Hey Folks,
I'm getting a late start today. I just woke up!!!! last night after the show we all went to "Old Chicago" and to Rochelle's house to celebrate Marie's 23rd Birthday. It was a great time.
Yesterday after I posted my last blog things go really interesting. As "The Slaves" were being miked we got on the conversation of Black Television...oh shit right? Josh who happens to be one of my roommates and a slave was saying how he doesn't watch shows like that or even entertain the thought of watching them for pleasure. In my opinion if that's how the man feels then so be it. He grew up a lot different then most of the slaves in the cast. He is a black jew...which you rarely come across these days. So it was very understandable to me why he felt this way. The conversation continued on Safiya was saying how he should watch some of the late black sitcoms like "Sanford and Son" and "Julia" and he immediately responded by saying he would defintely not watch something like that or that old. I had to catch myself for a minute and because my heart stopped right then and there. At that moment I was furious inside. I kept my composure and while B.J. the sound guy was miking me I told Josh how he offended me in the the calmest manner.
I said "Josh, I respect your opinions and your option not to watch certain things on T.V. but you have offened me by saying you won't watch even the late black sitcoms. I don't care how you feel about what I'm about to tell you but let me tell you that those people paved a way for us. Diane Carrol was the FIRST black woman to have her own sitcom where she played a positive black SINGLE mother whose husband had died, and she was a nurse! I'm not telling you to check this stuff out but if it wasn't for them we be dressing up like slaves all the time!!! Now I think you are being disrespectful as a actor. What if you have to play one of those roles someday? You need to check out some of those actors and be respectful!" I was so calm about it all. Both rooms were silent and even B.J. who is white was like "DAMN that was well said and you said it so nice and easy. Josh was silent the rest of the time.
I think what struck me was how can a black actor be so turned off by his own culture but yet listen to hardcore rap and know all the lyrics....something just ain't right about that. Like I told him "I don't think all black T.V. shows are great but you can't judge them until you actually see them and even then you got to pay respect because guess what? They are working actors!" Beside my favorite black sitcom is "The Boondocks" and that's a cartoon :) After that everything went back to normal and we moved forward.
The show ran well and the audience last night was great. We partied and the world went back to being in perfect harmony. Later that night I thought about how calm I was about that situation and I was amazed at how calm I was about it all. I've come a long way from just snapping at people. I owe everything to last summer and really coming into my own...finally. I sometimes regret some past decisions that I made whether it dealt with people or other things but last night I really realized that I'm human and I make mistakes too. I'm not going to be "HAPPY TYREE" all the time. I've got to take up for myself at time and things that I believe in even if everybody doesn't agree with me...that's called growing up! You can't grow as a person if you don't make mistakes so you can learn.
There are times I feel like people hold a lot of things against me..but I'm NOT Superman! I apologize if you thought that. I'm also not going to try and be him either. As for becoming an adult I feel that now if you have a problem with me you would come to me about it and not run to someone else and I have to hear from so and so. It's all a part of life I have gathered.
Well here's to making more mistakes and growing from them. I'm on my way to achieving great things and becoming so much better than before!
PEACE ;)
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