After doing over 50,000 conversational style interviews between his radio and television gigs and 25 years at CNN, talk show host Larry King is leaving the airwaves after his final show later tonight..
In a New York Times story, he expressed no regrets about leaving his how which will be taken over by Piers Morgan, but noted the current state of the industry and his 9 PM ET competitors.
“If you look at media now,” he said in a telephone interview, “all the
hosts of these other shows are interviewing themselves. The guests are a
prop for the hosts on these cable networks. The guest to me was always
paramount.”
And the one thing I liked that some of the 50,000 people that he's interviewed on the show included trans people and transpersons of color.
Larry, you are a class act. We Americans and others who crave intelligent discourse on TV are definitely going to miss you.
TransGriot Note: 2003 Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote this commentary for Essence.com that also appears in its November 2010 issue entitled 'Hate Has No Place In God's House.' It is a timely one in light of the anti GLBT hate rising in many African nations that was instigated and egged on by US based Reich wing fundies.
***
Today I pray for people in Africa and throughout the world who long for freedom because they are lesbian,
gay, bisexual or transgender. It grieves me to be retiring at this
crucial moment in history, so I write to you in this open letter, to
invite you to pick up the work that remains to be done. More than 70
countries still imprison or execute gay and transgender people, and bullying and murders are all too common. This must change.
Each of you is called to respond to God's urgency for love and life. So whether you are in South Africa, the United States
or anywhere else, humanity needs to accept its own diversity as a gift
from our Creator. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are part
of our family of God.
I have always striven for a life of love in action. Many told me to stop. They called me a communist or they
told me that I might be killed. Now, I have lived long, and one choice
that comes with age is how to deal with our own mortality. Should we be
more careful or be more bold? Should we rest on our laurels or respond
to the urgency of justice?
Boldly, I urge all faith leaders and
politicians to stop persecuting people based on their sexual orientation
or gender identity. Every day people live in fear because of who they
love. We are talking about our family members, our flesh and blood, our humanity. LGBT people are in our villages, towns, cities, countries -- and our whole world.
In
South African churches we have sung, "Oh freedom! Freedom is coming, oh
yes, I know." We sang this chorus at the lowest points of our journey
toward freedom against the racist and colonialist system of apartheid,
and we still sing it to this day. Freedom is coming -- and those of us
who have freedom must speak out for those whose freedom is under attack.
We can and must make a difference.
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.
Today is Pamela Suzette Grier's birthday, and I have much love for her as one of my beauty icons.
I'll also be celebrating Pam's birthday by picking up a copy of her autobiography 'Foxy' assuming it's available in my friendly neighborhood bookstore.
Pam is still doing her thing acting and hopefully will do a book tour so I can get her autograph.
Happy birthday to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, or as he's better known to the rest of the world, Malcolm X. He was born on this date in Omaha, NE in 1925.
Our 'Shining Black Prince' as the late Ossie Davis said about him in his eulogy after his assassination, is misunderstood by people and is called 'racist' by many whites.
But then again, any Black person who has immense pride in our people and is blunt about the subject of race and race relations in the United States gets tarred and feathered with that assertion.
While I was in the process of moving last week I heard the sad news about one of my fave beauty icons, legendary singer, actress and civil rights warrior Lena Horne.
She passed away on May 9 in her hometown of New York at age 92 from congestive heart failure.
She started as a 16 year old chorus girl at Harlem's legendary Cotton Club during the Depression and parlayed that into a career spanning 60 years in movies, television, Grammy-winning records, a one-woman Broadway show and untold numbers of nightclub appearances.
In the 1940's she was a trailblazer in having a seven year MGM contract during an era in which that kind of deal was unheard of for African-Americans. But the racism she battled throughout most of her career would result in many of the scenes she shot for films during that era to be cut in prints destined to be shown in the Jim Crow South.
Horne found herself being painfully passed over by non-singing Ava Gardner for the role of Julie in the 1951 movie "Show Boat.' Julie in that movie, FYI, was a mixed-race performer who was passing herself off as white.
During World War II if you walked into African-American sections of military bases, Black GI's had pictures of the glamorous Horne posted all over the place. She reciprocated the love that brothers of that era had for her by traveling to bases along the west coast and in the South to entertain African-American troops.
She was outspoken about the treatment of Black soldiers in the then segregated US military, and quit a January 1945 USO tour when the officers in charge allowed German prisoners at a base in Little Rock, AR to witness her performance but barred African American troops from doing so.
Horne was raised by a suffragist grandmother who was an NAACP member in a free-thinking household. She refused to accept the restrictive conventions and damaging stereotypes of mid-20th-century Hollywood and brushed away attempts to cast her as a Latina.
She was a proud civil rights warrior who took part in civil rights demonstrations. Her civil rights activism and friendship with Paul Robeson and others marked her in McCarthyite eyes as a Communist sympathizer and she was blacklisted for it.
She overcame her own personal stormy weather to become an iconic American performer, a shining example of African-American womanhood, and a beloved shero and icon to millions.
TransGriot Note: The video and transcript of President Obama's remarks made at yesterday's memorial service for Dr. Dorothy Height.
Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. 10:40 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Please be seated. Let me begin by saying a word to Dr. Dorothy Height’s sister, Ms. Aldridge. To some, she was a mentor. To all, she was a friend. But to you, she was family, and my family offers yours our sympathy for your loss.
We are gathered here today to celebrate the life, and mourn the passing, of Dr. Dorothy Height. It is fitting that we do so here, in our National Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Here, in a place of great honor. Here, in the House of God. Surrounded by the love of family and of friends. The love in this sanctuary is a testament to a life lived righteously; a life that lifted other lives; a life that changed this country for the better over the course of nearly one century here on Earth.
Michelle and I didn’t know Dr. Height as well, or as long, as many of you. We were reminded during a previous moment in the service, when you have a nephew who’s 88 -- (laughter) -- you’ve lived a full life. (Applause.)
But we did come to know her in the early days of my campaign. And we came to love her, as so many loved her. We came to love her stories. And we loved her smile. And we loved those hats -- (laughter) -- that she wore like a crown -- regal. In the White House, she was a regular. She came by not once, not twice -- 21 times she stopped by the White House. (Laughter and applause.) Took part in our discussions around health care reform in her final months.
Last February, I was scheduled to see her and other civil rights leaders to discuss the pressing problems of unemployment -- Reverend Sharpton, Ben Jealous of the NAACP, Marc Morial of the National Urban League. Then we discovered that Washington was about to be blanketed by the worst blizzard in record -- two feet of snow.
So I suggested to one of my aides, we should call Dr. Height and say we're happy to reschedule the meeting. Certainly if the others come, she should not feel obliged. True to form, Dr. Height insisted on coming, despite the blizzard, never mind that she was in a wheelchair. She was not about to let just a bunch of men -- (laughter) -- in this meeting. (Applause.) It was only when the car literally could not get to her driveway that she reluctantly decided to stay home. But she still sent a message -- (laughter) -- about what needed to be done.
And I tell that story partly because it brings a smile to my face, but also because it captures the quiet, dogged, dignified persistence that all of us who loved Dr. Height came to know so well -- an attribute that we understand she learned early on.
Born in the capital of the old Confederacy, brought north by her parents as part of that great migration, Dr. Height was raised in another age, in a different America, beyond the experience of many. It’s hard to imagine, I think, life in the first decades of that last century when the elderly woman that we knew was only a girl. Jim Crow ruled the South. The Klan was on the rise -- a powerful political force. Lynching was all too often the penalty for the offense of black skin. Slaves had been freed within living memory, but too often, their children, their grandchildren remained captive, because they were denied justice and denied equality, denied opportunity, denied a chance to pursue their dreams.
The progress that followed -- progress that so many of you helped to achieve, progress that ultimately made it possible for Michelle and me to be here as President and First Lady -- that progress came slowly. (Applause.)
Progress came from the collective effort of multiple generations of Americans. From preachers and lawyers, and thinkers and doers, men and women like Dr. Height, who took it upon themselves -- often at great risk -- to change this country for the better. From men like W.E.B Du Bois and A. Philip Randolph; women like Mary McLeod Bethune and Betty Friedan -- they’re Americans whose names we know. They are leaders whose legacies we teach. They are giants who fill our history books. Well, Dr. Dorothy Height deserves a place in this pantheon. She, too, deserves a place in our history books. (Applause.) She, too, deserves a place of honor in America’s memory.
Look at her body of work. Desegregating the YWCA. Laying the groundwork for integration on Wednesdays in Mississippi. Lending pigs to poor farmers as a sustainable source of income. Strategizing with civil rights leaders, holding her own, the only woman in the room, Queen Esther to this Moses Generation -- even as she led the National Council of Negro Women with vision and energy -- (applause) -- with vision and energy, vision and class.
But we remember her not solely for all she did during the civil rights movement. We remember her for all she did over a lifetime, behind the scenes, to broaden the movement’s reach. To shine a light on stable families and tight-knit communities. To make us see the drive for civil rights and women’s rights not as a separate struggle, but as part of a larger movement to secure the rights of all humanity, regardless of gender, regardless of race, regardless of ethnicity.
It’s an unambiguous record of righteous work, worthy of remembrance, worthy of recognition. And yet, one of the ironies is, is that year after year, decade in, decade out, Dr. Height went about her work quietly, without fanfare, without self-promotion. She never cared about who got the credit. She didn’t need to see her picture in the papers. She understood that the movement gathered strength from the bottom up, those unheralded men and women who don't always make it into the history books but who steadily insisted on their dignity, on their manhood and womanhood. (Applause.) She wasn’t interested in credit. What she cared about was the cause. The cause of justice. The cause of equality. The cause of opportunity. Freedom’s cause.
And that willingness to subsume herself, that humility and that grace, is why we honor Dr. Dorothy Height. As it is written in the Gospel of Matthew: “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” I don’t think the author of the Gospel would mind me rephrasing: “whoever humbles herself will be exalted.” (Applause.)
One of my favorite moments with Dr. Height -- this was just a few months ago -- we had decided to put up the Emancipation Proclamation in the Oval Office, and we invited some elders to share reflections of the movement. And she came and it was a inter-generational event, so we had young children there, as well as elders, and the elders were asked to share stories. And she talked about attending a dinner in the 1940s at the home of Dr. Benjamin Mays, then president of Morehouse College. And seated at the table that evening was a 15-year-old student, “a gifted child,” as she described him, filled with a sense of purpose, who was trying to decide whether to enter medicine, or law, or the ministry.
And many years later, after that gifted child had become a gifted preacher -- I’m sure he had been told to be on his best behavior -- after he led a bus boycott in Montgomery, and inspired a nation with his dreams, he delivered a sermon on what he called “the drum major instinct” -- a sermon that said we all have the desire to be first, we all want to be at the front of the line.
The great test of a life, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, is to harness that instinct; to redirect it towards advancing the greater good; toward changing a community and a country for the better; toward doing the Lord’s work.
I sometimes think Dr. King must have had Dorothy Height in mind when he gave that speech. For Dorothy Height met the test. Dorothy Height embodied that instinct. Dorothy Height was a drum major for justice. A drum major for equality. A drum major for freedom. A drum major for service. And the lesson she would want us to leave with today -- a lesson she lived out each and every day -- is that we can all be first in service. We can all be drum majors for a righteous cause. So let us live out that lesson. Let us honor her life by changing this country for the better as long as we are blessed to live. May God bless Dr. Dorothy Height and the union that she made more perfect. (Applause.)
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.
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.
