If you are familiar with me, you know that I have a right hand comrade named Natalie. She's the PYT featured in the pic to the left. As she and I were standing in the concert, we noticed that many of the artists paused to have a "do the right thing" moment. From Ty Dolla $ign, to Jeezy to Wiz, artists kept having motivational breaks in their sets. I wondered why the artists felt it necessary to take this time out in their performances. I'm not harping on the lives of any of these artists. Their speeches just helped me have an aha moment. So many of us filter through life pretending to have a united front of peace, when our day to day actions do very little to support the words we speak. It's easy to speak about helping the next generation, living to the fullest, and staying positive. But living up to these words is a whole other matter.
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It's summertime Chi, so you know what that means! Taste of Chicago. Of course, I went to stuff my face and enjoy this Chicago fave. I always get the same food at the Taste and I was relieved to see that although there were less booths my faves were still there. Although there was an element of nostalgia missing this year, I do believe that the organizers of Chicago's infamous food festival are trying to make the fest safer and more enjoyable. The Taste was not during its usual 4th of July schedule. This year the Taste was the week after the holiday. I went with fellow streamer Vic and our friend April during on a weekday. We enjoyed short lines and a manageable crowd. So, all in all, I had a blast at this year's Taste of Chicago. Check out my pictures below and the two restaurants that have kept me coming back.
Some people claim that African American people don't have the right to celebrate Independence Day. Those people are flawed for various reasons.
To persist that the Black individual has no right to celebrate the 4th of July demeans the fact that Black people are the fabric that built this country, even before America gained independence from British rule. It is also flawed because it is self-hatred at its finest. Saying that African American people cannot have pride in the only country that they have a claim to echoes that they cannot have pride in who they are. If I don't celebrate this country, what do I celebrate? I am patriotic, not because America is so great, but because this is the country where my lineage was created, passed down, and where it will continue. My great grandmother was a sharecropper; her child moved to Chicago in the great migration. Her child, my mother, made something of herself and now I live in suburbia. I am a vivid depiction of Black history in America. I celebrate that by waving a flag and eating good food today. This land is mine. I believe that African Americans should, by all means necessary, become patriotic. If the Black man learned to love this country, he would look at his neighborhood and his neighbor differently. Perhaps he would put down his gun. If the Black woman became patriotic should would respect her country and those around her. Perhaps she would respect herself. So let's love this country, ourselves, and the yummy food we get on days like today! Be safe, be fat, be free. -MK |
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More About MkMk is 23 year old Chicagoan. She attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., studying English. Now back in Chicago, Mk has focused on writing her truths. Outside of ATS, she also writes on Youth Alert, a blog for young Christian believers. Mk is also a stylist at Akira Hyde Park. When she isn't working on the Mag, Youth Alert, or at Akira, Mk is with her family, she spends her time with a good book or cooking.
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