​united states vs. billie holiday
Rarely do I watch a film that makes me feel so deeply, unfortunately it wasn't the feeling I was hoping for. I am so glad that the story of her subtle yet fierce defiance in the name of protecting black bodies has finally seen the light and illuminating yet again how the FBI has been as deterimental as the KKK in many ways in attempting to silence us. Thank you Lee Daniels and Suzi-Lori Parks for that Yet as we share our pain we must also celebrate the resilence.

If you watch united states vs. holiday you walk away understanding that billie holiday was a sad junkie, who dated men who were bad for her because she needed control, she wasn't a friend you could rely on, she occassionally went to hotels with white bulldaggers, ( their words not mine) she sometimes gave tips to the musical director, she chose musicians, and her momma didnt love her. Oh, she also had sang strange fruit because she saw a lynching.  You get to witness a beautiful , nuanced performance by Audra Day but what you witness on the screen was a piece of a woman, and not the badass of Billie Holiday. 

You do not come away understanding that Billie Holiday is the most influential woman in Jazz,  there are several great women in jazz inc. fitzgerald, vaughn and washington. That is  not being said  that lightly. That she slept with so many woman they nicknamed her Mr. Day, that she never sang the song the same way twice she had several versions, she composed, she wrote, she arranged. She rose from NOTHING, with no mentor, no self help books, she went from a brothel to international fame, Do you know the tenacity it takes to go from working in a brothel, to being on the stage, to negotiating with men on arrangements, to having a maid ( a white one) to having the courage to get on the stage of Carnagie Hall? You have no family, no visible support you have to find the courage from deep inside to believe your voice matters. You love Cardi B? Well then, bow down to Lady Day  because she did without a reality show or social media. We talk about imposter syndrome, and now there are books, videos, podcasts and she did it ON.HER.OWN. More than 60 years after her death, her  name still reigns, the word that is thrown around way too much, actually applies to her is..ICONIC. After all this time, no one sounds like Billie Holiday, no one. I don't know if people makes themselves feel better to only see the "pain" of these women, these divas, these lights that shine fast and bright but I don't care what needle you want to show in her arm. what man slapping her across the face, she is and will always be F*CKIN  BILLY  HOLIDAY and nothing, nothing will ever replace that. You do not get to be a supernova by accident, it takes work, it takes talent, and it takes courage and I want to see the film that honors all of that. Life is complex, its not one thing, your not all good or all bad you are amalgamtion of life and it d*mn time that women get to be seen like that. I am so sorry Ms. Lady Day you deserved so much more than that... film. #billieholdiay #legend #unitedstatesvsholiday #film #lynching #civilrights #drugs #jazz #unitedstates

Cicely Tyson the first black female actress to have a recurring tv role, first black actress to wear an afro on tv, the co-founder of The Dance Theatre Harlem, won two Emmys for playing one role, a Tony Winner in her late 80's, a career resurgence in her 70's... there are so many amazing things we can say about the pint-sized warrior of Ms. Tyson . A New York original born in Harlem, she began her career as a model then studied at The Actor Studio and her break came in the The Blacks. Her initial Algonquin circle was the reg. circle of black luminaries, Maya Angelou, Abby Lincoln, Max Roach, Nina Simone, James Baldwin, Gordon Parks, Miles Davis, Arthur Mitchell... etc. For us these are legends, for Ms. Tyson they were homies and it is in that atmosphere of excellence, pride, love and support that we witness her meteoric rise. When you are a legend, your legacy can be come before who you are. In our well placed reverence, the woman can be forgotten. Cicely Tyson was so many things, an actress, a visionary, a feminist, lover, a Christian, a warrior, fashion trendsetter and above all a self loving DARK SKINNED black woman. That was such a defining part of how she moved throughout her life, she demanded her short hair on screen, she intentionally wore cornrows on publicity trails, and when black people complained she was showing us in bad way with her "naps" she acknowledged their "brainwashing " and continued because the mission was beyond her. In a world where Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll, Dorothy Dandridge, Eartha Kitt were the standards of beauty here comes Cicely with her quiet and gentle defiance. She didn't have to say Black was Beautiful she lived it. In her clothing, in her loves, in her community, in how she chose her roles, in the marrow of her being. Among some it is known that in her later years, Ms. Tyson was not always the most pleasant person to handle, I always imagine for the trailblazing women and particular for those of us of the darker hue it can wear on our spirit. We must be all things, always friendly, always approachable a queen, eventually you can become lost. We honor this woman, who for me particularly as dark-skinned actress presence meant so much. I pray that in those last days she was loved, she laughed, was cherished, kissed, I hope someone held her and called her queen just because she was with them and for nothing more. May the Lords Gate opened wide when you walked through Sista Tyson and I hoped you danced. ​