Author_Mia_A_Moore's Blog

(From bulletin I wrote 7/10/09)

I am sickened and saddened by the Burr Oak Cemetery atrocity. It is estimated that as many as 300 or more graves were desecrated with loved ones dug up, dumped out, and scattered to resale plots under the table while burning documentation of ORIGINAL burials and not recording new ones. The historical nature of this cemetery being the first cemetery in the Chicago area to allow blacks to be buried only makes it so much worse and disheartening. To have the first black cemetery in the city of CHICAGO where historical figures, such as Emmett Till and Dinah Washington, are buried treat our loved ones worse than garbage hurts. Anyone with deep roots in the Chicago area has family there. Over 3000 grief-stricken people (many elderly) waited in line for hours yesterday to walk these immense untended grounds with scattered open graves and dangerous, flooded footing in search of loved ones.

PLEASE PRAY FOR US THAT WE FIND IT IN OUR HEARTS TO FORGIVE WHEN IT IS HARD, TO HAVE THE COURAGE TO LOOK WHEN WE MAY FIND NOTHING BUT MORE GRIEF, AND TO HAVE THE STRENGTH TO LET GO WHEN WE CAN SEARCH NO MORE.

UPDATE: Burr Oak is officially closed to public as a crime scene 7/12.

We had decided that patience and not panic was to be our approach even before it was closed...to let some of the chaos be resolved by giving authorities room to do their job to see what is what. At this point, the same answer will be there later and rushing may give a premature answer first that causes more pain without being accurate. 

UPDATE 9/16:I do hope that those victimized by Burr Oak can get some closer and resolution. The absentee owners whom never came to help rectify the situation just filed bankruptcy, which under federal law (that supersedes anything that can be done at the state level) gives them back control of the property today and jeopardizes and limits any monetary relief of families victimized. Money cannot resolve the peace of mind that so many of us have lost about the safety of our loved ones remains to rest in peace when we entrust them to be buried.

I did find recently that my aunt's grave appears to be still in tact with headstone in place and a burial crypt located under it. Those still in search are in my thoughts and I wish you peace and closer.

As ignorant as it would probably be...ABSOLUTELY I would see it!!! Jamie Foxx and Martin Lawrence are amazing talents and could probably pull it off. It probably would be hilarious and great comic relief--an escape from some of the sad realities of the world. Well, as long as the politically correct police don't protest over negative stereotypes and ruin it for everyone. People whom use stereotypes as the bases for their biased beliefs are NOT going to be changed by the movie one way or the other. THAT'S WHAT MAKES THEM BIGOTS. LOL Bigots are so lost that If you freed their minds their asses would not follow anyway. Why can't we enjoy a spoof movie every now and then because of them? That's giving those types of people way too much control.

Jim Brown is entitled to his opinion, but it is just that...his opinion. He starts this dialogue every time the list of top paid athletes is published. Perhaps it is just to get the community talking and thinking.

FYI: Michael Jordan stepped in and kept Hales Franciscian High School, the only Chicago Catholic high school founded to educate African American young men, from closing by donating several million dollars with the help of his (ex)wife whom also served on the board. He continues to give financial support to this school on the south side of Chicago.

This high school has a 99% graduation rate of educated black men. So he has not only put money into the community but something way more valuable--those educated black men who have been instilled with a sense of community and service. THAT IS SOWING A SEED, giving a community the opportunity to help itself. He also built a boys and girls club on the west side of Chicago with the help of his mother and (ex)wife among other things.

Tiger Woods built and opened a learning center and donates golf equipment through Nike to underprivileged youth to encourage more diversity in golf.

No matter how much money and time a celebrity gives, change has to start in the community in each individual's consciousness with a sense of responsibility followed by action and a commitment to service to give back to their own community.

Real talk...black athlete's good deeds often aren't given the same amount of media coverage as the negative stories or sports accolades.

Thank you, Arrielle, Sunshyne, and Black Planet Expressions Online Book Club Group for featuring me and my debut novel TONIGHT I GIVE IN. I am so honored that you have chosen to include me in your Meet the Authors series. I SO admire your commitment to literature and black authors, because first and foremost I LOVE LITERTURE AND READING. I strive to be disciplined about my craft. I really appreciate the support and exposure, but more importantly it is a great opportunity to become more engaged with readers and get that direct feedback real artists need and crave. I want to hone my skills and reach MY ultimate level artistically; this feedback helps me grow and set goals for the future. It is a blessing to know what you were meant to do. I write romantic contemporary fiction with stories of love and life that happens to be categorized as romance. For me, it is not just about telling great stories but constructing literature at the same time where the stories are fresh, hip, and hot, yet have the complexity of employing and utilizing real literary technique and device. I craft stories with an understanding that respect, friendship, chemistry, and intimacy are the catalyst for romantic love with longevity.

My debut novel was TONIGHT I GIVE IN: The novel exemplifies my approach to literature, endeavoring to have a unique impact on the romance genre by crafting interesting, hip, classy, thought-provoking romances with mass appeal that can stand up to a critical classroom examination and academic literary analysis for the reader whom wants to delve beneath the surface of a novel. I seek to construct books with layers—which both women and men will get into—about people of color and their experiences, by creating well-developed, multi-layered stories of love and romance with believable human beings at the center. I write novels with perfectly-flawed, round, dynamic characters located within the framework of strong emotionally-complex storylines, defined by friendship, romance, intimacy, sensuality, passion, and love. I desire to entertain with engrossing stories in which the reader will become emotionally invested. My ultimate goal is to make you laugh, cry, think, and believe. All this takes time because I am a student of literature and love it too much to ever sell it short. I rewrote this to explain how seriously I take all of this and what it means to me.

PLEASE continue to do what you do, not just for the promotion of it, but because YOU LOVE IT. I understand because, as you can see, I LOVE literature and can talk about it ALL DAY! I guess it is the closet nerd in me. LOL And, I don’t get the opportunity because I am an author which really is a sacrifice for me. I follow your group faithfully since the beginning and know that you have felt discouraged at times. I would love to participate more but can’t because as an author it may be interpreted like I have a conflict of interest and/or an agenda. There is so much of that in the industry I just never want to be associated with it. It taints the integrity of our craft and industry when authors critique other authors based on a personal agenda, promoting and slamming works and authors under the guise of impartial constructive criticism to sway readers.

With all that being said, I really commend you for what you do and I am taking this moment to tell you so when I am featured (without being asked) so you know my words are genuine and sincere. If no other author takes the time to stop and tell you, I want to tell you what your efforts mean. Be encouraged because I respect and value your commitment because I am an avid reader and lover of books first. Trust that it is ONLY my true love of literature and the love readers like you have for it that sustains my commitment to it due to the nature of the game. Unfortunately, some of us are forced to sacrifice some things for the big picture because some things are just out of our control. All you can do is roll with it while you work hard and persevere. There are so many gifted talented black authors who are figuratively and literally the proverbial diamond in the rough of the publishing industry. Just because an author is a quality diamond doesn’t mean his or her road won’t be rough. Many people in the industry do not understand our works and erroneously believe we are not marketable. They don’t value our dollars, thinking WE do not read and that the mainstream consumer wouldn’t be interested in our stories. Many of us are forced to go with smaller independent publishers or self publish because of the nature of industry, which puts us at a disadvantage because of the lack of economic force to compensate (authors), produce, market, promote, price, and distribute like big publishing houses. Your efforts give us a voice to be heard. Your commitment and support is priceless. I FEEL YOU; I HEAR YOU; AND I AM LISTENING. THANK YOU!

My prayers and heart goes out to the family. In this trying time, I hope they can stay strong and in prayer. No one can imagine the incredible grief they must be experiencing losing a child unless they have been there. It is unbelievable what some people are comfortable to say on a blog or comment that they would feel squeamish to say out loud in public. It's a story about a public figure, but he and his family are human beings with feelings. Please be respectful and have some compassion; it is not the time to speculate, point the finger, or talk mess. Accidents happen that is why they are called accidents. Life and children are so fragile. It only takes a few seconds. Kids are unpredictable curious little angels. NO PARENT CAN EVER SAY THEY HAVE NEVER TURNED THEIR HEAD ONCE...WE ARE HUMAN! Ninety-nine times out of a hundred nothing happens...WE ARE LUCKY! Ninety-nine times out of a hundred a child may walk past something and not give it a second look, but on that hundredth time they are drawn to it. As a mother, I know her mother is suffering so much and will live with regret for the rest of her life. She must be going insane. What a price to pay for an accident, being human, and being unlucky! It could have happened to anyone. Who they are doesn't matter. Please be respectful and have some compassion. Again, my prayers and heart goes out to the family. They have my deepest sympathies.

(I guess I just wanted to send out my condolences and get off my chest what I feel about how cold and mean some people can be behind the anonymity of cyberspace.)

Recently, a magazine argued that although Tupac had a lot of influence, he was overrated and just an average to mediocre emcee.

Just because you say so doesn't make it so. Trust I could write a book on how it just isn't so (maybe I will one day LOL).

This is just another asinine argument to boost sales and page hits. How do you add fuel to the fire? Add arguably one of the most loved, G.O.A.T, cut down in his prime, to the list to get a good heated dialogue and debate going.

You must admit that in order to be considered overrated, you must first be rated with a lot of exposure. So is someone hating on Tupac because he was so popular? By what criterion do you judge if an emcee is overrated? Do you judge by flow, rhyme scheme, lyrical content, subject matter, record sales, concerts ticket sales, synergy of music (appropriateness of selected track with lyrics), freestyle ability, popularity, etc., or lack thereof? If you are going to go there and call someone overrated you must be willing to break down the agrument in to digestible parts, and even then it is still too subjective to substantiate.

Tupac was well-versed (excuse the pun), having the ability to cover a variety of subjects from the light to the deep. In the true tradition of the oral legacy of the African Diaspora, he was a talented storyteller in his work. The young man had range and depth. His body of work for the short time he was with us has layers, where you can actually see growth and change--him pushing himself and the proverbial envelope of his art form, taking risks. He successfully reinvented himself as Makaveli without alienating his fans. He was not a music CEO/mogul with the power to dictate how much money is used for promoting and distributing his own projects. His contribution (as pretty much just an artist) to hip hop is tremendous, which is why most people have such strong opinions about him. The magazine's whole argument is flawed from the beginning because you can't separate the man, from the emcee, from the influence.

A great emcee is the overall total package, AND THAT IS WHAT TUPAC WAS THE TOTAL PACKAGE.

"Picture paragraphs unload wise words being quoted, peeped the weakness in the rap game and showed it!"

When a hugely popular artist dies in his prime, clearly before the last verse has been written, it is easy to come back later and cast disparaging remarks, questioning his talent, career, influence, and impact. The dead cannot really defend themselves as others on this list has the opportunity to do, so it is kind of lowdown and unethical.

Kudos for being strategic, trying to sale magazines and to get page hits, but not for much more.

Truly a great talent and artist lost. His unique style will forever be ingrained in the African Diaspora that is the legacy of African-American culture, especially with his mass mainstream exposure through Marvin Gaye's works and Good Times. I am thankful he was able to share his talent with the world. No matter where mainstream society tries to place and locate him as an artist in history, he was a uniquely extraordinary talented artist. His expressive works were raw, edgy, and real. RIP ERNIE BARNES!

Clearly, he has slimmed down...so what? I mean NO disrespect of Tyson, but he is reportedly 38 years old. It is impractical for him to constantly maintain the physique he had back in the day. The lifting cycle and carb. loading that it takes most people to look like that has to be very taxing physically and mentally, especially as he gets older. It's a lot of wear and tear on the body. Many buffed athletes (and in his case athletic model/entertainer) have to change and adapt to the realities of time and age. He still looks to have cut pectorals, so obviously he is still maintaining some fitness regimen. Just because he is an entertainer, he is still human. I sometimes empathize with people who are constantly in the spotlight where every change (weight gain and loss) is immortalized on film somewhere for people to scrutinize, but I guess it is the nature of the business he chose. He is still Tyson Beckford no big deal!

I wrote this as a response to a forum where an author of a sordid tell-all book motives were question. I do not condone or condemn her. These are just my thoughts.

I think it is all about your individual legacy. It is not the dates on the headstone that will define you; it is the undertaking and the enterprise with which you utilize the time which represents the dash in between the dates.

Before I published, I asked myself an important question. What would I want my legacy to be? I just want to say as a woman, lady, mother, wife, daughter, sister, human being, etc. I think about what my contribution to the world and the conversation of life will be now and in the future. Books are forever and there is a possibility that anything you publish may surface many years later. Do you stand by it? I wouldn't write anything that I would be squeamish having any of the people in my life read, if they are mature enough and truly ready to see my work separate from and outside of the scope of our relationship.

I truly hope all authors consider all of these things before they publish. JUST FOOD FOR THOUGHT: These are just my thoughts and not a judgement of any kind.

Stay blessed and inspired!

SMOOCHES