Mother Tuskegee

One of my closest college friends, Cinnamon (yes, that's her real name, no, she's not a stripper and she's more of a chocolate than cinnamon) passed through Tuskegee on her way to Atlanta for her spring break last week. As I saw her posts on Facebook about how much campus has changed and how she felt passing through her old stomping grounds, I felt a little twinge in my heart. She gave me the idea of blogging about what Mother Tuskegee means to me and what a great idea that was!
You see, I didn't originally plan to attend Tuskegee. I wanted to go to Spelman (window air conditioning units and not enough majors); Paul Quinn (colors were purple and gold but it looked more like a high school in the hood), Howard (folks said it was too far away and hell no to the cost-even though it was a few thousand less than Skegee) and THEN Skegee. But after visiting Skegee during high school visitation day during my senior year in high school, I realized it was the place for me. I am a big history buff; I love cities like D.C., Atlanta and New York because they have so many historical sites to visit. To visit the home where Booker T. Washington lived gave me such a sense of pride. It wasn't a replica, but the real thing! I had only seen it in books but now I was standing where this former slave lived and built a life for himself, his family and for a city. What an accomplishment that is! The George Washington Carver museum was amazing. He made so many things from peanuts!
I saw so much Black love on campus that I knew this was the place for me. I came back to Abraham Lincoln High School with a Skegee t-shirt and a sense of pride that I was accepted to attend a university that only others could dream of. The day my caravan of cars (2 of them filled to the brim with stuff that I could barely fit into my room; half of it had to be taken back) pulled up to Olivia Davidson Hall on the campus of Tuskegee University, I knew that I would make friends forever, though I needed a little convincing after looking at the dorm room! I cried when my folks left me so hard that I ran after the car and fell over the speed bump! My dorm mates Chasity and Paulette laughed at me for weeks and still won't let me forget that day! But after I got over my bruised knees and ego, I dusted myself off, walked up to my room, and made some friends. What else was a skinny girl from little ole Port Arthur, Texas to do? I popped in my screw tape and got to enjoying my time in college!
For the next two years, I met friends from Atlanta, D.C., California, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Orleans and every other place you could think. These friends are more like my siblings and I'm still close with many of them for almost 14 years. However, my time at Tuskegee was short. My father was diagnosed with chronic diabetes during my sophomore year and couldn't travel very far. As I didn't have a car, I had to move closer to home. Though it hurt me terribly, I transferred to Southern University, where the majority of my family attended, and I later graduated 2 years later; right on time with my class.
Each year, I attend homecoming with my friends and it's as if I never left. Yes, the campus has changed. In fact, it has evolved in a mighty way. Each year, I see something different that we didn't have as 18-year-old kids, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
My mother asked me the other day which college did I enjoy most and I honestly have to say Tuskegee because this is where I began. This is where I laid my roots. Yes, I have love for Southern because it's my alma mater and it's where I spent every summer with my family; it's sort of a tradition. But Mother Tuskegee is and will always be #1 in my heart. When I would drive from UGA home, I would get excited to pass the highway marker that said "Tuskegee University: National Landmark." And even now, almost 14 years after I started my college career, my heart still pumps a little harder when I hear the words, "Tuskegee, the pride of the swift growing south."
My years at Tuskegee made me the person I am today. The people I met at Tuskegee have helped to make my life a little brighter. The experiences I had at Tuskegee helped to shape my life and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. When I hear people question the importance of HBCU's, I tell them, you must have never been to Tuskegee. That thought would have never crossed your mind.
So I dedicate this blog to my friends from Skegee. There are too many to name, but know that I love you dearly and i know that my life wouldn't be the same had I not met you. And big thanks to Booker T. Washington for making his vision of education for all a reality.

Gluttony is a sin

I always look forward to the fair. Even as a naturally thin person, I look forward to indulging in Southern delecicies such as fried oreos, fried cheese, shrimp and pork on a stick and a funnel cake. Don't forget the candy apples and cotton candy! This is a cavity's dream! If you have ever been to a fair or carnival, you know what I'm talking about. Just walking through the fair to the smells of onions and bell peppers on the grill, kettle corn and crawfish pistolettes makes me all giddy inside.

I remember watching an episode of "Bizarre Eats" and the host, Andrew Zimmerman, went to the Texas state fair in Dallas. There, he ate fried butter and fried coke (I know! google it!) and had his first taste of alligator; something we take for granted in my neck of the woods. It was then and there that I realized what a hot commodity food is. Not just for nourishment; I mean truly LOVING food to the point where it can completely disfigure your body. Case in point. I know many will say that just because I'm thin I don't know anything about the trials and tribulations of being a larger person and you're right. However, we both have the same dilemma: we love food! I can't help being thin and depending on what medication you're on, you may not be able to help being a little on the large side. And contrary to popular belief, there is no "big-boned" gene. Since we're adults, we are both able to do whatever it is we want to do, but when it spills over into our children, I have a problem with that. I can't tell you how many obese children I saw at the fair, eating more in an hour than I could in one sitting. You're killing them before they've even had a chance to live! It was a muffin top smorgasbord! Parents and children walking hand in hand towards gluttony glory and here I am trying to stuff this last piece of fried oreo down my throat without throwing up. (I'm sorry, but we are in a recession and I refused to throw away $4 worth of "food.")

Seeing that brought me back to the term "acceptance." Our culture accepts a lot of things that aren't deemed "normal." We accept Charlie Sheen and all his antics. (But not really since he bombed in Detroit this past weekend.) We accept an oversexualized Hollywood scene. We accept that the Kardashians actually have a meaningful career and actually tune in for that foolishness every Sunday! And we accept overfeeding our children. We often believe there are no consequences, but there are. I remember reading that Sarah Palin (I'm so sorry for doing this to my readers, but I must talk about her. Sigh.) was dissing our FLOTUS once again and this time it was about Mrs. Obama's healthy eating campaign. Now, what person in their right mind would be against healthy eating, especially with children, I'll never know. But I digress. Palin was speaking to a group of uniformed Americans and encouraged them to feed their children all the sweets and unhealthy things they wanted because "the government should not control what and how you feed your children." Oh, but I beg to differ. You see, the choices we make today WILL effect us tomorrow. The more unhealthy foods your children (and you too) eat now, the more health problems you'll encounter later. Where do you think diabetes, cancer, cholesterol and heart disease problems come from? The tooth fairy? No! We do that when we eat all those fatty foods everyday of the week. Our foods are pumped with hormones that make our children bigger than they should be, on top of the fact that they don't eat any fresh fruits or veggies. Those medicines that they'll eventually have to take cost money. And if they are getting them through the government it is costing the tax payers. (That would be you my dear readers.) I know it's cute to see a "chunky monkey" (In the words of Chelsea Handler) baby. I love them too! But when they make it on episode of Maury Povich because they are too big, there's a problem. (You know you've seen the "Fat Baby" episode when the kids are 1 and 2 and can only wear adult diapers and a wife beater. Sad.) That mystical "baby fat" has to fall off before they reach puberty.

Now, I'm not saying to become a vegan or vegetarian, because trust, I'm not. But I do think that we have to start thinking rationally about what we are putting into our bodies. With the soon-to-be budget cuts in education, many districts are being forced to cut physical education and with that, our children's only time to be physically active. I couldn't imagine being in school and not having my time on the playground, but that may soon be a reality for our kids. Instead of overindulging them with everything sweet and greasy, give them an alternative. Now, I know that healthier foods can be more expensive, but I've seen way too many "parents" (I'm using that term very lightly) that are dressed to the 9's and their kids are looking less than stellar. I'm a firm believer that people spend their money on what they want. Simple and plain.

Folks, we have to do better. I'm not saying that thin is in and fat is wack. Not at all. Quite the opposite. Folks around the world are now embracing what Black women have had for years; curves. Hell, I've been trying to get curves for all of my 32 years on Earth! But what I am saying is that whatever it is that you are overindulging on (food, shopping, gambling, sex (Larry Holmes), goddesses (Charlie Sheen) or reality TV) you may want to reconsider, especially when those indulgences can potentially hurt you, your seed and me (if I'm paying for it with my taxes.)