Friday, July 30, 2010

Racism on the news too? Wow.

I am convinced that racism is still alive and very prevalent after seeing this video.



It bothers me that this particular station decided to air this story and edited the clip so that the most ignorant portions could be seen. The media took this story and ran with it so now the story is all over the world wide web. This is how some Black people are, but it is very common for people to consider this a representation of MOST Black people. Stay tuned for videos about topics similar to this from our YouTube channel. We're currently dealing with a topic that questions why Black men desire non-Black women, but it's likely to expand.

What are your thoughts? Am I just tripping or is this news clip really ridiculous?

Monday, July 19, 2010

Why Black Men Don't Desire Black Women...

I honestly feel like I'm beating a dead horse. We've heard countless times about the overwhelmingly high percentage of Black women that are single. The suggestion that Black women date other races in order to find love indicates that Black women need to stop being so close-minded and venture out just as Black men have. I've heard that Black women need to change their perspective on dating and not be so picky. These suggestions each require that Black women do something different.

This past weekend, my friend Andrea and I started a YouTube account and recorded a few videos. The main topic of discussion was wealthy Black men and their decision to date non-Black women. Allow me to first state that I have no problem with interracial dating, but this trend is beginning to annoy me. Wealthy, or shall I say financially stable, Black men seem to keep settling down or developing romantic relationships with women that look nothing like their mothers. White and "exotic" looking women are all the rave and I am beginning to wonder why. In an effort to keep the length of this post down, I'll just state that many Black men in the entertainment industry choose to date outside their race and as a Black woman, I am offended. When I post the video you'll be able to get more details and our opinions on this issue.

This post is not meant to focus on the famous Black men that date outside their race, I want to highlight a young man that I know who just recently graduated from high school. For the purpose of confidentiality, I will refer to him as "R" for the duration of this post. I was chatting with R on skype and I mentioned the aforementioned topic. He instantly replied "Well, we want women with natural beauty." I was immediately confused as to what he meant so I asked him to elaborate and he continued "When they wake up in the morning, they are ready to go. They don't need no 24 inch weave..." He also went on to mention that Black women have too much attitude and are too controlling. I then asked if he preferred a submissive woman or someone that he could control and he replied "No, I just don't want someone that thinks she can control me."

If R is barely 18 years old and he has developed a preference, what is really going on? Is society teaching us that Black women aren't naturally beautiful? Do we really need weaves to compete with other women or do we just wear them to please ourselves? Do Black women really try to control their men? If so, are we taught by our mothers to do so? Are Black women single not only because Black men are either dead or in jail, but because these men are choosing not to date them? If Black women were to date outside their race, would this solve the problem? I have so many questions, but I'll stop there. Please feel free to comment and give your opinion on this topic.

Thanks for reading,

Alexandria B.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Ciara, Ciara... WTF?

Anybody who knows me knows that I don't typically indulge in celebrity gossip. There are enough blogs that do just that, but lately there's one particular celebrity that has been getting on my nerves. That celebrity is none other than Miss Ride-it herself, Ciara. That nasty song itself was the start to my issues with the direction of Ciara's career. Her goal is to make a musical comeback and sell records yet it seems like the only items that she's putting up for sale are the "goodies" that she once told us were unattainable. The video for "Ride" was banned by BET, Ciara hasn't hat a hit record since I can remember and this new album is set to be released next month. I predict a flop for the simple fact that women make of the majority of consumers that purchase R&B records and any woman that wants to drive her car singing "He loves the way I riiiiide it..." is a hot mess. No offense if you are seriously feeling that song. Riding the beat like a freak is fine, but it's not something I choose to do.

Enough of that ridiculous song, my latest upset stems from Ciara's choice of wardrobe at Lala and Carmelo Anthony's wedding this past weekend. This fool had on a short, tight mini dress showing off ALL of her legs. Everybody knows that Ciara has an amazing body and I applaud that, but at a wedding though? Seriously, she is outta her mind for that one. If I was Lala, Ciara would have been politely escorted to the nearest exit for wearing a freak'um dress to come witness my holy matrimony. I hope and pray that she only wore this dress to enter the building and was actually IN the wedding and changed into something more modest for the ceremony. I find her dress extremely disrespectful to the bride and anyone who doesn't agree with me is crazy. I am in no way a "hater" nor am I a Ciara fan, but I hope that her team comes up with something other than sex appeal to make her music career one that can be deemed successful. Let me know your thoughts. Do you think Ciara going to be a success with the release of her next album? Was her dress (pictured below)appropriate for a wedding?



Thanks for reading,

Alexandria B.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

I'm inspired...



I am not a sports fan and have never claimed to be one. When it comes to watching sports, my motto is "If it doesn't benefit me or make me any money, why would I waste countless hours doing it?" With this in mind, I don't keep track of what's going on in the world of basketball. Even though I distance myself from sports, I can't help but hear stories about Lebron James being a free agent, that stuff with his mom and teammate, and lastly, his lack of a championship ring. I've heard many compare him to Kobe and many think he's a better player. Quite frankly, I think that both of them are ridiculously overpaid and with or without a ring, Lebron is ballin' both literally and figuratively. The purpose of this post is because I was watching BET over at my mom's house this weekend and they aired More Than A Game, a movie that basically shows how Lebron James made it to the NBA documenting the growth of a group of Basketball playing friends from grade school all the way to multiple stellar high school seasons. After watching the film, I was extremely proud of Lebron even though I don't know him at all. In fact, I was proud of the entire team especially the African American young men that considered themselves the "Fab Five." One teammate in particular was my favorite and his name is Dru Joyce III (pictured center). Dru's father coached the group of guys from childhood (all except one named Romeo Travis who appeared during their Sophomore year in high school). With his father as the coach, one can only imagine the extra pressure that this must have caused him. Dru not only faced this battle, he also dealt with the fact that he was smaller than most of his peers.

This post is getting lengthy so I'll get to the point where I became instantly inspired. In middle school Dru Joyce III was approximately 4'11 while his teammates had already began to undergo puberty. Dru came off the bench during a game when his team was trailing and the crowd immediately began to laugh at the thought of this skinny little boy being put in the game. If that were me I would have been extremely embarrassed and hurt to the point where my performance would have been poor. Luckily, Dru is nothing like me. Coming into this particular game he ended up shooting about seven three-pointers almost back-to-back and the crowd began to roar. This one part of the movie stands out to me. I don't know if it's because I'm skinny or if it's because of the drive and dedication that this young man possessed. It's probably the latter. To make a long story short, at the end of the film the member of the Fab Five accomplished their goal of becoming national champions after a couple of disappointments and numerous wins. Their success speaks volumes. I deem it important for you and I to set goals and work diligently to accomplish them as opposed to sitting around wishing we could become successful. Granted, we may never become national champions or go the the NBA but hey... There's room for us all to be successful in our own right. One may look at the film in question and say that seeing as though Lebron James is the only one who went to the NBA, he was the only successful team member. This couldn't be more wrong. If I read the information at the end correctly, two of the men play basketball professionally overseas and another one played football in college. They are each successful in their own right.

Don't sue me if I have these facts wrong because like I said previously, I am not a basketball fan. I just really enjoyed this film and the story behind it. Who would have imagined that a group of young men from a small city would be so successful on a national scale? Have you seen the film? If you haven't seen it, I suggest that you do so. What goals would you like to accomplish? Have you started working toward them? Oh and if you see Dru, tell him he has a fan! LoL

Thanks for reading,

Alexandria B.