2022: AUTUMN IN AMERICA
Election day Americana is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Americans are waiting with eager anticipation for November 8 to end! Will Republicans go out in larger numbers than Democrats, insuring victory for some of the most morbid groups of election hopefuls? Will most registered Blacks turn out to vote in large numbers? Has Latinx abandoned the Democrats and gone red? How will Asian Americans vote? Will GenZers and Millennials take a pass on 11/8? I think not. How will Independents vote?
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Election Day 2022 is highly important. The election victors should be about who will serve the best interests of the nation, not the reds or blues. Will there be an October surprise? It has to arrive soon! The October surprise has already influenced mayoral and gubernatorial races. I wonder about polls and the people canvassed.
Most Americans are concerned about the preservation of democracy, inflation, public safety (schools, malls) climate change, abortion, and immigration.
It is hard to say which is the lower-hanging fruit in Americans’ minds. Oftentimes, we do not vote for candidates who represent our best interests. Prayerfully, this Midterm digresses from the norm, where the majority party loses seats in Congress. And wreaks havoc with the sitting President’s agenda.
KANYE THE ENIGMA: Kanye West’s recent behavior is beyond reason. Kanye West also known as YE, wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to a Fashion Week event. Isn’t that white supremacist talk? Whites were not offended by his fashion statement. His father Ray West was offended and told him about the message on the T-shirt. A week later, YE began relentless anti-Semitic remarks which were egregious. Initially, I thought that he was undergoing a neurotic/psychotic meltdown. There seems to be something more sinister with this picture. Ye’s anti-Semitic rants grew more pernicious and talked with impunity. Last week, Donald Trump also made anti-semitic remarks. To date, Ye’s talent agency dropped him. The Gap has pulled his products from its shelves, talent agency CAA has dropped him from its roster. Adidas has cut ties with him as has his law firm.
Is this the October surprise?
In Great Britain, Rishi Sunak makes history as its new Prime Minister. He is the first person of color to be voted Prime Minister. He was born in England to parents from India.
NATIONAL HEALTH
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a division of the National Institutes of Health, published findings on hair health from its SISTER STUDY, from data compiled from 33,000 women tracked for 11 years. One outcome of the study is that hair straighteners and relaxers place women at a higher risk of uterine cancer. About 378 women in the study were diagnosed with uterine cancer. About 60% of women who reported using straighteners are Black. The risk of developing uterine cancer for frequent hair straightener users is 4.05% compared to 1.64% for women who do not use them.
ARTS AND CULTURE
The Ford Foundation will convene SAVE HARLEM NOW! Preservation Conference 2022 Saving This Place! A Call to Action for Preserving Harlem on November 3, from 9 am to 5 pm. “A day-long in-person conference with input from preservationists, architects, developers, scholars, community leaders, and elected officials to raise awareness, to activate, to collaborate, to educate our community and stakeholders to unite around our goal to preserve Harlem.”
FILM: MSNBC Films picked up THE TIPPING POINT, a new documentary series, that focuses on the complexities of today’s American society and beyond, which is executive produced by Trevor Noah’s Zero Productions. Documentary subjects run the gamut from civil rights, voting rights, and climate change to January 6; immigration, and media disinformation. TIPPING POINT debuts on MSNBC and streams on Peacock on October 23. Noah’s producer partners include LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Angelina Jolie, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Apollo Films and IMAGENATION will co-host a documentary film screening, “Mr. Nelson on the North Side,” about Minnesota-born African-
American music icon Prince Rogers Nelson, aka PRINCE, directed by Daniel D’Or, at the Apollo Theater Sound Stage, located at 253 West 125 Street, Harlem, on November 17 at 7 pm. The film explores the influences, role models, and myriad music styles that informed Prince’s artistry and genius. A cocktail reception and a Q&A are bookends of the event. Visit ApolloTheater.org/event/imagenations.
MEDIA: Black women dominate the covers of prominent American magazines this season. Vocalist/flutist LIZZO is the November Vanity Fair cover girl ablaze in a red coat according to credits. The spread is a 13-page portrait of an artist written by Lisa Robinson. Vogue Magazine’s November cover girl story, “The Whirlwind Life of Michaela Coel, Next Stop Wakanda”, is awash in AKA colors. Writer/actress Michaela Coel is a Ghanaian Brit who shares her Black Panther/Wakanda Forever odyssey. The Vogue spread was shot in Ghana. The film “Wakanda Forever” opens on 11/11.
BOOKS: The National Book Awards, NBA, 2022, is one of the prestigious prizes which recognizes excellence in literature in the United. States will be held on November 15. Books by and about Black people which made the NBA Short List include:
FICTION: Gayl Jones’ “The Birdcatcher,” which follows a group of Black American artists in Ibiza: a writer, her best friend, a sculptor whose husband repeatedly institutionalizes her for attempting to murder him and NON FICTION: “His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice” by Washingon Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa.
INDEPENDENCE: The Caribbean twin island nation of Antigua/Barbuda was granted Independence from colonial rule from Great Britain on November 1, 1981. Antigua/Barbuda is a member of the Commonwealth. However, Prime Minister Gaston Browne plans a referendum to replace the Monarchy.
HALLOWEEN: A Halloween Costume Masquerade Party is scheduled in honor of Assemblywoman Inez Dickens, at the Cove Lounge – 325 Malcolm X Boulevard, Harlem, on October 31, 6-8 pm. A fundraiser with dangerous and delicious refreshments. RSVP to Darren at 845.405.6412.
