One of the first things that struck me as I read the critically acclaimed book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”, by Rebecca Skloot is that perhaps those paranoid stories we heard from our elders about not trusting the medical establishment may be founded in a bit of truth. The Tuskegee experiment was not an anomaly—there have been too many instances of our people being used as guinea pigs without their knowledge or consent. In bringing the story of Henrietta Lacks to our attention, Skloot has revealed how a decision to take one woman’s cells without her permission may have advanced the cause of medicine but also profoundly impacted her family more than 50 years later.

Skloot does an amazing job of recreating Lacks’ story, a young orphan raised in a small Virginia town —where it is not uncommon for first cousins to marry—who moves to Baltimore with her husband and small children. After feeling something was not quite right with her body she finally seeks a diagnosis (cervical cancer) and ends up being treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital. I was so enthralled with Lacks’ life that at times I forgot that this really happened (in other words this will make an amazing movie). The author expertly weaves in the scientific odyssey of the HeLa cells and how they became the foundation of a burgeoning business and world-famous among medical researchers (although many didn’t know much about the woman from which they came). Even if you’re not a science buff, you’ll be interested, Skloot breaks it down so that you’ll understand and can’t help but become more interested too.

What made this book have deeper meaning to me was seeing how Lacks’ death at the age of 31 impacted her family—which was further rocked by learning 20 years later that her cells were still being routinely used for medical research. Fear, suspicion, profound loss and lack of education made the Lacks’ family both vulnerable and angry. And the impact that it had on her daughter Deborah is nothing short of devastating.

But beyond the story I was also struck by the role that sexually transmitted diseases and HPV played in this story—and how they are still relevant today. The CDC report issued last week stating that nearly half of us may have genital herpes comes on an earlier report that we also have a high rate of chlmaydia and gonorrhea. And Lacks’ story also serves as a reminder of what can happen, even today, when we don’t protect our sexual health.

Finally, Skloot makes us all keenly aware of just how thorny some of the issues surrounding medical ethics are. Our tissue is still no longer our own if we have any sort of medical procedure. And while we should be happy to sign the HIPPA form that protects our right to privacy, we also shouldn’t sign that form (or any other medical form) without reading it carefully. We owe that not only to ourselves, but to Henrietta Lacks too.

Read this book, if you’re like me you won’t be able to put it down.

While Cher and Bette Midler have been doing there thing in Las Vegas another diva, Diana Ross, had been mostly silent. Some of us wondered if she was content watching some of her children, notably Tracee Ellis Ross and Evan Ross, play the fame game. (Yes I know Rhonda’s in show business too.) However it turns out that Mama isn’t quite finished yet—even though she has technically reached retirement age, 65. Entertainment Weekly.com is reporting that the one and only Miss Ross will embark on her “More Today Than Yesterday” tour starting May 15th—hitting 17 cities in May and June.

There’s no denying that this is an opportunity to see a legend—who knows how many more chances we’ll have to see her live. I’ve got to admit I’m kind of curious. But that curiosity is going to cost me since concert tickets generally run on the North side of 100 bucks. .  Anyway, I’m glad she’s  not trying to play stadiums but has chosen more manageable venues like Radio City Music Hall in New York City and the Fox Theater in Detroit among others. Miss Ross will also hit the casino circuit, at least on the East coast, with stops in Atlantic City and Foxwoods.

Okay, don’t kill me for saying this, but I do wonder if she still has enough die-hard fans to fill the venues. I still think about how folks  were willing to risk being struck by lightening back in the day when a rainstorm struck during her Central Park concert back in 1983.  The last time she toured was in 2007 and that seemed to have gone okay. But there was the “Return to Love” a few years back that had to be canceled—some say because of lackluster ticket sales. Now that concert tickets cost so much fans have become more discerning about the investments their willing to make but I do hope there are many willing to pony up for Miss Ross simply because of who she is. (Looks like I’m doing a good job of convincing myself).

Here’s some vintage Diana Ross concert footage just to prove my point:

If you’re familiar with my writing you know that I constantly raising the banner for better roles for Black women in Hollywood. It turns out that I was missing out on one of the better stories because it’s on a site dedicated to improving people’s lives. “Diary of a Single Mom”, is already in is second season and is hands down one of the best dramas you’ve probably never seen. In under 15 minutes, which is the length of each episode, you’ll be sucked into the world of Ocean Jackson and her family and friends. And if you’re like me, you won’t want to leave.

Click below to listen to the interview:

The web series stars  Monica Calhoun (you know her from “The Best Man” and “Players Club”), who is doing her best work as Ocean flanked by a stellar ensemble cast that includes Valery Ortiz and Janice Lynde, as fellow single mothers, along with Leon, Richard Roundtree and the one and only Billy Dee Williams. Yes Billy Dee is on the web. What I love about this series is how adeptly they’re able to bring up issues that many of us are facing everyday. Townsend, Calhoun and company don’t shy away from anything. From a lack of education to health issues and domestic violence Ocean and company are going through some stuff. But somehow even in the midst of their struggles, you feel a sense of hope beneath the despair. And that makes you want to tune in to see what happens next. And the best thing about a web series is you can start from the first episode of Season One and catch up in no time. (Although I wouldn’t recommend what I did which was watch a marathon). Even if you’re not a single mom you’ll still be interested in Ocean and her plight.

But what makes this show great is the man that has brought it to life, Robert Townsend. If you know me then you also know that I’m a fiend for “The Five Heartbeats” but I also think that Townsend’s body of work is amazing. I chatted with him recently about the genesis of the series, the stories he is trying to tell, the plight of Black women in Hollywood and why he still loves what he does. Listen to our chat then get thee over to Diary Of A Single Mom and check out Ocean for yourself.

It was pretty obvious Gabourey Sidibe was having a great time at the Academy Awards on Sunday night. And besides the whole “if fashion were porn” or the occasional “I’d do him” comment caught by the cameras,  she was just a young, sister living a dream. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But we all know she’s not like the rest of Hollywood and sooner or later  somebody would say something about her size. Forgive the awful pun but it was the proverbial elephant in the room. I thought the first blow would come via Joan Rivers, but she was on her best behavior during the E Fashion Police recap show. (Although there was the comment made by one of the panelists that Queen Latifah knows how to dress for a ‘big’ woman or some other BS). While most of the media decided that politcal correctness was the route to take when it came to Sidibe, Howard Stern said PC be damned. So he brought the subject up on his show on Monday. And the thought just made me cringe before I even knew what he had to say.

Then I cringed again when I read the transcript:

“There’s the most enormous, fat black chick I’ve ever seen,” Stern said. “She is enormous. Everyone’s pretending she’s a part of show business, and she’s never going to be in another movie. She should have gotten the best actress award because she’s never going to have another shot. What movie is she gonna be in?”

Then the sister who served as his sidekick, Robin Quivers, co-signed on the conversation and agreed that Oprah Winfrey was a liar for saying that Sidibe actually had a brilliant career ahead of her. Although Sidibe has already snagged a supporting role in Laura Linney’s new series on Showtime called The Big C and has another film in the pipeline, people are amazed that she’s actually working. Is it because they’re having a hard time separating the actress from her character? Or is it because Sidibe just doesn’t fit their ideal? Whatever the reason, it’s refreshing to see that Sidibe doesn’t seem to care and isn’t sidelining herself because of her so-called limitations. Now I’m sure that she’s aware of the reality: most Black actresses in Hollywood are struggling to find meaningful work. But she’s also young and fearless. So who are we to hold her back?

So while she’s getting offers, I was amazed to discover that Sidibe’s success will probably be measured against some weird benchmarks. Yesterday’s Los Angeles Times in which a Ministry of Gossip item acknowledges the Stern kerfluffle and then linked Sidibe’s future with that of Jennifer Hudson, ‘who’s also not a skinny woman’. Then they have the nerve to compare Hudson’s roles since her “Dreamgirls” win with the career trajectory of Renee Zellweger. Nowhere acknowledging a debut album, a horrendous family tragedy or a baby in the mix. Even with those things she’s managed to appear in two pretty high profile films, “Sex and the City” and “The Secret Life of Bees.” Apparently, that’s not good enough for an Oscar winner.

But Black women who win Academy Awards definitely know better. Halle Berry has never gotten as many  offers as Zellweger or Nicole Kidman or Kate Winslet for that matter. Whoopi Goldberg made plenty of bad movies as Hollywood attempted to find a formula that worked for her (i.e, made a whole bunch of money).  While Hattie McDaniel had to be content with a servant role on both the big and small screen.

The truth is Sidibe might succeed precisely because she has decided not to act like we think a fat girl should. Instead of sitting in the corner quietly hoping that no one will notice her,  she’s saying ‘hey world, look at me’. She’s crushing on Justin Timberlake,  Gerard Butler and giggling like any young woman her age should. And her infectious personality and audacious spirit will not be diminished because she makes many in Hollywood uncomfortable. (For the record, anything above a size 6 makes Hollywood uncomfortable.) So while I may have some concerns about the impact her weight may have on her long-term health (I would be lying if I didn’t admit that) I’m not asking this sister to conform to please me or anyone else. But according to Jezebel her team is already caving and have suggested that she lose weight. And so it begins…

***UPDATE***
Click below to listen to the audio from the show:

Okay sister, being a superwoman may have some consequences. As we run here and there trying to get it all done, getting a good night’s sleep seems to be the luxury we’re willing to give up. Well maybe we need to rethink that. According to The National Sleep Foundation’s 2010 Sleep in America Poll lack of sleep crosses racial lines. However, when they broke things down they found that we (aka Black folks) get the least amount of sleep, a little over six hours (over 30 minutes less than both Whites and Asians). We’re also more likely to be diagnosed with sleep apnea.  The African Americans polled said they get more than enough sleep but the truth is we all may be fooling ourselves about the role sleep plays in our overall health.

Thomas Balkin, chairman of the National Sleep Foundation’s board told USA Today:

“That African Americans report the least amount of sleep and that they report needing less sleep each night to perform best during the day bears more research, Balkin says. He points out that inadequate sleep is starting to be associated with obesity, heart disease and diabetes, diseases that are more prevalent among African Americans.”

That’s one explanation for the health issues that impact our community disproportionately. And although a good night’s sleep might be one of the simplest ways to improve our health (it isn’t going to be a cure all). Of course getting more sleep is easier said than done—especially in an economy where we may have to juggle more than one obligation (or job) to make end’s meet. But what we don’t want to do is take that “In Living Color” skit about the Jamaican family with lots of jobs to heart. While we laugh at the premise (yes, it’s still funny) that kind of thinking may actually put us down for the count.

The good news in all of this is in spite of our go-go lifestyles, we are still more likely to pray before we go to bed—which may give us a more restful sleep too. (There’s also a good chance that we might have sex.) Just two more good reasons to go to bed earlier than you used to.

Going into the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, I knew that we were probably going to have to play the game called “Can You Find the Black Folks?”. And because Halle and Denzel were among the missing and last year’s nominees (Taraji P. Henson and Viola Davis) weren’t there either, sisters in particular were in short supply. Thanks goodness  CCH Pounder and Zoe Saldana of “Avatar” were there along with all of the sisters from “Precious”. While Oprah and Forest Whitaker raised the percentage of black people that actually took the stage with their introductions of Gabourey Sidibe and Sandra Bullock in the Best Actress category. Anyway, besides “The Hurt Locker” taking Best Picture honors, there weren’t many surprises (at least when it came to who actually won awards).

As the Vegas odd-makers and almost everyone else knew, Mo’Nique made a clean sweep in The Best Supporting Actress category with this win. And by the time she reached the stage at the Kodak Theater she’d proven that she had her speech thing pretty much down pat. No outbursts, no tears and only one ‘baby’. She’d thanked director Lee Daniels, co-star, Gabourey Sidibe several times (and has previously given a shout out to the young people who played the students) so she used this opportunity to say something different. I am so happy that she decided to bring up Hattie McDaniel, a woman of both size and substance, who never got to show the depth of her abilities. We forget that although sixteen sisters have been nominated for their supporting roles, Mo’Nique’s only the fourth Black women to take a statuette home in that category.

But it was the brothers who quietly broke new ground. No you didn’t miss Morgan Freeman taking home another award for “Invictus”, I’m talking about Geoffrey Fletcher’s win for Best Adapted Screenplay (”Precious”) and Roger Ross Wilson’s win for Best Documentary Short Subject for his film, “Music By Prudence”. Wilson is only the second black person to be nominated in the Short Subject category and he is the first winner. But the producer/director wasn’t allowed to savor his 30 seconds because his producing partner, Elinor Burkett, literally hijacked the microphone and the moment. It was one of the tackiest moves in Oscar history. Our collective hearts broke for him as well as Prudence, the disabled young woman from Zimbabwe on whom the film is focused. The good news is that the Academy actually had something called the Thank You Cam backstage so Wilson got to eloquently finish his speech. Even better news: “Music by Prudence” will premiere on HBO on May 12th.

I don’t know if Burkett’s grandstanding was the reason that Geoffrey Fletcher was almost speechless when he won. Maybe it was because it has been 25 years since Charles Fuller got a nod for his adaptation of “A Solider’s Story” and 37 years since Lonne Elder was recognized for his work on “Sounder”. Once Fletcher recovered,  however, his emotional tribute to his parents was worth watching.

All of these wins reminded me that the battle to tell our stories must be waged not just in front the camera and casting agents but behind the camera, in the sound mixing labs and most importantly at the computer. Here’s to hoping more of us can write and adapt the stories that need to be told.

We already know that Black women often place their dreams on hold to get on with the realities of their everyday life. But sometimes, we’re missing out because we don’t know that programs actually exist that will help us bring our dreams to fruition. I just found out about one such program: Project Working Mom which is providing up to $5 million in full tuition scholarships to assist single and working parents (that means dads too) return to school. The company behind this initiative, ELearners.com knows that pursuing these dreams online is often a perfect alternative for many of us so they’re making these funds available. And we can’t sleep on this opportunity (because you can get funding for anything from a certificate to a PhD).

Yesterday, I spoke with Stephanie Clark, who is the national spokesperson for Project Working Mom and the force behind Project Single Moms—a national advocacy and empowerment movement that has joined forces with ELearners.com to get the word out on this amazing program—about her passion for this project. Clark already runs three businesses but she felt that it was imperative to make sure that women of color knew about this opportunity. “You make time to do what’s important to you,”she said. And for Clark that not only means keeping her membership of 1200 (across 38 states and 7 countries) informed, it also means taking the show on the road too. Tomorrow night she will host “Women Who Rule The World” in Houston, TX, an evening of inspiration and empowerment where women can find out about furthering their education and also receive career coaching—since a lack of confidence is one of the reasons we’re hesitant about going back to school. In the coming months, the tour will stop in Atlanta, New York City, Chicago and Washington DC (last month they were in Los Angeles). I would urge sisters in those cities to check it out for themselves since the food and coaching are complimentary.

Even better news is that you don’t have to live in these cities to take advantage of these scholarship opportunities. Log on to Project Working Mom between now and the application deadline of September 30th to see how you can start living you dream.What are you waiting for?

Those of us who experience winter wouldn’t mind escaping to a tropical locale like Jamaica. But it looks like some Jamaicans are dreaming of the cold weather instead. The Jamaican Bobsled Team is not alone in their quest to make their mark in a cold weather endeavor. USA Today reported yesterday that a 27 year-old brother named Newton Marshall is currently in Alaska preparing to run the Iditarod, which will take place this Saturday. You know that’s the sled race with dogs where they yell mush and ride through snowy terrain. This is far from any easy feat, this man and his dogs will be traveling 1100 miles to complete the race. All I can say is I guess everybody has a dream, huh?

But I’ve got to say that Marshall, like the Bobsled team, had to think way outside the box to bring this dream to fruition. This brother used to train back home with a bunch of mutts from the Jamaican Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and a cart with wheels. I’m sure he got more than one side-eye when he was riding through the streets. Folks probably thought he’d lost his mind. Now everyone knows this brother’s goal and Newton is an inspiration to children in Jamaica. However, since the race is so long it’s not like they’ll be sitting in front on the televisions watching for hours (or is it days?) on end.

Since his story is so unique, Newton has garnered the attention of others  who could help advance him toward his goal. Singer Jimmy Buffett is a big supporter.  And Newton has traded in the mutts he used to train with for a team of dogs from Iditarod champ, Lance Mackey’s kennel.

That’s pretty impressive considering he entered his first Alaskan race, The Yukon Quest, last year. He’s garnered mad props for actually finishing—since many rookies never complete this 1,000 mile race. He came in a respectable 13th. And after that he probably said, why not do the Iditarod next?

So this Saturday, send this brother some good thoughts. Just do the damn thing Newton!

At the age of 39, you’d think that supermodel Naomi Campbell would have gotten over hitting others. Frankly, I thought that she had. But a man hired to drive the British catwalk queen yesterday claims that she assaulted him from the back seat of an SUV before she jumped out and left the scene. Apparently, the driver is saying that Campbell allegedly hit him with such force that his head hit the steering wheel and he bruised his right eye. That’s what he told police anyway. Come on Naomi, what did he do to make you that angry?

Now we all know that Campbell has a history of throwing cell phones and assaulting both women and men—particularly those who are in her employ. But after her bad behavior led to numerous court dates and a stint of community service, she seemed to calm down. If this is true, however, then her propensity for tantrums (or losing it) is still a present day issue. And let’s just say it’s not cute. She’s lucky that this time no charges will be filed (coincidentally, the driver also works for Campbell’s boyfriend.)

I’m thinking that we might want to cure Campbell of this bad habit before she hits her 40th birthday. So now is a good time to remind her of what’s really important.  Instead of walking down the runway to raise money for Haitian Earthquake victims as she did a couple of weeks ago, perhaps we should send the diva to ravaged area to see what real problems look like. I would venture a guess that three to five days of a reality check would do the trick, what do you think?

While I can’t say that I was surprised last week when White House Social Secretary Desirée Rogers, announced that she would step down from her post, I am still saddened by it. But I guess a year in the spotlight in our nation’s capital is like a decade elsewhere—talk about pressure. I also don’t like the rumors that she’s done so because she was butting heads with another high-powered sister (and friend), Valerie Jarrett. Folks always want to stir up trouble and feed into the myth that Black women just can’t get along. Bull*&#*! However, I do like this story in The Reliable Source column of The Washington Post today that offers up ideas for Rogers’ next career move.

Turns out that Ms. Rogers can use her year in the nation’s capital to launch a rather stellar next act—but it goes without saying that she was pretty powerful before she had this post too. But judging by the career paths of another woman who  held the post, she can actually become an icon in her own right:

The gold standard: Letitia Baldrige, who turned her tenure working for Jackie Kennedy into a 50-year social and etiquette industry: She’s written 20 books, given speeches all over the globe and consulted on all things tasteful and elegant.

Yes! I like the idea of linking Rogers’ future with that of Baldrige, because she can set a gold standard too. I’m not saying that she has to write books or become an etiquette expert but I do like the idea that she’d become famous in her own right. While the women’s styles are quite different, they both have that tasteful and elegant thing down pat. And Rogers has drawn both the admiration (and envy) of many because of it. She’d just have to decide whether she wants to be in the spotlight or behind-the-scenes. If you ask me, the latter won’t work because she’s always going to attract attention no matter what—she’s just that fly. So why doesn’t Rogers embrace her gifts and use them to her advantage now?

Of course it would be easy for Rogers to simply go back to a well paid corporate gig. However, it would be a shame to see her hiding her beauty, talent and taste from the world. If she wants to do that for a year or so to regroup that would be okay. But I’d love to see her shine in a big way because we all know that she can and will do great things.