Welcome to Empowering Spirits - Freeing Your Mind A not for profit site about embracing one
race the Human Race living in the 21st Century offering articles tackling developing spiritual principles, ecomonics, politics. Dialog and Analysis about today's topics and history. Freedom of expression challenges us to reach higher to fufill a broader purpose. "My people perish for lack of knowledge" Stay open to change and have the willingness to grow & evolve.
Mother, mother There's too many of you crying Brother, brother, brother There's far too many of you dying You know we've got to find a way To bring some lovin' here today, eh eh
Father, father We don't need to escalate You see, war is not the answer For only love can conquer hate You know we've got to find a way To bring some lovin' here today, oh oh oh
Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see Oh, what's going on What's going on Yeah, what's going on Ah, what's going on
In the mean time Right on, baby Right on brother Right on babe
Mother, mother, everybody thinks we're wrong Oh, but who are they to judge us Simply 'cause our hair is long Oh, you…
I told him that today a have another chance to share my
life with someone.
He told me be blessed this day and be sure to tell you hello.
For it's so amazing to realize with each passing day GOD brings we rise with a plan to win the day as we run our race. Relying on each other in times of joy and sorrow as we journey through 24 hours on any given day. We've shared life ups and downs; those changes that make you turn around. Often able to show some kindness and alittle emphathy as we exchange opinions or pleasantries crossing many deliberate pathways But no matter day in & day out. We deserve the joy of dancing in the sunshine, knowing when to lock arms we hold on grip tightly through the storms of life.
As time passed
We grown up evolved become friends - Often overlooked but never taken for granted it's only by God's amazing Grace I've come to love you more….
There is no greater blessing to appreciate life daily to encourage one another to dig a little deeper, uplift our wings to fly that much higher...
Sharing and laughing about how we got by, so
Thanks for allowing me become a part of your life as we begin another days journey sharing our lives together in Christ.
I recall an old Movie called “The Misfits” starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Eli Wallache, and Montgomery Cliff. Now many people under the age of 45 might not know some of those famous actors. But, truly they were the Misfit’s in Hollywood land w/the exception of Eli he played a Mexican back during those days. Montgomery Cliff, Marilyn Monroe, and Clark Gable died shortly after making that movie Clark Gable died right after it wrapped.
I need your attention. The reason I publish blogs is give you another perspective - plant a seed or inspire, (not to educate, but advocate) to broaden your perspective as viewed through another lens.
These humans who endured much humiliation during a brief period of life when GOD is prepping for His service in training.
Isn't it a mystery how He’ll take a wretch like Apostle Paul strip away all the material things and vain glory that accompanies false pride.We are tempted in our flesh with our limited sight we see our wants as needs accumulating an abundance of material wealth, status quo acceptance, power, and for some celebrity or fame. Until finally one day when GOD gets ready to show Himself to you things begin to change beyond your control.
Paul told the same story the same way (he was a murderer of Christians followers of Jesus), he wrote most of the New Testament.GOD used Him to save the gentiles just had this one testimony he repeated each time...
"I was on the road to Damascus, all of sudden I heard a voice calling my name Saul, why does thou persecute me a bright light blinded me, and I fell of my beast"
For every level there's a new Devil.All of sudden before you know it once again GOD has raised you up from the ashes to prove to the World...
to those who live in doubt, pain, and confusion the Gospels were to provide a blueprint-proof a living testimony which helps us all to understand that we all must submit and be willing to come "Under GODs Authority"
*Misfits exist as living proof a Witness of how GOD will use ordinary people to bring about extrodinary things in His WORLD, create a movement inorder to bringh forth HIS Purpose to Glorify Him he said...
"I AM" that I AM"
Abraham
Issac
Jacob
Moses
David
King Solomon
*Jesus ~ Began His ministry age 30 only lived in the flesh for 33 yrs. during his life - In the Order of *Melchizedek Priesthood, which is “after the Order of the Son of God” (D&C 107:3), is the greater of these.
*He Lives!
Emmit Till - from Chicago on Summer Vacation falsely accused by hateful White Men and his wife, her husband,his brother Tortured and killed in Money Mississippi died violently at age -14
· Medgar Evers ~ Voting & Civil Rights Activist, Fatally shot died violently in his driveway in front of his wife and kids At home assassinated - age 38
· Malcolm X ~ Prophet, Minister of Islam, Black leader Fatally shot before his wife and children Publicly assassinated- age 40
· MLK, Jr. ~ Prophet, Baptist Minister, Black leaderMortally shot in the head Publicly assassinated - age 39
· M Ghandi~Activist,died violently for his beliefs, power was assassinated - age 79
· JFKennedy ~ Youngest President, Mortally shot in the head beside his wife Publicly assassinated - age 46
· RFKennedy~ US Senator, Mortally shot in the head in a Hotel kitchen in front of his wife Publicly assassinated - age 43
*Were scorned, ridiculed, crucified, jailed, violently murdered their accuser's called them vicous names like Communist, treasonous, traitors, rebel rouser's, False Prophet's, they even accused them of being the Devil and a threats to society. All because of held beliefs, Faith, and hope for a better world.
Still recognized to this day as Legends, Heros - discussed, analyzed, or written about
"Raised UP"
Hundreds of gifted Artists,Musical Legends & Icons
Sam Cooke James Brown Aretha Franklin Mahalia Jackson Prince Maurice White Michael Jackson Elvis John Lennon Muhammad Ali the lists goes on and on... it has been passed down to the Hip Hop Generation
ALL were called to serve a higher purpose by GOD than they had planned for themselves. None of them with the exception of Jesus of Nazareth began life's journey knowing how life would end.
Let's imagine if you took a trip "Back To the Future, we time traveled back to AD landed in the village where Jesus grew up ancient Israel and told them that Jesus of Nazareth is still larger than life in the 21st century some 2000+ years. They would be laughing out loud while they hung you on a cross!
Point is, these are clear examples of historical figures some who were Leaders among Men. Publicy ridiculed for their STAND would lose their lives;but ironically, while they lived above ground were judged by the public ridiculed and scorned.
Misfits spend a degree of their time living around disgruntled societies people who hated them wishing death upon them, lived with daily threats from lowest to highest officials followed them, monitoring, and taping private conversations or having intimate sex just to belittle their character's defamation or a frame for illicit behavior to discourage people from believing in them or respecting their positions GOD assigned to them... I could dive into this more but this is just a blog not a novel.
Sometimes we don’t realize what our purpose is during our life span. Most individuals value or worth isn't appreciated fully by others until after they've past away out of this world. Then we grieve but all realize what a blessing it was to know them or benefit from their contributions some that have influenced future development of this world bringing people in unity with music, songs, and influence that changed lives opening doors that were once closed to certain people.
"Next!"
Martin Luther King, Jr., would not believe his statue is triangulated in Granite as a Monument between Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials' in the Nations Capital. Malcolm X would be overwhelmed by the many “people” no mater creeds, colors that revere and listen to his speeches which are still popular around the entire world because its a universal message for all races and cultures to adopt the philosophy concerning being treated like a human being, on this earth with self dignity and equality.
Other celebrities who died tragically like Michael Jackson, Prince, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Billie Holiday, and Sammy Davis Jr., are all considered to be "Misfits " they didn’t quite fit into society’s idea of how to behave. Who to love and always stepped way outside the box I mean colored way outside the lines.
Ignited so much love and passion in people they're now idolized in death their name or branding quadrupled. These great entertainers established a brand that still makes people around the world react just listening or even watching a hologram perform. Globally loved not just by America but actually loved more around the world. What they all share in common are tabloid scandals, drugs, institutions, and tragic death. Misfits die under humiliating circumstances too many to mention because they gave so much of themselves and GOD plucked them out of the world to rest. Job well done they shall seek a final reward and that's "Eternal life." my Soul.... So while GOD is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent God IS watching all of us as impossible or awkward that might seem to you. My words of expression come from my point of view only. Through my life lens for whatever purpose I bring to this earth is not for my own vain glory but to Edify, Glorify and acknowledge GOD. Spirituality is felt inspired, and freely given in measure to each human being. The words spilling on the pages are a result of GOD's Spirit that lives inside of me, suddenly as I’m being inspired to compose these words, the background music in my head hears Will Downing so sweetly singing a ballad called “No Love Intended” just wanted people that will take the time to read this rambling blog to understand my heart is sincere.
Misfits are the sort of people who leave a mark on society not always getting recognized for the gifts they bring. I believe GOD is always present no HE hasn’t left the building yet.
I don’t seem to fit in anybodies cliques, on social media when I began to engage online sharing my opinions, objections using social media networking it was revealed to not be afraid to confront some dire issues facing our World,
"My Race...."
"The Human Race"
As a Woman specially designed by GOD… thrills me that what makes me whole.Validated is a wholesome kind of joy. Unexplainable but knowing just that; seeds were planted inside of me GOD used many extrodinary people teaching me many, many hard lessons throughout my journey, day by day..lots of tears, fears, threats, experienced living homelessness, longsuffering, and along the way GOD protected me with many unexpected results. I'm still here, walking, living out my purpose. I learned how to forgive, let go, and love people inspite of myself. I count it all JOY living single. I've come to understand having “that special Man” in my daily life GOD designed just for me, who'd cover me, prays with me the way GOD speaks of in His plan. I've had my share, trust and believe it wasn't the men who I encountered that failed me it was my inability to let go and allow GOD to bless me.
He never meant for a Woman to work hard outside of her home she managed her home her only assignment was always as Nurturer to the family. Building up the foundation making it possible for the family to thrive together, encouraging her Help Mate til death do us part. As Queen of her domain she's adored, cherished, and honored by her King (husband) for Life Partner, her Companion he protects with his life. She is trustworthy. Proverbs 31:11 says that “The heart of her husband trusts in her.” Someone so precious, a nurturer his wife! No one violated her honor showed her children were raised to exhibit much respect. Now it's called once upon a time "Fairy tales," I wanted that life and to become her raise my children at home have dinner on the table sit and pray and make love at night! God had other plans.
"To much is given, much is Required."
Instead of breaking down I always look up beyond the clouds and can smile through any circumstances just knowing “GOD's got this,” all I have to do each day is just show up study, pray , seek to be healthy and have a willingness to grow. Do the homework with footwork.
Allow Him to mold me into the person he wants me to become, that’s not an easy task, having such a rebellious spirit throughout my entire life. GOD has taught me how to be content in whatever state I’m in and have patience. Trusting GOD's timing has taught me to stay in my lane and know what he has provided for my sister'her portion, and what he blesses me with is mine. I learned not to covet have envy of other women - men based upon appearances. We all have our own Cross to Bare.... Burdens we carry debts we have to pay. Outward appearances based on material things 99.999 percent of the time we're wrong about their plight in life.
I use to be intimidated early walk being a christian stained by my past I felt the decent church ladies might not understand or accept me or my past then I discovered they had one too. Since that was revealed to me I've never been ashamed of who or what I am ever again. GOD gave me Purpose in life unique as my fingerprints. That was life changing for me because once I submitted, GOD began to reveal more to me then once I released all of those selfish ways or be on borrowed time.
Why I blog the way I do it's simple, one day, when I get older and fade away these pages will still exist here in cyberspace. My children and grandchildren whom I"ve met and for the ones I might not ever meet will hopefully get a glimpse of my character or it'll be here to let somebody hurting just seeking an answer to a question~ know you are not alone or GOD made you unique going through changes in life is part of HIS plan to prepare you for duty to carryout His purpose for you while you exist in this World. There is always a tomorrow coming from another “Misfit’s point of view. Once you've completed your purpose serving GOD. He promotes us into Eternity to rest. Those we leave behind, our loved ones, friends, and acquaintences will have felt our mark on the world being remembered with love in "Eternal Life."
Feel good about yourself we all are still a work in progress with human frailties that’s why I know I'm not ready for prime time yet, still flawed with defects of charactrer I do use profanity not just when I'm angry, often in jest too thats no not a slip it's my tongue. I'm still learning tact to control that too. Free Will!!!! is a Blessing and a Curse. God sees through all our carnality because He's not carnal; Humans are! We all have a purpose in life to fulfil that's what I was taught whatever you have a passion to do, perform that thing without dread or complaint. That's usually it! (Thanks Bishop Jakes your ministry taught me how to live that.....)
Often times for most of us it comes without any thanks, or public reward. In life you think you may deserve so much, but most successes are priceless. Let GOD use you in alright not to be in the public eye - spotlight... Don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong if have wealth because most Misfits enjoy life in the fast lane. They have access money, have openended credit some enjoy massive wealth during their whole life.
Often imitated but never duplicated...They’ll never be another Martin, Malcom, Medgar, JFK, RFK, Ghandi, Elvis Presley, Billie Holiday, Sammy Davis Jr, Prince, or Michael Jackson but you got alot of folks trying to inspired to emulate them. Misfits are the people that you’ll never see duplicated no matter how many halograms others often imitator's may try!
#StayFree
Peace & Love "Keep your head to the Sky"
@Lovleeannwise 2015 all rights reserved. repost Oct 1, 2014 10:15am
Now, I’m craving your body, Is this real Temperatures rising, I don’t want to feel I’m in the wrong place to be real
Woahh and I ; longing to love you Just for a night, Kissing and hugging and holding you tight Please let me love you With all my might
Reasons, the reasons that we hear,
The reasons that we fear Our feelings a-won’tdisappear
Oooh!
and- after the love game has been played
All our illusions were just a charade
And all the reasons start to fade
laalahh~ ahh ah-ahhaa
After all our reasons why
All the reasons were a lie
After all the reasons lo-ove was ne’ver decide
I'm, longing to love you for one night
Please let me love you with all of my might,
baaaaby Ooohhh, baby!
Reasons, the reasons that we hear,
The reasons that we fearOur feelings a-won’t disappear
Oooh! and after the love games have been played
All our illusions were just a charade
And all the reasons start to fade
AND
In the mornin when I rise no longer feelin hypnotized
find the reasons the reason have no pride......after allllllllllllllll the Reasons Why, all of the reasons were a lie love subside!
Can't find the reasons Why I love you baby
my dear, can't find the Reasons'
Lust of the Eyes can end in A Lifetime of Committment! Marriage is a Committment not "A One Night Stand"
HONORING FATHERS, IRON SHARPENS IRON
All my brothers share this with another brother who needs to be properly schooled
Any sister's you know for FYI purposes.
Then Brother's you decide are you a man or a male and sister's you decide if you are attracted to a man or a male.
What is your definition of a Man? Article: By Kendall Ficklin
If you ask that question to a group of men you'll hear many different answers depending upon environment and upbringing. Some may say he is a man when he has reached a certain age, some may say when he has moved out from under mom's roof and has his own car and apartment, and some believe that making a certain amount of money is attaining manhood. None of these things, however, are characteristics of a man. Manhood is a process, a transition from maleness.
The chart below states some of the differences between a male and a man.
Are You A Male Or A Man? A Man
does not carry a grudge
looks to better himself; he invests in his success
gives to his community
is measured by his character
is a protector of women in general and committed to one woman in particular
word is his bond
A Real man is a leader
thinks with his big head
uses his intellect and emotions to make decisions
A Male
looks for ways to get even
complains that he has to stay where he is
takes from his community
is measured by his sex drive
views a woman as an object of pleasure, and isn't committed to anything!
has no word, he will tell you what you want to hear
is a follower
thinks with his little head
makes emotional decisions
Males Are Born But Men Are Made As you can see there are some distinctions between males and men. Being a man is not easy, especially when you understand a man's roles and responsibilities. I was speaking with a brother one day, and he said to me, "Bro, this being a man thing is hard!" I knew exactly where he was coming from. Walking in manhood can be overwhelming because were going through the process of being reshaped, renewed, restored and completely retrained. Most of us have been operating as males with sprinklings of manhood. For example, some of us may find a good woman, marry her, provide for her financially, sometimes emotionally, and do most things right. After about nine months to a year when she starts "trippin" because we're hanging out with the fellas, that's when we meet the other woman and revert to being a male. You see, a man has emotions but is not ruled by them. So when his wife starts "trippin", he doesn't allow her actions to dictate his reaction. A man understands that he is held accountable by God for the way he treats his wife regardless of the way she may be treating him. The Making Of A ManGod created man to have dominion, to be a ruler, and to master his environment He created us in the beginning to be totally dependent on Him, He taught us directly. He instructed us and gave us our assignments. So, the making of a man was founded in and through Him. The only way this transition into manhood can take place is that we go back to Him. 1 Corinthians 13:11 states "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things". Keys To Becoming A Real ManGod created man to be a Provider, Protector, Cultivator, Visionary, and Leader Provider: In Genesis 2:15 God put His man, Adam in a garden and gave him his first assignment, to work. Work was given to him to advance the purpose of God. God wanted Adam to have fulfillment, and to enable him to provide for his own needs as well as those for whom he would eventually be responsible for. Notice that before he gave the man a woman he gave him work. Therefore a man needs work before he takes on a wife. A provider finds a way to supply for his family's need. He plans ahead and anticipates needs before they arise. Protector: When God put us in the garden to take care of it, not only did he want us to work in it and cultivate it, but he wanted us to also protect it, and all the animals, the plants, and the woman that he put there for us. We are natural protectors, designed by God to protect everything we are responsible for. Cultivator: To cultivate means to make something better than it was when you first received it. Look at your woman, how many of us are really cultivating our women? Single Brothers: You should be cultivating every woman that comes into your circle. They should leave you a better person, NOT Pregnant, or emotionally abused after we've run so much game on them. Married Men:We have this picture in our minds of what we want our wives to be and when she doesn't measure up to that we blame her.Ask yourself, what have you put into her? What kind of deposits have you made into her spirit? Have you cultivated her to be what you envision? Or what she envisions for herself? Do you know what her goals and dreams are? How are you helping her achieve them? A woman is like aseed, and we are water and light for her. If we pour into her and shine our light on her, she will blossom into a beautiful, compassionate, nurturing, submissive, help mate. Then you can look at her proudly and say "look at what I have cultivated". Visionary:Proverbs 29:18 says "Where there is no vision the people perish". To have vision means to conceive something in your mind and then move toward bringing that vision into reality. Every man should have a vision for his life. If he is married, he should have a vision for his family. The vision should include but not limited to Faith, Family, and Finances. We should have short term and long term goals, and they should be attainable. Most of us don't have a vision for our family and we wonder why our wives and children won't submit to us. Brothers, look at the word submission, the prefix "sub" means under, and mission simply means goal or vision. So submitting is coming under one's goals and vision. Well, brother she won't submit if you don't have a vision for her to submit under. Leader: Every man is created by God to lead and a man should display leadership characteristics. Some men run away from the responsibility of leadership. They are selfish, only concerned about their own needs and not the needs of others. Take a look at some leadership characteristics listed below:
A leader is disciplined
A leader is the first one up in the morning and the last one to go to bed
A leader sets the tone
A leader has integrity
A leader has character
A leader's word is his bond
A leader is a role model
A leader provides, protects, cultivates, and has vision
A leader leads by example
Men, you are on the way. The first step was reading this article. Now you know what a man is, God winks at ignorance but holds us all responsible for what we know. Let's start the transition into manhood now!
Nothing else ruins the truth like stretching it.
_________________________________
Diamond Covered Mercedesof Prince Waleed:
THE CAR COSTS $4.8 MILLIONAND IF YOU WANT TO TOUCH IT, YOU HAVE TO PAY $1000.IT BELONGS TO PRINCE ALWALEED FROM SAUDI ARABIA.
Note from Editor: 20200618 About last night.... One Night Stand, and Half on a Baby Keep this up front before you lie down
Self-Worth Self-Love will allow you to Love another Human Life and Value that' person as much as yourself.
The Best Gift from GOD is LIFE w/a Free Will
Moments of Ectasy can result in a lifetime of Pain. Sex isn't for pleasure as much as it's an expression of how GOD connected two individuals to make One Body. A Vessel that produces Fruit from the Loins created from a sperm cell and a woman's egg "The Orgasm" of Pleasuremanifests into a living creature over the course of 9 months causes a woman to "Travailing through Labor in much Sorrow. She gives birth a new life becomes both of them.
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are the vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, for their will always be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass. Take kindly in the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You are needed in this world. Do not concern yourself with other worlds, for they do not exist. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding in an ordered manner. Therefore, be at peace with nature and the mysterious process of evolution, whatever you conceive it to be; and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, strive to maintian your own inner peace while you do those things bring you happiness and contribute to the survival of humanity. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
HALF PAST AUTUMN Phil Ponce examines the life and art of Gordon Parks, Life photographer, film director, composer and digital art pioneer. Parks' work, on exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C.
A RealAudio version of this segment is available. NEWSHOUR LINKS:
January 1, 1998 The work of modern artist Joseph Cornell. October 28, 1997 A look at modern China as seen in the works of some modern Chinese artists. October 21, 1997The man who designed the new Guggenheim Museum, Frank Gehry. June 17,1997 Robert Hughes' American Visions, explores the history of American art. May 23, 1997:The Whitney Museum of American Art's Biennial Exhibit in New York City. January 10, 1997 Ellsworth Kelly and Jasper Johns exhibits spark the question: What is Modern Art? Browse the NewsHour's coverage ofarts and entertainment. PHIL PONCE:The people of Fort Scott, Kansas, their images have stayed with Gordon Parks all his life. It was among the people of this prairie town that Parks grew up as the youngest in a family of fifteen children, amid poverty and discrimination. Now, at age 85, Parks can see the full length of his journey from poverty to a life rich in experience and range: photographer, poet, author, film maker, and composer. In the first museum survey of Parks' multi-faceted career Washington's Corcoran Gallery of Art is showing more than 200 of his images, mainly from his work as one of America's leading photojournalists. The exhibition is called "Half Past Autumn: The Art of Gordon Parks." I talked to Parks at the Corcoran about his early influences.
Humble yet nurturing roots.
GORDON PARKS, Photographer: My mother died by the time I was 15, and already she'd imparted enough of herself to carry me for the rest of my life--when I needed it most after I hit the big world out there, you know, and my father was sort of a wonderful dirt farmer who farmed mostly dirt, had enough food for his children, to eat. So we had a rather meager existence. PHIL PONCE: I've heard you say that your mother was the biggest influence in your life and in your work. GORDON PARKS:She taught me what was right and what was wrong. She would not tolerate any sort of prejudice against another person because of their color. You know, I can feel her looking at me when I do something wrong--even today--even though she died when I was 15. I have a picture on my mantel in my home and my father's picture, next to each other. And I look at them before I make a decision. Parks' "choice of weapons": the camera PHIL PONCE: A key decision--to use a camera as what Parks called his choice of weapons. Beginning in 1942, he helped document the lives of America's poor--its workers--its urban and country dwellers--as a photographer for the Farm Security Administration, a Depression era government agency. That's when he took what would become perhaps his best-known picture. It was of a cleaning woman who worked in his office building. Her name was Ella Watson. GORDON PARKS:That was my first day in Washington, D.C., in 1942. I had experienced a kind of bigotry and discrimination here that I never expected to experience. And I photographed her after everyone had left the building. At first, I asked her about her life, what it was like, and so disastrous that I felt that I must photograph this woman in a way that would make me feel or make the public feel about what Washington, D.C. was in 1942. So I put her before the American flag with a broom in one hand and a mop in another. And I said, "American Gothic"--that's how I felt at the moment. I didn't care about what anybody else felt. That's what I felt about America and Ella Watson's position inside America. PHIL PONCE:You were once given the advice that a great photographer is often somebody who is a good person, who cares about other people. So you do wind up caring, or, in some cases, loving the people you photograph? "The photographer begins to feel big and bloated and so big he can't walk through one of these doors because he gets a good byline; he gets notices all over the world and so forth; but they're really--the important people are the people he photographs. They are what make him." GORDON PARKS:Yes. I usually wind up liking them or understanding them better, even though they may have an evil content. The subject matter is so much more important than the photographer. The photographer begins to feel big and bloated and so big he can't walk through one of these doors because he gets a good byline; he gets notices all over the world and so forth; but they're really--the important people are the people he photographs. They are what make him.
PHIL PONCE:It was at Life Magazine that Parks began to gain a national reputation. He was the magazine's first African-American photographer and used the technique in which he would focus a series on one person to tell a broader story about humanity, itself--like a 1948 life and death story on the violence of gang wars in Harlem through the eyes of Red Jackson, a 16-year-old gang leader. By gaining Jackson's trust and spending time with him, Parks was able to capture lives rarely portrayed in American media. Or his 1961 series on the slums of Brazil from the vantage point of Flavio DaSilva, a 12-year-old boy in Rio who, though sick with tuberculosis, helped support his family--Parks, in effect, adopted Flavio, brought him to the United States to be cured, and still calls him in Brazil to this day. Parks personally helped many of his subjects long after he took their pictures. A lasting love between Parks and his subjects. GORDON PARKS:You have to stay with them; you have to be a part of them. In fact, in stories like that I have gone to live with a family for about a week or so without even taking my camera so that they begin to accept me as a person, as a big brother, or uncle, or, you know, something of that sort, so that they have confidence in me, and I have love for them. And it's a lasting love.
PHIL PONCE:But these images are also part of Parks' vision. The man who shot life's ugly side also captured the side that has to do with elegance, beauty, and glamour--as a leading fashion photographer in Paris.
GORDON PARKS:Well, there's nothing wrong with photographing a very beautiful woman, right, and clothes, beautiful clothes, and so forth and so on, and affording me trips to London and Paris and all over the globe, you know, photographing these gorgeous gowns and fabulous women. You get a certain kind of joy out of that.
PHIL PONCE:Returning from Paris in the 1960's, Parks again chronicled the pain and anger at this nation's poorest; the burgeoning civil rights movement; and the rise of the Black Muslim movement. In portraiture, Parks also captured some of the leading figures of the day: Writer Langston Hughes; jazz great Duke Ellington, actresses Ingrid Bergman and later Barbra Streisand; boxing champion Muhammad Ali. In his 50's Parks' artistic evolution took him in a new direction: films. He was a pioneer African American film director, beginning with "The Learning Tree," based on his autobiographical novel about growing up in Kansas. ACTRESS: No matter if you go or stay think of Cherokee Flats like that till the day you die; that it be a learning tree. From photography to film, music and digital art.
PHIL PONCE:He made 10 other films, including the popular 1971 film "Shaft," an attempt, he said, to give blacks a positive role model, in this case a charismatic detective. Parks, who learned piano from his mother, also went on to compose a symphony, sonatas, concertos, and a ballet on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
GORDON PARKS:It all comes together now for me, strangely. I've never before the last five years, I've never tried to necessarily tie them together. It just happens that I suppose if I felt that one thing failed me, I'd have something else to go on.
PHIL PONCE:These are some of Parks' latest works. He makes them using computers, photographs, paintings, sculpture, and found objects.
GORDON PARKS:You know, the camera is not meant just to show misery. You can show beauty with it; you can do a lot of things. You can show--with a camera you can show things that you like about the universe, things that you hate about the universe. It's capable of doing both. And I think that after nearly 85 years upon this planet that I have a right after working so hard at showing the desolation and the poverty, to show something beautiful for somebody as well. It's all there, and you've only done half the job if you don't do that. You've not really completed a task.
PHIL PONCE:How do you explain the fact that you've had really such a remarkable life? "I'm just about ready to start, and winter is entering. Half past autumn has arrived."
GORDON PARKS:My life to me is like sort of a disjointed dream. I can't explain it to you. Things have happened to me--incredible. It's so disjointed. But all I know, it was a constant effort, a constant feeling that I must not fail, and I still have that. And now, I feel at 85, I really feel that I'm just ready to start. There's another horizon out there, one more horizon that you have to make for yourself and let other people discover it, and someone else will take it further on, you know. You discover it. Somebody else takes it on. But I do feel a little teeny right now that I'm just about ready to start, and winter is entering.
Half past autumn has arrived. visit: www.pbs.com
************************************************** Phenomenal Woman "Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size But when I start to tell them, They think I'm telling lies. I say, It's in the reach of my armsThe span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. I walk into a roomJust as cool as you please, And to a man, The fellows stand or Fall down on their knees. Then they swarm around me, A hive of honey bees. I say, It's the fire in my eyes, And the flash of my teeth, The swing in my waist, And the joy in my feet. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. Men themselves have wondered What they see in me. They try so muchBut they can't touch My inner mystery. When I try to show them They say they still can't see. I say, It's in the arch of my back,The sun of my smile, The ride of my breasts, The grace of my style. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. Now you understand Just why my head's not bowed. I don't shout or jump about Or have to talk real loud. When you see me passing It ought to make you proud. I say, It's in the click of my heels, The bend of my hair, the palm of my hand, The need of my care, 'Cause I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. With much Love,
