Talent Could Not Outlast Her Demons

I was shocked and immediately saddened today when I heard the news that one of my favorite singers had died.

Amy Winehouse, only 27 years old, was found dead in her apartment in London. While everyone suspects an overdose, the cause of death remains unknown at the moment. She is just the latest artist with limitless talent but died young because of personal demons that get the best of them.

I remember when I first heard her album, Back To Black, during my freshman year of college in 2006. I immediately added her to my iPod. Songs like "Love is a Losing Game" and "Some Unholy War" became favorites of mine and I played them over and over.

If my man was fighting
Some unholy war
I would be behind him
Straight shook up beside him
With strength he didn't know
It's you I'm fighting for
He can't lose with me in tow
I refuse to let him go
At his side and drunk on pride
We wait for the blow 

Her soulful delivery and lyrics would not make you think that she was a white girl from the UK, but despite that she had me as an instant fan. I have always said that I am a fan of music and not of individuals, and that a musician's personal problems were none of my business as long as they made great music. While she was not perfect in the least bit, I supported her music and will have it to remember her by.

She only released two albums in her career, and I was waiting for new material from her but obviously we will never hear it. It is sad to say that she will never be able to reach her full potential because of her drug and alcohol problem, but I'm still happy to have been exposed to her talent while she was alive and call myself a fan.

R.I.P. Amy Winehouse 1983-2011 :-(

Here is a video of her from 2007 performing my favorite song of hers, "Some Unholy War" in London...
I love this because you can feel her love for this man, and the soul of her voice is extraordinary.

Dark Skin vs. Light Skin: The War MUST End

I stumbled on this documentary on Tumblr and was moved so much to write about it.

These beautiful women of color share stories about how they have struggled with their complexion and battled comments from their mothers, friends, and society in general.

It hurts my heart when I hear a BEAUTIFUL dark skinned woman say that she wishes that she were lighter. It's not because I feel pity for her, but because I know that it is NOT her fault that she feels this way.

If I had a little girl, I didn't want her to be dark. 

Years and years of perpetuated stereotypes and unreasonable standards keep them from seeing the TRUE beauty in themselves & I fight back tears. Not for them but for their daughters, who will feel this way about themselves as well unless the cycle is broken.

The MOST heartbreaking part is when the little girl is told to point out the "smart" child and then the "dumb" child, followed by the "good-looking" child vs. "ugly" child. Of course, she points to the lighter skinned figure as the smart and good-looking one and said that the darkest one was dumb & ugly "because she is black".

It doesn't help that the stereotype with black men shows that they prefer light skinned women and that makes a lot of women want to be lighter just to cater to them. I've heard stories about bleaching skin, perms, and all of the ways that people think will make them "prettier". I have light skinned friends and dark skinned friends. I have friends w/ straight hair, curly hair, afros. wigs, weaves...EVERYTHING!!!!!

We have to start seeing the beauty in ourselves and stop looking for validation from others. This is something that I want to teach my girls in the non-profit that I'm going to start. One of my biggest mantras that I believe 100%:

If you don't believe that you are beautiful...NO ONE ELSE WILL!!!!!

Check out the video below:

Dark Girls: Preview from Bradinn French on Vimeo.

Justice Deprived For An Innocent Child

Casey Anthony acquitted of the murder of her daughter, Caylee. 

Let me preface this post by saying that I'm NOT a lawyer and was not following the case very closely. I'm just familiar enough with the situation to have formed an opinion on it. That being said...

This was a sad case that has come to an even more sad conclusion. I was surprised when it was announced that the jury had come back with a verdict so quickly, but I figured that when everyone KNOWS the answer then there wasn't much to talk about. My surprise quickly turned to SHOCK when the verdict was read...NOT GUILTY.

Charge after charge upheld this verdict, except for the four counts of lying to the police, which served as my DUH!!!!! moment in the whole thing. How could you say that she lied to the police but did NOT commit murder? We KNOW that she lied to the police when she said that she didn't kill her daughter Caylee.

This entire case really hurt my heart. I understand if you were a young mother and could not handle raising your child, but I just don't understand how any mother could KNOW her child was "missing" and be partying instead of searching day & night to find them. I know that she was proven innocent (though guilty in the court of public opinion) but if you can't deal with the responsibility, but there are so many options other that killing your child. Adoption, foster care, other family or friends...SOMEONE else in this world could have loved this precious little girl if you didn't. Especially with all of the people who want children but can't have them...

RIP Caylee Anthony (August 9, 2005-June 16, 2008)

There was a LOT of comparison between Casey Anthony and OJ Simpson's acquittal of murder in 1995 and at first I thought it was similar, but I think that there will be a special place in hell for what Casey Anthony did (or "didn't do" since she was acquitted). Also, there was talk about how if Casey Anthony were black that the verdict would have been different.

While I did think this at first, I will not play the race card on this one. All I can say is that no matter what we believe, only she & God know what happened to Caylee and she has the rest of her life to deal with this. Although we think that the verdict was wrong and a crude misuse of justice, God will be the only one that she will have to answer to.