The SLAVE Narrative and Why It is Important To Be Told

Throughout time, there has been many movies and series created that highlights and brings awareness to American Slavery. Some of these are Amistad, Roots, Django, and 12 years a Slave just to name a few.


2016 looks to be a year that highlights the story of the slave and I think this very action is very important and definitely needed in our society.


The history of slavery is a dark one from our nation's past that many present day folks like to pretend  does not exist or that it did not happen. Slavery has even been identified in some American textbooks as something that Africans volunteered to do, or that the experience was somewhat pleasant. Other textbooks skip over the history of Slavery completely as if that wasn't one of the main causes of the American Civil War.

The History of Slavery needs to be told for multiple reasons.


1) The fact that slavery occurred needs to always be acknowledged and never sugar coated
2) The acts of slavery plays a vital role in the current state of America and the Black Community. specifically the division we have within the nation and the division that can be seen within the black community when it comes to overcoming colorism.
3. The current distrust that minorities have towards police officers, also can be tied back to the original police force which was the slave catchers who's sole job was to police minorities.
4. The acts that Blacks endured during slavery contributed to making us such the strong race that we are today. Slave masters use to breed the strongest man with the strong woman with the intent to produce strong off springs. This could be why physically some of the best Athletes in America are of African descent.


The SLAVE has a voice and a story that needs to be told. Although the history of slavery was brutal and sometimes hard to tolerate, we need to know and understand how breaking up slave families, effects the current broken black families in America. We need to know why theirs a rift between lighter skinned blacks and those of darker complexions. We need to understand why black women are so tough and sometimes hard, and that's can simply be because throughout American History the black woman endured beatings, rape, and seeing her family torn apart. Slavery had a cause and effect and that we still are able to feel today.


About a week ago a new SLAVE series premiered on WGN entitled UNDERGROUND. John Legend is one of the Executive Producers, and the narrative focuses and highlights the slaves seeking out their FREEDOM.

Additionally there will be a remake of Alex Haley's mini series ROOTS hitting the scene soon. ROOTS was definitely a slave story that had me in tears. I cried quite a bit when I watched the original ROOTS series, therefore I know going into watching the remake I need to be fully prepared.


I definitely think overall we as Americans should support the story of the slave. We watch horror movies and action movies where individuals are murdered and killed, so why not pay tribute to the nation's history, embrace what the ancestors of blacks endured, and learn to understand how Slavery still effects America in modern day society.

Remember To Always Be

Fierce and Fabulous

xoxo Lela Victoria

Love and Hip Hop moves to NOLA

I'm not an avid watcher or love and hip hop. I will admit I tend to pay more attention to the Atlanta version over the NYC and Hollywood version only because I feel like I can relate to the ATL cast and that region a little bit more.

Hearing about Love and Hip Hop starting up filming in New Orleans, Louisiana aka NOLA has me super excited. I love New Orleans, it reminds me a lot of my hometown Mobile, Alabama which were both founded by the French. I think having a Love and Hip Hop in the Big Easy makes it more relatable to southern folks, especially a bama girl like myself. So far it's been reporting the cast will consist of rapper Mystikal, Supa Cent, 10thWardBuck, and social media celeb TokyoxVanity ( you might remember her as the girl who brought us THE BEST FRIEND song last summer). I'll definitely check out the first few episodes of this particular season, this will definitely be some drama that's close to home for me so I'm sure I'll definitely get in a good laugh or two.

Remember To Always Be

Fierce and Fabulous

xoxo Lela Victoria

RACE (Jesse Owens) "movie review"

When many people think of Track and Field greats many big names come to mind such as FLO JO, Wilma Rudolph, and the amazing Jesse Owens. The movie RACE was absolutely great. Going into seeing this movie, I forgot to get my mind right. By this I mean I forgot to take into consideration that the setting of this movie was in the 1930s which also meant that no matter how fast Jesse Owens was he was still subjected to being treated like a second class citizen and dealing with racism.

For those of you who do not know Jesse Owens is not the legal name of our great Track Star. He was named James Cleveland and was nicknamed J.C. When in school after his family moved from Alabama to Ohio he introduced himself as JC and the teacher thought he said JayyyyySee. Southern people have some of the thickest accents. The teacher recorded Jesse and that name stuck with him for life. 

The movie opens with Jesse and his family in Ohio and I immediately gave the side eye, because it was at that moment I noted that they skipped over the fact that Jesse Owens was born in Alabama. I am more than sure that the audience would have been interested in knowing about his childhood and given a quick glimpse at his time spent in Alabama, it more than likely contributed to the man he would eventually become.  

Knowing of Jesse Owen's accomplishments and watching his  life as a black man in the movie was interesting to digest. He had to sit at the back of the bus, deal with racism while he was a student at Ohio State, and also dealt with the typical hard life of being a black man during that time. The part that got me the most was the fact that Jesse Owens made the USA Olympic Team and was force to stay/sleep in the Black ( Lower Class) quarters on the ship that took the American athletes to Germany. This man was good enough to represent his country but not good enough to receive the same fair and equal treatments as his American teammates all because he was born with additional melanin within his skin. 

 Jesse Owens was faced with the decision on whether or not he would go compete in a country where other humans were being mistreated, which was similar to what was going on in the United States towards blacks. Telling someone who loves running to not run is a painful stab in the back . No one can understand the joys that come from running and racing unless you yourself participates in these acts. When you run, you run for yourself and no one else( I mean your team is considered but it's still you out there on that track)  and those who wanted Jesse to not run at the 1936 Belin Olympics would not be able to understand the fundamentals of what it means to RACE. 

Jesse Owens went on to win 4 GOLD OLYMPIC Medals ( 100, 200, 4x100m relay and long jump). He set world records and brought honor to the great USA. Adolph Hitler refused to congratulate Jesse Owens, but chose to congratulate other Olympic Gold Medalist and this was simply because Jesse was Black. Upon returning back to the United States Jesse was a hero but there were no endorsements waiting for him upon return and he became a working class citizen who focus was on uplifting the youth. 

On of the things that bothered me the most about Jesse's story is the fact that the President of the United States, during the time that he became an Olympic Champion, refused to invite him to the White House. Jesse was good enough to win for Team USA but not good enough to meet and shake hands with Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

Overall the movie was great. I would just say brace yourself for the racial bigotry that goes on during this time towards because if you're not ready it can catch you off guard. Jesse's story was told and his legacy has once again been embraced. 

Remember To Always Be 

Fierce and Fabulous 

xoxo Lela Victoria

Rihanna ( WORK ) new music video

Recently Rihanna released her single WORK and it's definitely been a new hit world wide. What I loved most about the song was that it reminded me of her original roots and I am immediately reminded that no matter how big of a superstar RIHANNA is, she will always be an island ( Barbados) woman.

 

This music video release was a bit different simply because Rihanna released 2 different music videos for the same song. Yes I said 2, Hmph I see you rih rih trying to step your game up girl. When I first clicked the video I was confused as too why the music video was 7 minutes long. I immediately thought we were going to have another "B*tch better have my money" movie seen but instead it was two separate music videos placed into one. 

The first music video was put together by Director X and is set in a Caribbean  theme club and Rihanna is rocking a sophisticated bob looking like a mature woman 

 

I love this video simply because it familiarizes us with the sounds of the Caribbens, it allows us to understand the language and dialect that Rihanna is singing in and allows us to get a feel of the people and it's culture. 

The second music video is a bit more intimate and only features Rihanna and Drake. It was directed by Tim Erem

This particular music video allows us to see the intimacy between and Rihanna and Drake and I swear y'all they do look well together. They really would make a bomb couple. 







Check out the video to work below.

Remember To Always Be

Fierce and Fabulous

xoxo Lela Victoria

Beyonce *New Song Alert* FORMATION

One day before Beyonce Giselle Knowles Carter is set to perform at the 50th Super Bowl she releases a new song entitled "Formation" along with a new music video. I knew something was coming ... The BeyHive 🐝 was buzzing to much for it not to be new music in the air. 

In this song Beyonce addresses any and everyone who's ever talked ish about her and I love that with one epic song she can silence all the haters.

One reason why I love Beyonce is because she's just like me, she loves her blackness and reps it to the core she's just strategic about how she does it. 

I love that Beyonce's is rocking braids, she always kills that style. Additionally I'm digging this old schism thugged out version of Bey and I have a feeling her bad azz take no ish sister Solange was her muse and inspiration. 

Now onto a more serious note, this video is sending a message and it can be related back to The Black Lives Matter movement. I was dancing to the video and watching in amazement as I started to notice a view things like the boy dancing in a hoodie, along with that New Orleans Police Department car submerged in water looking as if it is sinking. Y'all know how the Black community feels about the police right now. I also noticed the newspaper with Dr King on it that said more than a dreamer. Beyonce is so WOKE and unapologetically BLACK in this video and it makes me adore, admire, and Stan for her even more 

Check out the music video and pics from the music video as well 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrCHz1gwzTo&sns=em

I'm pretty sure Beyonce will be performing this song tomorrow night at the SuperBowl 50 and wanted to make sure we were all familiar with the song. She has slayyyyyyyyyyyyyed me once again, I'm so amazed right now, she never cease to amaze me. This new music is long overdue, the last time Bey gave us new music was November 2014 with 7/11 and the platinum version of her 5th album Beyonce. 

Remember To Always Be 

Fierce and Fabulous 

xoxo Lela Victoria 

Beyonce (APPRECIATION not APPROPRIATION ) of the Indian Culture

The musical group "ColdPlay" recently released a new video for their songs "Hymn of the Weekend". Upon hearing the title of the song I thought the song would be some sort of weekend anthem, but my assumption was nowhere near what the song really focused on. The song focuses on love and takes place in India during Holi ( festival of colours or the festival of love). Additionally ColdPlay has Beyonce contributing her amazing vocals throughout the song and that is ultimately why I watched the video in the first place. ColdPlay has previous music videos that highlights other cultures around the world and I think choosing to bring awareness to the Indian culture in "Hymn of the Weekend" was a great idea.

 

 

BUT with anything, there's always drama and hateful comments being spewed into the atmosphere. In the music video Beyonce can be seen wearing attire that many would consider to be that of Indian culture. Once this was discovered comments of "Culture Appropriation" immediately began to take over the internet. Upon hearing the comments this was the face I made.

Seriously, folks really want to come for Beyonce like the #BeyHive wont SHUT IT DOWN.













Any comments that speak negatively towards Beyonce does not sit well with me, especially when it's obvious that people are coming for her simply because of who she is and the status that she holds.

Let's take a look at this SO CALL APPROPRIATION

Here Beyonce is seen rocking Henna Art upon her hands, facial/head jewelry, and Indian clothing attire.

First let's talk about Beyonce who just so happens to be African American, Native American, and French/Creole. I am only going to focus on her African roots because AFRICA aka the motherland is the central/starting point for human life according to history and the discovery of human remains.

Henna is very popular in the Indian community. It is worn throughout many areas of the body to include the face, hands, arms, and feet. The henna plant is not only found in Southeast Asia, but  is also native to northern Africa and Australasia( a region of Oceania, which comprises of Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean). The dye from the Henna plant has been used in Africa throughout time to include during ancient Egypt as a way to dye skin and hair.

Being that Beyonce is of African Descent and Henna is apart of African culture, I say Beyonce has every right to wear Henna if she wants to. If you don't believe me see the photos below for proof.

Looks like HENNA to me

 

 

 

Boom there it goes again more HENNA

Now what was that being said about CULTURAL APPROPRIATION and Beyonce being in the wrong.

Okay next up is the facial/head jewelry she wore in the music video.

As I stated previously facial/head jewelry can also be seen being worn by many women within African cultures.

she has on head jewelry and she's rocking HENNA

The director of the music video is Indian (Ben Mor) and saw nothing wrong with Beyonce's attire. He new working with Beyonce meant that great things would come of his project. The person who played one of the most important roles in the creation of the music video was actual amazed when he saw Beyonce in the attire.

 

Majority of the time when black people wear items outside of their culture it is not done to ridicule that culture, it is done to show APPRECIATION. I think it is tough to say a black woman is appropriating another culture when much of every culture stems from Africa. The things that cracks me up the most is that this is not Beyonce's song yet she's taking the most heat. The video title does not even say featuring Beyonce, yet she's the center of attention, but hey when you are the Queen, that is expected. I am guessing the HATERS were caught off guard by her SLAYAGE.

I'll conclude with the fact that besides getting to see Beyonce give me life, I enjoyed the video and the opportunity to see Bollywood, Indian children embracing their culture, and the real streets of India. There are great attributes that stem from exploring and highlighting other cultures and I applaud ColdPlay for stepping outside the box and doing just that.


When it is all said and done, I say we take a moment to dive into the BEAUTY THAT IS BEYONCE..... just look at these gorgeous shot taken from the music video.

Personally I think that anytime anyone has the opportunity to come for Beyonce they will, and as a STAN I can not just sit by and allow that to happen.

After the discussions I have seen take place over this music video I have concluded that basically no one outside a culture can embrace or participate in it because if they choose to do so it will be consider CULTURAL APPROPRIATION and folks will be all butt hurt and in their feelings.

Guess what she's still Queen Bey and will still do whatever she wants to ....
hence her song GROWN WOMAN

"I'm a GROWN WOMAN .......I can do whatever I want"

Remember To Always Be

Fierce and Fabulous

xoxo

Lela Victoria

Happy 2016 continue to be great

          Hey everyone I hope you had a blessed and prosperous 2015. Now that 2016 is before us it's time to tackle those goals we set and to leave our mark and imprint upon 2016.  As you know I spent 80 percent of 2015 deployed to the country of Bahrain so I have much to accomplish in this upcoming year. There are so many places I want to visit and many things I will like to tackle. Please take advantage of this new season to improve upon yourself both Professionally and Personally. My advice to you would be to create a vision board and/or write down what goals that you have for yourself this year. By doing this you allow yourself to visually see what it is you would like to achieve. You should always be looking for ways to better yourself, the lives of others and your community.

My goals for 2016 consist of the following:

1) Become USATF Level 1 coaching certified
2) Officially launch my website
3) Start a non-profit
4) Read as much as possible
5) Grow my BLOG and Mary Kay Business
6) Finish my Masters Degree
7) Live a healthier life style
8) Improve my makeup skills
9) Learn more about investing
10) Win the Ms US Universal Title

What are some of your goals for the new year, let me know in the comment section.

Enjoy 2016 and lets make it a good one.

Remember To Always Be

Fierce and Fabulous

xoxo

Lela Victoria

Miss USA 2015 at Miss Universe *national costume sneak peek*

This summer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Olivia Jordan ( previous Miss Oklahoma ) was crowned Miss USA 2015. For those of you who do not know, this title is considered one of the most prestigious titles in the pageant industry.

On December 20, 2015  in Las Vegas, Nevada Olivia will compete against accomplished and beautiful women from around the world for the Miss Universe Title. During the pageant the contestants/ladies get to wear national costumes that represent their home nation and we have just been graced with a sneak peek of our very own Miss USA's costume 

This fierce red white and blue ensemble was designed by Adam Selman and resembles a Victoria Secret Fashion Show costume and I can't get enough of it. Those wings will definitely triumph over her competitors and make her stand out. 

I extremely excited to watch the pageant and to room Miss USA on to victory. Make sure you be sure to check out the pageant This Sunday December 20, 2015 on FOX 7/6c

Remember To Always Be

Fierce and Fabulous

xoxo 

Lela Victoria