Tina Knowles Lawson covers the Ebony Magazine #SexyForeverIssue

I 

Y'all know I love me some good ole Beyonce related news. I was elated to here that Mama Tina (the nickname the Beyhive gave her, I'm going to have to refer from using Mama Tina in the blog but just know that's what I call her) was gracing the July cover of Ebony Magazine. Something like this was definitely overdue and I'm happy she has the opportunity to share her story. Mrs. Tina Knowles Lawson. She's the mother of Beyonce Knowles Carter and Solange Knowles Ferguson ( The daughter of Agnez Dereon and Lumus Beyince). She 's a fashion designer and a hairstylist at heart. 

Add caption

Mrs. Tina recently remarried this past April to actor Richard Lawson and the wedding looked amazing. Along with becoming a wife again, Tina has been able to embrace becoming a grandmother for a 2nd and 3rd time with the births of Blue Ivy and Titan. 

Tina is showing us how much finer things get with time

This particular issue of Ebony Magazine is entitled the "#SexyForeverIssue and highlights on how Mrs Tina is 61 and can still bring the fire. She truly does look absolutely amazing. We definitely see who gave Beyonce Giselle and Solange Piaget their fabulous looks. 
Being offered this particular cover/issue came as a surprise to Mrs. Tina


"When I was asked to do the Sexy Forever ‘Ebony’ magazine cover, my first question was, ‘Me really?’ I had some reservations but as I thought of all the women who tell me daily that I have inspired them to live a wholehearted life, which includes your sexuality. I am proud to be 61 years old and to not be putting limitations on my lifestyle. We can still be sexy and vibrant, fashionable, classy and fly until the day we die!”"

To set the stage for her April 2015 nuptials, the family created a private, feature length movie: The Life & Times of BadAss Tenie B & ColdAss Rickey Lee. The release came complete with a red carpet event. Part blaxsploitation spoof, part anthropological family documentary, the film confirms that the story of Knowles Lawson’s life—and her self-possessed “sexy”—began long before the world encountered her gifted offspring. Born in Galveston, Texas, where the Freedman’s Bureau was headquartered after slavery was abolished, and a few hundred miles from mystical New Orleans, where her family is from, one can sense that the newlywed has always conjured a kind of Free Black Woman Magic.

In an exclusive EBONY interview, the enigmatic bombshell lovingly references her “first family” of entertainment and opens up about her life. The last of seven siblings, each of whom has one of four variations of the same last name Boyance (“The hospital told my mama be happy we even got birth certificates.”) “Tenie B,” her nickname since childhood, shares that she was mistreated by Black nuns in elementary school, took off solo to California at 18, and by 34, with little ones in tow, opened one of the biggest, baddest Black hair salons Houston had ever known. In an hours-long interview, and while snuggled under chenille blankets and gazing out at the spectacular view of Hollywood from her home, Knowles Lawson details the major phases of her life that include mothering a global phenom and her multifaceted fashionista sister. Most important, she says, she’s doing all this while still living her own damn life.

I really admire the strength of "CELESTINE BEYINCE" (I bet y'all didn't know that was her government name) One day I hope to thank her personally for raising such amazing daughters and role models. I'm pretty sure Matthew Knowles is somewhere crying in the corner and regretting doing Mama Tina wrong ( he lost a good one ) 

I look forward to what Mama Tina, aka Empress Creole, aka The Original Queen Bey words of wisdom in this issue and what she has for or us in the future

The Beyhive wasted no time creating fabulous designs of Mama Tina and her family check them out below

Remember To Always Be

Fierce and Fabulous

xoxo Lela Victoria

Rachel Dolezal and her portrayal of a Black Woman

Being a BLACK WOMAN is no joke, and to see it being portrayed by someone who is non black seems to be so scandalous to me. On June 11, 2015 news surfaced that the current President of the Spokane, Washington chapter of the NAACP " Rachel Dolezal" was a caucasian woman who had been lying and portraying herself to be a BLACK WOMAN. There's nothing wrong with a person who's not of color leading a NAACP Chapter but to lie in the process is where I draw the line.


Personally Rachel Dolezal gets no love from me. She does not get to pass GO and collect $200 dollars. Now I will say I respect her for the work and advocacy she's done for the Black community but that's it, that's where my respect for her ends. Her false portrayal of a BLACK WOMAN is an insult to BLACK WOMEN world wide. How dare she make up stories about how she has been discriminating against her entire life.

 Her secret was revealed to us by her birth parents who state that they are of European decent ( German Czech) to be exact. Her parents can be seen speaking the issue at the link below.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/12/us/washington-spokane-naacp-rachel-dolezal-identity/


I have no idea why her parents SNITCHED on her but I am happy that they did.

Upon discovering a fake in the system there was a wide variety of reactions. I myself was actually pissed and heated and did not appreciate the fact that some woman made a mockery of my cultural and heritage.

My entire reasoning for not respecting this woman and welcoming her with open arms is due to the fact that she's a LIAR and DECEITFUL. How can you ever believe anything she ever says if she could not even be honest about who her true self. I can list numerous reasons on why she's such a disgrace but I'll only leave you with a few.

1. She made up stories about her family receiving death threats from the KKK, neo nazis, and Aryan nation. She personally wrote notes and filed false police reports. If you think about the extent she went to, it makes her seem really crazy.

2. She taught a course entitled "The Struggle of Being a Black Woman", EXCUSE me but what does Rachel Dolezal truly know about being black. Did she grow up as a little black girl in America? Did she have to deal with the colorism issues that little dark girls and little light girls go through? Did she have to deal with her family getting treated as second class citizens in her own country? Did she become a woman while being black and have to deal with the stereotypes America throws your way as a BLACK WOMAN. You can't falsely portray yourself as one of us and slide into our community. That is not how it works. She also taught other Africana classes that could have been taught by someone who actually was of the culture. BLACK WOMEN in the academia world is rare and for her to take a potential opportunity away from a REAL BLACK WOMAN is disheartening.

3. Rachel sat on panels and participated in speaking gigs where she spoke on what it is like to be a Black Woman. How is she qualified to speak on my struggles? How is she qualified to speak about the struggles of my mother and my sisters?

4. Her false portrayal was disrespectful to BLACK WOMEN world wide and was a slap in the face.

5. She made up stories about her parents being abusive. She depicted the black family in a negative light when she never even experienced that to begin with. She help contribute to the stereotypes of the black family. She's suppose to be the President of prominent organization yet she took part in tearing down the black family.


To to the left is a status written by Ashley Jacobs which states,

 "This woman was given PAID speeches about her experience of growing up and being a black woman. Do you understand how little people listen to the stories of black women, and how many black women's stories weren't told because she took their space? She was making money off the lie that she personally understood the pain black women faced in society"


Can't no one tell me she was not a CON ARTIST. It makes me question is she really for the Black Community and their struggle or was she here just to get paid.

Many people disagree with the entire situation here are a few tweets from BLACK TWITTER and other concerned citizens. 

I personally can't rock with what Rachel is doing because its simply not right. I have a right not to accept it. What I don't understand is why are people comparing what she did to being Transgendered. There's no way I can wake up tomorrow and say to myself " hmmm I think I'm going to pose and portray myself as a white woman for the next ten years" I can't do that but I can take testosterone and physically on the outside ( minus the penis, the sperm, and the adams apple) and become a man. Changing your gender can not be related to changing one's race. 

During the Jim Crow era and many decades after that it was illegal for a black person who was half white to pose as a white citizen. They had white blood flowing through their veins and couldn't go to the other side. Rachel has not one drop yet we are suppose to except a CON ARTIST (nope, no get out jail free card for her). 

Even though many disliked any and everything Rachel Dolezal stood for there were still a few delusional individuals who actually support her crazy antics 

Of course after the outrage BLACK TWITTER would find a way to turn the situation into a joke and so began the hashtag #AskRachel. These were a series of questions that Rachel would need to answer to validate her blackness. All the questions are in someway related to the Black Community and I found them to be quite hilarious.

Rachel was interviewed on Friday June 12 and she says she identifies and considered herself black and not African American, well damn I didn't know they were that different in America because regardless if you have REAL melanin in your skin, you are subject to receive discrimination. That's 101 BEING BLACK IN AMERICA. I honestly do not think she would have gotten away with this for as long as she did if she was trying to pull this charades in the south instead of the north west. Y'all know somebody down here would have been like ( chile who are your folks, and who's baby are you, what part of town your mama them from) SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN EXPOSED, she can fool those north west folks all she want to. 

FROM A BLACK GIRL to a Wanna Be Black Girl I'm not here for it Rachel Dolezal.  Give me back my identity Rachel. You can not sit with us. No Liars Allowed, we only want people who are true to themselves and we don't accept those who choose to wear a mask. 

I'll leave you with a few memes to laugh at 

Remember To Always Be

Fierce and Fabulous

xoxo Lela Victoria

Say Goodbye to Bruce Jenner and hello to "CAITLYN"

So there I was on a Monday Night in the Middle East scrolling through instagram when all of a sudden I see multiple pictures of some brunette lady appear on my time line and I see the words Vanity Fair in the background ....and I'm thinking to myself " VANITY FAIR" "VANITY FAIR" and then it clicks omg Bruce Jenner was making his big debut on Vanity Fair and I go back to the picture and I see that its Bruce Jenner who would like to be called Caitlyn and I say OH EMMM GEEE,  he actually looks pretty good. Now we all know when we think of Bruce Jenner we usually think of the Decalathon Track and Field Olympians. I'm slowly starting to accept this girl thing, but I will admit he looks fabulous on the cover of Vanity Fair. See now I'm in this dilemma where I want to call Bruce a him but I should say her but that does not seem normal just yet (sighs) OH and yes Bruce has gotten a BOOB JOB.....* dang his breast look better than mines* Anyways Check out CAITLYN's pictures below and her article in Vanity Fair.

(Vanity Fair interview)

NEW YORK, N.Y.—Speaking publicly for the first time since completing gender transition, Caitlyn Jenner compares her emotional two-day photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz for the July cover of Vanity Fair to winning the gold medal for the decathlon at the 1976 Olympics. She tells Pulitzer Prize–winning V.F. contributing editor and author of Friday Night Lights Buzz Bissinger, “That was a good day, but the last couple of days were better. . . . This shoot was about my life and who I am as a person. It’s not about the fanfare, it’s not about people cheering in the stadium, it’s not about going down the street and everybody giving you ‘that a boy, Bruce,’ pat on the back, O.K. This is about your life.”

Jenner tells Bissinger about how she suffered a panic attack the day after undergoing 10-hour facial-feminization surgery on March 15—a procedure she believed would take 5 hours. (Bissinger reveals that Jenner has not had genital surgery.) She recalls thinking, “What did I just do? What did I just do to myself?” A counselor from the Los Angeles Gender Center came to the house so Jenner could talk to a professional, and assured her that such reactions were often induced by pain medication, and that second-guessing was human and temporary.

READ THE STORY NOW

Introducing Caitlyn Jenner. Read her revealing story and see the exclusive photos — before the issue hits newsstands on Tuesday, June 9. Subscribe for digital access.

Jenner tells Bissinger the thought has since passed and not come back: “If I was lying on my deathbed and I had kept this secret and never ever did anything about it, I would be lying there saying, ‘You just blew your entire life. You never dealt with yourself,’ and I don’t want that to happen.”

Bissinger spent hundreds of hours with the man the world knew as Bruce Jenner over a period of three months, and then countless hours with Caitlyn, also attending the photo shoot with Leibovitz at Jenner’s Malibu home.

Bissinger apologizes to Jenner for repeated pronoun confusion and asks whether she is sensitive about it. “I don’t really get hung up,” she tells him. “A guy came in the other day and I was fully dressed—it’s just habit, I said, ‘Hi, Bruce here,’ and I went, Oh fuck, it ain’t Bruce, I was screwing up doing it.”

Bissinger speaks extensively with Jenner’s four children from his first two marriages—Burt, 36, and Cassandra, 34, with first wife Chrystie, and Brandon, 33, and Brody, 31, with second wife Linda—and describes an insensitive father who had been absent for years at a time. Jenner openly acknowledges mistakes made with them as Bruce, and expresses genuine regret. Says Burt, “I have high hopes that Caitlyn is a better person than Bruce. I’m very much looking forward to that.”

Watch a behind-the-scenes video of Annie Leibovitz’s photo shoot, as Caitlyn discusses how much living fully as a woman means to her.

For the Jenner children, the issue of the transition has become a non-issue. They were already aware of their father’s identity as a woman when he told them individually about the transition—Burt and Cassandra had learned from their mother roughly 20 years earlier, when they were 13 and 11; Brandon had assumed it because of the obvious physical changes he had observed; and Brody was told by his mother when he was 29. They tell Bissinger they feel both happiness for their father and inspiration at his bravery, and they all still see their dad as their dad regardless of any gender label. Brandon said he was a little taken aback when he saw Caitlyn for the first time after surgery and she pulled her top up to reveal her new breasts. “Whoa, I’m still your son,” he reminded her.

As part of the transition, Jenner started hosting small gatherings called “girls’ nights” with wine and food where Jenner could dress as desired and feel natural in the presence of women, and it was there that her daughter Cassandra met Caitlyn for the first time. “I was just nervous that I wouldn’t make her feel comfortable,” Cassandra tells Bissinger. “I was worried I wouldn’t say the right things or act the right way or seem relaxed.” But almost all of it melted away when she got there. “We talked more than we ever have. We could just be girls together.”

Despite the renewed relationship with their father, the Jenner children have refused to participate in Caitlyn’s docu-series for the E! network, set to debut this summer, forgoing financial gain in favor of preserving their father’s legacy. Initially, Caitlyn was “terribly disappointed and terribly hurt,” but has come to accept their decision. For her part, Caitlyn is prepared for the criticism that it’s a publicity stunt: “‘Oh, she’s doing a stupid reality show. She’s doing it for the money. She’s doing this, she’s doing that.’ I’m not doing it for money. I’m doing it to help my soul and help other people. If I can make a dollar, I certainly am not stupid. [I have] house payments and all that kind of stuff. I will never make an excuse for something like that. Yeah, this is a business. You don’t go out and change your gender for a television show. O.K., it ain’t happening. I don’t care who you are.”

To get special early access to the revealing story and stunning photographs now before the issue hits newsstands on June 9, subscribe to Vanity Fair’s digital edition on the iPhone or iPad.

Photograph by Annie Leibovitz. To get special early access to the revealing story and stunning photographs now before the issue hits newsstands on June 9, subscribe to Vanity Fair’s digital edition on the iPhone or iPad. 

Jenner tells Bissinger that since the Diane Sawyer interview aired “it’s exciting to go to the mailbox, because I get letters every day from all of these people from all over the world.” One of them was addressed “Bruce Jenner, Malibu, California,” as if she had become her own country.

Bissinger writes that Caitlyn seems happy and relaxed, with a sense of purpose and confidence. She can’t wait when she goes out now to tell the paparazzi to “make sure it’s a good shot,” instead of asking patrons to help shield her from them in the parking lot of the local Starbucks. She looks forward to more girls’ nights “where everybody is treating you the same way. You can talk about anything you want to talk about. You can talk about outfits. You can talk about hair and makeup, anything you want. It becomes not a big deal.” She says that on the E! series she will focus on ways of lowering the rates of suicide and attempted suicide in the transgender community, among other issues.

Jenner tells Bissinger that Bruce was “always telling lies.” (She even describes doing public appearances after winning the gold medal, where “underneath my suit I have a bra and panty hose and this and that and thinking to myself, They know nothing about me. . . . Little did they know I was totally empty inside.”) Caitlyn, she says, “doesn’t have any lies.”

“I’m not doing this to be interesting. I’m doing this to live,” Jenner tells Bissinger. She then jokes, “I’m not doing this so I can hit it off the women’s tee,” but she does tell Bissinger that on her E! show she plans to do a segment in which she sees if she can still hit a golf ball 300 yards off the tee, even with her very ample breasts.

Remember To Always Be

Fierce and  Fabulous

xoxo 

Lela Victoria