Progress takes time, sometimes an inordinate amount of time, to simply first make a wrong, right. But it is a necessary step to move forward. Perhaps, that is a good way to put into perspective the announcement today by the Smithsonian Institution that it will build a National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).

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With an air of condescending disappointment and over a plate of fried catfish and smothered sweet potatoes, my good friend asked, How does Ms. Blackness herself, Queen of critiquing all things white, end up dating a WHITE man? Yes, its the same friend from my last post what can I say; he provides much fodder for writing! Anyway, I was a little perturbed at the thought of having to justify my dating life; still, I pushed my saltiness aside. Once again, I found myself in a teachable moment.

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Many have speculated on the effects that Barak Obamas election as President would have on not just black-white relations but also on attitudes and behaviors in the black community which for the first time in our nations history has available a black role model in the nations highest office. Anecdotal evidence of positive effects abounds. A Washington Post feature described how Obamas campaign, election, and kick off the school year speech inspired black youth in and around Washington, D.C.

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Not sure where to go for a holiday getaway, a trip to South Africa with a stop at three or four of the company called &Beyonds properties offers an authentic African experience. It also means giving back to the communities where the properties are located.

In the case of my recent trip to the Sabi Sand Game Reserve area of South Africa just outside Kruger National Park, I visited three properties. All the properties are unique in their own right, including the Ngala Tented Camp, Kirkmans Kamp, and Exeter River Lodge.

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Drugs. The lure of drugs comes as a thief in the night, robbing us of our best and often our most promising. We are reminded as we mourn the death of Whitney Houston.

While the toxicology report is yet to be finalized, from the accounts of what transpired during the days prior to her death, and her long-term battle with substance abuse, it appears that alcohol and drugs had something to do with Houstons untimely death.

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With more than one in five children in the United States now living below the poverty line, the answer for Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is for them to "learn the value of work" by becoming school janitors.

Seriously, learning to scrub a toilet is Gingrich's answer to millions of poor children, as if they aren't already suffering enough with a lack of nutrition, poor education, and limited or having zero access to healthcare, and housing.

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Michel Goldstein is a one-man United Nations, at least as far as culinary indulgences are concerned. His paternal grandfather is from Rumania and his grandmother, from Mexico via Russia. On the maternal side, his grandfather is from France and his grandmother from Mexico via Bulgaria. Born in the USA, he practices his Jewish faith and enjoys the special cultural aspects associated with it.

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Does he look like Sidney Poitier? my mother inquired cautiously. Not really mom, I replied. Um, he doesnt look really black, does he? she asked hesitantly. Well, sorta... I replied. He describes himself as paper sack brown and curly headed but she would not know what to say to that, so I dont tell her. There is no good way to tell your white mother and your Sicilian father that you are engaged to a black man. Born in 1937, my mother simply couldnt comprehend that in 1990 her daughter would date an African-American without so much as an apology.

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