Baby Boomer Talk & other stuff

I, just like many blacks, was stunned to learn Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was invited to give the commencement speech for the Spring 2017 graduating class at Bethune-Cookman. I wondered what President Edison Jackson was thinking when he extended the invitation.  I know he said, "If our students are robbed of the opportunity to experience and interact with views that may be different from their own, then they will be tremendously less equipped for the demands of democratic citizenship."  I don't know what that actually means in his head but, perhaps, he believes inviting her gives him an open door to the President (as the new "Uncle Tom" for his Millennial graduates)  and an opportunity to be a voice for ALL HBCUs.  Whatever his reasoning was I say it was DUMB!

Did Dr. Jackson forget when Mrs. DeVos referred to HBCU's as "real pioneers when it comes to school choice."  She said "They are living proof that when more options …

The decision to write my latest book, The Baby Boomer/Millennial Divide:  Making it Work at Work, came after returning to the job market as a woman over 50.  I went into culture shock momentarily after finding myself working side-by-side with people young enough to be my daughter.  As someone who comes from the "old school" ways of doing things and a low tolerance for nonsense and foolishness, I had to learn to adapt to the new reality:  Millennials have arrived and if I wanted to stay in the job market I had work with them.

Much to my surprise, my younger co-workers have been a breath of fresh air.  They have made me laugh and taught me skills to help me improve my own job performance.  As I continue to study them, I have come to a very clear conclusion:

ALL MILLENNIALS ARE NOT ALIKE.

All of the research and data indicates this Gen Y group is made up of job hoppers who don't like the business as usual mentality, they're very creative, independent thinkers, tech savv…

Going in Style is a movie about what lengths three former employees, who became life-long friends while working for the same steel manufacturing plant, would go to change the course of their lives.  After learning his home was in foreclosure, the Company was planning to move overseas and their pensions were being taken away, Joe (played by Michael Caine) had an idea to rob a bank--the same bank he had been in during a previous successful robbery.  He figured he and his buddies, Willie (Morgan Freeman) and Albert (Alan Arkin)  could steal enough to keep them financially secure until their deaths---which between the three of the was estimated to be less than 15 years.

With the help of his dead-beat son-in-law, who ran a Marjuana Shop, and a surprise criminal, the trio set out to prepare for the big heist.  I won't give anymore details about the movie but I will tell you it held my interest throughout.  I'll also tell you that if Morgan Freeman had not been in the movie, I probabl…

Dirty, old, white, arrogant, privileged men. That's what 70-year-old Donald Trump, 76-year-old Roger Ailes, and 67-year-old Bill O'Reilly are.  Their abuse of power and their lack of respect for women doesn't shock me, as a black woman, because history tells us that's what white men have always done dating back to the years of slavery. The only difference now is that white women are the victims.  They're speaking out and getting paid big time.  My great-grandmother, on the other hand, had no voice and would've probably been murdered if she spoke about it.

So today I am supposed to be outraged and disgusted by the actions of these white, arrogant, privileged, dirty, old, white men.  I am supposed to stand shoulder to shoulder with the victims and say "enough is enough." I get that and I am glad these women decided to come forward but I also wonder would MY voice have been heard in a similar situation.

Now, don't get this twisted.  I am not saying any…

Thank God baby boomers didn't have access to social media as teens and young adults.  Can you imagine what you would see?  Hippies and flower children everywhere smoking weed and telling you about the beauty of the world.  Black folks with big afros dancing in the streets shouting, "Say it Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud.  You might have even seen the "live" version of John Lennon and Yoko Ono spending their two-week long "bed-in" as a protest against the Vietnam War--and yes, you surely would've seen protests and marches.

But I can't imagine in a million years that you would ever see the tragedies that are being shown today via Facebook.  Just last week I wrote a blog post about the outrageous murder-suicide committed in San Bernardino involving Carl Anderson and his estranged wife, Karen.  He walked into her classroom and shot her to death before killing himself. He didn't post his actions on Facebook but he gave everyone the appearance,…

"Things aren't always the way they appear."  No truer words could be spoken following the tragic death of Karen Smith in San Bernardino, CA this week.  She was murdered on her job---in a classroom where she was teaching young students.

What intrigued me about this story was the fact that she and her husband killer, Cedric Anderson were black baby boomers around the same age as my husband and myself.  I was particularly interested in the posts he made on Facebook.  By all accounts, he posted regularly on Facebook about the so-called love and admiration he had for his wife.  He created an image that was clearly contrary to the murderous behavior he demonstrated when he walked into her classroom and killed her.

In a February 27th post, he posted a selfie video and said:  "I love being married to Karen Smith-Anderson!"

March 11 post, he said: "My wife Karen Smith-Anderson is an Angel!!!"

March 12: He posted a youtube song by Sade titled By Your Side and said:…