WHERE’S THE FOUR?
(Or Why Isn’t Anyone Standing In The Gap for Kelley Williams Bolar?)

As I write this blog, I pause to think about the significance of tomorrow: February 1st. This date is more affectionately known as “February One,” on the campus of North Carolina A & T State University, an HBCU in Greensboro, NC. Usually a cold dreary day, it has had a warm place in my heart ever since I set foot on “Aggie Land,” back in 1995. I spent 4 of the best years of my life there and in addition to earning my degree, I learned about the “Greensboro Four.”

On February 1st, 1960, Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr. and David Richmond walked downtown to Woolworth’s, peacefully sat at the counter and asked to be served coffee. They waited all afternoon for service yet did not receive it. The next day, they returned, bringing more students. Soon sit-in protests were being held all over town and in nearby cities like Winston-Salem and Raleigh. This non-violent challenge continued until July 25, 1960, when the five & dime relented, serving its black employees at the counter first. The next day, Woolworth’s desegregated their counters nationwide.

Fast forward to January 2011; Kelley Williams-Bolar is found guilty of taking the law into her own hands. She did not commit murder, assault anyone, or rob a bank. Fed up with the school system where her family lives, she lied about her residency and enrolled her two daughters in the “less brown” township of Copley, where her father lives. At trial, the school deemed that Williams-Bolar should repay “$30,000 for the cost of educating her children. By the way, Copley officials spent $6,000 to investigate when they suspected the girls were attending school outside of their zone. Williams-Bolar refused to pay. She was thereby sentenced to 10 days in jail, three years’ probation and may lose her current job as a teacher’s aide. The single parent is just 12 credit hours shy of becoming a school teacher, but now is a convicted felon.

For crying out loud, where THE hell is Jessie Jackson? Al Sharpton? Oprah Winfrey? Michael Jordan (true—you leapt through the air for millions during the 90’s and was America’s boy-next-door. You have now, however, decidedly grown into a definition ass, but you are a parent, too)? Will Barbara Walters interview her? Will Bono sing a song in Williams-Bolar’s honor? Why hasn’t Brad Pitt, George Clooney or any other celebrities who have asked for an audience with the President about injustices abroad rang the bell at 1600 Pennsylvania on her behalf? Sarah Palin? Surely Kelly’s actions are a maverick move you have to respect… How about any of the potential Presidential candidates for the ‘12 election? I mean, damn, education is a Top Ten issue during a political race. Nobody; not a damn soul of national or international prominence has said, “a word nor a syllable” on this woman’s behalf. Pathetic; simply pathetic.

Why is everyone running scared from this one? Probably because a lot more people than we think do what Williams did—break the law in one form or another, to achieve, “a greater good.” This probably causes a fear of receiving the same scrutiny and the same results—jail. Shit, if Dr. King, Rev. Abernathy, etc. had been afraid of jail, there is no telling where we would be right now. Plus, in the wake of the uprisings in Egypt, and the start of Black history month, I think Americans need to recognize they’ve taken on a lazy, self-centered and inexcusable state of contentment. Bottom line, US citizens are settling for the “okie-doke” and not exercising their right to speak up when something is wrong.

Yes, Williams-Bolar broke the law. But this law kept her children locked into what she perceived “a dangerous environment” and force fed them a second class education. Her stance goes beyond a mere cry of “it’s not fair.” Every child in the United States is supposedly granted the right to an equal education. But we all know that this does not happen. The truth is that many US children receive a shitty education. By putting her children in another school, Williams-Bolar was simply acquiring what is guaranteed her under the law. Furthermore, why is it a crime to do such a thing? True, if no rule was in place, parents would do whatever they wanted, leaving the potential for grand pandemonium. School districts are there to maintain order.

Still, wouldn’t it be cool if kids got an equal education under the law? But they don’t. Wouldn’t it be cool if the parent, who has to work way across town, could put their kid in a school near their job so they wouldn’t miss the PTA meetings, could have lunch with their kid every so often, or attend parent-teacher conferences without feeling rushed? But they can’t. And wouldn’t it be really cool if we could stop being so uptight about this shit and work together on it? But we won’t.

The Sit-in Movements of the 1960’s worked because somebody did something. Somebody took that first step. On February One, four gentlemen took a step. Kelley Williams Bolar took a step and stands alone…or does she?

THAT’S ALL YOU GOT…?

Really gotta kill the addiction to the idiot box. Seriously. I was hooked to two shows: “The Closer,” and “Southland.” Then I saw Kathy Bates’ performance in the pilot of “Harry’s Law.” The NBC mid-season replacement might have a life. Maybe. A 60-minute law drama, it details Harriet “Harry” Korn’s departure from a law firm where she made $600Gs as a copyright lawyer and decides to open up shop in a “bad” part of Cincinnati. Instead of lying and pissing off rich clients, she is talking straight shit to ‘hood clients. I dig this show, but I’m concerned…

With only a few episodes aired, NBC and David Kelley (creator) are giving me the feeling they plan to theoretically “take me out for coffee” twice in a row and maybe even again, if I allow it. But I ain’t having it. This week’s episode felt like a repeat of the first, only with a little twist in the plot and the addition of 5 (possibly recurring?) characters. Still, now that we have made all the “introductions,” “gotten to know each other better,” etc., I’m looking for something more before I commit.




First, I am sick of seeing the same type of black people: angry, poor, ignorant and “looking for help.” Yes, times are hard and people of ALL colors are hurting. I appreciate the spotlight because frankly, I don’t think mainstream America truly understands that when they bleed, the poor, disenfranchised people of color are hemorrhaging. Still, I want to know from Kelly, with regards to his characters of color on this show, “is that all you got?”

My concern is personified by one of the new additions, Anna Nicholson, played by Irma P. Hall. You know, Mother Joe, from Soul Food, and The Ladykillers. Yes, that Irma. Her portrayal of an impoverished woman who committed armed robbery “to eat,” was clearly beneath her skills; Hall a former language teacher, poet and an accomplished actress, plays a cranky, toothless senior citizen. While I truly understand that her character is supposed to be poor, I was disheartened at the sight of her. Her pretty white dentures were absent and in their place were a few teeth, huddling for shade every time Hall spoke. Her beautiful gray hair was pulled back into a seriously no-frills bun. Ms. Hall looked much like Minerva, the voo-doo priestess she played in Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil.

Nicholson barges into Harry’s law office verbally berating Bates’ character for moving in and “taking over the neighborhood.” Harry expeditiously dismisses Anna’s rants, going out of her way to show she is educated. As a person of color who happens to know what gentrification means, I find the response and use of the word to someone who clearly did not, a slap in the face. Furthermore, do people of color on television always have to be that ignorant? True, ignorant people exist in every shape, form and color. It just seems that the ones of color seem to get more air time, especially on the 6 o’clock news when they inarticulately relay, “what had happened was…”

Then there’s the magic tricks; two weeks straight, Harry pulls a rabbit out of a hat. In the pilot, the defendant was in fact guilty, yet the judge was so impressed with Harry’s antics, I mean argument he set aside the verdict and gives the kid probation (surprise, surprise…). This kid, who happens to be a college student with a “slight” cocaine addiction, now works as a paralegal at Harry’s Law (what a co-ink-e-dink…). This week, Harry wrangles a not guilty verdict for Anna. Harry, with her sly magic wand, moves Anna’s crime from focus and dwells on how unfair it is that Anna is left with no resources, even though she is a citizen—a senior citizen at that. How could the jury imprison an 80-year-old woman? So they didn’t. But that was luck. There are people out there committing less serious crimes, but who get time nonetheless; a few are even Anna’s age. And while Bates’ character does not make it look easy, she certainly does not break a sweat, either.

When Anna storms into Harry’s office, wrongly accusing one of the new, recurring characters of being the “manager,” she is spitting fire and venom. Once the record is set straight, she continues and it is all I can do to watch. True, African-Americans do have a lot to be angry about, despite having an African-American president in office. But do we always have to bust down doors, act nasty and make demands? I mean, damn, it’s not like we are still working the cotton fields—well work places are like plantations but that’s a whole other blog. We have reason to shout, but do not have to shout all the time and there is a place for it. This show ain’t it—at least not every week. I’ll accept that type of storyline maybe once every four weeks, but not every single episode. I’m looking for the creative plot lines from Picket Fences, Boston Public and L.A. Law.

Once Anna decides that she in fact wants Harry to defend her, she drops a rolled up dirty sock on her desk and advises there is $26.50 inside. “That’s all I got,” she adds. I hope that David Kelly is offering up more than coins in a rolled up dirty sock…

GET IT TOGETHER OR LEAVE IT ALONE

“Once Again, We As A People Are Late. Late, late and more late…”
~ Vaughn Dap Dunlap, School Daze

Yes, this entry’s title is a quote from a Jackson (5) hit from the early ‘70s. And those are my instructions to us. Blacks, Folk, African-American—Negroes! I showed up for the Atlanta King Day Celebration March 32 minutes late. I did. And I own that. But for the parade to start 84 minutes late, I need to know who in the hell “owns” that? It’s ridiculous. Ludicrous (not Mr. Bridges, either). Why can’t we be on time?

It’s 2011. There is every type of technology you can think of at our fingertips. We are not slaves working the fields anymore (well, not technically…but that’s a whole other blog). Added to that, the weather up until around 3:30 was almost perfect (the mercury nose-dived and it started raining right when the parade ended). And I’m going to say this even though it really has no bearing, but still—we have a Black President, for crying out loud!

I enjoy fellowshipping with people and meeting new folk, but on the real—I froze out there today. I had on sufficient clothing, and even brought a hot cup of tea. Howsonever, I was not prepared to stand and wait almost an hour and a half for the march to start. Now as it was explained to me by a city official in attendance and on the job, the event cannot begin until the service at Ebenezer Baptist is over. Hmmmm. Furthermore, it appears that every year more speakers are added (say what?). This is no hate, nor sacrilege, but somebody needs to be bold enough to step up to the pulpit and tell them preachers, senators, judges, etc., to shut it down. Cue the organist to play “wrap it up music” like they do at award shows. And I know the latter can be dangerous in a Baptist church, because folk might get confused and start shouting and falling out. Still, its gotta be done.






Now a holiday in honor of Dr. King’s birthday is more than parades, speeches and all that good stuff. It is about serving others and lending a hand to your fellow man. But we are doing ourselves a serious disservice by continually being late for stuff, even something such as a march. What are we teaching our children? “Get there when you get there?” Furthermore, what are we showing the world about us as a people? I have never liked nor associated myself with the term, “colored people’s time.” Its derogatory and we need to move away from it. Now stuff happens. Things get changed around. But tardiness of this nature (an hour and change) is unacceptable. We need to stop saying that this is how we “do” or how we “be.” The belief that people of color cannot be on time, “do” or “be” full of ignorance. I fully and truly believe that if Dr. King were alive, he would say the same thing.

We cannot turn the Dream into a reality unless we get our asses where we are going on time.
~ Sonia Clark

Ashay.