Very Important Biracial: Phil Lynott

While everyone else is guzzling green beer while adorned in plastic shamrock necklaces, I'm gonna do my part for Irish pride by discussing one of the most talented musicians of the 70s and 80s, the late very great Phil Lynott. Phil was born in West Bromwich, England in 1949 to Irish mother Philomena Lynott and Afro-Guyanese father Cecil Parris and was raised by Philomena in Birmingham and Manchester until he was sent to Dublin at age 4 to be raised by his grandparents. In the 60s  he led several bands, including the popular Grand Slam, culminating in the formation of Thin Lizzy with Grand Slam band mate Gary Moore. With Thin Lizzy, Phil utilized his soulful voice, great musicianship and songwriting abilities to craft stories that told of love and heartache, the joys of fatherhood, biracial heritage and pride in his Irish backround. Tragically, this gifted artist died in 1986 at the untimely age of 36 due to the effects of drug use, leaving behind his estranged wife and two daughters, and left those who were graced with his songs with eternal musical joy and beauty.

 

Very Important Biracial: Slash

With a new year comes new beginnings and a new feature, Very Important Biracial, wherein I profile prominent mixed-raced people and what's going on their world. First up is Saul Hudson, known to the wide world as Slash. Born in England to a black mother and English father, he is best known for his role as guitarist for 90s hard rock band Guns N Roses, along with his exquisite halo of black curls and that infamous face-obscuring top hat. Upon parting ways with GNR, Slash utilized his immense skill in Velvet Revolver. Subsequent to his time in that group, he released two solo albums, has lent his hand to many independent projects such as movie and tv appearances and Guitar Hero and has raised two sons with his second wife Perla Ferrar.

Love, Laughter and Food for the Soul: The Gabe and Babe VLOG/Blog

While perusing Youtube recently, I came upon this wonderful VLOG put up by an interracial couple living in small-town Tennessee. Chad and Gabrielle, who go by the monikers Babe and Gabe(Gabe being the shortened version of the pronunciation of Gabrielle's name) have been delighting their viewers with stories of their courtship, August 2011 wedding, and their adventures together. Between the VLOG, gflowerso2 Youtube channel, which covers such subjects as walks to Walmart, moments with their families, delicious homemade and restaurant food and their adorable newborn son Chad Ryan, to Gabrielle's blog The Gabe Fix  which further chronicles their beautiful and rich life, their love for each other shines through and brings much joy to the Youtube and internet universes.

Happy Birthday Delta Sigma Theta

Delta Sigma Theta sorority, founded on this day 100 years ago on the campus of Howard University has had, since its beginning, a tradition of service to the community and boasted such luminaries as Lena Horne, Mary McLeod Bethune and Dorothy Height as members. Delta Sigma Theta celebrates 100 years

Happy 2013

Another year has come upon us, and with it, hope for all the great wonders of life. Happy New Year my dear readers!

Denver in Color

I was looking at my Facebook stream recently and lo and behold, on the Loving Day page, there was posted information on Denver in Color, a coffee table book that honors black/white interracial couples in the Denver area. It heartens me that the recognition of the interracial community is getting wider and I wish them all the greatest.

Something in the Water and the Soul

Much has happened in this big wide world since I last posted oh so many months ago. Three much-publicized and horrifying events have put my brain matter into overtime. These situations became just the latest in a growing trend of those who have easy access to arms and use them in the most destructive ways possible. Firstly, there is this week's latest mass shooting, this time in Connecticut and of an especially heinous nature as it involved the killing of young children. Although at this point, it doesn't seem a clear motive has been established, many of these shootings tend to stem from unresolved mental health issues. Then there is the February shooting death of Trayvon Martin and the recent killing of Jordan Davis, both 17-year old black males from Florida whose lives came to abrupt ends at the hands of people with different racial backgrounds than their own.(Trayvon's killer George Zimmerman is of mixed Peruvian and white heritage, Jordan Davis' killer Michael Dunn is white). Although the legal process must be respected and the facts be allowed to play out in court, it angers me that we must sit here yet again and even entertain the slightest notion that both incidents may have been tempered by racial animosity and it grieves me that we as a nation are still mired in this stale state. I understand that racism ain't magically done just because we've twice elected a black President, but it's frustrating to realize that there are still those in this country whose ideologies are so static and deeply ingrained that they cower at any ripple of progress and the presence of those they deem too different from the old standard.