The ever so brilliant and fabulous Kerry Washington gave the commencement address at her alma mater (c/o 1998 and Phi Theta Kappa) George Washington University. I recall the announcement for it—how they used an “Olivia Pope” photo for it. Speaks to the influence of Scandal.  She’s wore her mommy’s (Dr. Valerie Washington) doctoral robe! How sweet. Her speech is good; I liked this part:

But the choice is yours; when you leave here today and commence the next stage of your life, you can follow someone else’s script, try to make choices that will make other people happy, avoid discomfort, do what is expect and copy the status quo or you can look at all that you have accomplished today and use it as fuel to venture forth and write your own story. If you do, amazing things will take shape.

Oh wow, a commencement address where the students are encouraged to challenge the status quo versus them being patronized, insulted and offered “tough love” after 2-7 years of academic, emotional, psychological and financial challenges. Didn’t realize it was possible this graduation season.

Kerry’s allusion to “writing your own story” while challenging the status quo reminds me of Toni Morrison’s amazing commencement address at Rutgers University in 2011. Awesome.

sonofbaldwin:

The black family shows up in ways the mainstream media can’t understand. We don’t always have wealth, but we try to pass on whatever it is we have to give.

They are amazing and adorable. You can see how their love for each other radiates every dance move. They’re a sweet family and they made me cry. :)

Here’s a commencement address by a Black person that doesn’t involve respectability politics, “Talented Tenth” speak, bootstrap theory and reductionism of the manifestation of oppression by victim blaming via “personal responsibility” politics. (Ahem…Obama). 

This commencement address is Toni Morrison at Rutgers University in 2011. Exquisite. Listen to every word carefully.

“Personal success devoid of meaningfulness, free of a steady commitment to social justice, that’s more than a barren life, it is a trivial one.” - Toni Morrison

sonofbaldwin:

Morehouse College to Graduate Father and Son Duo This Weekend

Aww. Adorable. <3

sonofbaldwin:

Aaliyah loved Janet.

I love them both. Aaliyah is so missed. Her music, especially with Missy and Timbaland, help define my coming of age years; she was born only a few months before I was.

You MUST watch this hilariously cute Black couple on The Tonight Show during the gas pump news segment. I was in tears laughing. Adorable and funny.

(Source: geekscoutcookies, via christel-thoughts)

Unlocking The Truth is a band of 2 young Black boys who write and perform their own rock and metal music. You are going to go absolutely WILD when you hear them. It is SICK. The drummer is great too. They gave me LIFE. I need their music in my iPod yesterday.

christel-thoughts:

crissle:

the beyonce medley

amen

WOW. He is so talented and the video split screen is creative. When he got to “I Care,” I got my LIFE! I enjoy all of the songs that he did but that song really tugs at the heart strings.

This Hallmark commercial is so sweet! It features a Black grandmother, mother and daughter for Mother’s Day, revealing a Hallmark card where a child can make a handprint, their product line called “Magic Prints.” (Not affiliated with Hallmark in any way; I just post commercials that I like that feature Black girls and/or Black women.)

This commercial reminds me that Mother’s Day is coming up, and it’s always a hard day for me. My mother passed away in 2001, and both of my grandmothers are deceased as well. I was very close to my mom. I was not close to my mother’s mother, and I barely knew my father’s mother. It’s difficult.

I still can find the joy in this commercial though; it’s really special. :)

chescaleigh:

#YouSuck @ Social Media (by chescaleigh). So tell me, what are your biggest social media pet peeves?

This is really funny. I had to post this because wait until you see the pie chart for what her feed looks like on Thursdays. I died laughing. :)

So yeah…not done yet with Janelle Monae for today. Here’s a short clip of her straight cuttin’ up on 106 and Park, where the video for “Q.U.E.E.N.” originally premiered yesterday. Chile…she took her heels off, danced on the couch and ran into the audience. I LOVE HER! I only wish that Erykah Badu was there too.

After posting the song “Q.U.E.E.N.” by Janelle Monae and Erykah Badu, and posting a video teaser, I couldn’t wait for the actual video to be released. These two amazing Black women are among my favorite artists. I’ve loved Erykah Badu since hearing “On & On” on an episode of New York Undercover in 1997. She had me at hello. I saw her in concert in South Florida in 2008; the best concert of my life. I’ve loved Janelle Monae since a friend sent me her “Tightrope” video a few years ago. I’m enthralled with her intelligence, talent, style, fashion and beauty.

The video for “Q.U.E.E.N.” is exquisite. Creative. Amazing visuals. Love the style and the fashion. Incredibly beautiful. I love the limited palette; the black, white, red, shades of grey and gold enthralls.

What really moves me is the combination of the visuals with the powerful lyrics. It’s everything. Some of my favorite lines include:

They call us dirty ‘cuz we break all your rules down…

This specifically makes me think of Black women rejecting controlling images (i.e. Jezebel, Sapphire, mammy) and embracing our full capacity to be dynamic, nuanced individuals, without boundaries and rules meant to control us.

Even if it makes others uncomfortable, I will love who I am.

Obvious as to why I would love this line. I also love Erykah’s line…

Here comes the freedom song, too strong we moving on…

And of course, there’s Janelle’s rap at the end, which I love. My favorite part of it:

Are we a lost generation of our people? Add us to equations but they’ll never make us equal. She who writes the movie owns the script and the sequel. So why ain’t the stealing of my rights made illegal? They keep us underground working hard for the greedy, but when it’s time pay they turn around and call us needy. My crown too heavy like the Queen Nefertiti. Gimme back my pyramid, I’m trying to free Kansas City. Mixing masterminds like your name Bernie Grundman. Well I’m gonna keep leading like a young Harriet Tubman. You can take my wings but I’m still goin’ fly. And even when you edit me the booty don’t lie.

The line “she who writes the movie owns the script and the sequel” plays in my head over and over and over. So empowering.

I love this song. <3

afro-art-chick:

Janelle Monáe - Q.U.E.E.N. feat. Erykah Badu [Video Teaser]

2 time Olympic Gold medal-winning gymnast Gabrielle Douglas was on Today this morning. She looked so fab. She talked about her fun year off from training (and has a new book about it called Raising The Bar), but she will be returning to her gymnastics training soon.

I hope to see her compete at the 2016 games in Brazil!

quixxotica:

Quvenzhané Wallis tells you how to say her name. Clearly I needed this. I will say nothing more. She is so adorable it hurts.

I love Quvenzhané Wallis! Adorable. Love this video. If people (especially the media) can pronounce names from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Zach Galifianakis, they can take the TIME and RESPECT and learn her name—it is a part of their DAMN job. Really. 

(Source: crispycheezefriez, via newsouthnegress)