MENTOR MONDAY...Nurses

Doctors are brilliant, but NURSES...these women and men are true angels walking the earth.   

One of my dearest friends is facing a serious health crisis and in spending time with her and her family over the past week, I cannot begin to tell you how much we have depended on and garnered respect for the nurses who have cared for her every day.  I just want to thank Nurses on behalf of the families of patients who would not heal without their helping hands.

The Gift of a Nurse 

God took one pair of angel wings,

One halo heart of gold.

Two eyes that hold compassion

For others, young or old.

Two hands to offer kindness,

Always putting others first...

He wrapped it up

With tender care

And called this gift a "NURSE".

~Author Unknown~

Mentor Monday

“Mentor: Someone whose hindsight can become your foresight”

MENTOR MONDAY: Marion Anderson...Talent with Strength and Courage

It is 2009 and there is a black family living in the White House. 

During the inauguration ceremonies artists of every hue from every music genre participated in the celebration showing the amazing mosaic that is the United States of America. Yesterday was Easter Sunday and the African-American President and his First Lady celebrated the resurrection of Christ by going to a local church across from the White House that welcomes all races.  Things sure have changed since 1939 -- 

On another brisk Easter Sunday morning in April 1939, contralto Marion Anderson, arguably one of the greatest voices of the 20th Century stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and sang songs celebrating the glory of America. An America that still saw her as separate and unequal because she was black.

Nowadays it sounds glamourous to sing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial; but that wasn't the initial plan for Marion Anderson's spring concert in Washington, D.C. Although she had been performing for royalty and in major concert halls in Europe, New York and Philadelphia; when her manager tried to book Ms. Anderson at Constitution Hall, the largest venue in segregated Washington at the time, she was rejected by the Daughters of the American Revolution, which owned the hall and prohibited African Americans from performing there. The district's school board also turned her away from singing at a school's auditorium. Ms. Anderson didn't quit...and she didn't take rejection lying down.

With the aid of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, the venue was changed to the Lincoln Memorial in front of the statue of the man who stood for freedom and equality.  Ms. Anderson performed the open-air concert to a crowd of more than 75,000 people and a radio audience in the millions. She continued to break barriers for black artists in the United States, notably becoming the first black person, American or otherwise, to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City on January 7, 1955.

Yesterday on Easter Sunday More than 2,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial for a concert honoring the 70th anniversary of opera singer Marian Anderson's historic performance there.  The crowd was mixed, the celebration was glorious and the music of freedom and equality rang out in the same songs Marion Anderson sang 70 years earlier.  Today is "Mentor Monday" and Marion Anderson's talent, strength and courage should inspires us all to reject those who would reject us because of the color of our skin.  Marion Anderson knew who she was and what her rightful place in America should be...so she stood in the place God had ordained; and made people recognize.  

Bravo Diva!

(For more information on Marion Anderson, click here)

MENTOR MONDAY: Bryant Gumbel...words of wisdom

I was a New York City Homicide prosecutor when I started in television as a volunteer legal commentator with Court TV way back in 1991; but it was 1992 that began my actual career shift to television. I joined NBC News as legal correspondent and was immediately given the assignment of covering the Mike Tyson rape trial, followed quickly by the case involving the police beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles for both the Today Show and NBC Nightly News. You'll remember that both these cases came with quite a bit of media attention and I ended up on television a lot adding my legal insights to the issues; or as my boss used to say...making the law "user friendly" for the viewer.

It was exciting, interesting and a great honor to work alongside the best anchors in the business, Tom Brokaw, Tim Russert, Katie Couric and of course...my mentor and favorite news anchor of all time, Bryant Gumbel.Bryant had (and still does on Real Sports on HBO) the ability to make a news story come alive and when he had a newsmaker on the hot seat...well, they often needed to be resuscitated afterwards. He was tough; but always fair and I learned more from him in those early years than anyone in the business. However, it isn't Bryant's contributions to my professional growth that is on my mind today...it is his contribution to my personal growth that stays with me more than 17 years later.

Yesterday on "Twitter," I was "tweeting" with a young African-American woman who shared that she had just been called "the N word" for the first time in her life. The incident clearly devastated her and she wanted advice on how to deal with it. I had to reach back into my memory bank because her experience reminded me of the time at NBC when I received my first ever racist mail (actually it was a series of letters) probably because of the kind of cases I was covering for the network. I couldn't believe the things people wrote to me. They called me "nigger", "monkey", "ape", and other vulgar and hate filled words and phrases that I remember to this day. One days' mail was really overwhelming and I'll admit...I completely fell apart in my office. I cried like a baby...and couldn't stop.

Apparently someone in my work area let Bryant know that I was taking these racist attacks very hard; so he came down to my office to see me. He stood in the doorway for a moment and then he spoke. "Star, you can't internalize this stuff," Bryant said, "if I cried every time someone called me a nigger because I was doing my job, I'd be crying all the time." He went on to say that it was my job to "frustrate the racists by being better than they could ever HOPE to be." He let me in on his secret: Use the "haters" as motivation to succeed beyond even your own expectations.

I dried those damn tears and I have never cried tears as a result of racists again!

I may not have been able to reach out and personally touch my young twitter follower the way Bryant touched me; but in addition to recalling Bryant's advice to me...I did share the words of wisdom my grandmother gave me as a little girl years ago:

It's not what they call you...it's what you answer to that matters!

I told my "tweeter" to "lift her head up, put her shoulders back and to just be THE TRUTH...because you know THEY can't handle THE TRUTH!"

I believe that letting someone else define you is the worse mistake you can ever make. Because, when their definition changes...then you're stuck not knowing who you are. I know who I am and I thank my mentor Bryant Gumbel for reminding me 17 years ago.

For more information on the phenomenal career of Bryant Gumbel, just click HERE.

Mentor Monday: Teachers

Even as a little girl in a small town in North Carolina, I knew that education would be my path to the future.  Little did I know that my 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Melba Uzzell would be the example I would use as inspiration for the rest of my life.  Like all children I learned the basics in 3rd grade; but Mrs. Uzzell was different.  Her love for teaching and her constant encouragement of her students to dream outside of our circumstances made me want to excel. She made me care about learning and taught me that where I couldn't necessarily go physically just yet...I could go in a book every single day.  

So over the years, that's exactly what I did.  I walked along Avenue des Champs-Élysées on my first "trip" to Paris...in a book.  I rode my first camel in the land of Christ...in a book.  I swung through the rainforest in Central America, flew in a helicopter over the Mediterranean in the South of France, thanked  Abraham Lincoln for the Emancipation Proclamation  and wore a Chanel suit...for the first time...all in a book.  I learned to allow my imagination to take me places where my resources and circumstances couldn't always take me; and I got that from my 3rd grade teacher.  

Thank you Mrs. Uzzell for fostering this young girl's imagination through education.  I have been blessed enough to actually experience some of these amazing things throughout my adult life; and they were as beautiful and exciting as the first time I experienced them in my "mind's eye."  Your inspiration helped me  grow into the adventurous inquisitive seeker of knowledge that I am today.  This is for you and all the other teachers who prepare the next generation for the world...

A Loving Teacher

Things our grown-up mind defies
Appear as giants in children's eyes.
A gentle touch upon her head
A simple word when kindly said.
Complete attention when she calls.
Her knowing you have given all.
Correcting in a loving way.
Instilling trust in what you say.

Making her believe unique
The tiny flaw upon her cheek.
Admiring old and faded dresses.
Reminding her we all make messes.
Words of comfort you've softly spoken
A promise you've made she knows won't be broken.
Your knowing her doll that was lost today
Is just as important as bills you can't pay.

Helping make her plans and schemes
Giving her hope and building her dreams.
All of this and so much more
Is in her mind forever stored.
They who touch her life awhile
Can either make or break that child.
Education is important, true, 

But so much more, her faith in you.
You've weathered through the storm and strife;
You helped to build a small girl's life.
You're truly one to be admired.
For you gave more than was required.
By Pat McClain

If you want more information on books that can take you (or your children) to the places I've described...just click on the highlighted words in the text.  I've linked some of my favorites.

John Hope Franklin: Scholar, Historian, Mentor...Giant

I couldn't wait till Monday to pay tribute to this Mentor!

Last night I dreamt about the discussion that must be going on in heaven right now between the Honorable Justice Thurgood Marshall and John Hope Franklin, the revered Duke University historian who died Wednesday at 94 years old.   From separate water fountains to the inauguration of the first African-American President...whose ascension to the White House was called by Professor Franklin ''one of the most historic moments, if not the most historic moment, in the history of this country;''  the things Professor Franklin witnessed over his more than nine decades on this earth could fill bookshelves for many years to come. I remember reading his book ''From Slavery to Freedom'' in college and have used it again and again as my historical "bible" over the years. It is easy to agree with the NY Times that this book "was a landmark integration of black history into American history that remains relevant more than 60 years after being published." His credentials were second to none.  From Fisk to Harvard to Cambridge University, his thirst for knowledge led him all over the world.  He received more honors and awards from every prestigious organization you can imagine and many more than I can begin to name.  Yet, he was very clear on the historical inequalities that still exist in the United States. He said, for example, that the evening before he received the highest civilian honor our country can give, The Presidential Medal of Freedom, from then President Bill Clinton, a woman at his private club in Washington, D.C., asked him to get her coat. Around the same time, a man at a hotel handed Franklin his car keys and told him to get his car.  "I patiently explained to him that I was a guest in the hotel, as I presumed he was, and I had no idea where his automobile was.  And, in any case, I was retired," Franklin said.  Both of these incidents occurred when he was in his 80s.

This elegant man and gifted scholar was everything we should aspire to be.  His life serves as the quintessential example of excellence that should motivate nothing but forward movement; regardless of your race.  I know that I owe most of my educational accomplishments to Professor Franklin and his honor Justice Marshall.  For it was Professor Franklin's research that helped Thurgood Marshall and his team at the NAACP win Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 case that barred the doctrine of ''separate but equal'' in the nation's public schools.  I get to say "I'm a lawyer" because of this brilliant man who stood head and shoulders above so many but never lost sight of his purpose in our society.  He led by example and it behooves us to do him the honor of allowing his example to be the benchmark we strive towards for generations to come.  

For more information on Professor John Hope Franklin click on the title of this post and/or see his official bio here.

Mentor Monday

Several years ago while I was conducting an interview, the interview subject made a statement that caused me to do a double take.  She said that "black people had so few role models," we had to embrace people like "OJ Simpson and Jason Williams" to rally behind.  Whoa.  That may be true for some; but I would venture not for most.  I remember saying at the time that just because the mainstream media has chosen not to highlight role models in the black community ...doesn't mean we don't have them.  Well, it's not just the mainstream media that fails to celebrate our successes; we are guilty of it ourselves.  Not anymore. "Mentor Monday" will introduce a new role model, a new person to cheer, and/or another reason to celebrate being young, gifted and black!

Monday, March 23rd:  Dr. Keith Black 

"If you want to understand the artist, you study his art.  If you want to understand God, you study the anatomy of the brain."  Dr. Keith Black

Born in 1957 in Tuskegee, Alabama, Dr. Keith Black is a world-renowned neurosurgeon and scientist.  Dr. Black, a leading researcher in his field, is in the process of "changing the paradigm" for cancer treatment.  His pioneering research has focused on the treatment of brain tumors.  He has devised two innovative methods for treating brain cancer.  Dr. Black's cutting-edge research has led to the development of a delivery method for administering chemotherapeutic drugs directly to the tumor, and the creation of vaccines to enhance the body's immune response.  For more info on Dr. Black just click on "Mentor Monday" at the top of this post.