I am a Baby Boomer; and some may say I am a late bloomer (59) and in school for my BSW). I consider myself a Blooming Baby Boomer. While I have had many opportunities to complete my academics, I had a different calling. I had revolutions to start and people to save.

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated on April 4, 1968. My rebellion as an Afro Wearing Soul Sister began on April 6, 1968 and I remember that day very well. I, having a rather protected and cozy little life as the baby of seven, in a two parent home, on that April 6, I was playing jacks with my best friend Mandy who was white. My brothers and Mandy’s brother were having an argument about Dr. King. I was wide eyed and attentive and I grew angry – and I hated white people (for a long time).

Fast forward - Since that time I went to finishing school, juvenile hall, private school, music and art schools (where I received two scholarships – Peabody Institute of Music and the Baltimore School for the Arts) . I chose instead to attend Bay College of Baltimore, a radical “Black Panther” institution with the returning Vietnam veterans. I became a Socialist. The problem with that is I just did not agree with many of the radical arguments put forth at the time. In the words of Ms. Hurston

“I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes..." ― Zora Neale Hurston,Dust Tracks on a Road

I was born and raised in a village – The Lafayette Projects was one of the first “projects” in the country. It was here that I witnessed, even as a young child, the cohesive resilience of the Black Community. We represented economic development and tight community relationships. Our schools and the Church were a central part of that community.

My Life’s Directive is that we dismantle the “George Jefferson” moving on up syndrome. As community advocate, who believes, first and foremost, that the sustaining of a cohesive Black community is essential to our survival I opine we must no longer be a wandering tribe. The prophecy given to us is our ultimate destiny and one in which we must firmly believe.The WOMEN are the key … the MEN are the lock. We ARE Judah.

After accomplishing the BSW degree I plan to attend UNC Greensboro in the Masters of Public Administration Program which I will use in the continued development of North Carolina’s first Colored Women’s Resource Center