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.)

Thank You For Being a Friend

Wow! I'm officially one year older. A grand ole age of 32. Yesterday went a lot better than I expected. I truly feel loved. For every person that called, text, emailed, facebooked, tweeted or told me "Happy Birthday" in person, I thank you from the bottom of my heart because you didn't have to do it. I don't take birthdays lightly as there are so many people that are 6 feet under that will never get a chance to celebrate their birthday on this side of life.

What made this birthday even more so special was that 32 years ago, my birth mother made the (what I deemed to be) the difficult decision to give me up for adoption. Just a little background info, my birth mother was a 22-year-old graduate student from an affluent family and my father was a 24-year-old carpenter. She knew that she couldn't take care of me, so her parents encouraged her to make the decision to give me up for adoption. I couldn't imagine what it feels like to carry someone inside of you for 9-10 months, give birth to them, then right after the baby takes its first breath, they are whisked away from you so that you won't become attached and change your mind. I often wonder how that made her feel. I've seen a few episodes of "16 & Pregnant" that showed this very scenario and I was crying like a baby. I was at the Edna Gladney Foster Home for a very short time, then I stayed with my foster parents, who happend to be white, until my parents, Madelyn and Travis, were able to get me at 2 months. Ironically, my momma, Madelyn, was 32 years old when they became my parents. And thus, I became Kristyn Eunecia Hunt on that day in May of 1979.

I often think about how my life would be if I were still with my biological parents. Would I have had a great life like the one I have now or would I have been brought up in a life of struggle? What about brothers and sisters? Extended family? I wonder if they think about me each year as my birthday passes or have they forgotten that I even existed? I was raised as any only child, so I don't think I really miss having siblings because my friends have become my family. But I do wonder if I've ever passed my biological family during my many travels around the U.S. and if I should take the initiative to try and locate my birth mother once again. I'm still not 100% sure of what I'm going to do but what I do know is that I can no longer be angry at her for her decision because had she not made that decision, I wouldn't be here today. I wouldn't have been afforded these wonderful opportunities and have met these great people that have impacted my life both positively and negatively. So if she is out there, I'd like to tell her thank you for making the decision to see her pregnancy through to the end and having the courage to let me go so that I could grow to be a better person. Hopefully one day I'll get the chance to tell her just that face-to-face.

Lessons I've Learned

I'm turning 32 tomorrow. Before I start, let me first say "Thank God" because I could easily be 6 feet under, pushing daisies. But the older I get, I realize that I'll be eventually getting to that place where I'll have more behind me then in front of me and to be honest with you, it scares me. It scares me because I realize how much of my life I have lived. I mean, I think I'm pretty well off for an almost 32 year old in less than 24 hours, but I want more. Not so much in the greedy way, though all of us could do with more cash, but more so more depth to my life. Do you know what I mean? I've been working more than one job since I began working professionally almost 7 years ago and it seems as if that's all I do. Again, I'm not complaining but because I work so much, I often feel as if I'm missing out on something. I wonder if I wasn't working so much would I have time to date? But the reality of it all is that the pickings are slim and I work to keep myself from getting bored. Is that an oxymoron? But as I work myself into a frenzy, I'm not only hurting myself health wise (I've been sick at least twice this year and it's only March) but I often think I'm hurting myself personally because I'm not really living, but existing. Sure, I travel. An occasional trip out of town coupled with the monthly visits to Houston but I want MORE!! I desire more living in my life. I enjoy spending time with my friends, but let's face it, how many single friends will I have at the age of 32? Most of them are married, shacking, have kids, and don't really have time for the girl's trips, which is totally understandable. I don't knock their hustle at all. But before I get left behind (another post for another day) I think I better start reevaluating what's important in my life. I know why I have to grind so hard but I think I'm going to have to find another way to channel my energy. I want to live to see another 32 years and at this pace, it likely, but it's going to be tough.

Guess Who's Bizzack

Hello world! I am officially back on the blog. I've been gone for almost a year. Time has gotten away from me. It's amazing how busy one can get when you're doing too much. But thanks to my bestie of almost 14 years, Paulette bka Gummi, I realized that I have to make time to express my thoughts in a creative manner, so here I am! I vow to never take this long to update my blog. So here we go!!!!

One Man, One Vision

(My earlier post spoke on the history of UNCF and the Tuskegee University president, Dr. Frederick D. Patterson, that conceived of the idea. I decided to post the letter who wrote below to show that there is no room for mediocrity. He lived in a time when the technology we take for granted today was never dreamt of. Never allow the conveniences of today prevent you from working as hard as you could for a good cause. Enjoy!)

(Reprinted courtesy The Pittsburgh Courier)
(Reprint from Southern Viewpoint By Dr. F.D. Patterson Pittsburgh Courier Saturday, January 30, 1943)

Would It Not Be Wise For Some Negro Schools To Make Joint Appeal To Public For Funds?

One of the most sever catastrophies of the present war, so far as the American people are concerned, is what is happening to our private colleges throughout the length and breadth of our nation today. They are receiving a double assault- that which comes from the loss of the majority of the male student population and that which comes through inability to receive adequate support through the taxing program now necessary to fight this war and to insure the broad social programs upon which this nation has engaged for the past seven or eight years.

If this is true of private colleges in general where it may be said that these colleges have a definite constituency upon which upon which they place a financial claim, the situation is trebly more grave with the Negro colleges of a private nature which heretofore have relied largely on gifts from substantial members of the white race for their support and maintenance. There is occasion therefore for serious alarm as to what may happen to such institutions as Atlanta, Fisk, Dillard, Morehouse, Hampton and Tuskegee to say nothing of a large number of smaller church schools.

Is Public Interested?

The handwriting is on the wall so far as substantial northern support is concerned. The question remains as to whether or not these institutions have sufficiently impressed their worth on the general public and there has been sufficient growth in the public conscience to permit the quality of widespread, if small, individual generosity that is necessary to offset the substantial gifts of the past.

The general public probably does not realize that most of the substantial progress for human betterment has come through the aegis of private and charitable institutions. In the case of education the freedom to experiment and blaze new trails was a pioneering service responsible for much of the progress we know in this field today. Even now, this service is needed because of the more or less fixed pattern which governs the educational programs of most publicly supported educational institutions. In not a few instances the political pot boils s incessantly that anything beyond the merest traditional routine is out of the question.

Unified Appeals

Private colleges for Negroes have carried the brunt of our educational effort for the better part of this experience. They yet educate to the extent of their means nearly 50% of those who receive college training. They have provided the bulk of the educational leadership administering to colleges both public and private. They, too, have pioneered in areas, until recently, hardly possible in few if any state supported institutions.
These Negro institutions may well take a cure from the general program of organization which seems to involve most charitable efforts today. Various and sundry drives are being unified with a reduction in overhead for publicity and in behalf of a more purposeful and pointed approach to the giving public. The idea may not be new but it seems most propitious at this time that the several institutions which they are spending for campaign and publicity and that they make a unified appeal to national conscience.

How to Split Gifts

The first question which naturally arises is who will get how much of the funds collected. The only reasonable way to handle this would be to work out certain range limits of individual budgets and then see that the given percentage of a dollar that went to any institution was in terms of this range in its ratio to the whole. If there is included approximately ten institutions this should not be a too difficult mathematical problem. A given institutional range could be determined for a base period similar to that used in the cotton allotment program so as to be sure that a fair estimate of the operating budget is taken.

Negroes Should Start

Such a campaign might well begin with Negro people of America. There are few of us who have any sort of employment who haven’t enough intelligence and interest, I am sure, to appreciate the importance of a such a program to these institutions of higher learning. The fact that all types of education would be involved would overcome the objections which might result if a single institution were to make an appeal. In addition to this there would be the savory feeling that this contribution would be made so that a large number of individuals would benefit regardless of their educational choice.

It is also possible that by starting with the Negro people in a campaign of this kind each individual institution could continue to appeal to the donors and special friends it had developed over a period of years. The nominal contribution of one dollar per person could be sought over this wider range without any important conflict. At least during these critical times, a unified financial campaign for several Negro colleges seems to be an idea worth toying with.

(uncf.org)

"I am ready to act, if I can find brave men to help me." - Dr. Carter G. Woodson

UNCF History

(The United Negro College Fund is so important to our communities because it has allowed the most African-American students to attend HBCU's that otherwise, would have never had a chance to go. We must continue to support the UNCF and its endeavors, to ensure that the ideals and principles of these institutions never leaves our memories. Enjoy!)

A Look at UNCF History

In 1943, Dr. Frederick D. Patterson, president of what is now Tuskegee University, urged his fellow black college presidents to raise money collectively through an "appeal to the national conscience." The next year, on April 25, 1944, Dr. Patterson, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune and others incorporated the United Negro College Fund with 27 member colleges. Early supporters of the UNCF included President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. That first effort raised $760,000, a sum that would be worth approximately $8.6 million today.

Over the years, the idea and mission of UNCF have attracted hundreds of thousands, who through their gifts and their goodwill have helped us to keep our students focused on achieving their college degrees. Numbered among our friends was Sen. John F. Kennedy, who later became president of the United States. In 1959, he donated the proceeds from his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Profiles in Courage, to UNCF.

In 1972, Forest Long, an executive at Young and Rubicam, the renowned ad agency, created the UNCF tagline "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." He explained that it represented a "plea to everybody to reject the prejudices of the past and consider the inner person." The tagline has become one of the most recognized slogans in advertising history.

Buoyed by the whole-hearted support of individuals, foundations, organizations, groups and corporations who have generously volunteered their time and donated their resources, our schools have achieved inordinate successes. Graduates of UNCF schools have made lasting contributions to our nation by building successful careers, supporting their families and changing their neighborhoods. They now enjoy freedom and independence that only a great education can provide.

(uncf.org)

"Our most widely known scholars have been trained in universities outside of the South." - Dr. Carter G. Woodson