And do you know what summer time means? Bikinis. And Beaches. And Pools. (Oh my!)
Usually me and the girls make a trip to Palm Springs in the summer.
Because nothing says “IT’S HOT” like Palm Springs in the summer time.
We love it!
We spend our time day drinking and playing in the pool.
I know.
You don’t know what’s harder to believe:
That I day drink or that a black girl got in the pool and got her hair wet.
(Definitely that I got my hair wet)
ANYWAYS.
Good times are always had by all. I think.
I don’t always remember.
Except that one time we were all in the pool and they cleared everyone out because of a CODE BROWN
Which was definitely not awesome.
I’m pretty sure I’ll never forget that because WHO THE FUCK doesn’t get out of the pool to POOP?
I mean, I feel like I’m dealing with a certain amount of pee (because people are gross, and lazy, and YOU AREN’T GOING TO MISS ANYTHING BY GOING TO PEE, FFS)
And this is why pools are so heavily chlorinated.
But really?
EWWW. TO ALL OF IT.
I can’t remember if the pool was closed for the day after that (see: day drinking)
But I know that *I* was done swimming for the day.

What does this have to do with anything? I bet you’re thinking that I’m gonna talk about current events, don’t you?
Well you’re wrong* because this is a black HISTORY fact. As in, in the past.
Like in the past, black people weren’t even allowed to swim in a pool with white folks.
As in, on this day in 1964, James “Jimmy” E. Brock wouldn’t allow Martin Luther (the) King, Jr and others to eat at the Monson (Motor Lodge) restaurant.
And on June 18th they planned a “swim-in” (I see what they did there) where black and white protesters jumped into the whites-only pool
And in protest to THEIR protest, Jimmy Brock poured muriatic acid (which is generally used to clean the pool’s tiles) into the pool hoping the swimmers would get scared and leave.

They didn’t. Police were called, people were arrested.
And this guy will forever remembered as the asshole on the wrong side of history.

So I don’t have to draw any similarities to what happened in 1964 to what happened in McKinney, Texas because
a) These kids weren’t protesting at all. They were INVITED TO A POOL PARTY. AND.
b) Segregation has been illegal since 1954. OR SO I HEARD.
I mean, YEAH. The police were called because of a code brown (people in the pool and yes we are “tolerant” and “love all people” and we “have black friends” but where the holy hell did all THESE black folks come from? This is too many!)
BUT. NOBODY GOT ARRESTED (not even the woman who was attacking a child and using racial slurs).
(note: Damn, people ain’t playin’ around when it comes to getting racists fired from their jobs. Good job, Internet!)
And OKAY, (EX) Police Office Eric Casebolt will ALSO be remembered as the asshole on the wrong side of history.

BUT STILL.

COMPLETELY the same because even though FIFTY-ONE FUCKING YEARS have passed, apparently black kids in a pool is just as upsetting to some white folks in 2015 as it was in 1964 DIFFERENT.

*wrong. As in OF COURSE I AM.

Heyo!
So I…totally got distracted yesterday.
‘Cause yannow. WORK. I have a pretty awesome job.
But they do NOT care about black people my duties as BHFOTD AMBASSADOR.
I’m kidding, of course.
They do. They make each and every one of us come to work so they can have a Black History Presentation on MLK, Jr. Day.
That I never go to. Because if you want ME to celebrate being black, give me the day off. I’m just sayin’.

ANYWAYS.
As usual, yesterday’s post woulda been about the Academy Awards. Because OF COURSE IT WOULD.
After all, I watched. In fact, as usual, I watched every single movie in the Oscar nominated Best Picture category.
I liked them ALL. Except American Sniper.
Generally I like war movies. Blame it on the fact that I am a military wife.
Even the ones that turn me in to a sobbing mess because they are too close to my life.
(See: Hurt Locker. Never forget that I had a meltdown so bad that I almost had to leave the theatre)
(Sorry again, Dani. lol)
When they’re made well. This one…wasn’t. I’ma leave it at that.

I loved all the other ones, though. I didn’t even hate Boyhood. I did hate that it was LONG. SOFA KING LONG.
Two hours and 46 minutes.
And lemme tell y’all. That’s a long time for me to sit (reasonably) still. Luckily, there was chips and guac. And vodka.
I got through it. Which is more than I can say for Gone with the Wind.
Y’all. That movie is almost 4 hours long.
FOUR.
I tapped out. I tried. I really did.
Because I’ve never seen it AND since I was gonna talk about Hattie McDonald, first black person to win an Oscar,
I thought maybe I should. But I couldn’t. Because it was fours long.
I got up to around the halfway mark.

A few things:
In this movie, these people went to a party so long that all the women retired upstairs for a nap.
Like..wow. Y’all really doing the most. A nap. So you can day drink AND night drink. TURN UP!

ALLLLL this time, I thought it was Hattie’s character that said “I don’t know nothin’ bout birthin’ no babies!”
That was not her. That was Prissy (Butterfly McQueen)Huh.

The more you know.

ALSO. You can file these things under THINGS I DID NOT KNOW (about Hattie McDonald):
She appeared in over 300 movies, but only got credit for about 80-ish.
She was the first black woman to sing on the radio in the US.
She has TWO stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. TWO! (Radio/Motion Pictures)
AND. She was the first Black Oscar winner honored with a postage stamp.

Hattie accepting her award
I don’t know if I forgot or just never knew that she sat separately from the rest of the cast of Gone With The Wind.
But, WOW.

Now everyone sits all together at the Oscars, and they’ll have a diverse cast of presenters, and not once single person of color nominated in any of the acting categories.
In fact, the only Oscar given to black person/people was given for Best Original Song.

I’m not even gonna say it. ‘Cause I don’t have to. But you know what I’m thinking. And I guess so were the Oscars.

I really, REALLY do. And this one never fails to make me laugh
Even though I have always, ALWAYS hated Star Trek, the TV Show.

But you know what I DON’T HATE?
Black History!
And since we’re TALKING about Star Trek (and we totally are)
Look at all this lovely in one picture!

On the left we have Nichelle (my belle) Nichols. One of the first African American women TV Characters
Who was not a servant. She’s also one of the participants in the first interracial kiss on US Television.
With none other than Captain James T Kirk, Intergalactic Ho.

As it turns out, Nichelle wanted to leave the show, but Dr Martin Luther (the) King, Jr. told her
she “could not give up” because she was playing a vital role model for black children and young women across the country,
as well as for other children who would see blacks appearing as equals.

And.

It’s good she stayed on, because on your right, we have one of those black girls she would end up influencing.
That there is former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison.
She was the first African-American woman to travel in space, aboard the shuttle Endeavour.
She served as the science mission specialist on the STS-47 Spacelab J flight, which launched 12 September 1992.
She was ALSO the first “real” astronaut to appear on Star Trek.
Jemison has cited Nichols’ role of Lieutenant Uhura as her inspiration for wanting to become an astronaut.
And there you have it guys! Art imitating life, or something like that.
But not the Imitation of Life* because THESE women are definitely proud of being black and pioneering the way
for other young black women to do and be things that they’d never thought they could.
Yes. I did just randomly throw in movie reference.
(Look at me, Dani! I finally remembered the name of this damn movie on my own!)
Well. Not randomly. The Oscars are THIS WEEKEND.
So yeah. There’s a pretty good chance I’ll have something to say about the Oscars.
Aside from making cracks about how #OscarsSoWhite it won’t wear a jacket and long pants in the winter.
Or maybe not.
See you Monday for ONE! MORE! WEEK! of BHFOTDs!

*YES. Imitation of Life was an Oscar nominated film. Not for Best Picture, doe.
If you’ve never seen it, YOU SHOULD. You should also buy some stock in Kleenex.
Because LAWD HAVE MERCY, MAHALIA JACKSON SANGING AT A FUNERAL WILL HAVE YOU LAID OUT.
LAID. OUT.
ALSO, It definitely is a reflection of colorism in America.
AND the reason why even now, such lists as Celebrities you didn’t know were black exist
Because being thought of as any other race (Interjection!: Did you know that Vanessa Williams ancestry is ancestry is 23% from Ghana, 17% from the British Isles, 15% from Cameroon, 12% Finnish, 11% Southern European, 7% Togo, 6% Benin, 5% Senegal and 4% Portuguese?)
(I’ll let YOU decide if that was a related comment)
is still better than being thought of as Black in America.

…and Kanye, can we also talk about Kim?
Because WHY was she out there looking like Ric Flair?

WOO!

WHY AM I STILL TALKING ABOUT THE GRAMMYS?
Because I can!
Because I have so much to say!
Because yannow. I love music. Because I’m black.
I should stop saying that. I won’t. But I should.
Because er’body loves music.
Music brings people of all races together*!

I mean…Iggy Azalea lost to EMINEM for the Best Rap Album this year!
Also? Did y’all know that Eminem won Best Rap Album six times in the history of this category?
AND. That EVERY TIME Eminem was nominated for this category, he won?
And I’m sure that’s probably not that he was the only white person in a category dominated by African Americans
And not because it’s an industry that dominated by white folks.
(After all Macklemore and Ryan Lewis ALSO won and I KNOW FOR SURE it was a better rap album than Kendrick Lamar Duckworth)
(No. There still isn’t a sarcasm font)
I’m not knocking Marshall’s skill.
I’m JUST SAYING.
It’s quite the coincidence.

Anyways! Back to what I was saying.
Marshall Mathers has six Grammys and Snoop has NONE.
And neither does NAS.
Or Public Enemy
Or NWA.
(HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA)
Man, listen. Ain’t no way the Grammys would ever give none of those…thugs meaning n-words not RAPPERS awards.
For all of the obvious reasons.

But.
What about Run DMC?
Run DMC also has NO Grammys.
Run DMC was the FIRST:
• To be nominated for a Grammy (Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group/ BEFORE rap categories existed even)
• To have a gold album and a platinum record
• To have videos on MTV
• To appear on American Bandstand
• To be signed to a major product endorsement deal (Adidas)

I mean…if you tell me you like hip hop and don’t know who they are, everything else you say is invalid. FOR REAL.
According to people who know about music, “More than any other hip-hop group, Run–D.M.C. are responsible for the sound and style of the [hip-hop] music.” Characterized by sparse, hard-hitting beats, this would form the foundation of hardcore hip hop (particularly hardcore East Coast hip hop). As such, Run–D.M.C. is considered the originators of the style, and hardcore hip hop would dominate the next two decades of rap music, from the bombastic, noisy sound of Public Enemy and stripped minimalism of Boogie Down Productions to the thump of early Wu-Tang Clan and Nas. All people who do NOT have Grammys.

Their influence was not limited to JUST the East Coast.N.W.A., on their landmark 1988 album Straight Outta Compton, showed heavy influences from Tougher Than Leather-era Run–D.M.C., and Chicano rap act Cypress Hill were definitely influenced by Run–D.M.C.’s fusion of rap and rock.

Hell, even their look and style of the street would define the next 25 years of hip hop fashion.
(And I’ll be honest. I’m not a fan of grown men wearing skinny jeans. BUT WTF DO I KNOW? I’m 42 damn years old and am not at ALL impressed at men wearing pants tight as mine and YET AND STILL managing to not be able to pull them up to where I don’t have to see your skid marks. JUST SAYING)

SO. That’s your BHFOTD, kids. You didn’t get one yesterday. Because I am SO FUCKING BUSY. But, because I love you, I wanted to tell you about Run DMC:
The Second rap group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Incidentally by Eminem. HUH.
(The First is Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)
Also. Since this BHFOTD is about Run DMC, lemme leave y’all with my sissie’s favorite song, because it’s been a while since I’ve mentioned her in a post!
* At least everyone came together to agree that Iggy Azalea’s fake dirty souf accent havin’ ass did NOT deserve a Grammy for her black-face rapping. So we at least have that. *high fives everyone*

Y’all. I see a LOT of movies over the course of a year.
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve seen Annie AND Selma.

Y’all know I love a good musical. Hence the subject of today’s post.
Yeah. I know that’s not the new Annie. SO? I can like the old Annie too.
And, yes. I liked the new Annie. It was cute and I totally got why the kids loved it.
I was 10 when the original Annie came out. Which, incidentally, is about the age the new Annie is geared toward.
AND? The 10 year old that I went with loved it.

I know people complained because the new Annie was black NOT THE 1982 ANNIE, but listen. I ran across this FB post that explains
perfectly why the new Annie is appropriate.

Aside from the fact that Annie is a fictional character and REALLY can be any damn color the writer chooses.
Including blue. Although I feel like trying to pass off an Avatar as a human child would be reaching.

But I guess we’re not here for this today, are we?
We’re here ‘cause it’s THE REVEREND DOCTOR Martin Luther (the) King Jr Day. And I’m at work. While most of y’all are not.
Work on the plantation is never done, y’all.
And since I *AM* here, I may as well talk about Selma. Since it came out this weekend, and I saw it.
NORMALLY. I’d say no to this kind of biopic.

Because it’s been done.
“We shall overcome….”
“I have a dream…”
BLAH. BLAH. BLAH. JESUS. DID MLK, JR. SAY ANYTHING ELSE AT ALL?
(Turns out he did. You’re welcome!)

And really, I kinda know how it ends. He’s ASSASSINATED.

That’s not a spoiler! Because:
1. THIS IS HISTORY, SO EVERYBODY SHOULD KNOW THIS.
2. That’s not what this movie is about!
Which. Is why I liked it so much. I mean, in so far as you can like a movie about racist America being racist.
This movie was ONLY about the march to Selma. And about how our government ain’t shit.

Let me show you my/MLK’s shocked face:

Huh. I guess I’m/he’s not shocked either.

BONUS: I didn’t have to listen to anybody sing “We Shall Overcome” at all. But. They said it an AWFUL LOT.
Still though. I’m calling it a ‘W’.
(QUITE POSSIBLY A SPOILER ALERT. SO SKIP THIS IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW THIS. EVEN THOUGH THIS IS ALSO *HISTORY*)

The Marches from Selma to Montgomery were inspired by the death of Deacon Jimmie Lee Jackson. He was beaten and shot by Alabama State Trooper Bonard Fowler while participating in a peaceful voting rights march in his city. He was unarmed; he died several days later in the hospital.

FORTY-TWO YEARS LATER (2007) Fowler was indicted in Jackson’s death, and then in 2010 he pleaded guilty to manslaughter. he was sentenced to SIX! WHOLE! MONTHS! in prison.

LOOK AT ALL THIS JUSTICE BEING SERVED*

*still don’t have a sarcasm font
(/END)

Also: I was struck by the fact that it’s been 50 years since this March. And we’ve come SO. FAR.
I mean… now all of the pictures are in color.

ANYWAYS. That’s today’s BHFOTD/Movie Review.
Oh. Did you not look at the maybe spoiler? Which is where the fact is hidden today?

Then here’s another MLK Jr BHFOTD:
Did y’all know that in 1999 a Memphis jury found the United States government guilty of conspiring to assassinate Dr. King on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968 in a civil lawsuit?

Related quote from Dr. King: “Justice too long delayed is justice denied”

Huh.
As always, if you’re looking for more BHFOTD, you don’t have to wait on me. They’re just out there waiting. Now’s your opportunity!

I feel like it bears mentioning that some of the people I love most are in law enforcement.
They are fair, and respectful, and kind in ways that I am not.
And I think that they picked careers that are perfect for them because they want to do good.
Because they believe in service.
I personally don’t love people enough to want to deal with the fuckery that they have to.

I commend them ‘cause they are the kind of people that law enforcement should be.

I say all that to say it’s not an either/or situation.
You can support law enforcement who are decent people
and doing good things in the community,
and still be critical of the bully boys, racists, and assholes.
Some of you need to realize that.

It’s not fuck ALL the police.
It’s fuck the police who murder with impunity.
Fuck the police who hide behind their badges.
Fuck the police who think that some lives matter less than others.
And fuck the system that does not punish or police the police when they are wrong.

Being in law enforcement does not exclude you from the law.
It shouldn’t give you a “get out jail free card”
Your jobs are ones of service.
You should and NEED to be held accountable for your actions in the course of your job.
You should be disciplined for behaving badly.

And if you unable/unwilling to serve and protect your communities then you should quit.
Or be fired.

The People deserve better.
ALL of them.

(even the black ones)