Keepin' It REALLY Real

Showtime

2008-02-04T16:55:00Z

by Dee Dee I vividly remember opening night of one of Tyler Perry’s films. After dinner, my husband and I had agreed to meet some friends at the movies. We sat in our seats, quietly talking amongst ourselves like others in the crowded theater, while several movie trailers played on the screen. As soon as the lights dimmed, we all stopped our chatter, settled back in our seats and focused on the screen to enjoy the movie. Prior to the movie’s introduction, we heard a woman say in a calm voice, the...(read more)

Got Milk?

2008-02-04T16:51:00Z

by Dee Dee Remember the old saying, “Why buy the cow when he can get the milk for free?” In many conversations with my mother, God rest her soul, she said that to me. My sister and I laugh about it now, because we never really knew what it meant until we became adults. We both wondered why Mama used to talk to us about cows and milk. It just didn’t make sense to us at the time, but now, we get it. We even passed that familiar-sounding metaphor on to our own daughters because it still rings true today....(read more)

January 2008

2008-01-02T02:11:00Z

A Future on Hold by Dee Dee I recently had the chance to speak in depth with a 20-year-old unemployed single mother, who lives in the housing projects with her two-year-old son. Melissa* had a nonchalant, indifferent attitude about her living situation and about life in general. However, she was very opinionated and vocal about her parents, and more specifically her mother. The first time I met this young lady was in 1994. She was a cute seven-year-old then, who came from a typical middle-class family....(read more)

Exclusive:

2007-12-02T20:13:00Z

Hollywood Bad Girls by Dee Dee What do Brittany Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Nicole Richie all have in common? Well, that’s an easy question. A harder question might be – what don’t they have in common? Their bad-girl behavior in the last year or so seems to be the norm for young 20-something females in Hollywood. Their money, fame, or in some cases, lack of it, makes them prime targets for front page articles, magazine covers and headline TV news. It wouldn’t be so bad if the news was...(read more)

Getting Started

2007-11-14T16:31:00Z

Welcome to the first of many columns related to issues concerning the African-American community. The purpose of this column is to motivate, inspire, educate and empower black Americans to realize our true value and self-worth. I’m writing this column because I want to talk about our culture and our history. I want to uplift, inspire and motivate. And, in the process, I might learn a few things myself. To tell you just a little bit about me, first and foremost, I’m a black female, married Christian...(read more)