Posts

Showing posts from August, 2013

The Power of a Woman Who Leads by Dr. Gail M. Hayes

Image
Anne Graham Lotz peopleanne_graham_lotz/ " When we face an impossible situation. all self-reliance and self-confidence must melt away; we must be totally dependent on Him for the resources." (Her parents are world-famous evangelist Billy Graham and Ruth Graham).

The Butler by Wil Haygood

Image
Never knowing how important his life would become to other people Eugene Allen , the butler, in the nonfiction book written by Wil Haygood became a role model to people in the Twenty First Century. This book is now discussed along with a wonderful, powerful movie titled The Butler starring an all time cast: Forest Whittaker, Oprah Winfrey and other stars including the movie director or producer Lee Daniels . Like cookies and milk both seem to go together. It's as if Eugene Allen's life were so important there had to be a choice. If you couldn't see the movie, you could read his biography. If you couldn't read the biography, you could see the movie. This is how significant this man's life is to each person of any color skin or religion today. It's not just about Eugene Allen. The book is also about his wife, Helene. Without her, maybe there would not have been a man who served eight administrations for thirty-four years. Helene is wonderful too. In the biog

Hope on A Tightrope by Dr. Cornel West

Image
  I am willing to struggle against all forms of racism until the day I die. The book is compact like a gift book. However, it is filled to the brim with Cornel West's philosophies and experiences. Whenever I would pick up this book, my body would fully relax. I knew the words would take me to the inner side of myself. At times I disagreed with Dr. West. For example, when he spoke of the Blues as a hopeful type of music. I've always thought the Blues sad. However, I have to admit not listening to much Blues. I am anxious to listen to it with the author's thoughts in mind. Perhaps, the Blues is hopeful. From music like Hip Hop and Jazz and other types of music he shares his opinions. One other thought of his amazed me. He believes music is more powerful than literature. However, he quoted from literature more than he did music. He wrote or quoted Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neil, etc. I agree music speaks to every man in a uniq

Hope on A Tightrope by Dr. Cornel West

Image
" I can't wait to help others. Why? Because it's a beautiful thing--and because I know that you can never repay what your mother, father, grandmother, and grandfather did for you. If you're Christian, you will never to able to repay the price that Jesus paid on the cross. All of that blood, all of that love gushing out at the foot of the cross."

Children of The Tipi by Michael Oren Fitzgerald

Image
This is a wonderful book for young people and adults who would like a beginner's course in the values of Native Americans. Different teachings are chosen for a mixture of Native American tribes. For example, the Dakotas, the Lakota, etc. I rediscovered how much the Native Americans love nature. One tribe adheres to the belief that the land should never be sold. I also discovered how much the Native Americans respect children and the elderly. To the Native American there is beauty at each age in life. No one is a castaway. Many of the teachings felt comfortable to me. Nothing in Children of The Tipi by Michael Oren Fitzgerald made me feel the Native American is an oddity or a savage. I would recommend this book. It's relaxing. It also drives humans away from the man made world back to the sky, clouds, grass, wind and mountains. I think the Native American sees nature as a wonderful medicine for man. Without drinking in of nature there is a small death of our inne

Too Important To Fail by Tavis Smiley

Image
Tavis Smiley has written a very rich nonfiction book. It's fully documented with fine organizations and universities like Howard University which have decided that our young men are " Too Important To Fail." Every page left me wanting to pull back time and reach for my Black sons or other young Black men to make sure they know the importance of their presence on this earth. Without the young black male growing and thriving like a strong tree our society will hasten to failure. All of us must come together and aid the young males who come often come from troubled backgrounds. Their roots, their origins, are not their fault. They were put wherever that place might be whether New York, Chicago, Washington D.C. or a small rural town which no one has heard of in Georgia, Alabama or Mississippi or Indiana to grow to become a person who will make our society better. The Black males not just the White males are meant to become school teachers, scientists, doctor