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2.16.2008

It's February, And That Means It's Black History Month

Did you know February was Black History Month? With all the whirlwind of activity and drama in my life, I forgot for a hot second until Heather over at Gild the Voodoolily asked me to participate in her Black History Month tribute blog. Cynthia has introduced us. Now I have discovered Heather's great blog. Heather is an outspoken, creative, smart, and talented. She “gives it to you straight, without a chaser”. Her questions were thought provoking and gave me a chance to reminisce and vent a bit. Today we are seeing a handful of prominent Black chefs and food and wine types in the industry. I love it when I see “my own” enrolled in the all the culinary schools in Chicago walking to clad with their knive kits, etc. I hope they make it. My personal favorite is Marcus Samuelson, of course. So check out her post.She even made a special dish just for me! Remember my words are “my experience” and I don’t speak for my race as a whole.

Thinking about Black History month, my personal icons came to mind. When I get ‘In those Scorpio moods' I listen to my old late friend Nina Simone. Her music and I have gone through some times from early childhood ( when my parents played it) to my adulthood. An “individualist” who weaved important messages in her song. I have had the honor to see her three times in my life at various venues around the world. I choose Four Woman to show the complexity of who we are. This song has so many messages and was very controversial. This clip was Nina at her best, I believe. Glamorous, forceful, and thought provoking. Tomorrow I’ll get back to sweetness and light when I post a birthday cake I’m working on for a friend’s daughters birthday. In the meantime..

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10 comments:

Heather said...

Courtney, thanks so much for being part of my tribute. I hope you like that soup!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

I didn't know that... How interesting!

Cheers,

Rosa

Anonymous said...

I was just reading her bio and was touched by the obstacles she had to overcome. Can you imagine your parents being forced to take a backseat at your first performance? She is surely a heroine to look up to and emulate.

Anonymous said...

I love Marcus Samuelsson. He's one of my heroes. I ate at Aquavit three or four times when he was the chef and i think it was the best meals i ever had. So creative!

Nina Simone is a legend, i agree.
:-)

Emily said...

I've already read the interview, and it was a good one.
You studied in Paris?! Oh, I am so jealous.

Pixie said...

A wonderful clip of Nina Simone. Thanks for sharing and contributing to Heather's blog.

Jen said...

I learned about your blog from Heather - I LOVE your blog! Very, very cool. I will most definitely be back. Great writing and recipes.

Gabi said...

What a treat-thank you. I've always loved Nina. I think I have most of her albums and she has helped me through many a troubled day- I would bake bread and knead away all my worries while I listened to her strong-strong voice and she filled me with hope.
Much love to you!
xoxo
Gabi

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

Great interview. It is always so great to get a glimpse into other people's lives...

glamah16 said...

Thanks all of you. I'm glad you liked it. All credit goes to Heather for coming up with this great idea.