Damn, Lady Tee Passes Away

Mary Christine Brockert, better known to legions of R&B fans as Teena Marie, passed away in her sleep Christmas Night at age 54.     She was found by her daughter Alia Rose at her home in Pasadena, CA early this morning.

I wrote a post about her on her March 5 birthday back in 2009.   Back in the day I loved me some Teena Marie (and still do).   The Grammy Award nominee was a 'blue eyed soul' singer with some serious pipes.  



I had more than a few songs of hers I liked and her CD's have a prominent place in my collection.   Besides her 'Fire and Desire duet with Rick James, I loved a song on one of her earlier albums called 'Behind The Groove'.

Rest in peace, Lady Tee.   Thanks for the music and memories.  As  sad as we are to see you go, Rick James is probably happy his protege and duet partner is finally joining him on the other side. 

Barbara Billingsley Dies

Was saddened to hear that Barbara Billingsley, who played stay at home mom June Cleaver on the iconic television show Leave It To Beaver, passed away today at age 94.


You younglings might remember her as the passenger that translated jive into English in the 1980 Airplane! movie, but.my generation used to see Leave It To Beaver on reruns.

She basically became 'America's Mom'  thanks to that June Cleaver role.  She was also the last of the surviving women who played the mothers on those 50's family shows such as Harriet Nelson, of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet; Jane Wyatt's Margaret Anderson, of Father Knows Best; and Donna Reed's Donna Stone, of The Donna Reed Show.

Leave It To Beaver started on CBS in 1957, then moved to ABC the next year until it ended its run in 1963 and lived on in syndication.

Another icon of my youth is gone.   Rest in Peace, Barbara.

Dr. Ronald W. Walters Passes Away

One of the people I eagerly read who has influenced much of the way I see things politically is political scholar and expert on African-American politics Dr. Ronald W. Walters.

I've posted and quoted Dr. Walters Principles of Black Leadership on numerous TransGriot posts over the years but really hadn't gone into depth about just how farsighted he was and how much his ideas have become part of mainstream progressive policy.

Just to satisfy your curiosity about what those principles are, let me kick 'em to you one more time:

"The task of Black leadership is to provide the vision, resources, tactics, and strategies that facilitate the achievement of the objectives of Black people.

These objectives have been variously described as freedom, integration, equality, liberation, or defined in the terms of specific public policies. It is a role that often requires disturbing the peace. And we constantly carry on a dialogue about the fitness of various leaders and the qualities they bring to the table to fulfill this mission."

Two of his ideas which were considered radical back in the day such as comprehensive health care and a proposed two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem, are now mainstream progressive political thought.

He predicted in his 1987 book 'Black Presidential Politics in America: A Strategic Approach' how and what a Black presidential would have to do to get elected. He was the intellectual guru behind the formation of and early coalescence of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1970 and was on the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. 1984 presidential campaign team.

In 1958 as an NAACP youth member in his hometown of Wichita, KS he pioneered and took part in a demonstration tactic that would later become famous in Greensboro, NC two years later, the sit-in.

In 2003 he predicted a resurgent white conservative movement in his book "White Nationalism, Black Interests: Conservative Public Policy and the Black Community."

In a January essay, Dr. Walters had this to say about President Obama's record in the face of criticism from the left and the right.

"I think that the pundits and the public should face up to one fact," he wrote. "The mess that President Barack Obama inherited will not be fixed in one year, or two or possibly even during his entire term.

"The media works on a timeframe of instant results. . . . If George Bush had been as criticized and interrogated as much as Obama, perhaps the edifice of problems that now challenge the very viability of America might have been stopped."

Dr. Walters died Friday in Bethesda from cancer.

"As an academic, journalist and crusader, he was in the tradition of W.E.B. DuBois," writer and civil rights leader Roger Wilkins said Saturday. "He was a man who used his intellect and wisdom to make this a fairer and culturally richer country than the one we were born into."

Dr. Walters was one of my intellectual role models. He will be missed by those of us in the African-American community and the progressive political side.

Rest in peace Dr. Walters.

Death In Renee's Family

Was saddened to hear from my Canadian homegirl about a death in her family.

She just told me her 20 year old nephew Jesse James Cox AKA 'Gentle Giant' as he was known to their family and his friends died earlier today.

Jesse earned that nickname because of his 6'5" stature and easygoing nature.

Unfortunately, the family's grief over their loss is magnified by the fact they are unable to pay for the funeral.

Renee has a sidebar donation box at her Womanist Musings blog asking for donations to help defray the costs for his funeral.

Any amount will do.

My condolences to your nephew's family and as always you, the unhusband, Mayhem and Destruction are in my prayers as well.

Remembering A Sophisticated Lady

It's hard to believe that 15 years has passed since singer Phyllis Hyman committed suicide on this date a few days short of her 46th birthday.

She was one of my favorite singers in addition to me loving the fact that this strikingly beautiful sister was six feet tall without her heels.

And she could rock some hats in addition to being my fictional guardian angel in two short stories I wrote for the blog.

The Pittsburgh native had a career that spanned Broadway, did a cameo in the Spike Lee movie School Daze in addition to having hit records such as 'Betcha By Golly Wow', 'Living All Alone', 'Somewhere In My Lifetime', 'I Don't Want To Lose You' and The Answer Is You' in addition to my favorite songs by her 'Don't Wanna Change The World', 'Can't We Fall In Love Again', 'I Refuse to be Lonely', 'Meet Me On The Moon' and 'You Know How To Love Me'.








Even 15 years later, you are still loved and missed by your fans.

Louisville Civil Rights Warrior George Unseld Passes

In the eight years I lived in Louisville, one of the first civic leaders I had the pleasure of meeting not long after moving there was trailblazing Metro Council member George Unseld.

I was saddened to hear that retired educator and Councilmember Unseld died yesterday at 6:47 PM EDT after falling in his Metro Council office 20 minutes before a scheduled city council meeting.

Giant of a man is a word you can use to describe him physically and literally. The 6'7" Unseld was the older brother of NBA Hall of Famer Wes Unseld. He blazed some trails himself on the court at Seneca High School and the University of Kansas.

He later became the first first African-American coach of a predominately white high school in Kentucky when he assumed the job at his alma mater Seneca High School. he also served the Jefferson County Public Schools as an instructor and Director of Athletics.

Unseld was elected as a alderman in 1999, and served two teems before being elected as one of the charter members of the merged city's Metro Council District 6 in 2002. He was reelected to Louisville's Metro Council in 2004 and 2008.

While at Kansas, he and Gale Sayers were among 130 students arrested for protesting racial discrimination in the fraternity and sorority system at KU.

Unseld also played a leading role in tackling some large issues facing Louisville over the last decade and a half. He called for policies allowing for civilian review of police actions and a living wage for metro government employees.

In 1999 he was one of five co-sponsors to the original Fairness Ordinance passed by the board of aldermen. The Fairness Ordinance bars discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In 2004 he voted to affirm the ordinance when the Metro Council later re-enacted it to apply to the merged city.

He's had some health issues over the years. He's battled diabetes, a kidney infection, skin cancer, and a drug resistant infection following a knee operation.

But it didn't stop him from interacting with his constituents and progressive Louisville and working hard on behalf of his District 6 constituents.

He was preceded in death in January by his wife and high school sweetheart Jacqueline, who he married in 1994. His 43 year old son Charles Dorsey Unseld passed away in 2009.

George Unseld is a civil rights warrior and another walking slice of Louisville and Kentucky history that has now joined his wife, son and the ancestors.

George, thanks for the wonderful conversations we had at various events every time we ran into each other. You will be missed.

Frenchy's Co-Founder Passes Away

I mentioned how much I love Frenchy's chicken and wrote a post honoring their 40th anniversary last year.

Well, one of the co-founders of that iconic Houston institution, 86 year old Percy 'Frenchy' Creuzot passed away yesterday in a local hospital after suffering a stroke three weeks ago.

Frenchy's is an iconic local chain started by the New Orleans born Creuzot and his wife Sallie in July 1969 as a po-boy stand on Scott Street near the UH and TSU campuses.

He added a creole seasoned chicken to the menu to compete with a now closed Church's location across the street, and a legendary establishment was born.

'The Taste That Lasts Forever' has been enjoyed by myself, generations of Houstonians and visitors to the city, and we and his family are saddened by the loss of a legendary business figure in our community like Percy Creuzot.

Goodbye Coach Wooden

Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable' John Wooden

He passed away a few months short of his 100th birthday, and was the guy most responsible for keeping my Coogs from winning the 1967 and 1968 NCAA championships, but the 'Wizard of Westwood's' accomplishments extend far beyond basketball excellence.

John Wooden passed away June 4, appropriately while the NBA Finals opening game was being played in Los Angeles. He won 10 NCAA titles in 12 years while at UCLA, but he's one of those legendary figures who not only casts a large historic shadow on the college game, but basketball in general.

He was basically a teacher and philosopher of life masquerading as a successful basketball coach.


His Pyramid of Success is still used and applicable to any person wishing to live a quality life and be successful at whatever they do.

It's also a shining example of a quality life well lived, and the world already is poorer for his departure.

Dr. Dorothy Height Dies

Another of the sheroes of the 60's civil rights movement has moved on. Dr. Dorothy Height, the Godmother of the women's movement', passed away at Howard University Hospital at 3:41 AM EDT this morning at age 98.

Dr. Height was born in Richmond, VA on March 24, 1912 and grew up in Rankin, Pennsylvania. While in high school because of her oratorical skills she was given a scholarship to Barnard College in New York.

Unfortunately Barnard College had a policy in place at the time in which it admitted only two African-American students a year, and she arrived on campus after two others had been enrolled. She pursued studies at New York University, earning her Master's degree in psychology and her doctoral studies at Columbia.

While she was most noted for her long tenure as chair and president emeritus of the National Council of Negro Women from 1957-1988, and a past chair of the Leadership Conference On Civil Rights, she began her civil rights work in 1933 as a leader in the United Christian Youth Movement of North America.

Some of the issues she fought for at that time were stopping lynchings and desegregating the armed forces.

In addition to being mentored by women such as Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt, she counseled presidents on civil rights and women's issues from FDR to Obama.

She was one of the original 'Big Six' civil rights leaders, and was in attendance at the recent White House meeting President Obama held with African-American leaders on race and the economy.

She has garnered numerous awards and honors including induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993, the NAACP's Spingarn Medal in 1993, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994 by President Clinton and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.

She was also given during Barnard College's 1980 commencement ceremony its highest honor, the Barnard Medal of Distinction.

She had a front row seat to many of the events that shaped our lives and worked alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., future congressman John Lewis, and A. Philip Randolph. She was one of the people sitting behind Dr. King the day he gave his 1963 'I Have A Dream' speech'.

She was president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. from 1946-1957 and remained active in the organization throughout her life.


Former US Secretary of Labor Alexis W. Herman said about her, "She was a dynamic woman with a resilient spirit, who was a role model for women and men of all faiths, races and perspectives. For her, it wasn't about the many years of her life, but what she did with them."

She is one of my leadership role models, and if I ever become one tenth of what she meant to our community, I'd consider it a great achievement.

Rest Dr. Height. You have earned it.

Bye, Teddy Bear

Was shocked to hear as I tuned in to the TJMS that Teddy Pendergrass, one of my favorite soul singers of the 70's and early 80's died Wednesday in his hometown of Philadelphia at age 59 after a long illness.

Teddy was born in Philadelphia on March 26, 1950 and started out his music career as a drummer. It wasn't long before we began hearing that sexy, powerful baritone voice on Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes songs such as their 1972 Number One hit 'If You Don't Know Me by Now'.

Teddy left the group to go solo and had a string of hits such as "I Don't Love You Anymore', 'Love THO', 'Turn out The Lights' and 'Close The Door'.

Pendergrass had a string of 10 consecutive platinum albums while receiving several Grammy nominations, Billboard's 1977 Pop Album New Artist Award and an American Music Award for best R&B performer of 1978.

For the brothers of the late 70's, if you wanted some romantic attention from the ladies, Teddy Pendergrass' music or concert tickets became a requirement for setting the proper romantic mood. Teddy's music is probably responsible for many of the people who were born in the late 70's and early 80's being here.



Sisters back in the day loved them some Teddy and the 'Teddy Bear' loved them back. Teddy was one of the first artists to have 'For Ladies Only' concert tours that were sold out affairs.

I still chuckle about a 1980 Kool Jazz Festival I attended at the Dome with my uncle, brother and mom in which Rick James and Teddy were the highlight acts. We had floor seats twenty rows from the rotating stage, and five minutes into Teddy's set, two sexy sisters sweetly asked my uncle if they could borrow his binoculars because in their words, they wanted to see if Teddy had a big package.

As my Uncle Leo chuckled and handed over his binoculars, the stage rotated back in our direction. The first sister squealed in delight as her homegirl said 'Ooh girl, lemme see, lemme see' as panties started flying toward the stage.

In 1982 as Teddy's career was at its apex with him becoming an international superstar and sex symbol, Pendergrass and passenger Tenika Watson were involved in a near fatal Philadelphia car accident that left him paralyzed.

But Pendergrass returned to the studio in 1984 to record an album. That album featured a song in which a young female singer got her first recording opportunity.

That singer's name was Whitney Houston. Wonder what happened to her?

Teddy also did a lot of work through his Teddy Pendergrass Alliance founded in 1998 to help people suffering from spinal cord injuries.

But my feelings about Teddy are echoed by his son Teddy Pendergrass II.

"To all his fans who loved his music, thank you. He will live on through his music."

That he will. But another one of the legendary R&B singers has passed on.

Goodbye Mary Daly-And Please Take The Transphobia With You

TransGriot Note: My latest post for Global Comment.

One of the major reasons I don't like radical feminism is the virulent transphobia that was espoused by the quartet of Sheila Jeffreys, Janice Raymond, Germaine Greer, and the woman that died January 3, Mary Daly.

While Daly was a brilliant thinker, she was controversial to put it mildly.

She once advocated that only ten percent of the men on Planet Earth should be left alive, and refused to allow men in her women's studies classrooms at Boston College.

She was called out by womanist Audre Lorde for her racism in Lorde's famous May 6, 1979 Open Letter To Mary Daly.

Lorde criticized her for failing to address race or acknowledge the stories of women of color in Daly's 1978 book Gyn/Ecology.

Daly never responded to Lorde's letter, which she published four months later.

Daly's transphobia was in full effect in Gyn/Ecology as well when she referred to trans people as "Frankensteinian" and living in a "contrived and artifactual condition".

“Although the resistance Mary Daly’s feminist theology offered to patriarchal oppression is commendable, a spirituality that elevates one’s own kind by demonizing an ‘other’ – as hers did for transgender/genderqueer folks – is ultimately one for which I have no sympathy,” said transgender activist and historian Dr. Susan Stryker. “Her moralistic condemnation of transsexuals as death-loving Frankenstein monsters was a powerful impetus for my own efforts to reclaim the transformative power of the monstrous and refute its stigma for trans people.”

You can read the rest of the Mary Daly post there.

JFK Assassination Anniversary

Today is the sad anniversary of the November 22, 1963 assassination of our 35th President of the United Sates, John Fitzgerald Kennedy in Dallas.

Since I have relatives in Dallas, I have visited Dealey Plaza and the area where the assassination happened numerous times

While there are many quotes from JFK that I love, this one about liberalism is perfect answer to conservafools as to why I am a proud liberal.

And yes, I agree with people who state that we need to immediately take that word back from the conservaidiots.


If by a liberal they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people - their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties..if that is what they mean by a "liberal" then I am proud to be a liberal. John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the United States

Rest in peace, JFK. Our country would be a far better place today had you lived.

Michael Jackson 1958-2009

They say deaths come in threes, and that is especially true of celebrity ones. Farrah Fawcett died this morning, Ed McMahon a day ago, and it was in the back of my mind who would be the third.

As of the time I'm writing this, the LA Times is confirming that Michael Jackson has died.

This is a sad on for me because I have a personal connection to it.

Michael Jackson's death is striking me a little harder than the average celeb death on many levels.

I and my brother got to tag along with my Dad when the station had a 'Meet The Jackson Five contest back in the day. We picked up the winner, and zipped off to the Sam Houston Coliseum for the concert. The show was the bomb until the crowd bumrushed the stage and put a quick end to it. I was backstage and barely avoided being trampled as the frenzied crowd chased the J5 to their waiting limos to the street.

At the rendezvous at the Galleria Oaks Hotel, I got to meet him along with the contest winner and my friend Ernest Carswell. Ernest and I used to win a lot of money off those photos in junior high school from peeps who assumed we were lying about doing so.

I still have the autographed pics at my parents house.

I like a lot of peeps of my generation and those like my sisters who grew up in the 80's was a big fan, and it was amplified by the fact I had met him.

It was also a sense of immense pride to many African-Americans that an R&B artist blew up to become a household name around the world, thanks to Quincy Jones' composing genius and his immense talent.

You were a once in a generation performer, and you will be missed.

RIP Michael.