Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered this deeply moving sermon on peace and non-violence at Ebenezer Baptist Church, his home church in Atlanta, Georgia on Christmas Eve in 1967.
While much has changed since Dr. King originally delivered this sermon to his congregation, much is still the same with regard to the never-ending struggles for peace, equality and justice on all levels in the world and in our country.
Who are you, Stranger
To come here, and answer all my prayers?
Where are you from, Angel?
You saved my life and disappeared.
How do I find you, will you come when I need you?
How I´d love to be sleeping, eyes wide open,
Dreaming while awake.
- Lizz Wright
Lizz Wright is a beautiful songbird with a crystal clear voice that effortlessly floats across notes like a soft summer breeze wafting through the night. I had the pleasure of seeing the richly talented Ms. Wright perform live for a sold out, enthusiastic crowd at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA on April 7, 2010. From opening to close, her and her band’s performance was flawless.
It’s a rare thing when an artist’s live show surpasses her recordings, especially in today’s music industry of marginally talented, packaged performers. But Wright does just that in her concerts. I’m something of a music snob who rarely gets excited about contemporary artists but I have to admit: it’s refreshing to come across true singers like Wright who provide pure music lovers with natural, beautiful vocals.
Best of all, Lizz Wright sangs, and she didn’t miss a note the entire evening. While her voice mainly resides in mid-level, alto tones, Wright easily glides across the scale to higher notes with perfectly timed inflections that belie the emotion and sentiment of her music. Most of Wright’s selections Wednesday evening were as bluesy as they were sultry. And Wright knows how to do sultry perfectly on stage, ever so seductively swaying to the passionate lyrics of her songs while also maintaining a tasteful degree of innocence and teasing.
During the 90-minute set, Wright performed a mix of songs from her repertoire including the haunting “Dreaming Wide Awake” and her stirring rendition of Tina Turner’s “I Idolize You” along with her signature hits like “My Heart.”
Finally, I cannot fairly write about Wright’s show and not give accolades to her incredible band. These four men are highly skilled artists in their own right, individually and collectively powerful. Each of her band members had his own stirring solo that intertwined perfectly within the program.
Lizz Wright holds her own quite comfortably in the elite class of critically acclaimed neo-soul artists like Jill Scott and India.Arie. But make no mistake: Wright is not a ‘sound-alike’ – she has a unique, blues- and gospel-tinged jazzy sound and style all her own. With her kittenish presence on stage — part ingenue and part femme fatale — the 30 year old Wright sings with a sense of knowing and intimacy that surpasses her age.
It’s been a couple of years since Wright released her last project, the highly acclaimed “Dreaming Wide Awake,” but fans will be pleased to know that she is in the studio recording her next release. Of late, she has been touring on the Nina Simone Tribute with jazz greats like Patti Austin, Dianne Reeves and others.
Wright’s fourth project will be a spiritual endeavor, one that should be as exciting as anything she’s done so far. Midway through the show, she changed the mood from sultry to spiritual, providing an excellent preview of things to come.
I can’t say enough about this truly gifted songstress. Check her tour schedule here, and don’t miss her if she comes anywhere near where you are. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with one of my favorites, “I idolize you.”
And Slightly Dangerous – In a Good AND a Bad Kind of Way.
Viggo Mortensen is all these things and more. That’s why we can’t get enough of him. If you’ve ever watched him in a single scene, you’ll never forget it. Ever. So far, the stairwell scene in “A History of Violence” is still…well…. you figure it out. I don’t know an actor alive who consistently rivals his talent, passion and ability to fully inhabit a character. Check him out next month in author Cormac McCarthy’s bestselling, post-apocalyptic novel “The Road“ which opens November 25, 2009.
President Barak Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud
Today, President Barak Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. While many politicos are “stunned” at President Obama’s selection due to the youth of his presidency, I am not. Because so much time has been spent in the US media on ‘red-herring’ issues of little to no consequence even in the American big picture, the American public unfortunately has missed important opportunities to learn not only about key accomplishments President Obama has already made in the US in his nine – yes NINE- months in office but notable accomplishments on the world scale as well. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s work is that regard cannot be discounted as a contributing factor to President Obama’s recognition today.
Contrary to a lot of today’s news coverage, the Nobel Peace Prize isn’t simply about being popular and giving wonderful speeches (thankfully, so far I haven’t seen the ‘articulate‘ word used). It’s about the Obama administration’s diligent and steady work to bring about peaceful accord in the Middle East, their attempts to engage Iran to deflect another war, their efforts to deal with the ongoing strife in Afghanistan, their work to scale back and end the war in Iraq, and their efforts with the UN and other human rights organizations globally to improve conditions for women and children. An esteemed award of this nature isn’t just about ‘home runs’.
The Nobel Peace Prize is not awarded for unilaterally bringing about world peace in a day, nor is it about only taking those actions that are ‘dazzling’ to the media or always solely in the US’ best interests. In the real world, this award recognizes public figures who not only have the diplomacy and the ability to tackle sensitive issues but also the willingness and leadership to engage controversial figures who others have shunned, often missing the point that regardless of whether we ‘like’ them or not, all world leaders have to be reckoned with.
Of course the irony is that the most discord and strife in the world these days for President Obama seems to be in the US.
If you’ve never seen either of the HBO-sponsored “The Black List” documentaries, and you’re interested in knowing what Black life is like
The Black List Documentary, Vol. 1
beyond the extremes — the Obama’s or Lil Kim — check out The Black List documentaries Vols I and II. With a range of personalities from Chris Rock to Colin Powell to Vernon Jordan, The Black Lists provide a glimpse into the lives of many Black American luminaries — what they’ve achieved and how they achieved it. I also like that many of the subjects are not ‘stars’ because it helps us to see how the American Dream can be achieved no matter who you are. As described on The Black List Project’s site, I think most non-African Americans will be amazed at just how much we all really are one in every way that matters:
The project was produced by the media collective Freemind Ventures. The idea was to interview, film and photograph prominent African Americans of various professions, disciplines and backgrounds.
These stories and insights on the struggles, triumphs and joys of black life in this country would work toward re-defining “blacklist” for a new century in the process.
Personally, I prefer The Black List Vol. I but I recommend both as they provide poignant and powerful insights into the diasphora of what it means to be ‘Black’, ‘African-American,’ ‘Afro-American’ or however, one chooses to label him- or herself.
Poor Bette. She suffered it all in All About Eve, this classic melodrama co-starring Anne Baxter as one of the best ‘hug you while I stab you with an ice pick’ vixens of all time. But as Ms. Davis advises us before her knockout round, “fasten your seat belts: this is going to be a bumpy ride!”
Studio floors are covered with reels of celluloid trying to re-do this film but there’s no use. Yes, you can create a good man-eating corporate climber, and you can even throw in a pretty decent albeit hapless mark. But it’s not about the ingredients, it’s about how well everything mixes together and comes out when you serve it up. All About Eve’s theme may be universal, especially in today’s world, but the acting by each character is simply flawless. The supporting cast is great as well (even Marilyn Monroe has a cameo). Perfection simply cannot be duplicated.
But the Great Lady herself, Bette Davis, makes this a ‘new’ film every time you watch it. Many have imitated but no has ever come close to duplicating Ms. Davis’ acting, style or swagger.
The Oscar buzz is getting stronger and stronger for the Lee Daniels-directed, Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey-produced drama, “Precious.” Among others accolades garnered at various film festivals around this world this year, it also won this year’s Audience Award at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
In the midst of all marquee luminaries — and this movie is filled with them — a beautiful new star is rising, and her name is Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe. A relative newcomer to film, Ms. Sidibe plays the title role in a film that even a veteran actress would have had a hard time preparing for, given the subject matter and brutality depicted. New York Magazine has written an excellent piece on Sidibe, only a section of which I’ve excerpted here:
To play the part, Sidibe (pronounced SIH-deh-bay) entered a nightmare. A shutdown bunker of an adolescent, Precious is already a mother of two children (one of them with Down syndrome) by her father, clocked over the head with pots and pans by her abusive mother (played with startling ferocity by Mo’Nique), mocked by boys in the streets of eighties Harlem, barely able to talk intelligibly, or read or write the simplest words. And yet she has a deep need to open up and thrive, which she begins to do with the help of a teacher and an all-girl crew of peers at an alternative school. As director Lee Daniels explains it, “Sidibe grew to be herself by the end of the movie. Not even herself, but a fraction of herself. To play Precious, she had to unwork all her confidence, and speak lower, slower, and gutturally. Only in the fantasy sequences”—when Precious dissociates from rape and abuse by thinking about runways and red carpets—“do you see who Sidibe is, bubbly and giggly.”
In his own words, Dr. King impresses upon us all our universal need for each other, especially in the most difficult of times:
The Oscar buzz is getting stronger and stronger for the Lee Daniels-directed, Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey-produced drama, “
