ROSELINE GIDDENS STEELE - 1931-2008

Hello Everyone!

I make it a habit to keep my personal business personal but I wanted to pay homage to someone in my life who recently passed away. Her name was Roseline Giddens Steele, and she was my aunt.

Rose was born in Accomack County, Virginia, the only girl of 3 children. Her famliy moved to Oyster Bay New York at an early age. She attended Oyster Bay High School, where she eventually became the first Black president of the Leader's club, a big accomplishment back then.

While attending college she met and married an Air Force serviceman, Walter Steele. They were blessed with three daughters. After Walter died in 1968 Rose became a foster parent, where she nurtured numerous children who were deemed "problem" children. She was well known and loved in her Queens Village, NY neighborhood.

One thing you could say about Aunt Rose is that she never sugarcoated anything, and she would give you a good talking to if she felt you needed it. After she let you know how she felt she would say she loved you no matter what. Rose was also detail oriented ( a true Virgo) and would step in if something wasn't going right and take control of the situation.

Aunt Rose was the first person who taught me how to drive (although some probably wouldn't thank her for that...LOL!). She was also one of many who made it possible for me to finish school & get my college degree. I don't think she knows how much I am grateful to her for her caring, her conversations and her wisdom.

Roseline passed away on July 19, 2008. The week of her passing she sent both her daughters away, one to the hospital, the other out of state, so she sould make her transition peacefully. As someone jokingly said at her funeral, "that was Rose for you, always planning everything to the very end".

You will definitely be missed Roseline Giddens Steele, more than you know. I love you.

KING FAMILY DRAMA...

I happened to be perusing news stories and I came across this one:

"MLK's children file lawsuit against their brother"

Courtesy of Atlanta Journal Constitution
In the latest public skirmish involving the family of one of Atlanta's favorite sons, Bernice and Martin King III have filed a lawsuit against their brother, accusing him of mishandling funds and hiding documents from them.

At stake are millions of dollars in assets that flow through King Inc., the corporation that oversees the intellectual property rights of Martin Luther King Jr. Dexter King is the president of the corporation. Bernice and Martin III are shareholders.

Dexter King denied the lawsuit's accusations, calling them "inappropriate and false.

"When there are family disputes that involve a business entity, unfortunately, sometimes certain legal steps are taken to resolve the dispute," he said in a written statement. "I'm disappointed that our personal family disagreement, as it relates to the family business, has evolved into being handled in a public legal forum."

Dexter, the third-born of Martin and Coretta King's four children and chairman of the King Center, said he hopes the matter can be swiftly resolved so that the family can "go about the business of focusing on our parents' tremendous legacy."

Funds come into King Inc. from books and promotional sales of King items. The biggest asset is the $32 million that the city of Atlanta, led by Mayor Shirley Franklin, plunked down to purchase the King papers in 2006.

Jock Smith, an attorney representing Bernice and Martin III, said the siblings have been denied "information and documentation concerning the operations, actions and financial affairs" of King Inc.

According to court documents, the siblings say Dexter King, who lives in Malibu, Calif., has "misapplied or wasted" the corporation's funds, using the money for his personal benefit.

They also claim that he has wrongfully taken "substantial funds" out of the estate of Coretta Scott King, which is managed by Bernice, for his own personal use. Dexter has 30 days to respond to the lawsuit.

"He owes Martin and Bernice an accounting of what has happened with all of the money. Where is the money going?" Smith said. "We're trying to get an accounting as to the financing and well-being of the [corporation]. The way to do that is to get records, books and accounting."

Smith said there have been financial distributions from the corporation, but "whether those distributions were what they should have been is the question."

Smith said one of the goals of the lawsuit is to force Dexter King to call a board meeting of King Inc., which includes the siblings and other shareholders.

"The lawsuit alleged that there has been no meeting for several years," said Smith, the national president of the Cochran Firm, based in Alabama. He has filed an application to become the attorney of record. "There needs to be a board meeting called so there can be an accounting to all stockholders. Not only about the money, but the actual corporation itself to make sure that everyone has been treated fairly."

I really hope this is resolved. It's always a sad situation when siblings are divided over money.

JESSE, JESSE, JESSE....WHAT IS WE GON' DO?

Hello Everyone!

My computer was down but now I'm back. So much has been going on but I cannot let another post go by without talking about Rev. Jesse Jackson and his remarks about Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Unless you've been living under a rock you already know that Rev. Jackson made some disparaging remarks about Obama (which I won't get into because you already know what he said). So now he's backpedaled and apologized for his comments. Now it's come out that he used the "N" word when talking about Obama.

There are some (like Spike Lee) who say your time has past and you need to support Obama in his bid to become the first Black president. Others say you belong in the GSD (go sit down - thanx K!) category and you need to let Obama do his thing. This has also spilled over to "The View" where Whoopi and Elizabeth Hasselbeck got into a debate:



Okay Jesse...what's really going on here? First of all, you were on television so you're already going to be scrutinized about everything you say. Second of all..YOU WERE MIC'D UP!!! Did you really think your microphone was turned off during the commercial break?! What were you thinking!? This is the type of thing that cost you your bid for President back in 1984, you should have known better than that. Anytime your own son chastises you in a public forum should give you a hint as to how much damage you're doing. What's really sad is that everything you worked so hard for will now be overshadowed by your foot-in-mouth disease. I know Dr. King must be shaking his head about this one.

Speaking of Dr. King, if you think he's shaking his head on this, I'm sure he's shaking his head on his latest family drama as well...

FOXXY FRIDAYS - JUDY PACE

GREETINGS EVERYONE!

Today I'm honoring another trailblazer, the one & only Miss JUDY PACE!!

Judy was born June 16, 1942, in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from high school, she attended Los Angeles City College where she majored in sociology. She was enticed away from college with an offer to join the prestigious Ebony Fashion Fair (an extension of Ebony/Jet magazine) as a model. Judy wasn't interested in a career in film until a movie director saw her pictures in Ebony and chose her for a part in the film, 13 Frightened Girls. After that film small parts on television and films developed, leading up to Judy's first major role in the 1968 film Three in the Attic.

Judy followed up her success in Three in the Attic with another groundbreaking role, this time on the small screen. Judy landed a part on the popular 60's night time soap Peyton Place, where she played Vickie Fletcher, television's first black villainess. When Peyton Place was cancelled in 1969, Judy appeared in The Young Lawyers, where she played one of three young lawyers who took on cases dealing with the poor and oppressed.

The 70s for Judy brought her fame when she starred in the first Hollywood produced and financed film by a Black company, Cotton Comes to Harlem. Directed by actor Ossie Davis, Cotton Comes to Harlem was derived from the writings of African American novelist Chester Himes. She played Iris, the girlfriend of Calvin Lockhart's Minister Deke O'Malley. The film became the first black action "blockbuster", paving the way for what would later be deemed Hollywood's "blaxploitation" film era of the early 1970's. After this film Judy became popular in film and television, appearing on Bewitched, The Mod Squad, That's My Mama, Sanford and Son, What's Happening, and Good Times.

Check out this clip from "Good Times":

Judy continued to act but parts became more scarce. She has been married twice, to actor Don Mitchell ("Ironside"), and legendary baseball player Curt Flood. She is currently semi retired.

Judy Pace was the original "chocolate drop". During a time when her fairer toned counterparts were becoming popular, Judy paved the way for fellow chocolate sistas to be acknowledged for their beauty and talent, and her influence in how the world sees Black women, particularly dark-skinned Black women, cannot be diminished nor should it be ignored.

Here's to you Judy, for showing that Black is truly beautiful!

MORE JUDY...

I hope you enjoy Foxxy Fridays as much as I enjoy finding our treasures. Please leave comments and if there's anyone you want profiled you can drop me a line.

I'm also going to begin a new feature, Exclusive Wednesdays, where I'll be interviewing people you may or may not have heard of. It's going to be a busy fall!
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

FOXXY FRIDAYS - FREDA PAYNE

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE!!!

This Friday I'm giving props to the one & only Miss FREDA PAYNE!

Freda Charcelia Payne was born September 19, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan. At an early age, she grew up listening to different jazz singers such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. As a teenager, she soon began singing radio commercial jingles and took part in local TV and radio talent shows. Her voice caught the attention of many different people including Berry Gordy, who wanted to give her a recording contract with Motown.

In 1969, her old friends back home in Detroit, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland, Jr. (yes, THE H-D-H of Motown), persuaded her to sign with their newly-formed record label Invictus. During that same year, her first Invictus single, "Unhooked Generation" was released. Shortly thereafter, H-D-H, under the pen name "Edythe Wayne and Ron Dunbar" offered her a song entitled "Band of Gold". Almost immediately, in early 1970, the song became an instant pop smash reaching #3 in the U.S. charts and it gave Payne her first gold record. An album of the same name proved to be fairly successful as well. Other Invictus singles included "Deeper and Deeper", "You Brought the Joy", and the Vietnam protest song "Bring the Boys Home".

Freda singing "Deeper And Deeper":

In 1973, being dissatisfied with her royalties Freda left Invictus and recorded albums for ABC/Dunhill and Capitol, but she never found the commercial success she had with Invictus. She recorded a duet 'I Wanna See You Soon' with Capitol stablemates Tavares which gained radio airplay in 1977.

In 1981, she briefly hosted her own talk show "Today's Black Woman" and also found work acting in different movies, Broadway, and other theatre productions throughout the eighties. Although she was concentrating more on acting by that time, she never gave up music; in 1982, she recorded a single entitled "In Motion" for the independent Sutra label, and in 1986, she recorded a remake of her hit "Band of Gold" with Belinda Carlisle (of the Go-Gos).

In the 90s she also continued her acting career appearing on television shows including "Living SIngle, and in the 2000s she appeared in movies like The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, and Fire & Ice. She continues to record music and in early 2001, she released a new album called Come See About Me for the Volt label.

Not much is known about Freda's personal life, although it is known that she was married briefly to singer-songwriter Gregory Abbott ("Shake You Down"). She's also the older sister of singer Scherrie Payne (formerly of the 70s version of the Supremes).

Freda Payne is still performing, and is still stunning! For more info on where she's appearing check out her her website:
www.fredapayne.com

Have a great weekend!

More Freda...