VOTE ALVIN BROWN for Jacksonville’s Mayor

Posted by Penny Dickerson on January 26, 2014 in Blog, Creative Writing, Editorial, Journalism, Penny Posts

“Jacksonville Florida may elect its first black mayor”

http://www.bet.com/news/politics/2011/03/30/jacksonville-florida-may-elect-its-first-black-mayor.html

“Should majority black cities have a black mayor?”

http://thefreshxpress.com/2009/09/should-majority-black-cities-have-a-black-mayor/

Alvin Brown sure is a good looking guy. Clean shaven with trusting eyes. Pearly white teeth and flawless skin showing no sign of wrinkle or stress from campaign rigors or life’s daily regime. Pinstripe dapper and politically appropriate in a conservative red tie resting flat on a pinpoint collar.

I’m voting for him. I want a pretty mayor:

pretty sharp, pretty experienced, pretty astute, and pretty qualified.

Overlooking the advantageous apparent that his captivating head shot perfectly matches my blog’s color scheme, I want it to be known that I really like Alvin Brown. Politicians generally suffer the unfortunate connotation of being sleazy liars with great smiles. The public often perceives them as “promise peddlers” who peddle in reverse and back out of rooms with crossed fingers once elected. Not this guy. He’s a stand up.

How do I know? What makes me so sure? I’ve met him.

Sure, many others have met him as well, but my circumstances were different. I was one of 30+ “Brown-Believers” hired to canvass for Alvin Brown prior to his making the upcoming run-off election on May 17th against a conservative candidate destined to help our governor turn Florida into a coastal, third world country. Of course you’re thinking that a democratic canvasser would have nothing but glowing remarks for their candidate of choice, but the fact of the matter is that I knocked on doors for three days, got pneumonia, and never returned to his Bay street campaign office. My loyalty was solid and I absolutely early voted, but on that first day, I pressed Alvin Brown to give me good reason why I should hit the streets, knock, and explain to “everyday people” WHY he is The People’s Politician.

Somehow, my big mouth and that moment has gone down in campaign-circle infamy as “The day that woman confronted Alvin.” Actually, he pissed me off that day. I found him defensive, but in retrospect and through extended interaction, I learned: he simply marches to the beat of his own drum, cowers to no one, and guess what folks? Alvin Brown’s got mad moxie.

I remember when he walked in the room with two precocious sons and a stunning wife in tow, his charisma was apparent. I didn’t necessarily hear “Hail to the chief” in my head, but I absolutely remember hearing a Sly and The Family Stone throw-back, “Everyday People.” If you’re not familiar with those lyrics, allow me to digress:

Sometimes I’m right and I can be wrong
My own beliefs are in my song
The butcher, the banker, the drummer and then
Makes no difference what group I’m in
I am everyday people, yeah yeah
There is a blue one who can’t accept the green one
For living with a fat one trying to be a skinny one
And different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo-bee
Oh sha sha – we got to live together
I am no better and neither are you
We are the same whatever we do
You love me you hate me you know me and then
You can’t figure out the bag l’m in
I am everyday people, yeah yeah
There is a long hair that doesn’t like the short hair
For bein’ such a rich one that will not help the poor one
And different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo-bee
Oh sha sha-we got to live together
There is a yellow one that won’t accept the black one
That won’t accept the red one that won’t accept the white one
And different strokes for different folks

Alvin Brown did not profess on that day to always be right, and has proven that he’s willing to admit if he’s wrong. The occasion just hasn’t presented itself. He’s very prepared, highly articulate, and darn smart. Note the difference: not slick, SMART. He is a man of faith and yes…his beliefs are indeed in this song. He’s been a butcher (for Winn-Dixie) while pursuing a Jacksonville University degree, and as for his banking, he’s a former White House budget manager whosuccessfully served as senior advisor to President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore, served as former advisor to late Secretary of Defense Ron Brown and HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo, and managed a $100 million disaster recovery initiative at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, plus he administered a $4 billion White House initiative to create jobs, PLUS he held a co-chair position for a White House task force to help mayors throughout the 50 states access and improve their local communities.

Rather impressive for an every day guy from a less than extraordinary southern city who has the audacity to leave town, garner the necessary credentials & experience, and bring it all back home to run for leader of the land.

Jacksonville needs a mayor who is color blind, folk friendly, vision savvy, and whose willing to sing a unified song. “We got to live together.” One City. One Vision.

I marvel that we eagerly conduct national searches for school superintendents, transportation CFO’s, ushered in a west coast maven to lead MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art), and have welcomed an “outsider” to run our airport, but when it comes to a mayoral candidate with superior national qualify, we cry foul. Why?

It’s not about Brown being black. It’s not about a black being what Jacksonville needs to boost it’s presence as another metropolis boasting a “first.” It’s about transforming a city that has been racially stratified for too many decades, developing downtown into a respectable district, creating employment opportunities, and establishing a community whose education system is comparable to national standards and offers equitable education to every child willing to learn.

We are on the cusp of finally electing a down-to-earth mayor who is up-to-par and willing to lead without lies.

Alvin Brown is not the new black,

he’s the people’s politician and a more than qualified man longing to energize everyday people who have become divisive and emotionally blue. If we elect him mayor, I know he can keep our city budget out the red. I guess in the end, it really is a race about color.

Penny Dickerson 2011

Tags: Community, Politics Permalink

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The Mark of ZORA! (2014)

Posted by Penny Dickerson on January 21, 2014 in Arts, Blog, Community, Florida Times-Union, Journalism, Special Events, ZORA! Festival

The Florida Times-Union ~ Jacksonville.com

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2014-01-21/story/festival-celebrates-talents-eatonville-author-zora-neale-hurston

Festival celebrates talents of Eatonville author Zora Neale Hurston

By Penny Dickerson Tue, Jan 21, 2014 @ 12:24 am | updated Tue, Jan 21, 2014 @ 12:32 am

Zora Neale Hurston is perhaps best known for her 1937 book, “Their Eyes Were Watching God.”

The mark of Zora Neale Hurston left an indelible impression on a global fan base.

And for a quarter of a century, Hurston’s Eatonville hometown has hosted an annual multi-day, multi-disciplinary festival to celebrate her literary legacy. This year’s event Jan. 25 through Feb. 2 commemorates a silver anniversary-themed: “Celebrating Our Milestone: 25 years of Zora! Festivals.”

The novelist, folklorist and anthropologist lived in Jacksonville in the 1920s and returned a number of times until her death in 1960. She is perhaps best known for her 1937 book, “Their Eyes Were Watching God” and is said to have influenced such writers as Alice Walker, Toni Morrison and Ralph Ellison.

Mildred Alene Murrell, a 95-year-old Jacksonville resident, wrote the book, “Zora Neale Hurston: In and Around Jacksonville, Florida in the 1920’s, 1930’s and 1940’s.”

“Well, Zora was like a genius,” Murrell said at a Ritz Theatre book signing last year. “She was talented in so many areas. She could sing. She could dance. She could do poetry. She could write. Her storytelling was fabulous, because she could make up such funny stories, especially when she was talking to the little ones.”

Congresswoman Corrine Brown traditionally holds an annual town hall meeting at the festival, but for the anniversary celebration this year, she plans to host international dignitaries to illuminate Hurston’s research abroad as a distinguished Guggenheim Fellow.

Another highlight will be Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, who will headline an outdoor performance at 3 p.m. Feb 1.

The festival also includes workshops and discussions, a Bethune-Cookman University concert chorale, book fairs, a brunch and party, family day, garden tours, the silver anniversary gala and outdoor festival of the arts, among other events. Some events have a nominal charge, others are free.

Hurston’s legacy also extends to Jacksonville’s Clara White Mission.

“Eartha M.M. White and Zora were close friends during an era difficult for Negro women with few rights,” said Clara White CEO and president, JuCoby Pittman.

“It’s important to expose others to how far we’ve all come with the help of others.”

Tags: African American Festivals, Arts, Community, Eatonville, Education, Humanities, Performing Arts, Politics, The Black Family, Women's Literature, Zora Neal Hurston Permalink

Pink, Green, and ZORA!

Posted by Penny Dickerson on January 15, 2014 in Arts, Bold and Bodacious Blogs, Creative Writing, Penny Posts

AKA Shield Today is “Founder’s Day” for: Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Incorporated.

On January 15, 1908, a group of 20 collegiate women at Howard University convened to establish a service organization that has since grown into a global standard with the motto: “Service to all mankind.”

On May 2, 1987, I pledged the sorority at Temple University (Delta Mu Chapter).

Along with eight other women who have since become my “Sorors,” – a greek word for “Sister – we entered a world of “pink and green everything” and became part of a community of women who serve on an array of different levels and for many reasons as well.

I’ve since grown older and come to realize that sisterhood is a concept that extends far beyond my sorority affiliation. I have two sisters by birth whom I love and over one million sorority sisters world-wide – all of whom I’ll clearly never meet. I’ll always be an AKA, but at this juncture in life, I am constantly examining relationships with everyone: sorority sisters, women, men and relatives. EVERYONE.

The intersect and discovery process has been amazing!

There are women who are my friends and by chance – they just so happen to also be sorority members – and there are others who pledged a different organization or no sorority at all: they, too, are some of my dearest friends. (I pinky swear).

Two pastel colors are not what inspire me to be a kind and decent humanitarian; however, a shield, sisterhood, and sacred rituals did indeed make me a member of a prestigious organization whose community contributions for over a century are simply phenomenal. I will eternally acknowledge and respect Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

More important, I am ever conscious of the organization’s purpose as it aligns with my own as a woman whose life is one of literary pursuit with whimsy and words that that I seek to intermingle.

It’s a beautiful thing when you can pursue your passion with “folks” who embrace the same. Having said that, I wanted to celebrate this “106th Founders Day” with a true representation of where my life is on this very day and how THAT intersects with being a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

I also wanted to avoid the somewhat “gimmicky” online “clip art” representations available that may be cute in “pink and green” design, but at the end of the day, the principles of our organization are represented by a single shield which is both the first and last image I used in this post. So, all my social media and Facebook people know that I have been pushing the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts & Humanities HARD.

My indulgence has almost been as though I was perhaps the sole birth-right of the renowned “Novelist, Folklorist, and Anthropologist.”

I am not;

Zora Neale Hurston died childless.

I am Ethel’s daughter, but covet undeniable” Zora Zeal.”

Hurston is also not a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, but ironically, some of the world’s most prolific African-American poets, actresses, writers, (and just fierce women) are Alpha Kappa Alpha women who long-life support ZORA!

They will continue that legacy this year with the 25th Anniversary Celebration the 25th Anniversary Celebration January 25 – February 2, 2014.

Click link for festival information = www.zorafestival.org

I’ve attended and provided news coverage for the previous, three consecutive years and this year was sub-contracted by the public relations company promoting ZORA! Festival to assist with editorial. So, on this Founder’s Day, I would be remiss to dismiss one commemoration over the other. Consistent with the creative mind I am, I’ve found a way to merge the best of both worlds on this historic day to honor black women of artistic esteem who also support ZORA! and just happen to be my sorors as well ~

SOROR SONIA SANCHEZ

On Wednesday, January 29, 2014, Soror Sonia Sanchez will host the ” ‘Round ‘Bout Midnight Series: Spoken Word” event at the Zora Festival. Celebrating the arts and humanities is the foremost inclusion of the multi-day, multi-disciplinary event.

Sanchez has been a long term contributor of time and talent to ZORA! Festival over the years as noted in the 2008 banner to the left. She will additionally be “honored” at the Saturday, February 1st Gala.

She is deserving, worthy, and due.

More than a Soror and woman of word whom I deeply admire, Sanchez was also professor extraordinaire at my alma mater, Temple University, where I minored in African-American studies.

If you didn’t know about the 8th floor of Gladfelter Hall and the Department of African-American Studies at Temple University, than you just weren’t “in the know.”

It’s an honor to be able to have an opportunity to be up close and personal with her again.

SOROR LYNN WHITFIELD

Soror Whitfield is a talent that surpasses excellence and she is most widely recognized for her Emmy Award Winning performances in “The Josephine Baker Story” and “Eve’s Bayou.” Whitfield will bring her phenomenal talent to the Eatonville stages for ZORA! Festivals 25th Anniversary.

“An Evening with Zora,” featuring Lynn Whitfield and Avery Brooks

Artistic Director Elizabeth Van Dyke who received an AUDELCO award for her portrayal of Zora Neale Hurston, has developed the evening’s format.

They will star in dramatic readings entitled this will take place at the Auditorium at the UCF Rosen Center of Hospitality Management on Friday, January 31 at 8:00 p.m.

I am so proud to be associated in both a sisterhood and “love for Zora” capacity with Whitfield whom I met at ZORA! Festival 2011. She is an absolutely charming and friendly woman void of any pretense.

The latter is a stigma inaccurately applied to all women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. However, women of stature who have reached acclaim in their chosen fields – and even for those who haven’t – stigmas are meant to be defied and a woman’s personality is what precedes her, not her sorority affiliation!

SOROR NTOSAKE SHANGE

Ntosake Shange has been an integral part of my poetic and literary life since my initial discovery of her choreopoem, “For Colored Girls Who have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Ain’t Enough.” One word: HUGE!

I also met Soror Ntozake Shange at the 2011 ZORA! Festival where she was given a special honor in the company of other notable women. The most astounding thing that became of our meeting was an opportunity to interview her at her Ritz Carlton Hotel.

I captured the photo image below as she sat across from me (Respectfully, I sat across from her) in her hotel room…where I patiently… watched her…eat. I was watching my literary idol eat. LOL ( I recall this being one of my life’s most nerve-wrecking days).

Health challenges temporarily affected her life, (we have that in common), but her wisdom and words were poignant, as was her generous spirit. It’s my understanding she is up and at ’em and doing better than best.

I am grateful for these moments God has granted me. The referenced “intersect” is divine as we just happen to be sorors, in the same place, at the same time, at the ZORA! Festival. (Go GOD figure!)

SOROR MAYA ANGELOU

Dr. Maya Angelou will also be an honoree at the Saturday Gala; however, she will not be traveling to Eatonville, Florida for the 25th Anniversar for her unheralded cultural and literary legacy, quotes, and artistic contributions.

We are all mere women who have valiantly walked into our purpose or stumbled across our destiny either willingly or by way of a wayward life journey. In either case – we arrive – together as sisters or divided by our own, individual negligible spirits.

Together, we make an impact that creates legacies that ext end beyond a single century like Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated or a celebration like ZORA! Festival reaching the quarter century make of Silver.

I am proud to be in the company of such great literary and artistic legends, to call them “sisters of admiration” and “vessels of virtue.”

Also, on some level, we each embody the cultural sisterhood demonstrated by ZORA! who didn’t have to be a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated to have arms of support wrapped around her arts and humanities legacy. Supporting one another is what ALL women should do whether we are at the forefront of blazed trails or fighting to avoid being the backdrop of male leadership. Sisterly support: it’s just what we do.

My personal goal is to always be deemed a woman who is consistent with Maya’s quote: intelligent, courageous, loving, and absolutely one who teaches by being.”