Miley Cyrus VMA Stunt Raised Big Money Online For Homeless Youth Non-Profit

by: April D. Byrd

Miley Cyrus Showed off her real "assets" this time at the VMA's and shined a light  on the issue of poverty and homelessness in America. Even though her date has legal issues that are now out in the media and some people consider it just another PR stunt. Miley did a good thing that celebrities should imitate often. In Writer Carrie Arnold's post "I Dream Of A Selfie Free World" she discusses how celebrities and just your average selfie taker can start to reflect attention and use our resources to focus on what really matters.

" it's time for us to stop focusing on self and instead, focus on what is going on around us... Miley has won some of my respect because she chose to use her Video Music Award (VMA) to shed light on the social justice issue of poverty and homelessness. She could have used it to self-promote in a usual celebrity fashion. Instead, we saw political activism. This is what I wish to see in place of every selfie. What would our world look like if we stopped gazing at ourselves, broke out of our proverbial narcissism and turned our camera phones to the multiple issues of social injustice that have begun to fade into the background like old wallpaper?". 

"The New York Times reported that Miley's campaign for the homeless youth nonprofit My Friend’s Place amassed over $200,000 in less than 24 hours following the VMAs, in addition to God knows how much since then."

Arnold goes on to discuss the Ice Bucket Challenge. "The ALS association has received 70.2 million dollars in donations compared to the 2.5 million they received last year."  Even though the small things seem silly, we can all come together to use our platforms for good. Action comes when we start turning our camera phones around and working to resolve issues that can be helped in our little corner of the world.

What issue will you get behind? I agree that we can join Carrie in making September Selfie-free!!

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References:

http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/the-state-of-homelessness-2014

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/25/world/africa/ebola-outbreak/

http://www.polarisproject.org/about-us/overview

http://www.morguefile.com/archive

April D. Byrd is a Resident Support Staff for The Christian Women's Center A Non-Profit Organization dedicated to providing  shelter for women in crisis, believing they can receive physical, emotional and spiritual wholeness through the love of Christ. She is on Twitter.

Rapper Nicki Minaj Rocks Natural Hair

-April D. Byrd


Hip- Hop femcee Nicki Minaj who rigorously refers and expresses herself as a "Barbie", posted photos to Instagram of herself sporting a more natural look.  The rapper who we see mainly wearing a rainbow of wig colors chose to go with a more dark color which most naturally reflects her own. 

(credit: Instagram)

Speculators say she chose the transformation in honor of returning to a more classic, gritty sound for her work. Nicki's new Au Natural look, looks good on her. Hopefully it will be the beginning of more natural confidence and authentic love for the star. Whether it does or doesn't promote more self-love to her fans, being real is still a good look. No matter how "Black Swan-ish" she looks with the make-up, kudos to her for making the switch!

(credit: Instagram)

What are your thoughts on Nicki's "New Do"?

Stunning Photos of Former Slaves

Have a look at these amazing photos.  In the 1930s the Federal Writers Project of the Work Progress Administration collected more than 2000 first hand accounts of former slaves as well as 500  black and white pictures.  They were collected from 17 states and most of the people interviewed were in 80s 90s and some even past 100 years old.  

Many of the collected stories were written phonetically which gives the reader a sense of how they really were.  The article highlights the account of a 121 year old slave that said: " ‘Yo’ know de sta’s don’ shine as bgright as dey did back den. I wonah wy dey don’. Dey jes’ don’ shine as bright.’ "

I would love to see this collection of stories.  To look at a snippet of history, told first hand, would be incredible.

I have always wished I could somehow sit and have a conversation with those who were enslaved. See the hurt and joy etched on their faces.  Hear the nuances of their speech.  Hear the stories straight from their lips.  This collection may be as close as it gets.  

Has anyone heard of or seen this collection?

Click on the link below to view all the pictures. They are absolutely beautiful.

http://blacklikemoi.com/2012/04/african-american-heroes/stunning-portraits-of-former-slaves-photographed-seventy-years-after-the-emancipation-proclamation/

Push Girls: Real Reality TV

Last night I was surfing the net and I stumbled on this incredible show that I can't wait to watch it.  The new reality show airs in April and it follows the lives of four womyn in Hollywood who deal with the struggles we all face such as motherhood, careers, relationships and divorce. 

L-R: Former Swimmer, Mia Schaikewitz, 32; Dancer, Auti Angel, 42; Actress Angela Rockwood, 36; and Model Tiphany Adams, 28

Seems like every other reality show there is out there right?  Cameras following a group of people around capturing whatever it is that they do on a daily basis.  You are probably wondering what the hook is....what makes this show any different from every other show there is out there.  Well, take a look at the next photo to  find out.

These womyn are wheel chair bound!  Each one had budding careers before them when a tragic accident changed their worlds forever.

Push Girls, follows: Mia, a former competitive swimmer who lost the use of her legs after a rare type of brain hemorrhage at the age of 15.  Auti, a former hip hop dancer, "I was JLo before J Lo" she said.  She danced with Milli Vanilli and LL Cool J in the 90s before a car accident in 1992.  Angela, who appeared in The Fast and the Furious before a 2001 car accident left her without the use of the torso, arms and legs.  And Tiphany who survived a drunk driving accident in her senior year of high school that left 3 of her friends dead.  She was given a five per cent chance to live by doctors.

With truth and honesty, producer Gay Rosenthal, who also produced Little People, Big World, gives us a glimpse of these womyn as they reclaim their lives and shatter the stereotypes of what it means to have a disability.  

I sincerely hope you watch this show and tell a friend.  In a time where Kim Kardashian and  Toddlers in Tiaras seem to bombard our screens, it is nice to see a show that is an accurate reflection of reality on a reality TV show.

What do you think about Push Girls?  Would you watch this show?

Rihanna Called N-Word In Dutch Fashion Magazine 'Jackie'

A Dutch fashion magazine, Jackie, recently called Rihanna a "n***abitch" with a "ghetto ass" in an article describing her sense of style. Excerpt from the article below:

"She has street cred, she has a ghetto ass and she has a golden throat. Rihanna, the good girl gone bad, is the ultimate n***abitch and she displays that gladly--for her that means what's on can come off. If that means she'll be on stage half naked, then so be it. But Dutch winters aren't like Jamaican ones, so pick a clothing style in which your daughter can resist minus ten [temperatures]. No to the big sunglasses and the pornheels, and yes to the tiger print, pink 'shizzle,' and everything that glitters. Now let's hope she won't beat anybody up at daycare."

At first, the editor-in-chief, Eva Hoeke, took to Twitter and stated that the original intention for the choice of words was to be a 'joke' and apologized for potentially offending anyone. However, after realizing the error she tweeted: ‘1. Don’t publish bad jokes in the magazine 2. Don’t pretend bad jokes to be funny. Sorry guys. My bad.’

The backlash continued. Hoeke was harassed and threatened and by the end of the day she found it necessary to quit her job at Jackie after 8 long years.

This incident got me thinking about the state of North American popular culture. Step out of North America for a moment and take a look at what other countries see when they look at our culture. There are flashes of bitches and n***as littered all throughout our pop culture and we don't think twice about the effect it has on the rest of the world.

Is this a classic case of being lost in translation? Was the magazine being malicious? Should the Dutch have know better? Done their research? or were they reflecting what they see pouring out of North American media? Interested in hearing your thoughts. Let's start a discussion.


blessings,

t

Article in Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/rihanna-called-n-word-in-_n_1160181.html