Loves & Lovelies You won't often hear me weigh in on Celebrity anything. So apologies to those of you who came here seeking the latest in news and updates of the Glittery people.
But I'd be somewhat remiss not to address the recent passing of one Mme. Houston, not so much in newsworthy sense, but out of respect to an artist who sang me through childhood.
If you were a 90's child, then her pipes were something you know anchored pop radio for most of the decade. When she went from sugar coated pop to true love ballads, the American public all but rolled over and fell at her feet. Her role in The Bodyguard simply iced the wedding cake: we were all a little in love with Whitney back then.
For me, her person, her aura and her role in the public eye, told me the story of what to expect in my own fledgling life: that a black woman could be considered an acceptable role model, provided she followed the rules and delivered on her promises. Whitney was to be proof of an African American's ability to acclimate and assume a functional role in a predominately white industry.
At a time in my life where I felt all the things that came to me by virtue of my ethnicity could only bring me backwards, Whitney taught me the grace of being different was indeed a gift. While her love story may have only been a fictional one, the country's reaction and reception to such a relationship showed me what to expect one day myself if I walked down that path.
You have to remember-- there weren't many examples of a mixed race relationship playing out on the big screen at that time. In my world where my reflection in the mirror differed so vastly from lives around me, the Bodyguard represented a future I wasn't quite sure I should anticipate- although it was everything I wanted.
And for the naysayers who laughed, sneered and jeered when the pitfalls of a rough relationship hit the airwaves, there should be nothing but shame- that there should be joy in anyone's misfortunes. I challenge any woman any where to show me the life she's been living where love didn't cost her a thing or too. We all know the allure and subsequent let down of the bad boy- most of us simply aren't in the spotlight when we happen to find them.
So here's to you Ms Houston. For however else you may be remembered- for your mistakes, or talents, for your failures or your successes- here you will always a Champion of Love, who never let anybody anywhere dictate what that should be.
Whitney Houston
But I'd be somewhat remiss not to address the recent passing of one Mme. Houston, not so much in newsworthy sense, but out of respect to an artist who sang me through childhood.
If you were a 90's child, then her pipes were something you know anchored pop radio for most of the decade. When she went from sugar coated pop to true love ballads, the American public all but rolled over and fell at her feet. Her role in The Bodyguard simply iced the wedding cake: we were all a little in love with Whitney back then.
For me, her person, her aura and her role in the public eye, told me the story of what to expect in my own fledgling life: that a black woman could be considered an acceptable role model, provided she followed the rules and delivered on her promises. Whitney was to be proof of an African American's ability to acclimate and assume a functional role in a predominately white industry.
At a time in my life where I felt all the things that came to me by virtue of my ethnicity could only bring me backwards, Whitney taught me the grace of being different was indeed a gift. While her love story may have only been a fictional one, the country's reaction and reception to such a relationship showed me what to expect one day myself if I walked down that path.
You have to remember-- there weren't many examples of a mixed race relationship playing out on the big screen at that time. In my world where my reflection in the mirror differed so vastly from lives around me, the Bodyguard represented a future I wasn't quite sure I should anticipate- although it was everything I wanted.
And for the naysayers who laughed, sneered and jeered when the pitfalls of a rough relationship hit the airwaves, there should be nothing but shame- that there should be joy in anyone's misfortunes. I challenge any woman any where to show me the life she's been living where love didn't cost her a thing or too. We all know the allure and subsequent let down of the bad boy- most of us simply aren't in the spotlight when we happen to find them.
So here's to you Ms Houston. For however else you may be remembered- for your mistakes, or talents, for your failures or your successes- here you will always a Champion of Love, who never let anybody anywhere dictate what that should be.
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