REFLECTION & REASON

I rarely get this feeling from TV shows...usually from books, but rarely from television. That feeling that someone has gone inside your head and communicated the exact feelings, and behaviours, and reality that is personal to you and to people close to you. We've learned to adapt. Black women. We've learned to watch television programs like Sex and the City, and a range of other fabulous shows that definitely depict WOMEN and their thought processes in an entertaining and relatable light. But there's something so intimately different when the story is about a black woman, and being told by a black woman . Yes, we had Girlfriends and A Different World and a variety of other programs that had black female protagonists that we could laugh and journey through life with. But it's definitely been a while. I've said it once, and I'll say it again... you can not underestimate the power of a good story. A believable story. And a story that has the power to ...

Black History Month has new significance to me each year. This particular Black History Month, 2011, I would like to pay hommage to the Black Writers who have influenced and inspired me with their words through the various stages of my growth as a writer. Inspiration is a difficult thing to describe--but something I can't deny when I feel it. Whether it comes from music, a conversation, an observation, or deliberate instruction, inspiration as a writer is the moving spirit that leads you directly to the nearest computer, notepad, or BlackBerry to jot down your thoughts and your plan to develop them. As a writer, I seldom have a specific method to my literary madness. There's no set writing "time," writing "place," or writing "process." When the inspiration hits me...I write. And so I often find myself seeking inspiration in experiences: concerts, travel, music, productions, new friendships, or by witnessing the legacies and creations of those writ...

On the 11th day of the 1st month of the 2011th year, millions (7.7 to be exact) of viewers across the continent gathered at their televisions for a highly anticipated event: the return and rejuvination of The Game . And I’m not talking about the Raptors. (The Cast L-R: Coby Bell, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Hosea Chanchez, Tia Mowry Hardrict, Pooch Hall, Brittany Daniel) Thanks to day-long marathons, relentless reruns, massive Twitter-ing, casual conversations, and online petitions, the return of the 4th season of the BET program was a huge ratings bonanza. In fact, it set a ratings record for original programming on BET. I was right there on the bandwagon, wondering how Melanie and Derwin’s marriage was going, if Kelly and Jason would rekindle their flame, what was up with Tasha Mack and Rick Fox, and of course, even curious about TT, Janay, and the Sunbeams. The show was taken off the air in 2009, and I became a rerun fan. Just like I did with Sex and the City , Friends , and the countles...