India.Arie Said What?

💃🏾What this lady panelist said. I agree with her and I'll add to it. Sexism, ageism, elitism, classism and respectability politics over and over and over again. And once again, I agree: A time and a place. What time did Meg come on, you might ask? 12am. Clearly for adult entertainment and not family entertainment.

When we were in suits, when we wore our natural hair, when we were fully clothed and carried ourselves with class, said our yessirs and yes ma'ams, when majority of our families were two-parent households, when we joined the army to fight for this country, when we built up our communities, when we were unified, when we were the most educated people, when we got the perms and assimilated to get those blue collar jobs, when we started businesses... WERE WE RESPECTED? Were the women in our community respected?

Once again, no matter how far we excel in this world there are many who will always see us as less than. I hope that one day we understand and believe we have value and worth so much so that we don't have to continue caring about what the rest of the world thinks. I hope we get to a point mentally and spiritually where we don't have to continue to beg for civil rights, a Crown Act or a national holiday, that for over a decade or more was already celebrated by Black people each year where I'm from.

Anyway...

I love my Sade, my Jill, my Badu and my Anitas, Arethas and Gladys', Pattis,... but I also love when that bass drops on Juvenile's "Back That Thang Up"(awesome Tiny Desk by the way) and when those strings begin to play on Sisqó's "Thong Song" or the Yin Yang Twins "Wait" (The Whisper song)... etc. Will I let my daughter or son hear those songs right now? I think not😆😆😆!!! But they are jammin and ratchet and disrespectful and fun. I love my KRS Ones, Commons, Outkasts, my Oddisee, my Lupes, my De La Souls too. A very mixed diet, indeed.

I LOVE our people!! Y'all need to stop worrying about how people see us, and just SEE us. Don't like what you see, lead by example; no need to tear each other down.

😬Now is Roland going to talk about what Essence did to Black authors during the event?