Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 4-26-16 Edition

Editorials
Keep On Fighting!
n case you haven’t noticed, the complexions of the
North Hyde Park and West Tampa areas are gradually returning to their pre-1960s state before “white flight” set in. Not only are whites returning to the area, but the building of new two story homes where pre-1960s bun- galows and cigar makers used to live and the construc- tion of apartment complexes have turned those communities into highly diverse communities.
Indeed, lengthy morning and evening commutes into and from the downtown Tampa area via Interstates 4 and 275 are enough to attract whites to these areas.
With the current development of the North Boulevard Homes, the Jewish Community Center and the proposed redevelopment of Riverfront Park, these neighborhoods can become truly integrated communities where existing Crime Watch groups will be able to relax. We certainly hope Black homeowners will not be too quick to sell their homes and heritage for pennies to agents and developers who continue to bombard them with modest offers for their property only to tear the homes down and rebuild at 199 percent profit.
Indeed, the time for North Hyde Park and West Tampa has arrived. As one homeowner stated, “Truly in- tegrated communities can help foster race relations and reduce busing.”
Therefore, we urge homeowners in these areas to re- tain ownership in these neighborhoods because their fu- ture looks brighter.
Excuse us, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Cruz, and the rest of the gang. Prince died the other day. And right now, that’s all we can think
about.
And where were you when it happened . . . when you
heard somebody say, “Prince is dead?” How did he die? Did someone shoot him like they did Tupac Shakur? Did his plane crash like what happened to Otis Redding?
At the beginning, no one knew whether it was a lie or a joke. How could a 57-year-young utterly handsome Black man be no longer among the living? But was Prince ever among the living, putting it 3-dimensionally? The biggest problem with this musician from Minnesota had always been that, from the very beginning, he defied def- inition.
Someone said Prince invented privacy. But do you re- member his first album and the gender-bending picture he took to display it? Then just when you thought you had this “pretty boy’s” number, he took to the stage, out- jammed James Brown and turned Chuck Berry’s guitar into a six-stringed sex symbol.
Was he five feet tall? If so, why was his shadow taller than a Redwood tree? Why did the clocks stop when Prince announced, “Tonight, we’re gonna party like it’s 1999?” And what was so miraculous about the plight of “purple rain?”
Meanwhile, the world’s celebrities are bemoaning the death of a man they never knew. For, the truth is that de- spite his music, he was a stranger to the eyes of an ever- prying media. Unpronounceable and unfathomable were both his names. And maybe, that’s the way life should be for us all... immeasurable, unpronounceable, bathed in the wonder of undeniable self-creativity, not having lived long, but having lived strongly, and then? Purple Rain!
If your today, doesn’t look like the tomorrow, that you dreamed about yesterday, then keep on fighting.
Empowered greetings. This week I want to empower you to keep on fighting. You may not be able to see your way through, but keep on fighting. It may seem like your business is about to go under, but keep on fighting.
The fact that you have made it this far is an indica- tion that you can make it against all odds. Keep on fighting. Your marriage may look like it’s headed to di- vorce court, but keep on fighting. For it is not good for man to be alone.
Your children may appear to have lost their mind, but don’t give up on them. Keep
There is something about the sudden shock you feel when someone dies unexpect- edly that never seems to lessen its impact. Regardless of how many times it happens, when the news hits, your tendency is to automatically react with an “OH S*#@!” response.
That is exactly what I expe- rienced Thursday afternoon after the story broke of Prince being found dead inside of his Minneapolis home. The first thing that crossed my mind as I watched the situation unfold was, “not another one.”
My distressed reaction was a direct result of me realizing that, as much as Prince’s death was a blow to the world of music, for individuals like myself who were born in the 70s, but who came of age in the 80s, his untimely demise goes much deeper. With individuals like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Rick James, Teena Marie, Luther Vandross, Eazy E., Gerald Levert and Heavy D. already gone, the loss of “The Purple One” effectively kills off the soundtrack to our entire adolescence.
So many people, who seemed larger than life during that decade, have been lost to the ages that for the last few days I’ve been trying to figure out who’s left? Then again, maybe the question we should be asking is, who’s next? Not to put them under the gun, but
on fighting. They will come to their senses and turn their life around. In the meantime, you must, keep on fighting on their behalf.
You may be living from paycheck to paycheck. You feel like you have more bills than you have money. But keep on fighting. The creative genius in you will arise and show you how to make those ends meet, if you keep on fighting.
Those of you in ministry that know you are chosen, but it seems that you are being challenged on every side; keep on fighting. There will be a breakthrough after the battle. Somebody reading this may think your life has no value, but if you keep on fighting to live, there will be great things that you will do.
And all those who tried to
I’m thinking that someone might want to do health checks on El DeBarge and Bobby Brown just in case.
Even as I write this, it’s still hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that the same man who warned us about not letting the “D-elevator” (the term he once said represented the devil) “take us down” actu- ally found his end inside of that very apparatus. It is that kind of irony which makes this tragedy even creepier.
It seems like just yesterday that I was watching him sitting courtside at a Golden State Warriors basketball game and commenting on how it didn’t appear as though he was aging. The fact that his youthful ap- pearance is now no more than a well preserved corpse epito- mizes the saying “what a dif- ference a day makes.”
While I wouldn’t consider myself the biggest Prince fan (I’ll leave that distinction to al- most every female I ever dated) I always appreciated the way he consistently created good, thought-provoking music. Though he’s been de- scribed as a musical genius a million times before, it’s a term that doesn’t begin to give his talent the level of credit it de- serves.
The thing I respected the most about this artist, who often only went by an indeci- pherable unisex symbol, is the unwavering manner in which
count you out, won’t be able to leave you out because they will need what you have to offer. Just keep on fighting. Keep on fighting to possess that which is rightfully yours.
Keep on fighting, to do what you have been ordained to do before the foundation of the earth. I don’t care if you have picked up the towel. You may even have it raised high above your head, but don’t throw in the towel. Keep on fighting. Why? Because you have come too far from where you started from. Although, the road may not be easy, I don’t believe He brought you this far to leave you. So KEEP ON FIGHTING! If you fight to end, you will win.
Until next time, be em- powered to endure the fight. The victory will be yours.
Be sure to connect with me on: Facebook at Selphenia Nichols Success Coach To Women, Instagram: Selphenia, or Twitter: queenofsuccess1. I would love to be a speaker or workshop presenter at your next event. Feel free to contact me at 813-603-0088 to make that happen.
he remained true to his being. Regardless of how much he was criticized about his de- meanor or dress he never shied away from embracing his identity.
It was like the more you questioned his sexuality the more he played on the ambigu- ity. You didn’t like the lace and skin-tight britches? Ok. Now deal with the thigh-high boots, raincoat and thong.
I mean, seriously, who else on the planet could pull that off? And the crazy thing is, when it came to attracting women, it actually worked.
Say what you will about his effeminate ways. I don’t think there’s a male entertainer alive who could match “Mr. 1999” when it came to the appeal he had with the opposite sex.
I couldn’t tell you if his door swung both ways or not. But, in the four decades he spent gyrating across stages, I’ve never heard of anything other than him being a lover of the most beautiful girls in the world. And, for that alone, I can’t help but take my hat off to the man.
But, of course, that was our Prince, a master of mystery, and courter of controversy, who made a career out of keep- ing us guessing.
In this current cookie-cutter climate of the pop life music industry you don’t see his kind of uniqueness anymore. His style, I think I can safely say, will never be duplicated.
R.I.P. Mr. Prince Nelson Rogers. Somewhere a dove is shedding a purple tear be- cause, to “U”, there was indeed nothing to compare.
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Sometimes It Snows In April
Purple Rain!
TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5
West Tampa’s Future Is Bright
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