Black history month is such a powerful and exhilarating time for me. This month, I decided to do activities that allowed me to honor the legacy of my people while simultaneously trying something new.
To kick off the month I attended an art class inspired by Alma Thomas. The art class was hosted by The Art Club East Village which is owned by passionate women artists. I first fell in love with Alma Thomas while at the Brooklyn Museum. She creates bright, bold and colorful artwork, some of which are inspired by florals. What I also admired about Alma Thomas was that she was an educator that started her art career later in life. She was the first black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum. Her abstract art is striking and many years ago before I knew a class like this existed, I tried to imitate her art while painting for leisure. This turned out to be a special night for me. I came out of my shell and did something I knew I would really enjoy.
“I’ve never bothered painting the ugly things in life. People struggling, having difficulty. You meet that when you go out, and then you have to come back and see the same thing hanging on the wall. No. I wanted something beautiful that you could sit down and look at. And then, the paintings change you.” – Alma Thomas
In the name of art and culture I needed to visit the Spike Lee exhibit before it ended. Two days after the Alma Thomas art workshop I visited the Brooklyn Museum to get engulfed in all things SPIKE. It was like an inside look into his mind, creativity, and passions. The exhibit explored history, politics, race, culture, and all things Brooklyn. The portrait he has in his art collection of Toni Morrison is captivating. He has one of the last photos of Denise McNair, one of the four little girls who was killed in the church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. He also directed the documentary “4 Little Girls” about the incident which was something new that I learned while at the exhibit. I left on a high motivated to create but also with so much pride. Brooklyn is the birth place to creative geniuses like Spike who is one of my local heroes and creative inspirations.
Ginger turned 3 years old this month. Being a dog mom is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. It is truly a blessing. I love Ginger and I am so grateful she’s my pup baby. To celebrate her big three birthday, I bought decorations for the house and kept up with the tradition of taking her to Starbucks, she is obsessed with her pup cups. Later that evening Ginger’s twin brother Blaze came over with my mom, and we hosted a Super Bowl party(or shall I say Usherbowl party) for them since it was the same day.
Can we talk about the Usher half-time show? It was one of my favorites. I saw Usher in concert many years ago during his confessions era, which to me was peak Usher, but I am loving this evolved version of Usher. The half time show and subsequently listening to Confessions for the following two weeks on repeat, brought back so many memories, from high school. I remember I held out on listening to the “Confessions” album until one of my friends urged me to do so one day in school and it became one of the most pivotal and legendary albums during my coming of age era. I remember this was the album we were blasting during my 15th birthday in my bedroom (yes a bunch of friends and I gathered in my bedroom when I wasn’t allowed to go to the skating rink). Usher is a lege-[]nd!
These are our stories. OUR stories. The Butler is based on a true story of the life of Eugene Allen who was a butler for over 30-years in the White House. This movie resonated with me from the opening scene. The scene is deep although not based on Eugene Allen’s real life. A young Cecil Gaines, his mother (played by Mariah Carey), and his father (played by David Banner), are taking a picture on the cotton fields of the deep south when suddenly his mother is raped by an overseer. Cecil encourages his father to speak up on his mother’s behalf. His father tries to address the rape but is shot dead on the spot by the crazed overseer in front of his young son. This scene illustrates so many things but what rings out to me most is the dehumanization of black lives and the execution and devaluation of black bodies. Our lives meant nothing back then and it hurt watching because sometimes it seems to mean nothing now.
You ever come across an amazing idea and wonder why the heck you’ve never thought of it? Well, that how I felt when I discovered Black Card Revoked by 
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl is probably one of the most enjoyable books I’ve ever read, primarily because I can relate. This hilarious book by Issa Rae is a new generational way of looking at race in today’s society. Rae takes us on an intimate journey of her life from her humble beginnings in Senegal to her upper-middle-class lifestyle in Los Angeles. We learn what it means to be a black woman and to feel awkward at the same time. What I loved most about this book besides its hilarious humor was Issa’s conversations about race whether it’s addressing the type of black people you will always encounter or her struggle of being too black to some, and not black enough to others.
LifestyleByKy 