin has lived unheralded in the Bronx for decades, initially cast off by black leaders who feared she was not the right face for their battle, according to a new book that has plucked her from obscurity.
Last week Phillip Hoose won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature for “Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice,” published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. The honor sent the little-selling title shooting up 500 spots on Amazon.com’s sales list and immediately thrust Ms. Colvin, 70, back into the cultural conversation.
“Young people think Rosa Parks just sat down on a bus and ended segregation, but that wasn’t the case at all,” Ms. Colvin said in an animated interview at a diner near her apartment in the Parkchester section of the Bronx. “Maybe by telling my story — something I was afraid to do for a long time — kids will have a better understanding about what the civil rights movement was about.”
Ms. Colvin made her stand on March 2, 1955, and Mrs. Parks made hers on Dec. 1 that same year. Somehow, as Mrs. Parks became one of Time Magazine’s 100 most important people of the 20th century, and streets and schools were named after her, Ms. Colvin managed to let go of any bitterness. After Ms. Colvin was arrested, Mrs. Parks, a seasoned N.A.A.C.P. official, sometimes let her spend the night at her apartment. Ms. Colvin remembers her as a reserved but kindly woman who fixed her snacks of peanut butter on Ritz crackers.
“My mother told me to be quiet about what I did,” Ms. Colvin recalled. “She told me: ‘Let Rosa be the one. White people aren’t going to bother Rosa — her skin is lighter than yours and they like her.’ ”
Ms. Colvin said she came to terms with her “raw feelings” a long time ago. “I know in my heart that she was the right person,” she said of Mrs. Parks.
Ms. Colvin was riding the bus home from school when the driver demanded that she give up her seat for a middle-age white woman, even though three other seats in the row were empty, one beside Ms. Colvin and two across the aisle.
“If she sat down in the same row as me, it meant I was as good as her,” Ms. Colvin said.
Two police officers, one of them kicking her, dragged her backward off the bus and handcuffed her, according to the book. On the way to the police station, they took turns trying to guess her bra size.
At the time, the arrest was big news. Black leaders, among them Dr. King, jumped at the opportunity to use her case to fight segregation laws in court. “Negro Girl Found Guilty of Segregation Violation” was the headline in The Alabama Journal. The article said that Ms. Colvin, “a bespectacled, studious looking high school student,” accepted the ruling “with the same cool aloofness she had maintained” during the hearing.
As chronicled by Mr. Hoose, more than 100 letters of support arrived for Ms. Colvin — sent in care of Mrs. Rosa Parks, secretary of the Montgomery branch of the N.A.A.C.P.
But Ms. Colvin was ultimately passed over.
“They worried they couldn’t win with her,” Mr. Hoose said in an interview from his home in Portland, Me. “Words like ‘mouthy,’ ‘emotional’ and ‘feisty’ were used to describe her.”
Mrs. Parks, on the other hand, was considered “stolid, calm, unflappable,” he said. The final straw: Ms. Colvin became pregnant by a married man.
A second Montgomery teenager, Mary Louise Smith, was also arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat — after Ms. Colvin’s arrest but before Ms. Parks’s — and she was also deemed an unsuitable symbol for the movement partly because of rumors that her father had an alcohol problem.
Although Ms. Colvin quickly left Montgomery, she returned during the peak of the bus boycott that Mrs. Parks had subsequently sparked, and testified in federal court in Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that effectively ended bus segregation.
“It’s an important reminder that crucial change is often ignited by very plain, unremarkable people who then disappear,” said David J. Garrow, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of Dr. King.
Even Mrs. Parks was forgotten for the better part of 20 years, only re-emerging as a world-famous figure in the early 1970s after magazine articles and attention in several children’s books.
Ms. Colvin, who relies on a cane to steady herself, retired in 2004 after 35 years as a nurse’s aide at a Manhattan nursing home. She contributed to her own obscurity: after settling in New York, she never talked about how her arrest helped prompt the famous bus boycott.
“She continued to heed her mother’s advice, and worried that drawing attention to herself would result in the loss of her job. “I wasn’t going to take that chance,” she said.
So she settled into living an average life. She never married. The son she had in Montgomery died at age 37; a second son is an accountant in Atlanta. She watches television — “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” is a favorite — and is a regular at the diner.
Ms. Colvin said she reads two newspapers every day to keep up on current events, chatting about recent Nobel Prize winners. She likes Chris Rock and Alicia KeysAretha Franklincould stand to lose a few pounds, but she wore a good hat to President Obama’sinauguration. Don’t get Ms. Colvin started on Sarah Palin.
She has fond memories of Dr. King. “He was just an average-looking fellow — it’s not like he was Kobe Bryant or anything,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes. “But when he opened his mouth he was like Charlton Heston playing Moses.”
Mr. Hoose said he stumbled across Ms. Colvin’s story while researching a previous book, “We Were There, Too! Young People in U.S. History.” Several sources told him to investigate what had almost become an urban myth: that a teenager had beaten Mrs. Parks to the punch in Montgomery.
He eventually tracked down Ms. Colvin, who has an unlisted telephone number. She refused to talk to Mr. Hoose for almost four years.
Mr. Hoose won over his reluctant subject over a long lunch at the diner. It was clear, he said, that she yearned to have her story told despite protests to the contrary. “It was easy to find the rebel girl inside of her,” he said.
One of her first questions: “Can you get it into schools?”
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: December 4, 2009
An article on Nov. 26 about Claudette Colvin, who protested segregation on theMontgomery, Ala., buses nine months before Rosa Parks did and is the subject of a book for young people that won a National Book Award last month, referred imprecisely to Mrs. Parks’s protest. While the boycott that followed her arrest for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger was planned by civil rights leaders who were waiting for the right case, her protest itself on Dec. 1, 1955, was not “carefully planned.”
More Articles in Books »A version of this article appeared in print on November 26, 2009, on page A1 of the New York edition.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101719889
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/books/26colvin.html?_r=0

Thursday, February 27, 2014

B. Smith...Fashion Model,Iconic Restaurateur, Author,Actress and Pioneering Trans-Cultural Lifestyle Expert

B. Smith
7051690
B. Smith: Rituals & Celebrations
image
B. Smith was born Barbara Smith on August 24, 1949 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Smith merges cultures through a shared appreciation for style.She has been heralded by The New York Times as “a Renaissance woman,” by Chuck Scarborough as a “domestic goddess,” by The New York Daily News as “one of the most important African-American style mavens of all time,” and honored with a 2012 Silver Spoon Award for sterling performance by Food Arts. A broadcast talent, entrepreneurial spokesperson and multiple award-winning recipient across a wide range of fields, Smith also earned kudos when she returned to the stage in her Off-Broadway debut in “Love, Loss, and What I Wore,” the award-winning play by Nora and Delia Ephron. In 2012, Smith was inducted into the American Chef Corps, part of the U.S. Department of State newly-formed Diplomatic Culinary Partnership with the James Beard Foundation. 

SiriusXM Radio Celebrity

Smith has teamed up with husband and business partner Dan Gasby (pictured) for their first-time radio show with the world’s largest radio broadcaster. “The B. Smith and ‘Thank You Dan’ Show” is a daily, three-hour show on SiriusXM’s Urban View station, channel 128. More than 23 million subscribers can join in on their insightful conversations about healthy living, food, entertaining, succeeding in business, as well as sharing their secrets to a successful relationship. 

United States Culinary Ambassador
In September of 2012, the U.S. Department of State and the James Beard Foundation launched the Diplomatic Culinary Partnership, a collaborative initiative to elevate the role of culinary engagement in America’s formal and public diplomacy efforts. As part of this endeavor, B. Smith was inducted into the newly-created American Chef Corps, the official network of chefs from across the country who have agreed to serve as resources to the Department of State. In this position, Smith assists the Department in preparing meals for foreign leaders, and participates in public diplomacy programs that engage foreign audiences abroad as well as those visiting the United States.

Groundbreaking Fashion Model
A native of Pennsylvania, Smith began her career as a fashion model, gracing the covers of 15 magazines and becoming the first African-American woman on Mademoiselle’s cover in July 1976.  Her image can be seen on a line of olive oil, as well as Betty Crocker and Pillsbury products. In addition to TV commercials for Mercedes-Benz, she has served as a spokesperson for Verizon, Colgate Palmolive Oxy and McCormick’s Lawry seasonings products.

Multi-Faceted Media Personality
A respected expert in affordable-yet-elegant living, B. Smith brings style to everything she does. For nearly a decade, Smith hosted the nationally syndicated/cable television show “B. Smith with Style” that aired on NBC stations in more than 90% of U.S. households and in 40 countries.  Her effervescent personality and creative ideas also impact audiences via her appearances on programs such as “Good Morning America,” “The Today Show” and. She and Gasby produced four specials for TV One, the lifestyle cable network for African-Americans. A former columnist for Soap Opera Digest, Smith was the host of the “B. Smart Tips for a Better Life” radio program.

Stage acting

Smith accepted a role in the off Broadway play Love, Loss, and What I Wore for an April 27 through May 29, 2011 run with Conchata Ferrell, AnnaLynne McCord, Anne Meara, and Minka Kelly.

Successful Restaurateur
Smith extends her lifestyle expertise as the owner of three successful B. Smith restaurants. Recognized by Elle Décor as one of America’s ten most outstanding non-professional chefs, she opened her first restaurant in 1986. Her longtime establishments include those on Restaurant Row in New York; in the historic Beaux-Arts Union Station in Washington, D.C.; and the scenic Long Island Hampton village of Sag Harbor.

Transcultural Lifestyle Pioneer
Smith is at the forefront of a trans-cultural movement across all her brand extensions. Her flair for décor, demonstrated in the ambiance of her restaurants, led to the development of her first home collection, which debuted at Bed Bath & Beyond in 2001.  The B. Smith with Style Home Collection is the first line from an African-American woman to be sold at a nationwide retailer and includes bedding, tabletop and bath products. 

From duvets to doormats, Smith’s décor line continues to grow with a variety of pieces for entertaining and home and incorporates her signature “Afrasian” design concept, which merges core African and Asian elements.  Her specialty serve ware, launched in 2004, has expanded to include over 300 sku’s.  In 2009, Smith introduced B. Smith Home featuring home goods; an upholstered furniture line with Miles Talbott; as well as area rugs from Surya, and wall art from Picture Source. Her first foray into food products is a line of cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil from Italy that is sold in more than 2,000 stores across the country and online. 

Military Partnership
B. Smith Enterprises joined with the Armed Forces as another way to give back to our country. In a unique partnership with Ready Pac, Smith is bringing delicious meals to our servicemen and women that reflect their true cultural diversity. Among the products Smith serves our troops domestically and abroad are Pablano Corn Chowder, Collard Greens, Maple Honey Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Red Beans & Rice, and Jambalaya.

Distinguished Author
Smith has authored three home entertaining books:  B. Smith’s Entertaining and Cooking for Friends (Artisan Press), the first tabletop entertainment and lifestyle book by an African American; B. Smith: Rituals and Celebration (Random House), a James Beard Foundation Award nominee, one of Food & Wine magazine’s best cookbooks of 1999 and an American Library Association Black Caucus Literary Award winner; and B. Smith Cooks Southern-Style (Simon and Schuster), boasting 200 recipes and flavorful tips for reducing calories.

National Spokesperson and Multiple Award Recipient
Smith is a coveted speaker whose accomplishments include a role in the prestigious Harvard Business School’s Dynamic Women in Business Conference and the honor of being a presenter at the American Museum of Natural History’s Global Weekends celebration, Kwanzaa 2012: First Fruits of the Harvest. She has been honored with the Earl Graves Entrepreneurial Award (2008), a BET Honors Award for Entrepreneurship (2009), a Black Enterprise Legacy Award (2010), the Visionary Leader Award from the National Kidney Foundation (2011), the Washington, D.C. Chamber of Commerce (2011) and Amas Musical Theater with its “Rosie Award” (2012) in celebration of her transcultural approach to fashion, food and décor.  Smith is also the national spokesperson for the African American Experience Fund (AAEF) of the National Park Foundation (NPF) to raise awareness of our country’s National Parks and Historic Sites.

A tireless advocate for healthy lifestyle choices, Smith has also been a national spokesperson for Merck’s “Journey for Control” program and addressed the Congressional Black Caucus. Currently along with her husband, they serve as national spokespeople for the National Kidney Foundation (NKF). Most recently, she was on a White House Minority Health Town Hall panel with Cecilia Munoz, Director of Domestic Policy Council, The White House; Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; and Dr. Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. 

http://bsmith.com/about/about-b/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._Smith

12 Things The Negro Must Do For Himself by Nannie Helen Burroughs

image
Keep in mind that this was published in the early 1900s. What do you think?


If The Negro Would Try

The Negro race has never tried to do very much for itself. The race has great possibilities.
Properly awakened, the Negro can do the so-called impossible.
Carter G. Woodson
Nannie H. Burroughs

12 Things The Negro Must Do For Himself by NannieHelen Burroughs

(Circa Early 1900's)

1. The Negro Must Learn To Put First Things First.  The First Things Are: Education; Development of Character Traits; A Trade and Home Ownership.

The Negro puts too much of his earning in clothes, in food, in show and in having what he calls "a good time." The Dr. Kelly Miller said, "The Negro buys what he WANTS and begs for what he Needs." Too true!
continued....
2. The Negro Must Stop Expecting God and White Folk To Do For Him What He Can Do For Himself.

It is the "Divine Plan" that the strong shall help the weak, but even God does not do for man what man can do for himself.  The Negro will have to do exactly what Jesus told the man (in John 5:8) to do--Carry his own load--"Take up your bed and walk"

3. The Negro Must Keep Himself, His Children And His Home Clean And Make The Surroundings In Which He Lives Comfortable and Attractive.

He must learn to "run his community up"--not down. We can segregate by law, we integrate only by living.  Civilization is not a matter of race, it is a matter of standards.  Believe it or not--some day, some race is going to outdo the Anglo-Saxon, completely.  It can be the Negro race, if the Negro gets sense enough.  Civilization goes up and down that way.

4. The Negro Must Learn To Dress More Appropriately

Knowing what to wear--how to wear it--when to wear it and where to wear it, are earmarks of common sense, culture and also an index to character.

5. The Negro Must Make His Religion An Everyday Practice And Not Just A Sunday-Go-To-Meeting Emotional Affair. 

6. The Negro Must Highly Resolve To Wipe Out Mass Ignorance.

The leaders of the race must teach and inspire the masses to become eager and determined to improve mentally, morally and spiritually, and to meet the basic requirements of good citizenship.

We should initiate an intensive literacy campaign in 
America , as well as in Africa . Ignorance satisfied ignorance--is a millstone abut the neck of the race.  It is democracy's greatest burden.

Social integration is a relationship attained as a result of the cultivation of kindred social ideals, interests and standards.

It is a blending process that requires time, understanding and kindred purposes to achieve.  Likes alone and not laws can do it.

7. The Negro Must Stop Charging His Failures Up To His "Color" And To White People's Attitude.

The truth of the matter is that good service and conduct will make senseless race prejudice fade like mist before the rising sun.

God never intended that a man's color shall be anything other than a badge of distinction. It is high time that all races were learning that fact. The Negro must first QUALIFY for whatever position he wants. Purpose, initiative, ingenuity and industry are the keys that all men use to get what they want. The Negro will have to do the same. He must make himself a workman who is too skilled not to be wanted, and too DEPENDABLE not to be on the job, according to promise or plan. He will never become a vital factor in industry until he learns to put into his work the vitalizing force of initiative, skill and dependability. He has gone RIGHTS mad and DUTY dumb.

8. The Negro Must Overcome His Bad Job Habits.

He must make a brand new reputation for himself in the world of labor. His bad job habits are absenteeism, funerals to attend, or a little business to look after. The Negro runs an off and on business. He also has a bad reputation for conduct on the job--such as petty quarrelling with other help, incessant loud talking about nothing; loafing, carelessness, due to lack of job pride; insolence, gum chewing and--too often--liquor drinking.  Just plain bad job habits!

9. He Must Improve His Conduct In Public Places.

Taken as a whole, he is entirely too loud and too ill-mannered.

There is much talk about wiping out racial segregation and also much talk about achieving integration.

Segregation is a physical arrangement by which people are separated in various services.

It is definitely up to the Negro to wipe out the apparent justification or excuse for segregation.

The only effective way to do it is to clean up and keep clean. By practice, cleanliness will become a habit and habit becomes character.

10. The Negro Must Learn How To Operate Business For People--Not For Negro People, Only.

To do business, he will have to remove all typical "earmarks, " business principles; measure up to accepted standards and meet stimulating competition, graciously--in fact, he must learn to welcome competition.

11. The Average So-Called Educated Negro Will Have To Come Down Out Of The Air.  He Is Too Inflated Over Nothing.  He Needs An Experience Similar To The One That Ezekiel Had--(Ezekiel 3:14-19). And He Must Do What Ezekiel Did.

Otherwise, through indifference, as to the plight of the masses, the Negro, who thinks that he has escaped, will lose his own soul.  It will do all leaders good to read Hebrew 13:3, and the first Thirty-seven Chapters of Ezekiel.

"A race transformation itself through its own leaders and its sensible common people. A race rises on its own wings, or is held down by its own weight. True leaders are never things apart from the people". They are the masses.  They simply got to the front ahead of them.  Their only business at the front is to inspire to masses by hard work and noble example and challenge them to "Come on"! Dante stated a fact when he said, "Show the people the light and they will find the way!"

There must arise within the Negro race a leadership that is not out hunting bargains for itself. A noble example is found in the men and women of the Negro race, who, in the early days, laid down their lives for the people. Their invaluable contributions have not been appraised by the "latter-day leaders." In many cases, their names would never be recorded, among the unsung heroes of the world, but for the fact that white friends have written them there.

"Lord, God of Hosts, Be with us yet."

The Negro of today does not realize that, but, for these exhibits A's, that certainly show the innate possibilities of members of their own race, white people would not have been moved to make such princely investments in lives and money, as they have made, for the establishment of schools and for the on-going of the race.

12. The Negro Must Stop Forgetting His Friends. "Remember."

Read Deuteronomy 24:18.  Deuteronomy rings the big bell of gratitude. Why?Because an ingrate is an abomination in the sight of God. God is constantly telling us that "I the Lord thy God delivered you" through human instrumentalities.

The American Negro has had and still has friends--in the North and in the South. These friends not only pray, speak, write, influence others, but make unbelievable, unpublished sacrifices and contributions for the advancement of the race--for their brothers in bonds.

The noblest thing that the Negro can do is to so live and labor that these benefactors will not have given in vain.  The Negro must make his heart warm with gratitude, his lips sweet with thanks and his heart and mind resolute with purpose to justify the sacrifices and stand on his feet and go forward-- "God is no respector of persons.  In every nation, he that feareth him andworketh righteousness is" sure to win out.  Get to work! That's the answer to everything that hurts us. We talk too much about nothing instead of redeeming the time by working.

R-E-M-E-M-B-E-R

In spite of race prejudice, America is brim full of opportunities. Go after them!


Nannie Helen Burroughs (1879–1961) was an educator, orator, religious leader and businesswoman who moved to Washington , D.C. , as a young woman to take advantage of the city's superior educational opportunities.  While living in Washington she decided to open a school for African American girls to prepare them for a productive adult life. Burroughs was an active member of her church, where she organized a women's club that conducted evening classes in useful skills such as typewriting, bookkeeping, cooking and sewing.  Her responsibilities within the church increased when she became secretary of the Women's Auxiliary of the National Baptist Convention, which supported missionary work and educational societies in Baptist churches throughout the nation. Burroughs's dream lifelong dream was realized when she opened the National Training School for Women and Girls in Washington , D.C. , in 1909.

NoteThe 12 Things The Negro Must Do For Himself was a booklet sold in the early 1900's. The retail price for this booklet was 10 cents. Many attempts have been made to find the booklet.  As far as we know it is out of print.  There is a wealth of information about Nannie Helen Burroughs on the Internet.  To learn more about her, check you favorite search engine and share the knowledge.  A good site to visit is www.nhburroughs.org.


A race which cannot save its earnings, which spends all it makes and goes in debt when it is sick, can never rise in the scale of civilization, no matter under what laws it may chance to be.

If the time shall ever come when we shall possess in the colored people of the United States, a class of men noted for enterprise, industry, economy and success, we shall no longer have trouble in the matter of civil and political rights."

--Fredrick Douglass

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/BaltimoreHolisticSistahs/conversations/topics/391

Reverend Dr Cain Hope Felder...Minister,Educator,Historian,Theologian,Author

image
image
image
True to Our Native Land
Cain Hope Felder is Professor of New Testament Language & Literature and Editor of The Journal of Religious Thought and Chair of the Academic Standing and Doctoral Programs committees at the Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, DC. His listing of accomplishments is equally remarkable. Some of his publications include the first African American New Testament Commentary True to Our Native Land (Augsburg Fortress, 2007); Troubling Biblical Waters: Race, Class, and Family (Orbis Books, 1989)-18th printing; Editor, Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation (Fortress Press, 1991)-14th printing;The Seasons of Lent: Proclamation Commentary (Fortress Press, 1991); The Original African Heritage Study Bible (Winston Derek, 1993); "Commentary on the Epistle of James" in The International Bible Commentary (Liturgical Press, 1998); Consulting Editor and Contributor, African American Jubilee Bible (New York: American Bible Society) 1999; and Co-Editor Jubilee Legacy Bible (Nashville: Townsend Press, (2000); Introduction and Critical Notes on the Epistle of James in the New Oxford Annotated Bible (2001); Epistle to Philemon in the New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. XI, 2001; and Race, Racism and the Biblical Narratives (Fortress Press, 2002). Felder taught at Princeton Theological Seminary and was the first national director of the United Methodist Black Caucus. He is also founder of the Biblical Institute for Social Change, Washington, D.C. – an organization dedicated to inform, inspire, affirm and transform the Christian community through scholarship and research. This organization serves as a catalyst for a renewed interest in Biblical Interpretation in diverse quarters: prisons, half way houses, local churches, and campus ministry settings.

From 1969 to 1972, Dr. Felder worked as the first National Director of the United Methodist Black Caucus which was headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally ordained as an Elder in the United Methodist Church, he served as Pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in New York City (1975-1977). Currently, Rev. Felder now serves as an Elder in the Second Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church where he has been appointed by Bishop Adam Jefferson Richardson as the Resident Biblical Scholar for the District. He is an active member of Hemingway Memorial AME Church, located in District Heights, MD.

From 1998 to 2001, Dr. Felder served as Chair of the Implementation Panel for the National Center for African American Heritage & Culture at Howard University. He has been on Howard's faculty since 1981, having come to Washington from Princeton Theological Seminary where he taught as a member of the Department of Biblical Studies (1978-1981). His educational background is extensive: Ph.D., M. Phil., Columbia University in Biblical Languages and Literature; Diploma of Theology, Oxford University, England; Master of Divinity, Union Theological Seminary, New York; BA in Philosophy and Classics, Howard University, Washington, DC; and Diploma, Boston Latin School.

Maintaining dual residences in Washington, DC and his home haven in Mobile, Alabama that he shares with his bride, Dr. Jewell, affectionately called “Dr. J.”, Dr. Felder is the proud father of one daughter, Miss Akidah Felder, a graduate of Spellman College and current dual Masters student at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/interview-with-dr-cain-hope-felder-of-howard-university-7716/
http://www.divinity.howard.edu/2_faculty_felder.shtml

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Reverend Willie Woodson...Mentor,Educator,Pastor,Radio Evangelist,Community Leader,Air Force Veteran

founder_img

image
Reverend Willie Woodson is a native of Richmond, Virginia. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Virginia Union University, a Master of Divinity degree from the School of Theology of Virginia Union University and a Master of Arts degree in Religious Education from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education and a Doctorate in Ministry from Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, VA.

Reverend Woodson served in the U.S. Air Force from 1967 until his honorable discharge in 1971.

Reverend Woodson pastors the congregation of First United Presbyterian Church, North Avenue, Richmond, where he has served for twenty-seven years. Several ministries have been developed or re-developed during his administration, namely, engaging the congregation in a mission study called “Vision For A Vital Church”, broadening the concept and ministry of Christian Education, introducing and supporting the congregation through a year-long study on “How to Become A Tithing Church”; supporting a new approach to evangelism; initiating a Summer Day Camp; improving the Youth and Children’s Ministry; and initiating plans for a new Community/Educational building.

He is the past President of the Richmond Committee of Ecumenical Clergy. Rev. Woodson has served on the Mission Organizational Task Force during the restructuring of the Presbytery of the James, Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Salt Lake City, Utah and on the Search Committee for the General Presbyter of the Presbytery of the James. He facilitated a mission study and developed a Day Care Center for Thyne Memorial Presbyterian Church, Chase City, Virginia. He is a supervisor with the Office of Field Education and Placement of Students from Union Presbyterian Seminary and Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology of Virginia Union University. He is the past Moderator of the Black Caucus of the Presbytery of the James. Rev. Woodson served on the Redevelopment and Revitalization Committee of the Presbytery of the James. He also has participated on mission studies in Guatemala and Nicaragua in Central America, China, Korea, and Ghana, West Africa.

While his church duties keep him very busy, he still finds time to contribute to the Richmond Community. He served on the Richmond Public School’s Strategic Planning Group, Commission on Architectural Review Board, Board of Directors of “One To One Mentorship and many more. He is a Lifetime member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Chaplain of Richmond Crusade for Voters. He has served on the Commission on Crime. Rev. Woodson was an adjunct instructor for University of Lynchburg, Petersburg site, teaching Evangelism and Missions.

He was a member on the Board off Directors for Boaz and Ruth and Noah (Northside Outreach Affordable Housing). Rev. Woodson also has mentored students at Henderson Middle School. While serving as Executive Director of Living the Dream, Inc. for ten years, the name of the organization was changed from Martin Luther King Community Learning Week to Living the Dream, Inc. with a new organizational structure, as well as vision and mission statements. Living the Dream, Inc has been extended to a year round program with emphasis on a two year “Youth Leadership Development Program”. 

Reverend Woodson is the author of the booklet “Can I Get A Witness”, co-author of “Beams of Heaven As I Go”, author of “Contextually Grounded Evangelism” and inventor of a board game called “Christo”. He was honored to render the eulogy for the last surviving "Buffalo Soldier", Trooper Jones Morgan. Rev. Woodson was the receipt of Verizon’s Humanitarian Award in 2008. He participated on The Institute For Reformed Theology Colloquy for 2006, “Race and the Reformed Tradition”, a Week Seminar on Evangelism sponsored by Billy Graham Crusade in November, 2006

Rev. Woodson was an instructor for Virginia University of Lynchburg, Petersburg site teaching Evangelism and Missions.

http://www.heartenchantersministries.org/founder.html
http://blacktalkradionetwork.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-word-from-god-with-pastor-willie.html

Reverend Dr. James Henry Harris...Professor,Theologian,Pastor,Author

image
Enlarge
Enlarge
The forbidden word : the symbol and sign of evil in American literature, history, and culture
James H. Harris is Associate Professor of Practical Theology at the School of Theology, Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia. A leader in the practice and teaching of preaching, he is author of Preaching Liberation (1995) and Pastoral Theology: A Black Church Perspective (1991). One reader said about Dr Harris' book No Longer Bound: A Theology of Reading and Preaching “James Henry Harris is the only preacher and professor I know who can so easily blend together in one book the plaintive messages of American slave songs of the nineteenth century, the rigorous inquiry of European philosophy of the twentieth century, and the challenges confronting black preachers in the twenty-first century. . . . All preachers would do well to read this challenging and insightful book and apply its lessons to their pulpit ministry!”—Marvin A. McMickle, President and Professor of Church Leadership, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School

Dr. James Henry Harris is an expert in the teaching and practice of African American preaching with extensive experience in all areas of Black Church leadership and administration. He teaches practical theology, but is trained also in ethics and philosophy which leads him to postulate that philosophical theology is practical theology for the Black preacher. He teaches courses on introductory and advanced preaching and worship, the theology and preaching of Martin Luther King Jr., interpretation theory, preaching and literature, liberation preaching, theology and preaching, expository preaching, dialectical preaching, texts and textuality, preaching and the imagination, and prayer and scripture reading. His writings are a reflection of his efforts to bridge the work of the Church and the academy. He is both a practical and philosophical theologian, a literary and social critic, and a gifted preacher with a keen social conscious. He holds five  graduate and professional degrees and has written over ten books and many journal articles.


http://store.fortresspress.com/store/contributor/474/James+H.+Harris
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/james-harris/61/555/890
http://www.amazon.com/James-H.-Harris/e/B001HCW01C/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Bishop Dr. B. Courtney McBath....Pastor,Author,Global Televangelist

image
Our Journey 4-part DVD Series
Picture of Becoming Like Jesus DVD Series
Picture of Leading in Difficult Times DVD Series
Prayer Prepares Disciples 3-part DVD Series
image
image

A graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), McBath earned a Bachelor of Science degree in humanities and engineering; a Master of Arts degree in Biblical studies from Regent University and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Providence Bible College and Theological Seminary.
Knowing at a young age that he wanted to pastor a church, in 1989 he passed through Norfolk International Airport, sensing he was to begin a church in that city. Formerly an engineer and manager, McBath left his career in 1990 to establish Calvary Revival Church with his wife and co-pastor Janeen. Staring out in a hotel conference room with some 21 congregants, almost immediately the ministry experienced unusual growth. To accommodate, McBath and his wife moved locations several times, finally ending up at the church’s current location which serves upwards of 6,000 weekly attendees. McBath’s television broadcast, The Voice of Revival, has aired on local and regional network stations for over 20 years.

In 1998 McBath founded Calvary Alliance of Churches and Ministries, an organization that serves Bishops and leaders in the U.S., Africa, India and the Caribbean. He is also the current President of the Hampton Roads Ecumenical Council of Bishops (HRECB), an organization established by the late Bishop Barnett K. Thoroughgood, to provide accountability and fellowship for members of the episcopacy and promote unity in the body of Christ.

McBath has dedicated his life to teaching the truth of God's Word so that all who hear can understand their significance in the Kingdom of God. His heart is to see people enjoy a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ and walk in God's will for their lives.
He has been married to his wife Janeen for more than 31 years; has four sons, a daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren.

http://www.bcourtneymcbath.org/bishop-courtney-mcbath.php

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Kandi Burruss is an American singer-songwriter, actress, record producer, and television personality.

image
imageimage
image
image
Kandi Burruss was born on May 17, 1976, in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up the younger of two. Kandi has stated she was definitely a daddy's girl before her father left the family when she was 4. Kandi was very close to her brother Patrick, who was older by 7 1/2 years and later died in a car accident when Kandi was a young teenager. Her first major appearance, on BET's Teen Summit, introduced her to the public and helped launch her career. Kandi attended Tri- Cities High School in East Point, Georgia.
Kandi Burruss puts a brand new spin on the term “POWERHOUSE.” Being phenomenal at taking her career to the next level, the beautiful risk taker entered the entertainment business a teenager as a founding member of the iconic multi-platinum selling girl group, Xscape. Now twenty years later, Kandi is a “fan favorite” on Bravo’s #1 Housewives show, “Real Housewives of Atlanta.” That’s not it: this superstar has catapulted her success of the last few years as a “housewife” into creating and executive producing her own TV show on Bravo, “The Kandi Factory,” a much talked about online weekly relationship show, “Kandi Koated Nights,” and a top- selling iTunes app, “Kandi Koated Spades.” Kandi is also the owner of two trendy boutiques, T.A.G.S. and T.A.G.S.II in her hometown of Atlanta, and the award winning intimate toy line, “Bedroom Kandi,” where she has added an in-home multi-level marketing service as well.
“I’ve always believed that if you can dream it, you can achieve it. I’ve been blessed with a lot of success. To some, it seems that it has happened overnight, but after 20 years in entertainment, that’s hardly the case,” states Kandi.
Having helped to sell more than 60 million records worldwide for iconic recording stars such as TLC, Destiny’s Child, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and more; Kandi has also amassed a number of high profile awards in music that includes: winning a Grammy, being nominated for an American Music Award and making history as the first woman to win the ASCAP “Songwriter of the Year” award in 2000 in addition to being awarded with a “Living Legend” award. Her ability to write hit songs for some of the most contemporary artists in the business gave her the necessary confidence to think outside of the box, broaden her audience, and experience. She recently worked with double Grammy Award-nominee and multi-platinum country sensation, Jo Dee Messina and Gospel great Marvin Sapp on a duet that hit number 1 on Billboard’s “Gospel Digital Songs” chart. Both in-studio sessions were shown on Kandi’s hit TV show, “Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
“Working on country songs, in particular, is so different from R&B and Pop,” states the prolific songwriter. “You truly experience the whole recording moment with live instrumentation and records being cut on the spot with one take.”
Kandi showcases her innate skill for creating hit records and turning seemingly unskilled people into stars with her new show, “The Kandi Factory.” Successfully transforming RHOA cast mate, Kim into a diva, Kandi remembers being constantly approached by people on the street that would say, “If you can do that for Kim, I know you can do that for me!” Not too long after, with the help of Bravo, “The Kandi Factory” was born from a special and immediately green lighted to become a series.
In 2012, Kandi surprised even herself when her Midas touch took home one of the top awards in a different industry: adult entertainment. “I won the AVN award in less than a year of conceiving the product. I truly wasn’t expecting the win but was really excited that I did,” exclaims Kandi. She recently was nominated for five of AVN’s O Awards that recognize the companies and products that raise the bar for the novelty and pleasure products industry.
After partnering with Ohmibod in 2011 for “Bedroom Kandi,” together they thought up the most ingenious designs the industry had seen. “I wanted to make something discreet that women would be comfortable owning,” Kandi states. Many of the products are made to look like make-up containers. “Make Me Over” is designed as a compact, while “Kiss Me” is made in the shape of a lipstick. With over 2000 people signed up as ambassadors for Bedroom Kandi, Kandi is ready to take the line to the next level: door to door.
Forever spontaneous, Kandi spawned her weekly online relationship show, “Kandi Koated Nights,” during the uStreaming promotion of her last CD release, “Kandi Koated” (2010 — Warner Bros.) after a fan began making risqué comments that Kandi didn’t deem appropriate. She simply told him to wait until after 10PM and she would have those conversations with him then and she did just that. The after-hours conversation was SUCH a HIT that Kandi decided on doing a weekly show and has been doing such for more than three years.
Known as one of Rolling Out Magazine’s Top 25 Renaissance Women in Atlanta, Kandi’s willingness to go beyond marginal barriers, and her entrepreneurial spirit has allowed her to delve into other business fields as well. Her trendy and expanding Atlanta- based boutique, T.A.G.S., is known for providing affordable, quality threads for style-conscious women. She has also moved into providing apps for smartphone users. Feeling like African American consumers that buy apps outweigh companies that create apps, Kandi joined Konsole Kingz to make Kandi Koated Spades.
“They reached out to me asking how to play the card game spades,” says Kandi. “I told them how I play and the way most of my friends play, where the deuce is wild and people can call you out on reneging. I’ve put all of that in my game.”
Even with so many projects underway, Kandi is also working on her actor’s reel, having guest starred on the TBS television comedy, “Are We There Yet?” and BET sitcom, “Let’s Stay Together.”
Kandi says, “Since I was in high school, it’s been my dream to be an actor. I’ve been going forward in making that happen. Now I have an agent and I’ve made a few cameos. If someone doesn’t pick me for his or her movie, I’ll produce my own,” she says, chuckling. “That’s just one of my aspirations for 2013.
Kandi Burruss is always looking ahead, planning her next move — it’s the stamp of a mogul. “So many people are afraid of failure, but not me. The only way you’re going to be successful is if you’re fearless. I try to go into everything with that state of mind.”

http://kandionline.com/bio/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandi_Burruss