"Despite my fears, travelling in China taught me a lesson in human kindness"/ "Defined by mixed race"

I'm posting this in honor of February which is Black History month. Here are 2 life essays by Black people and their experiences:

Sept. 25, 2016 "Despite my fears, travelling in China taught me a lesson in human kindness": Today I found this article by Boma Brown in the Globe and Mail:

Dispatch is a series of first-person stories from the road. Readers can share their experiences, from the sublime to the strange.

I chose to visit China for a few reasons: First, I like to travel. Second, one of my closest friends is Chinese and I wanted to see what his city looked like.

But when I told my friends and family that I was visiting China, I got mixed reactions. From “Don’t forget to take a mask with you to help with the pollution,” to “I hear China is super racist and anti-black.”

Being black in China was very confusing. I knew I was going to be hyper visible. I expected that people would be curious about me, mostly because of the colour of my skin. Not to mention my hair.

I am not entirely sure what it is about a black woman in braids that draws people in. 

Wandering around Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the country, numerous staff complimented my hair. I’d never met such friendly airport security in my life. Compliments in China were short and didn’t pry (unlike what I hear in the United States and Canada: “It must take so long to braid,” “You do it yourself? Amazing,” “Do you wash it?” and so on).

What surprised me was that Chinese curiosity came with such politeness and grace, which is not always the case back home. At first, I didn’t notice that people were taking pictures of me until my friend pointed it out. I say this somewhat sarcastically, but people were discreet in their photo taking. 

Or maybe I was just too preoccupied taking in the sights, sounds and smells to notice cameras. After spending four days in Wuhan with my friend, it became easier to spot the subtle camera action. I oddly got used to it.

Something I did not get used to was hearing people gasp whenever they saw me. I was on a bus to the Tiger Leaping Gorge in Southern China, when it made a pit stop in a tiny village for passengers to pick up fruit and other snacks. At first, I stayed on the bus while every other passenger got off. But then I changed my mind. 

And when I stepped off the bus, I never heard so many gasps in my life. A few women walked up close and just stared at me for a few minutes without saying anything. They eventually said, “Hi,” smiled broadly, gave me a thumbs up, and walked away.

 This was a recurring scene during my trip. Another group of women walked up to me at the snack shop, stared, smiled, and asked where I was from in broken English. Everywhere I went, people smiled and said hello. I found this level of friendliness, despite language barriers, impressive.

Before I arrived in China, I was concerned about what sort of preconceived notions people would have based on my skin tone. China turned out to be a lesson in human kindness. In the city of Kunming, when I got lost, two young women did not just take me to the train station, they stood with me in line for over two hours to make sure I got my ticket. The only words we exchanged were “Hi,” “Oh my God” and, after I got my ticket, “thank you” and “bye.” I never saw them again.

When I got to Shangri-La in the northwest Yunnan province late on a Sunday evening, the owner of the bed and breakfast I was staying at graciously invited me to dinner with her family.

 She didn’t want me to go out for food alone. The owner spoke excellent English, introduced me to her family at the table, and then gave me her coat, because I foolishly underestimated how cold Shangri-La would be due to the altitude. It was heartwarming.

That my time in China was filled with immense kindness does not negate the experiences of anti-blackness faced by others. There is no cookie-cutter black travel experience. A few of my black friends had remarkably different experiences in the country, especially with airport security.

Anti-blackness is not only limited to North America. It happens internationally as well. In China, it looks very different than it does in North America . People’s references to my race were mostly based on what they saw on TV and tied to pop-culture images. 

For instance, black protesters were shown on the news and a young man said to me, “I like your people. They are very strong.” Someone also compared me to Rihanna. I look nothing like her.

Although I am a black woman, I hold a great deal of body privilege: I am tall, slim and fashionable in a conventional way. I believe that the way my body looks affects the way people treat me.

Looking back, I am grateful for my time in China and the lessons learned about the politics of race, identity and intersectionality.

Despite my fears, travelling in China taught me a lesson in human kindness

Despite my fears, travelling in China t...

Jan. 24, 2017 "Defined by mixed race": Today I found this article by Mckenzie Small in the Globe and Mail:

She just keeps staring at me – as if I’m from another dimension – and then she asks the all-too-familiar question: “So what are you, exactly?” 

I have to ask myself: Is she asking about my race or my species?

I’m mixed with more than one race. It has defined me a lot more than you would think. This part of my life shaped the way I grew up and I never really noticed until I got older.

Ever heard of the guessing game?

Probably not. It’s a game people play where they try to guess where you’re from, because “Canada” is never sufficient.

When asked, I could show my birth certificate that clearly states I was born 17 years ago at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga – on Father’s Day, 1999 – but that will likely still be followed by: “But where are you really from?”

I explain that my mom is Ukrainian and Polish and my dad is from Barbados.

“Wow! That’s so cool!”

That’s synonymous with most of the responses I get, with eyes that look at me as if I’m from another planet.

You might think I’m exaggerating – and I wish I was – but this is my life.

I remember travelling to Florida with my mom when I was 10 years old.

Looking back on it now, passing through customs was funny. I was pulled to the side and asked if I was my mother’s daughter.

“Of course,” I responded.

The officers just stared, as if it was impossible for a Caucasian woman to be walking around with a curly-haired, mixed girl. It takes two, last time I checked.

As time passed, I started to become more used to it.

This is what life is like. A blessing and a curse. Two cultures, two Christmases, so much good food – but a lot of questions.

Writing provincial exams is always fun, especially when you get to the survey and can only circle one answer for each question.

Simple as A, B, C, and 1, 2, 3, right? Not so much for me. When I get to “circle your ethnicity,” I circle both “Caribbean” and “European,” but that voids the question because you can only pick one. What happens when you have two or more?

When my friends see my father pick me up after school, I hear, “I always forget that your dad is black.”

Yes, he is. (I didn’t think it was something they tried to remember.)

I’ve lost track of how many times someone has said that to me. Or this: “So, which one of your parents is black and which one is white?”

Common to a lot of mixed children, I have tanned skin and curly hair. Yes, it’s time to talk about the hair. Mine is a huge part of my life, believe it or not.

Of all the questions I get, most of them are about my hair. Most are complimentary and I appreciate and am grateful for them. But – I don’t mean to be rude – sometimes I would rather not have your hands in my hair. Ha, ha, yes, it’s hilarious how I could hide anything in it. Yes, I do brush and wash it. Nope, I’d rather not straighten it, I kind of like it. Fine, touch it. My hair is a mobile museum for some people.

Every time I go out it’s the same series of questions from at least one person.

One incident I adored was the time I was in a lineup – waiting for funnel cake – when a woman asked for tips on how to do her daughter’s hair. I gave her a list of what I use and do to keep it healthy and she was so thankful.

Or once when I was sitting in a café and a mixed woman came up to me and told me that I’ve inspired her to start embracing her natural hair. This community that I’m a part of gives me the opportunity to have many interactions with people that I otherwise wouldn’t have had without my genes coming from two different places in the world.

Differences make you stand out.

No matter if you’re tall, green-eyed, black, white, Asian or all of them. If there’s one thing I’ve learned through my experiences, it’s that it’s something to be proud of. I have two very different sets of genes inside of me and I feel lucky to say so.

It’s okay that I look a little different, my hair is a little bigger and my parents don’t look like they’re related to me, because, like Michael Jackson said, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white (or both).

Mckenzie Small lives in Mississauga.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/facts-and-arguments/being-biracial-has-shaped-my-life-but-i-feel-lucky-to-bedifferent/article33702913/

This week's theme is articles about Black people and by Black people in honor of Black History month.   

I guess I could have posted this in Jun. 2020 when the Black Lives Matter in the news increased.  I went through my blog and and that month was all job articles.  Well I'm posting these race articles now.  

There is the usual rule that I'm not supposed to post about really controversial topics like race. However, I'm posting articles that other people wrote, and I didn't.

"Without Peele, Key turns to the future"/ "Disney star finds her voice" (Keke Palmer)

Tracy's blog: "Without Peele, Key turns to the future"/ "Disney star finds her voice" (Keke Palmer) (badcb.blogspot.com)

"Aunt Jemima to rebrand as Pearl Milling Company starting in June"/ "Rice brand Uncle Ben's changing name and logo because of racist connotations"

Tracy's blog: "Aunt Jemima to rebrand as Pearl Milling Company starting in June"/ "Rice brand Uncle Ben's changing name and logo because of racist connotations" (badcb.blogspot.com)

My week: 

Feb. 19, 2021 "Toronto seeks injunction to stop man from putting tiny shelters for the homeless in city park": This is by Liam Casey on CBC:

The City of Toronto is asking a court to order a local man to stop building small wooden shelters for the homeless.

The city filed an injunction application on Feb. 12 against Khaleel Seivwright, a carpenter who has been building small structures for those living outside.

The city wants an order that permanently stops Seivwright from placing or relocating structures on city-owned land.

It cites bylaws that prohibit camping and living in city-owned parks.

Seivwright did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

He has been building the shelters since the fall and has raised more than $200,000 on GoFundMe for materials.

Homeless encampments have popped up throughout the city as hundreds fled shelters last year for fear of contracting COVID-19.

Seivwright's insulated, wooden "tiny shelters" are in numerous parks around the city.

"I'm makin this post to let you all know that we have stopped building Tiny Shelters but will continue to do maintenance and relocating of shelters as people staying outside get into housing," Seivwright said on his GoFundMe page on Feb. 11.

The city said in a statement that the structures are not safe.

It pointed to a wooden structure fire this week at an downtown encampment that claimed the life of a man as proof of the dangers.

It isn't clear who built the structure involved in the fire. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

City spokesperson Brad Ross said the injunction is needed.

"The structures are making it challenging and difficult to encourage people who are living outside to come inside where it is safer, where the issue of fire for example, is removed," Ross said.

Homeless advocate Lorraine Lam, however, disagreed, saying it's the city's responsibility to provide options for unhoused people.

"We just need to provide good options for people and when people are given the right options they will take them, so the city needs to step up." 

Toronto Fire Services, for its part, said it has been working to raise the issue of fire safety with encampment residents.

Encampment residents say they have nowhere to go

Those living in encampments have said they have nowhere to go with shelters at or near capacity and concerns about the novel coronavirus.

A COVID-19 variant has made its way inside one of the city's shelters and there are currently outbreaks in seven shelters.

The city has carried out a massive relocation effort to reduce the population at its shelters, which are mostly congregate settings, by moving individuals into hotels and apartments and permanent housing.

Unhoused people have said that is not a solution for everyone as many of the hotels are far from services they use, which are largely clustered downtown.

The city said a hearing date for the injunction has yet to be set.

Toronto seeks injunction to stop man from putting tiny shelters for the homeless in city parks | CBC News

My opinion: I like that Khaleel Seivwright is helping people by building these shelters and the people who donated to his GoFundMe campaign.

The city does want to help people by putting them in hotels.  The solution is average.

"A yellow penguin has been photographed for the first time on South Georgia island": Today I found this article by Lisa Walden on Yahoo:

A "never-seen-before" rare yellow penguin has been spotted by wildlife photographer Yves Adams on a South Georgia island for the first time ever.

Sharing the images on Instagram, Yves said that the beautiful yellow king penguin walked straight up to his camera in the "middle of a chaos full of sea elephants and Antarctic fur seals" on the remote beach — and his images are just stunning.

While the images were first taken in 2019, Yves released them this week to bring a little joy to his followers during lockdown. Among a colony of over 120,000 king penguins, you can see the sweet yellow bird (who also has bright yellow eyes) standing and swimming on the shore.

A yellow penguin has been photographed for the first time on South Georgia island (yahoo.com)

Snacks: 

Pop chips: At Shoppers Drug Mart and they were selling this 2 bags for $4.  

1. I like sour cream and cheddar.

2. It was on sale.

3. I want to try something new.

My opinion: This was average.  Each bag was 85 grams.  I probably won't buy this again.

Why Popped? (popchips.com)

White Cheddar Cheeto Puffs: There were 2 bags for $6.  I bought one and the other Cheddar Jalapeno Crunchy.   

My opinion: This was average.  I like crunchy more than puffs, and I like orange cheddar more than white cheddar.

Holidays with candy:

1. Valentine's Day

2. Easter

3. Halloween

4. Christmas

The day after the holiday is when all the candy goes on sale.  On Nov. 1, 2020 I went and bought some Halloween candy.  Valentine's Day was on Sun.  By Sat. I went to Shoppers Drug Mart and there was some candy still on sale, but I didn't buy any.

2021 Feng Shui For The Year Of The Metal Ox!:

The 2021 Lunar New Year of the Metal Ox Feng Shui is all about the power of your creativity, decluttering, being consistent and growing your abundance!

(372) 2021 Feng Shui For The Year Of The Metal Ox! - YouTube

My zodiac sign is the Ox.

Feb. 23, 2021 The Good Bean: My mom bought sweet chili chick peas from this brand.  They're vegan and gluten-free.  I didn't like them.

Taco Bell: I hardly ever order takeout, but I went out with my friend Cham because I had these coupons.  4 beef and cheese burritos for $8.  If you eat 2 of them, it's very filling.  It tastes good.

Feb. 24, 2021 "B.C. student who wore dress over turtleneck sent home for inappropriate attire": Today I found this article on Yahoo:

The father of a high school student in Kamloops, B.C., who was sent home for wearing what was deemed an inappropriate outfit, says the incident was absurd and should not have happened.

Chris Wilson's daughter Karis, 17, was wearing a knee-length black dress with lace trim over a full-sleeved white turtleneck. He said her teacher pulled her out of class Tuesday and escorted her to the principal's office because of the outfit.

"[Karis] was told that it could possibly make the male student teacher feel awkward and it could make [her female classroom teacher] feel awkward since it reminded her of a lingerie outfit," Wilson said on CBC's Radio West.

"It's actually a very modest outfit when you actually look at it ... I think the the initial comments were based on the fact that it had lace."

Wilson said the incident felt a little "surreal" and upset his daughter.

"[We] kind of saw the aftermath of her coming home in tears and just really broken up, confused," he said.

"There was a female who was singled out because what she's wearing could make someone in a position of power over her feel uncomfortable. And the more you think of it, the more you say it, the more you understand that this is absurd.

"It shouldn't happen."

Fellow students show support

Wilson took to social media, with his daughter's permission, and his post on Facebook has been viewed over 40,000 times.

On Wednesday, Karis's classmates staged a walkout in her support.

"If there's a silver lining to this, [after feeling] that centred out and awkward, [it's to] have everyone stand up, stand beside you and say, no, this isn't OK, we're with you."

Wilson says the vice-principal and principal have handled the situation well, and the school district superintendent has reached out.

"We could definitely learn some lessons from it," he said. "I know for a fact that they're taking this very seriously and it might be an opportunity to promote learning for the teachers as well."

The school district told CBC News that it is aware of the situation, but has no comment on the event itself. The school has not responded to requests for comment.

B.C. student who wore dress over turtleneck sent home for inappropriate attire (yahoo.com)

My opinion: The outfit was appropriate because it wasn't showing a lot of skin.  The lace part was what may have made this seem sexy.

Enneagram test: This is a personality test.  I emailed a few people and started to guess which number they are.  I read a whole book about this: 

The Enneagram: Palmer, Helen: 9780062506832: Books - Amazon.ca

I emailed my sister S: You're enneagram is a 3.  Take the test to find out.

I emailed my friend Jessica: You're enneagram is a 3.  Take the test to find out.

I emailed my friend Angela: You're enneagram is a 2.  Take the test to find out.

This is a fun test.  These are my guesses.

The Enneagram Personality Test (truity.com)

"Aunt Jemima to rebrand as Pearl Milling Company starting in June"/ "Rice brand Uncle Ben's changing name and logo because of racist connotations"

I'm posting this in honor of February which is Black History month. Here are 2 articles about Black people as the face of a brand:

Feb. 10, 2021  "Aunt Jemima to rebrand as Pearl Milling Company starting in June": This was on CBC:

Quaker Oats said Tuesday that its Aunt Jemima brand pancake mix and syrup will be renamed Pearl Milling Company. Aunt Jemima products will continue to be sold until June, when the packaging will officially change over.

Quaker Oats, a division of PepsiCo Inc., had announced last June that it would retire the Aunt Jemima brand, saying the character's origins are "based on a racial stereotype." The smiling Aunt Jemima logo was inspired by the 19th century "mammy" minstrel character, a Black woman content to serve her white masters. A former slave, Nancy Green, became the first face of the pancake products in 1890.

Quaker Oats bought the Aunt Jemima brand in 1925 and had updated the logo over the years in an effort to remove the negative stereotypes. But in the cultural reckoning that followed last summer's Black Lives Matter protests, Quaker decided to change the name altogether. Other brands, like Uncle Ben's rice, followed.

Quaker said Pearl Milling Company was founded in 1888 in St. Joseph, Missouri, and was the originator of self-rising pancake mix. While the brand will be new to store shelves, the boxes and bottles of syrup will still have the familiar red packaging of Aunt Jemima.

Quaker said it sought input from customers, employees and external cultural experts as it developed the new brand name.

Quaker said it is also donating $1 million to groups that empower Black women and girls as part of the Pearl Milling Company rollout.

Aunt Jemima to rebrand as Pearl Milling Company starting in June | CBC News

Sept. 23, 2020 "Rice brand Uncle Ben's changing name and logo because of racist connotations": This on CBC:

The Uncle Ben's rice brand is getting a new name: Ben's Original.

Parent firm Mars Inc. unveiled the change Wednesday for the 70-year-old brand, the latest company to drop a logo criticized as a racial stereotype. Packaging with the new name will hit stores next year.

"We listened to our associates and our customers and the time is right to make meaningful changes across society," said Fiona Dawson, global president for Mars Food, multisales and global customers. "When you are making these changes, you are not going to please everyone. But it's about doing the right thing, not the easy thing."

Several companies have retired racial imagery from their branding in recent months, a ripple effect from the Black Lives Matters protests over the police killings of George Floyd and other African Americans.

Quaker Oats announced in June that it would drop Aunt Jemima from syrup and pancake packages, responding to criticism that the character's origins were based on the stereotype of the "mammy," a black woman content to serve her white masters.

Quaker said packages without the Aunt Jemima image will start to appear in stores by the end of the year, although the company has not revealed the new logo.

Corporate pressure

The owner of Eskimo Pie has also said it will change its name and marketing of the nearly century-old chocolate-covered ice cream bar. Beyond food brands, the Washington NFL franchise dropped the "Redskins" name and logo amid pressure from sponsors including FedEx, Nike, Pepsi and Bank of America.

Geechie Boy Mill, a family-owned operation in South Carolina that makes locally grown and milled white grits, is also planning a name change. Geechie is a dialect spoken mainly by the descendants of African American slaves who settled on the Ogeechee River in Georgia, according to Merriam-Webster.com.

"We are in the process of changing our name and have developed a whole new brand. We look forward to sharing it with the public," said Greg Johnsman, owner of Geechie Boy Mill.

Mars had announced in the summer that the Uncle Ben's brand would "evolve."

Since the 1940s, the rice boxes have featured a white-haired Black man, sometimes with a bow tie, an image critics say evokes servitude.

Mars has said the face was originally modelled after a Chicago maitre d' named Frank Brown. In a short-lived 2007 marketing campaign, the company elevated Uncle Ben to chairman of a rice company.

Dawson said months of conversations with employees, customer studies and other stakeholders led the company to settle on "Ben's Original." She said the company is still deciding on an image to accompany the new name.

Mars also announced several other initiatives, including a $2-million US investment in culinary scholarships for aspiring Black chefs in partnership with the National Urban League. It also is planning a $2.5-million investment in nutritional and education programs for students in Greenville, Miss., the majority African-American city where the rice brand has been produced for more than 40 years.

Mars said it has set a goal of increasing the ranks of racial minorities in U.S. management positions from 20 per cent to 40 per cent. The company did not give a timeframe for reaching that number.

Rice brand Uncle Ben's changing name and logo because of racist connotations | CBC News

"Without Peele, Key turns to the future"/ "Disney star finds her voice" (Keke Palmer)

I'm posting this in honor of February which is Black History month. This post shows the Black actors Keegan Michael Key and Keke Palmer.

Jul. 17, 2017 "Without Peele, Key turns to the future": Today I found this article by Barry Hertz in the Globe and Mail:

The Smothers brother. Abbott, singular. Laurel, sans Hardy. And, for the more modern-minded, Tim, forever searching for Eric. In the comedy world, it can be difficult for audiences to separate the artist from the artistic duo, and even more challenging for the performers themselves. 

But Keegan-Michael Key seems to have solved the secret to his post pairing success. Although the performer is best known for his collaboration with Jordan Peele on Comedy Central’s incendiary sketch series Key & Peele, he is hard at work creating his own singular career in film, television and the stage since the show ended its run in 2015. 

Part of this new path includes the Netflix series Friends from College, which premieres July 14 and offers a slightly darker side to Key. On the eve of the series’ premiere, Key, 46, spoke with The Globe and Mail about fulfilment, comedy and how not to write a sketch about Donald Trump.

Friends from College is an interesting choice for you, in that it’s an ensemble piece – are you seeking to immerse yourself in a cast, rather than stand out in your own project?

Not necessarily. It just happened to be that this ensemble was the one I wanted to work with. I do what I can to surround myself with people who are better than me or better than me at certain skill sets, so I’m always in a learning environment. 

Here, we have Cobie Smulders, who was on one of the most successful sitcoms of all time. Here’s Fred Savage, a child actor who’s now directing and acting. Here’s Nat Faxon, who started out in sketch comedy and now has an Oscar! To be in the midst of these people is lovely.

It’s interesting that you mention the learning aspect, because looking at your projects so far post-Key & Peele, they’re of such a varied range that you must have picked up quite a bit of knowledge on every type and size of project.

I do look for a challenge in everything. I want every project to scare me a little bit. I’m in what I would consider right now this lovely, exciting transition period in my career. When I was in grad school, I was 90:10 drama to comedy. 

And then, all of a sudden, my professional life had an amazing detour into sketch comedy, and the ratio was flipped, 90:10 comedy to drama. So the past few years of my life, I started nudging back a bit, to 88:12. With the film Don’t Think Twice, it was like 85:15. I’d love to get to this 50:50 place. I look at people such as Bill Murray as a model, or early De Niro, actors who were really trying to inhabit a character whose hearts beat at a different speed than yours, who never think about things that you think about. That’s what I crave as a performer.

Playing Horatio in Hamlet [off-Broadway] can only further balance that ratio.

Absolutely, but the funny thing about Hamlet is it also brings me back to my roots. I mean, some of the greatest days of my life were, I’m in Detroit, driving up to Ontario to go the Stratford Festival to see Shakespeare. It was always what I thought my life would be; it was something I’d craved for so long. So with Hamlet at the Public Theater, I’m coming home and evening out that ratio. I’m getting a two-for-one on this.

You mentioned Nat starting off in sketch and ending up with an Oscar [for his Descendants screenplay] – is that something you’re trying to actively emulate?

I’m not as interested in the writing of it, to be quite honest with you. I’m very interested in, and have always been, an interpretive artist. I do have a mild interest in being a generative artist, but it’s much more in taking others’ work and bringing it to fruition, or enriching it in some way. 

Every now and then, an idea comes into my mind and I want to bring it to life, but those moments are few and far between. Would I like to win an Oscar? If an Oscar was a byproduct of me being on the healthiest artistic journey that I can, then I would certainly welcome an Oscar. I’d also love, say, to be in a movie that Nat wrote. With Nat co-starring. And I’ll produce it! That’s more the framework that excites me.

In terms of working with great writers, what was your experience with Shane Black on his upcoming reboot of The Predator?

The great thing about that was Shane would turn to me sometimes and say, “I want this to be this, but how are we going to do it? Throw a line at me.” I think of him as a singular voice, but there was always a collaborative sense of wanting us, the cast, to bring ourselves to these roles in the framework he set up. He’s exactly the kind of person who I just want to spend time with – people who are better than me.

It seems there are increasing opportunities to do that these days, with the explosion of productions thanks to companies such as, well, Netflix here.

The opportunities abound. But what’s most attractive, artistically, is that we don’t get these homogenized stories. Netflix has been so niche-y, showing us what’s going on in our world. 

There is this strange cultural polarization taking place in our country, and I think that Netflix, you can explore it and one of its shows will make you go, what the heck is this? But then you watch a person’s story that has nothing to do with anything in your life, and suddenly the human connection is built. It’s a wonderful, varied landscape.

Speaking of a culturally polarized country, though: Do you wish that Key & Peele was still around to scrutinize what’s going on in the culture right now?

I do, I do. I think if Jordan and I did that, though, it would manifest itself in a way that you’re not expecting, necessarily. I know that we would sit down with our writers and say, “How do we talk about the state of our country and never ever make a sketch about Donald Trump specifically?”

 I’ll share this sketch idea with you. We never made it, but I might put it in something else. What if you had a guy who was spying on his neighbours across the street? He’s got binoculars, and he’s looking at these people who are brown and clearly Muslim. They’re living their lives, playing with their kids.

 His next-door neighbour, meanwhile is Chechen. He’s also a Muslim, but with blonde hair and blue eyes. So while this guy is watching his neighbours across the street, his other neighbour is building a bomb. But he doesn’t look at him because he’s white and and has blue eyes, so he can’t be bad. 

The way to get the story across most effectively is to get granular. Get the minutiae of how we’re really being affected. Trump is a whole other discussion, but he’s not the problem.

 There’s something going on systemically in our country, and that’s how we elected him. We’re not connecting, and that’s what I would want to reflect on. I do wish we had that opportunity.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/television/keegan-michael-key-charts-a-singular-comedy-course/article35683927/

Feb. 17, 2017 "Disney star finds her voice": Today I found this article by Alicia Rancilio in the Edmonton Journal: 

If you’ve seen images of Keke Palmer on the red carpet in recent years, it’s clear the performer who charmed audiences as a child in Akeelah and the Bee and Nickelodeon’s True Jackson, VP has grown into a sultry star who knows who she is.

“People don’t understand. Nickelodeon, Disney Channel — those are corporations. That is a machine and it’s a well-oiled machine. … Not only when you work with them are you working on their show, but you’re working with their brand. 

So you become that identity in which they want you to be,” the actress said. “There’s rules and regulations and so they pigeonhole you when the reality is, ain’t nobody that PG!”

It’s that kind of real talk Palmer, 23, shares in her new book, I Don’t Belong to You: Quiet the Noise and Find Your Voice. She says one goal was to let readers know that just because she’s in the public eye doesn’t mean she’s perfect.

Q Why did you decide to be so honest in the book?

A I was like, “I don’t want to hold back,” and not even so much because of my story, but more so because I wanted people to know the truth so they could apply it to their lives. 

I didn’t want to gloss anything over. I wanted them to know the truth about me, you know, so they could put themselves in my shoes and realize that just because they know me or recognized me or that I’m a celebrity to them, doesn’t mean that we’re not the same.

Q Who has inspired you?

A Rihanna. She’s a pop icon saying how she feels. We would always see and hear people not really saying how they felt, saying what I feel like they wanted us to hear them say. And I really loved her courage, her courage to say how she felt. 

And I remember writing that to her in her DMs (direct message), I was like, “Rihanna, you inspire me so much with your ability to just have courage in who you are and speak your truth. I want to be like that. I want to be able to say how I feel and I love that you do that.” 

And she wrote me back and I actually say that in the book. She’s like, “Keke, you are a light. Continue to embrace God’s anointing and you will be all that you want to be.”

Q Season 2 of your show Scream Queens recently wrapped airing. What’s next?

A I’m also getting more into production, producing and, hopefully, directing. I wrote my first script two years ago. I’m working to get that done. I’m hoping to also be a conduit for others. Queen Latifah has done so much for me. I want to be in the position of someone like her giving opportunities to other people.

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/ottawa-citizen/20170211/282965334847362

Kadidja Yansane: "Manifest Clients Now: Amplify your Confidence and Get Fully Booked in Any Economy"

 

I'm posting this in honor of February which is Black History month. This profiles the Black business coach Kadidja Yansane.

Oct. 3, 2020 Kadidja Yansane: The free online event series is called "Manifest Clients Now: Amplify your Confidence and Get Fully Booked in Any Economy": 

"3 Queen Secrets to Client Creation"

Kadidja Yansane is the Founder of BloomIntoYou.com & the Creator of the signature program: “The Client Creation Queen: 8 Weeks to Get Clients, Get Paid & Live Your Sacred Calling.”

She has coached & consulted with dozens of Fortune 500 companies like Visa, Charles Schwab, Clorox, & Robert Half & more. She’s been trained by & worked directly with top 7 figure leaders in the coaching industry like Mama Gena & Nicole Daedone.

She helps coaches, consultants, and service-based businesses get paying clients doing what they love.

Get the "Manifest Clients Now VIP Upgrade" here.

"Tapping into Your Business Success Mindset"

Brad Yates is known internationally for his creative use of EFT/Tapping, and has over 900 YouTube videos. He is the author of the best-selling children's book "The Wizard's Wish," a featured expert in the film “The Tapping Solution.” and a presenter at numerous events, including Jack Canfield's Breakthrough to Success.

Get his Free Gift: Tapping into Abundance

https://www.tapwithbrad.com/gifts

"The Secrets to Manifesting Sacred Success"

Barbara Huson (previously known as Barbara Stanny), is the leading authority on women, wealth and power. As a bestselling author, financial therapist, teacher & wealth coach, Barbara has helped millions take charge of their finances and their lives.

Barbara's background in business, her years as a journalist, her Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology, her extensive research, and her personal experience with money give her a unique perspective and makes her the foremost expert on empowering women to live up to their financial and personal potential.

Barbara is the author of 6 books and her 7th book, Rewire for Wealth, will be published Jan. 2021.

Get her FREE e-book, The Rewire Response

@. www.Barbara-Huson.com

"Small Practice, Big Results with the Happy Little Practice Method"

Karin Rozell is an author, marketing coach and creator of the Happy Little Practice Method for moms in coaching. She shows coaching start-ups and experienced pros alike how a small practice, done right creates big enough results without perfect hair and make-up marketing. Learn more about Karin at KarinRozell.com

Free Gift: Free Book: Rockstars of Wellness - https://karin.kartra.com/page/free-ebook

"How to Attract Your Dream Clients"

Lindsay Maloney is a Transformational Business Coach who helps women start and scale their business with simplicity so they can change the world!

My opinion: "Do what feels good for your business. If you would rather write for your blog, than do a video, then write."

Free Gift: Dream Client Class: www.DreamClientClass.com

"The Gift of Chaos and Uncertainty"

Erika Matos is a spiritual teacher, mindset coach, and energy healer focused on women entrepreneurs who feel burned out, confused, and overwhelmed by business. She helps them find inner peace and excitement again so they can continue creating the impact they’ve always wanted without sacrificing faith, health, relationships, or joy.

My opinion: Commit to write everyday.

FREE GIFT: “From Overwhelmed to Badass!” https://view.flodesk.com/pages/5ea0d9532a93b1002788182e

"How to get paid by being dangerously different: The Art of Feminine Marketing"

When Julie Foucht decided she needed to take her coaching business seriously, she hired a high end coach and learned to ‘market like a man.’ She doubled, then tripled her income in less than a year, but felt drained, uninspired and restless. Urged by Spirit, she embraced her essential ‘Womaness’ and birthed a new way, The Art of Feminine Marketing. Today, Julie teaches female coaches, teachers and healers who are frustrated with traditional marketing, how to build 6-figure businesses through the Art of Feminine Marketing. Free Gift: The "The Art of Feminine marketing guide" that we offer as Free gift. Here’s the link: https://juliefoucht.com/afmguide/

"Being Rooted in Your Business During Times of Change"

June Marisa Kaewsith, also known as "Jumakae," is a professional artist, wellness consultant, and storytelling coach. As an artist, she has conducted spoken word workshops and mural projects with various youth groups, and has facilitated theater skits with community members addressing local issues from workers' rights to environmental justice.

My opinion: Focus on the service, and you will get paid.

Free Gift: How to Connect With Your Ancestors: www.yourstorymedicine.com/tedx

"How to Have a Business that Feeds Your Soul and Your Wallet"

Karen McCall is an internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and Founder of Financial Recovery Institute and MoneyMinderOnline. A true pioneer in the field of money coaching she has helped thousands of individuals and entrepreneurs transform their relationship with money through her own work and the money coaches she’s trained.

My opinion: What are you depriving of yourself?

Free Gift: eBook- Is Your Work Working for You

https://www.financialrecovery.com/work-ebook

"The Magic of Befriending Your Fears ~ An Exciting Path to Confidence and Abundance"

Jocelyn now works with visionaries, revolutionaries and change makers all around the world, guiding them to break free from everything that has held them back in the past so they can joyfully offer their highest contribution to our collective future, and welcome in the abundance they need to live their fullest life.

Free Gift: Learning to Fly, a FREE 4-Week Experiential Course that guides you to Leave Fear Behind and Truly Embody the Future You Wish to Create

https://sacred-planet.teachable.com/courses/learning-to-fly

"Principles of Intuitive Pricing"

Kara Stevens is the founder of The Frugal Feminista, a thriving personal finance and personal development company committed to helping women heal their relationship with money and themselves. She wants all women to be happy, wealthy, and brave so they can unapologetically live life on their own terms.

"Social Impact in The Coaching Industry"

Brigette is on a mission to disrupt business as usual in the coaching, consulting and conscious business industries.

She helps diverse entrepreneurs elevate their business model, with a specific focus on lead generation and sales strategies, so that they can increase their income and their impact in total integrity.

She also supports founders and CEO’s to scale their time as leaders and build the culture, processes and teams that will help them grow sustainably and equitably.

Her business model is grounded in equity and inclusion and racial justice.

Free Gift: 6-Hour Masterclass for How to Grow an Online Coaching Business!

https://brigette-iarrusso.mykajabi.com/navigating-business

Free Gift: 5-Day Financial Reset Plan workbook! https://www.thefrugalfeminista.com/community/

"How to Get Visible as a Visionary+Empath"

Ber-Henda is a Visionary+Empath Coach who supports women to embrace their empathic gifts. shift culture, and break barriers through their mission based businesses. She is also pretty formidable with the pen, as she is an award winning poet and is the founder of The Power of Girlhood, a leadership institute for girls.

FREE GIFT: Discover How to Amplify Your Soul’s Gifts as a Visionary+Empath, So You Can Answer your Soul’s Calling and Profit in Your Purpose!

https://www.visionaryempathsunite.com/discover-how-to-amplify-your-souls-gifts-as-a-visionaryempath

"Activating Your Abundance"

Brianna Rose is a kundalini business coach for women entrepreneurs CEO of the Light Leader Collective.. Her global online business has transformed thousands of women's lives teaching them to create impactful online empires, live a lifestyle of financial freedom, and change the world. Through Brianna's success methodologies her clients align with their purpose, write magnetic content that captures the hearts of their soulmate clients, unlock their energy systems to activate their intuition, and exponentially grow their businesses to 6 figures (and beyond!). Her work has been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, LearnVest, and more.

Free Gift: Align With Abundance - 5 SACRED STEPS TO ALIGN YOUR ENERGY

AND TAP INTO FINANCIAL FLOW. https://www.iambriannarose.com/abundance-guide/

"How To Manifest More Income, Dream Clients and Aligned Opportunities Into Your Business in 2020"

Jerica Charisma Glasper is a Life + Business Manifestation Mentor and Founder of Manifest Your YES™ Coaching.

She mentors conscious women entrepreneurs and personal development seekers to work with the law of assumption and the power of their imagination to become master manifestors.

Through her signature 3-step Manifest Your YES™ Method, she helps her clients identify and uproot deep unconscious patterns, beliefs and emotions that are keeping them stuck and playing small in their personal, business and financial life.

Through transformational 10 minute techniques, her clients go beyond current limiting identities and shift into the ideal version of themselves in all areas to manifest the exceptional life and business of their dreams!

Free Gift: www.manifesting101masterclass.com (with coupon code MCN)

"Overcome Your Subconscious Money Blocks"

Erin Newman is a Money Mindset Mentor, speaker, writer, and coach for entrepreneurs. She helps women business owners to break through doubts and blocks and finally create the income they want in their businesses...in a way that feels aligned and authentic. Erin utilizes ancient healing modalities and EFT/Tapping in order to facilitate huge breakthroughs for her clients. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her two children, one husband, and dog.

FREE GIFT: Remove Subconscious Blocks to Next Level Income: https://www.subscribepage.com/removesubconsciousmoneyblocks

“Manifesting Made Easy”

Jen Mazer is the “Queen of Manifestation.” She’s always been able to dream up outrageous adventures and actually live them out—from rubbing elbows at a small private cocktail party hosted by Martin Scorsese, to living rent-free in the East Village of Manhattan for 10 years, to paying off over $38,000 of debt in less than a year, having her artwork published in the New York Times, traveling the world, meeting the man of her dreams (a successful rock star), giving birth at home to a beautiful 8 year old daughter, with a little boy on the way.

Jen is a sought-after transformational speaker and coach. She teaches people how to manifest their biggest dreams while making an impact on the world. She is known for her signature Manifestation Masters Program and Private Success Coaching.

Free Gift: Manifestation Meditation

https://www.queenofmanifestation.com/freegift/

"How to Grow A Thriving Profitable Business With Soul"

Jennifer Covington helps soul-centered, mission-led, purpose-driven entrepreneurs build sustainable, profitable businesses with heart, integrity, authenticity and soul. Her genius lies in her ability to help you, turn your passion into profit so you can make the positive impact you were made to make in the world.

Learn more: Launch Your Soul-Centered Business Online: http://jennifercovington.com/freebie

Dec. 22, 2020: Here are my personal notes:

Lyndsey Maloney: Do what feels good for you and your business.

Ex. If you would rather write for your blog, then film a video, then write.

Erika Matos: Commit to writing something everyday.

June Kaeswith: Focus on the service and you will get paid.

Karen McCall: Where are you depriving yourself?

Jocelyn Mercado: Who am I really?