Black & White

Monday started like any other.
The only difference was that I wore one of my favorite tee-shirts.
One that I normally only wear in the house.

In fact, as I made my way through the day, I honestly forgot that I had the shirt on.

From my neighborhood coffee stop to the drug store to the Post Office to the dry cleaner to the barber shop to the supermarket - my path was riddled with looks, both approving and disapproving.

I found the reactions mostly curious until one woman approached me and said, "I think the President went too far with his remarks about Trayvon Martin."

My first thought was to ask this older White woman what she knew about being Black in America, but that would only encourage a conversation that I was neither in the mood or had the energy for.

True, in his recent remarks about the Martin/Zimmerman case, President Obama shared some little known Black History Facts.
Little known to people who are not Black...

A story from NPR, Polls Show Wide Racial Gap on Trayvon Martin Case highlights the simple fact that Black and White people in America just see things differently.

Inner City Blues - "Food Insecurity"

My colleague, Tony Martinez, shared this GALLUP article, "In U.S., Single-Parent Households Struggle More to Buy Food" with me.

Sobering statistics that underscore the fact that what was once mainly prevalent in only African-American households, is now a far-reaching urban reality.

Gems In New Orleans

When one thinks of New Orleans, things like the French Quarter, Cajun Food, Jazz and Mardi Gras typically come to mind.

On a recent visit, I had some down time and decided to check out the New Orleans Museum of Art, NOMA.

To my surprise and delight, NOMA is filled with wonderful little gems including works by artists as renowned as Picasso, Renoir, Chagall and Warhol.

However, my favorite works were by Frank Paulin, an American Photographer, who captured a series of powerful images featuring African-Americans in New Orleans, circa 1952.

(From top to bottom - "Peaches," Manet, 1886, ""Portrait of a Young Woman," Modigliani, 1918, "Diamond Dust Shoes," Warhol, 1981 & "Boys in White Shirts on Steps," Paulin, 1952)