Separate But Unequal: The Quandary of Black Women & Marriage

♥ Hell Hath No Fury…♥

“This is what marriage really means: helping one another to reach the full status of being persons, responsible beings who do not run away from life”

— Paul Tournier

DETROIT — I Love Black Women. Period. My Mom is a Black Woman. I Love Her. There is something about an intelligent, well-spoken, well-versed, hard working, confident, Nubian Goddess. From her walk, to her attitude, to her ability to understand me, there is nothing more impressive than a Black Woman. Now that we’ve established this, I feel that, as a black man, I can chip in my two cents to why her ass is as single as a $1 bill in my wallet. Lately it has become apparently en vogue, and I don’t mean the R&B group, for there to be all these reports and statistics on why the black woman (more specifically, the “successful” black woman) can’t seem to find a man to marry her. While I’m not some sympathizer like Michael Baisden who will do anything to get women to listen to him, nor am I a self-proclaimed relationship expert like Steve Harvey, this blog is not exactly meant to be a scientific meta-analysis of the plight of our Nubian sisters. I’m not gonna get into the conflated and often overused mantras about black men being the problem (BTW: Essence Magazine’s assessments about black men are, on the low end, 95% F.O.S.). I am gonna shoot straight on what I feel is the problem just from my experience as being a black man having dealt with black women since birth. If you don’t like it, then create your own damn site and do something about it! Let’s Go.

JSC Throwback: 10 Things I Hate About Radio (Part II: 4-1)

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – Greetings once again. Hopefully you were able to check out the first part of this throwback blog from 2008 I wrote about my beefs with the radio business. No need for long intros, especially if you read Part I. Part II. which gets a little angrier than Part I, dropped two days later on 2/8/2008. Let’s get down to business.

JSC Throwback: 10 Things I Hate About Radio (Part I: 10-5)

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – Greetings people. Yes, after no blogs for two months, and just three since September, I’m back with my second in less than 36 hours. In yesterday’s episode, in the midst of writing my blog, I included an excerpt from a rather controversial, yet very well-received, blog  from 2008 that I wrote about my beefs with the radio business, and more specifically black radio. This would be that blog. Now, per usual, I must make a few notes about this one. First, I wasn’t bent or high when I wrote this. This blog had been brewing for a while. In fact, a random moment on WJLB yesterday is a prime example of #7. Bushman, a dude who has gotta be north of 40, said about Mary J. Blige “She be gettin’ it in!” Ugh…#grammarFAIL! Secondly, this was written two years ago, thus explaining some of the Pistons references to Chauncey Billups and Flip Saunders. Thirdly, I have edited some of the gratuitous name-drops of people I worked with to only when they are necessary (not for fear of reprisal, but they’re gonna have to pay to get any more free mentions). So without further ado, from 2/6/2008, it’s time to take radio behind the woodshed again, because truthfully, things have only gotten worse since I originally wrote this.

Five Years Later: My Journey Through The World of Radio…

♣ How Far Have I Really Come In Five Years? ♣

“Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

— Lao Tzu

DETROIT — Five years. January 5, 2005. A grand total of 1,828 days (counting the extra day we got in 2008) have passed since I drove that long and winding stretch of back roads on the outskirts of Lansing, Michigan heading into my first day at work at WQHH-FM. It was five months after I had graduated from the Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts. It had been a year and a half since I graduated with my Bachelor’s in Communication after six listless years at Michigan State University. The day I walked into that small building, that more resembled a strip mall than a radio station, I was unbelieveably nervous and scared, and amped, and excited…and scared as hell! Those of you who have known me for years know how my odyssey in Lansing ended, and it’s not something I feel the need to completely rehash here. This blog is about the entirety of the road I have travelled since that cold day in January of 2005.