Keep Being You And Keep Doing What You Do

The title of this blog has been my latest mantra for a minute, because I feel it's imperative that we continually reassess who we are and what it is we have been assigned to do. If we are doing the best we can with what we have, and if our motives are pure when interacting with others, then we need to keep it movin. If we're not comfortable with where we are, then it's time to start doing what we need to do to get  back to where we need to be.

Remember when cigarette packs didn't have a warning on them and we weren't worried about smoking? Well I wasn't concerned about writing checks either, until I received the following notice with my recent order:

WARNING: This checkbook cover contains chemicals, including DEHP, known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm. 

Now the first question I asked was, "What is DEHP, and how long ya'll been knowing about it before you put a warning on the label.?" Cigarettes, GMO's, soy and corn products, plastics, and all other potentially dangerous substances have been jeopardizing our health for a while now. The only time the manufacturers notify us of the danger, is when they're forced to do so, and that notification only lets us know that they've been screwing us for quite some time.

For those of us that might not have given it much thought, the moral and ethic fabric of our world is rapidly deteriorating. Things like: domestic violence, juvenile sex trade, irreverent religious practices, pharmaceutical and illegal drug addiction, mental and physical illnesses, homelessness and world hunger, are escalating at an alarming rate. In spite of the fact that there's enough knowledge and resources to resolve these situations, only self help and special interest groups are making substantiated attempts to do so. As Marvin asked us years ago, "Who really cares?'

Well, I care, and whether we admit it or not, we all do. The question is, "What we gon do?" My opinion is that each of us can work toward our collective well being by simply applying the 'golden rule' whenever we interact with somebody else. Whatever good we're doing for anybody other than ourselves, we need to keep doing it. Otherwise the things that are not working in our mutual behalf, will become overwhelming and much more difficult to deal with. We can be forever hopeful however, because there will always be those who are working to make things better, but it's in our best interest to join them in that struggle.

At this very moment you are reading or listening to this blog, and you are thinking about being a better person and doing more positive things. Therefore, you're where you need to be in order to 'Keep Being You and to Keep Doing What You Do'.

I'll Holla...


To comment or respond please click on the word comments at the bottom of this page, or email me at grace.calvin187@gmail.com

Education...Not Necessarily The Key To An Open Door

I’ve heard that education is the key, but where’s the memo that addresses who it is that’s holding that proverbial door opener. We’d like to believe that our children are being adequately educated, but as regards the unsatisfactory condition of many of America’s learning institutions, we are understandably apprehensive about trusting our future plans to the care of our progeny. Not to worry mind you, because our parents felt the same way about us, and we’re doing okay. However, if there’s something we can do to better facilitate student preparation for the next go round, why not at least develop a platform for discussion. After all…we might find out that we have no choice but to answer in the affirmative when asked, “Are you holding the key?”

Our granddaughter Leia is almost two now, and it’s time to consider the options in regard to her academic prospects. In visiting a nearby preschool and talking with the owner, we learned that she (the owner) was opposed to teaching children to read, prior to their kindergarten enrollment, because she felt it was a hinderance to their learning how to contribute to the well being of others. Social interaction from an altruistic aspect is of utmost importance, but reading is something Nicole and I both hold dear and not forcing but allowing it is something we deem as being critical to a child’s enrichment. However it was what she said next that substantially highlighted the seriousness of our task. She asserted that the schools in Long Beach were too focused on academic instruction, and thereby stifled the receipt of a well rounded education. The baby ain’t even two y’all and already she, her parents, and grandparents are faced with the dilemma of dealing with the very first group of potential primary educators, that don’t agree on what the basis of primary instruction should be.

When it comes to Junior High and High school, we all know that students’ hormones are escalating at that juncture in their lives, and that the likelihood of their paying attention to the academic rather than social opportunities offered in those educational settings, is greatly diminished. Later on down the line, a college environment will serve to enhance the chance for social interaction in a myriad of ways, and to paraphrase a college professor friend, “If I don’t capture their attention by the time those I-pads and Laptops are opened, then Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram will have diminished, if not nullified, any opportunity to beneficially interact with our college students.”

We’ve got to start early y’all and then stay on course. We as parents, administrators, and instructors are not always going to see eye to eye when it comes to academic instruction, so we must each do our part to insure that those in our care will be afforded the best means for maximizing their academic intake. As parents we can be honest with ourselves and allow our progeny to make meaningful choices, without pushing them in the direction we failed to pursue or have decided that they should go in. As administrators we can support students, parents, and instructors,  by accepting and at least considering each of their  opinions, and as instructors we can support the concept that it is not our charge so much to teach, as to facilitate an opportunity for others to learn by simply by being in our presence. You see all knowledge already exists in the universe, and it’s our assignment to show our young ones how to access what it is they’re looking for, how to develop it into something that will benefit others, and then how to implement what they’ve accessed into their every day experiences.

From my perspective LOVE is the key to whatever it is we undertake, and that KEY my friend, is in all of our hands.

I’ll holla…


To comment or respond please click on the word comments at the bottom of this page, or email me at grace.calvin187@gmail.com

Shoulda Been There

Professor Nicole Mitchell of the University of California Irvine, spearheaded the first Black Urban Music Conference this past weekend, because according to her..." African American music, culture and history speaks to the core of American history and culture, and presently our students are being denied access, through limited exposure, while studying at UCI. Our students should not be put at a disadvantage. When they depart from UCI with their degree, they should be prepared to navigate the diverse multidimensional environment of our American population. They shouldn't pay tuition and study diligently to enter into the world with ignorance."  

As everyone present at this phenomenal event can attest to, if you weren't there, you rally missed out on an opportunity to be entertained while expanding your cultural horizons at the same time. According to renown author, critic, and musician Greg Tate "...Scholarship... as Performance, she pulled off." 

Professor Mitchell started on this project six months ago, and with the assistance of history PHD student Marketus Presswood, she was able to bring African American musical expressions to the forefront by way of musicians/scholars like the aforementioned Greg Tate who was the conference's keynote speaker. Mr Tate is also the founder and leader of the Burnt Sugar Arkestra Chamber, an ensemble that turned the audience on its head Saturday night, dazzling us with a technique called 'conduction,' which he had elaborated  on, and allowed the audience to participate in, at an earlier conduction workshop. 

Marketus Presswood and Professor Mitchell were also able to petition the presence of Nigerian master drummer Najite Agindotan and Chicago born Ugochi Nwaogwugwu, an international performer extraordinaire of dance and song, known as the African Buttafly. Both these artists, along with LA's Afro Beat Agindotan Family Band, performed and wowed us on Friday night with compelling rhythms and vocalized staccato phrases. The two artists returned on Saturday for an interview that spoke volumes about their affiliation and respect for Nigerian musician and composer Fela, who changed the course of Nigerian political history through his pioneering of the 'Afrobeat' genre, while losing his mother in the aftermath of her being thrown out of a window by a Nigerian soldier. Both Ugochi and Najite selflessly shared with us their current life's work and their respective visions and future objectives, while displaying an apparent dedication to continuing Fela's legacy of altering socio-political consciousness, through music, as a means of soliciting justice and freedom for all. I'm positive that we all left that interview with a sense of inspiration, appreciation, and some degree of personalized motivation. 

Then there was music producer Ras G whose presentation on Saturday awakened some and reminded others of the importance and value derived from immersing oneself in whatever endeavor one might undertake. He exemplified the significance of cherishing the process one goes through to manifest an idea, and then illustrated the importance of being willing to share the outcome with others. I was personally enamored with the unheralded creativity what this young cat brought to the table, and am anxious to witness the unlimited possibilities that lie ahead in terms of new and fresh stuff. 

It goes without saying that I was amazingly impressed with the honesty and integrity of music producer Ryat, who unashamedly admitted an affinity for black cultural aesthetics, and openly demonstrated how her music was infused with African American influences. Giving credit to others is not something that is readily carried out by others, especially when it comes to some of the accomplished white artists admitting the true source of their work. Her acknowledgement of such, and her being of the Caucasion persuasion, gives credence to her honesty and allowed her to not only give credit where credit is due, but freed her to unabashedly share the undeniable uniqueness of her craft with us all.

The conference started out with a screening and discussion of the film 'Long Road to the Hall of Fame' with Morrocan filmmaker Reda Zine, his subject of the film Malik Farrakhan, UCI's own professor of Middle Eastern History, Mark Levine, and legendary rap artist and composer Chuck D with whom all three have a meaningful affiliation. The film was centered around an arduous trek by two African American pro footballers, that being the former Tony King, Malik Farrakan, and his brother Charles King to an election to, but an as of yet unfulfilled induction into the NFL hall of fame. In relation   to the conference itself, this particular portion readied us for the conference's overall focus, that focus being to... "encourage the counter dialogue of visionary artists who impact global consciousness...while existing outside of the formal channels and economies that corporate and mainstream culture perpetuates." Kinda reminds me of the 'veil' concept that W.E.B. Dubois speaks of, where black folk can see what's on the other side of the veil, but can't participate in it.

Professor Mitchell's goal of exposing us to the existence and importance of black culture was certainly met, what we do with it is yet to be seen. Of one thing I am sure however, if we are to prepare for a maximally beneficial interaction with our fellow inhabitants, let us be ever aware that we must take advantage of every opportunity that allows us to do so. 

We can't cry now about what we woulda, coulda, or shoulda done, but I implore those of you who did not attend, to go online and access and investigate the significance of the participants present at the conference, and to unequivocally vow to yourself, that the next time you hear of Professor Nicole Mitchell throwing a "Function at the Junction'....you're definitely gonna be there.

I'll holla...


To comment or respond please click on the word comments at the bottom of this page, or email me at grace.calvin187@gmail.com