Sunday Praise & Inspiration

-A few weeks ago, I ran into an old friend at a jazz event.
Although we often chat on social media, that day was the first day that we had actually sat down and had a conversation in years.
She explained to me that she was a newly-divorced, single-parent and was dealing with some issues and drama that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
While she was telling me some of the heart-breaking stories of what she's had to deal with over the last year, I couldn't help but look at her and think to myself;
"She doesn't look anything like the hell she's been through."

-Last week, a friend of mine (out of the blue) confided in me that she and her daughters were once homeless, and that they once had to live in the bathroom of a storage facility and sleep in her car for months before she was able to move into a homeless shelter.
After I read her story, via text message, I thought back to all the times I used to see her and her girls at church and the times we used to talk to each other.
The more thought back to those times, the more I began to think to myself:
"She didn't at the time, and she still doesn't look anything like the hell she's been through."

-Late last night, I was reading the blog of a woman who has dealt with divorce, illness, numerous surgeries, and too many other things to name.
As I was reading her story, I couldn't help but think to myself:
"She doesn't look anything like the hell she's been through."

The one thing all three of those women had in common was that they all credit GOD with getting them through their situation.

The point of this blog:
Regardless of what you've been through, what you're going through or what situation you may have to face on tomorrow, just know, that if you put GOD at the center of it, you can come out of that situation not even looking like you've been in it.
And when you come out, be thankful and grateful that you don't look like what you've been through.

Neo Soul Saturday: Adrian Marcel

Someone hipped me to this cat a few months ago, and I've been hooked ever since.

Adrian Marcel is from the Bay area and a protege' of Rapheal Saadiq.

His unique flava is something that the R& B game has been missing a long time.

Hope you enjoy!

Cousin Cledis Is At It Again

Last week, President Obama shared his thoughts on the Zimmerman verdict.
He was honest, open, and transparent about some of his personal experiences of being a black man in America before he became a public figure.
He told personal stories of how "some" white people would lock their car doors when he walked by, or clutch their purses a little tighter or become nervous when he walked into an elevator.

I think every black man in this country can relate to that.
Well, every black man that's not related to good ole' "Uncle Tom".
One of "Uncle Tom's" sons,  Cousin Cledis Allen West wasted no time dismissing President Obama's comments.
This is what Cousin Cledis  Allen West had to say;

 Newsflash to Cousin Cledis , Allen West:
Those things probably did happen to you.
You just couldn't see them happening because even at a young age, you had your head neck-deep up a white man's behind.

I'll have more on Allen West Cousin Cledis, Aunt Jemima and Uncle Tom later on in the week.

Bitter Woman Syndrome

It's official!
Dwayne Wade's ex-wife has lost her mind!
First, she claimed he gave her a sexually transmitted disease.
Then, she accused him of having sex with his girlfriend, Gabrielle Union, in front of their kids.
Now, she's claiming she's homeless!
SMH!

Last week, Siovaughn Wade (along with one of her trifling girlfriends), took to the streets of Chicago to stage this photo-op, all in an attempt to embarrass the NBA superstar and force him to agree to a financial settlement.
It worked!
A few days ago, D. Wade agreed to give her sole possession of their Chicago mansion, four cars, a check for $5 million AND $35,000/month.
This, despite the fact that HE has sole custody of their kids.
The former Mrs. Wade accpepted the settlement but vowed that the fight wasn't over.
Many may ask : What more does she want?
I can answer that!
She wants to make D. Wade's life a living hell because she has Bitter Woman Syndrome!

I'm sure you've seen it before!
Two people are in a relationship.
The relationship ends.
One person moves on, and the other one doesn't get the memo that it's over.
This appears to be the case with this crazy woman the former Mrs. Wade.
D. Wade has a beautiful, new woman in his life.
He's won two more championships.
He's raising both of their sons.
He's a philanthropist.
He's written a book.
His life hasn't skipped a beat.
Meanwhile, she's still stuck in a relationship that ended years ago!
I don't know about you, but I know women like this.
It doesn't matter how good things are going in their life, or what new person God is trying to bring into their life, they're still stuck in the past.

Bitterness is almost like a drug that eats away at your flesh.
It can make even the most beautiful woman look ugly.
It can cause people to not want to be associated with you.
And just like the former Mrs. Wade, bitterness can cause you to make a fool out of yourself.
That financial settlement might "keep her off the streets", but until she let's go of the past, she will continue to have Bitter Woman Syndrome.

The Jazz Lounge

As some of you know, I'm a huge jazz fan.
In my opinion, there's nothing like sitting outside at a park, on the beach or relaxing in a nice, quiet, intimate establishment that has a great ambiance with your significant other, listening to the smooth, smooth sounds of live jazz!
Listening to jazz has not only become one of my hobbies, but it has almost become a passion!
I want to share that passion with you.
So tonight, I'm starting a new feature here in The Board Room.
Tonight, and every Friday night, The Board Room will transform into The Jazz Lounge-a place, where an artist, and his or her music will be featured.
My hope is that you will become just as passionate about this great art form as I am.

Tonight, our first artist here in The Jazz Lounge is Chris Botti.

Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, this brotha has been playing the trumpet since he was 9 years old. He's been nominated for four Grammys and has enjoyed three number one albums.
Here he is with the beautiful and sexy Jill Scott, performing "Good Morning Heartache".

Hope you enjoy!

Sunday Praise & Inspiration; MANIFEST

The dream, the vision, the promise that God has spoken over my life and yours, WILL come to past!

I declare it and decree it in the name of Jesus!

AMEN!

#manifest

Neo Soul Saturday: Al Green & Anthony Hamilton

Old school meets new school.

Hope you enjoy!

The War Against Black Media

During this past election season, we heard about
"The War Against Women".
Some people have even questioned if there's a
"War Against Christmas".
And just recently, I read where the clowns at Fox News tried to convince their gulliable viewers that there's a
"War Against Easter."
But have you heard about,
"The War Against Black Media"?

In the last couple of months:
*Soledad O'Brien's morning show was cancelled by CNN.
* Roland Martin will no longer appear on CNN because the network refused to renew his contract.
* Michael Baisden's nationally syndicated radio show was abruptly cancelled, and he was locked out of his studios, after executives refused to re-negotiate his contract.
*Attorney Warren Ballentine's nationally syndicated radio show was cancelled after he was falsely indicted on mortgage fraud charges.
*Bev Smith's show was also cancelled because of  poor ratings-despite the fact that she had the highest ratings of her twenty plus year career in radio.
*T.J. Holmes' nightly show- "Don't Sleep with T.J. Holmes" was cancelled by BET (which is owned by Viacom) after only one month on the air.

There are literally dozens of others I can tell you about, but I think you get the picture.
Joe Madison-whose show airs on the Urban View channel on sirius XM- recently quoted statistics that showed blacks and latinos are more involved in the political process today, than at any other time in this country's history.
And some of these shows and personalities are the main reason why.
I've never been a conspiracy theorist, but either the cancellation of these shows is one hell of a coincidence, or there's a serious war taking place against the black media.
I think it's the latter!

Brown Skin

Back in the day, I used to be crazy about light-skinned women!
In fact, there was a time when the only type of woman I would date were light-skinned women.
Like so many guys, I used to think that light-skinned women were prettier than "those little dark-skinned girls".
I'm still not sure why I used to think that.
Maybe it was because whenever I turned on the televsion, all the prominent roles featuring black women were played by light-skinned women.
Or when I watched music videos, all of the beautiful models were light-skinned.
I'm not sure!

But as I got older, I began to realize that a woman's skin complexion didn't make her beautiful-her personality is what made her beautiful.
Once I realized that, I began to gain a greater appreciation for dark-skinned women.
Not only only did I gain a greater appreciation for them, but I developed a full-fledged love affair with them.
So much so, that lately, I've only dated dark-skinned women.


One of the things that I find so attractive about dark-skinned women is the fact that after hearing crazy things like;
"You sure are pretty, to be a dark-skinned girl", some of them are still confident and secure enough to believe that they're the most beautiful woman walking the face of the earth.
Nobody personalified that type of attitude more than India Arie.
In a society that promotes white women as the standard of beauty, and in a community and industry that promotes light-skinned, black women as their counterpart-India has always fought the establishment by releasing songs like;
"I Am Not My Hair" and "Video".
She's never been ashamed of her beautiful dark-skin "Brown Skin".

That's why last week when I saw photos of her upcoming CD cover, I had to do a double-take and ask myself;
"Who is this light-skinned chick?"
"Who is this chick with the tight dress on?"
Surely this is not India Arie!
Surely she's not conforming to the system.
Surely she hasn't fallen victim to the same establishment she fought so hard against.
I haven't read the follow-up to this story, but I'm hoping it's all a big misunderstanding!
I'm hoping that she won't do like so many others before her, and abandon her beautiful "Brown Skin".

It's Been A Long Time

*rapping*
(in my Rakim voice)

"It's been a long time, I shouldn't left you, without a strong blog to vibe to, think of how many weak blogs you've flipped through, times up, sorry I kept you!"

Wait a minute.
Why the side-eye?
You didn't like my rap?
You didn't?
Why?
I should stick to blogging?
(oh you got jokes)
Ok, fine!
I can take a hint!
But back in tha day, I could rock a mic with the best of them.
Ok, I'm lying! I couldn't rap at ALL! (lol)
But when I was sixteen years old, I wanted to be Rakim..........AND Jon Bon Jovi.........
ANYWAY..............
It's been a minute since I've sat in the chair and conducted any meetings here in The Board Room.
But I'm back and I'm ready to discuss some of the political, social, and religious issues that's taking place in our community.
Are you still with me?
Cool!
Let's Get It!

Sunday Praise & Inspiration: Darwin Hobbs

Neo Soul Saturday: Emeli Sande

She's been called the U.K.'s version of Alicia Keys.

She's the hottest thing on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, and it's just a matter of time before she blow up in the U.S.

Her name is Emeli Sande.

Her voice is amazing and so are the lyrics to this song,
 (at least I think so).

Check her out!

The Karma Continues

 

Remember all of the doom and gloom republicans were predicting would happen if the president was re-elected?

Remember how they claimed businesses would stop hiring and the stock market would tank?

Remember how they claimed that over half of all Americans disliked the president?

Remember how they claimed business owners would be forced to lay people off because of "Obamacare"?

 

Many of these scare tactics were promoted by the clowns  fine journalists over at Fox "News" in an effort to get you to vote against President Obama  for Mitt Romney.

 

Well yesterday, CNN (and every other major news outlet except you know who) reported that the Dow closed above 14,000 on Friday for the first time since October 2007 as all 3 major stock indexes posted gains for a fifth straight week.

*The Dow Jones industrial average finished up nearly 150 points for the day after reports on the job market, manufacturing sector, construction spending and consumer sentiment, which all pointed to a healthy economic recovery.

 

IN OTHER NEWS: It was also reported this week, (by every major news outlet except you know who), that the president's ratings are at an all time high, MSNBC ratings are up, and Fox "News" primetime ratings are at it's lowest point in 12 years.

 

#hellokarma(again)

 

Farewell Dr. James Hood

Yesterday, in Gadsden, Alabama, Dr. James Hood was laid to rest.
In 1963, Dr. Hood - along with Vivian Malone (shown in the above picture) - were the first African-American students to integrate the University of Alabama.
As you can imagine, they were met with major resistance.
One of those resistant forces included then-Governor George Wallace standing in the front door of the admissions office to block their entrance.
After a federal court order, Dr. Hood and Ms. Malone were admitted and the rest, as they say, is history.

Dr. Hood left the university after only a few months and moved to Michigan where he received his bachelor's degree from Wayne State University, and his master's degree from Michigan State University. He later returned to the University of Alabama and earned his doctorate.

Dr. James Hood was 70 years old.

Farewell !

*Vivian Malone Jones passed away in 2005*

Are You Ready For 2013?

I want to take this opportunity to thank each of you for supporting this blog.

We've come a long way and in 2013, we're taking The Board Room to another level.

Some time in the early spring, I will launch The Board Room w/ Mod Lumpkin on blog talk radio.

That way, you can sound off about the blogs you read here in The Board Room and anything else you want to talk about.

Also in another month or so, I will FINALLY complete a book that I've been working on for nearly two years. And I promise you, it's a page turner that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

There are so many other things I'm believing God for in 2013 that I will share with you at a later date.

But for now, just sit back and enjoy the premiere blog in the blogasphere.

You may not agree with everything I write, but hopefully, you'll read something that will encourage you to seek a relationship with God, become active in your community and challenge you to chase your dreams!

Happy New Year
Peace & Blessings,

Mod Lumpkin
The Chairman of The Board