All About Ms. World's World

A Last Note on Colorism/Race in India

Dear Friends & Blog Readers:

I have been receiving e-mails regarding my posts where I discuss the preference for light/white-skin in India. I want to point out that I have travelled to 25 countries as of Feb. 1, 2006 (at various times in my life). I've only felt that skincolor was a serious issue in 1 (India) out of the 25 countries I've visited. The fact that I felt comfortable in my Black skin in the other 24 countries says a lot.

I've also learned that a traveler's nationality usually trumps the color of their skin. Some people abroad like or respect Americans and some people hate us. However, I'm usually treated very well based on the passport I carry. Please note that this has a nasty side because I've seen people who hold non-Western nations passports being treated very shabbily.

I have no intention of allowing how other people may preceive the color of my skin as factoring into how I live my life or where I go. I was saddened by some of my treatment in India. (Please note that I also meet some wonderful Indians too.) However, my biggest sadness came when I realized that some Indians regarded Europeans as being better than themselves. However, I see India's self-esteem issues as being their problem and not mine.

Therefore, I'm continuing my quest to see as much of the world as I like. I do want the world to embrace me but sometimes that doesn't happen. And it is ok since I know who I am and have a whole bunch of people who love me.

Happy Travels!

P.S.- Please note that I've lived in Japan, Italy, and London, U.K. I've travelled to Australia, Taipei, Taiwan, Malta, France, Czeck Republic, Netherlands, Scotland, Turkey, Eqypt, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Hong Kong & Macau, Austria, and Greece. 

Same, Same- Hurricane Katrina

Brother OMI has written about it. The Professor Amardeep Singh added his wisdom to the topic. Diva Saffron, Diva Chai, Diva Saurav (he said I could call him that), Mr. Bomani Jones, and Sir Bernie also featured prominent weblog posts about Hurricane Katrina.  And I'm happy to finally see a hip-hop artist speaking some political truths regarding this catastrophe.

For once, I am left speechless and horrified by the photos flashing across CNN or BBC whenever I'm near a television. I couldn't believe the devastation wrecked by Mother Nature. Unfortunately, I could believe that the U.S. government would ignore the poor people stuck for various reasons in New Orleans.

I won't pontificate on the matter of race because I think it is a mute point. I truly believe that America doesn't give a shit about poor people, especially poor Black people, even when they sign up to fight its wars (Please note I'm currently traveling in Vietnam.).

I'm going to allow Sir Bernie to speak for me with his 'People Helping People' post. I'm also going to pray for the victims and survivors of Hurricane Katrina and give a donation.

I really wish we all could understand how connected we are. As I travel around Southeast Asia, I've seen so many people in various countries who look like or have energy that remind me of my family and friends from in the U.S. and Japan.

I was in the Chinatown area of Ho Chi Minh City this afternoon doing some exploration and shopping. I went to the pharmacy looking for shampoo (don't ask). A Vietnamese woman came up to me and started pointing at me and speaking. 'Same, same,' she said. 'Huh?', I replied. Then she put took my arm and held it next to her arm while a small crowd slowly formed around us. 'Same, same,' she repeated and smiled.

The truth is that we share so much more than earth-colored skin. We are all human beings who love, hurt, laugh and cry. It is a shame that we don't fully realize that.

Conversations on the Traveller's Trail II

Last night I encountered a crazy lady. We were both riding the V.I.P. air-conditioned tourist bus from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. I'm trying to be a dedicated traveller who wants to connect with "the people" but the V.I.P. bus was only 250 Thai Baht ($6.25USD) while the "government" bus a little more expensive.

I'm glad I choose to be a spendthrift on this particular journey because I never would have encountered the craziness of the Austrian woman on the bus. The crazy lady begin the conversation by asking me where I was from. "America," I replied innocently. Then the crazy woman went off on her journeys through America.

This woman was partial to Chicago and the midwest because the people were "warmer." She thought there were way too many homeless people in San Francisco. The Austrian woman in all white also pronounced her intense dislike of New York City.

These were some of her more interesting pronouncements.

"I like the Black people better than the white people in America. The white people are hyper aggressive and violent. The Black people have so much soul and warmth," she said. The Austrian woman also started singing Kumbaya on the bus for me.

The Austrian woman also complained that American capitalist values are ruining the world, especially Europe. She says Europeans are starting to become materialistic, violent, aggressive, and cold, just like their American brethren.

This woman also told me that women can get breast cancer from wearing bras all the time. She suggested that I not sleep in my bra.

The Austrian woman in all white and a cross around her neck also like the fact that "the Blacks" were religious. She also loved the jazz and gospel music of "the Blacks," while pronouncing the Hungarians to be near animals.

The most interesting thing the Austrian woman said to me was regarding the Iraq war. According to this woman, the U.S. government will run out of oil resources in five years, hence its invasion of Iraq. The woman also said that the U.S. "will collapse in 2010," which will also bring down the economies of Japan and Europe.

This woman also believes the U.S. government was on the brink of collapse in 1995 and the Saudi Arabian government loaned America money to stave off its debts. When the U.S. was unable to pay back the Saudi's, the Middle Eastern nation got its revenge on Sept. 11th.

This woman was clearly wacko but I didn't want to stop her from talking. This annoyed the hell out of the other bus passengers who wanted to get some sleep than crazy pronouncements from an Austrian woman wearing a black hat. However, I'm fascinated by the stories we humans can create in order to maintain and justify our place in the world.

Now you have been warned, 2010 is the "magic number."

Black people don`t

Another saying I hate is, `Black people don`t eat sushi.` BULLSHIT! Black people eat sushi but they may not eat sashimi! 

Another Ms. World Rant

Lately, I`ve been doing travel research on East Africa and South Africa. It has come to my attention again that the most widely published and/or contributing research-writers for travel guides are caucasian.

Where are the Black, Asian, and Latino travel writers? Please don`t try to sell me that line about there being a lack of talented and able travel writers of color because that  is bullshit. I`m getting old now, so I know the truth- Black people can do and have been doing everything. There may be a lack of opportunities for talented travel writers of color but that doesn`t mean they don`t exist.

Thank God for Ms. Elaine Lee`s anthology Go Girl: The Black Woman`s Guide To Travel and Adventure. I discovered this engaging and eclectic collection of travel stories written by African-American women a few years ago. I had tears in my eyes when I found this book. It introduced me to a new world of wanderlust women who looked a lot like me.

I`m so sick of hearing that `Black don`t people travel.`  Black people travel. African-American upper and middle class people do travel. However, African-Americans from working class and poor backgrounds may not have the opportunities to travel unless they join the military. I`ve been very blessed because I have the opportunity to travel to places that fill my slumbering dreams. I guess I need to share the love. I guess I need to stop talking and do it. I guess I need to bring it. I suggest you stay tune in the near future.

Please note that I do have another month in Japan! The action will begin in August.

Apparently

It is very apparent to me that I have yet to reconcile my inherited history as a descendant of enslaved Africans in America with the myths of America as the land of milk, honey, liberty, and opportunities for all hardworking individuals (I really don`t think you can get anymore hardworking than the enslaved Africans.), and my personal history as this woman`s daughter, and the knowledge that I am a child of God.

I have no idea how I`m suppose to reconcile all of these histories, myths, stories, and the love and bitterness.

If you have any ideas on how to circumvent all of these emotions in a health way, please leave a comment or send me an e-mail.

Lessons from the First Occupation

In the winter of 1996, I was pounding the New York City pavement on the hunt for a job. By the time spring emerged in April, I had two job offers in different fields. I gave myself a week to ponder emerging opportunities in the publishing field and museum arena before making a final decision. I took the museum job. I worked there for about 2 1/2 years.

Now, I look back on that decision with a little tinge of regret. My love of books is slightly below my love of God and family. What was I thinking? My decision to work at a museum instead of in publishing put me on a career track I was bound to abandon. Now I can clearly see how important and powerful that decision was in my life. But I couldn`t fathom its impact until eight years later.

Since my mother taught me to learn from my mistakes, I`m very aware of how the smallest decisions can have significant repercussions on your life and the lives of your progeny. This idea is always in my mind when I think about the Reconstruction period in U.S. history. I clearly see that time in American history as a pivotal moment when my country could have owned up to its horrific misdeeds and committed itself to integrating their African brethren into mainstream political and economic life in lieu of their great contribution to the building of our nation. Unfortunately, America faltered on its promise to promote liberty for all. The economic and political empowerment of Blacks in the South was thwarted. And I honestly believe that America has never properly recompensated or reconciled with the descendants of enslaved Africans.

I started thinking about all of this after reading The First Occupation by Edward L. Ayers in The New York Times Magazine. Ayers sees lessons to the quagmire of problems the current U.S. government faces in its occupation of Iraq with the America`s first occupation in the post-Civil War South. His views resonate with me.

Scenes From The Reckoning

Ms. World arrives in Africa in February 2006. This is a foretelling of what could happen.

______________________________________

Ms. World : Hello! My name is Ms. World. I'm from America. How are you?

My first African friend: I'm fine. You are American.

Ms. World: Actually, I'm African-American.

My first African friend: Where are your people from in Africa?

Ms. World: I don't know.

My first African friend: What tribe are you from?

Ms. World: I don't know. The Midwestern tribe?

My first African friend: You aren't African. You are American.

Ms. World: I know I'm America but I've got Black skin.

My first African friend:That doesn't make you African.

Ms. World: It doesn't. Oh.

My first African friend: No!

This is my reckoning. I'm going to go to the land of my ancestors and not be recognized. My Americanized sense of African identity will be chopped down, splintered into many pieces, and thrown in a trash heap. Half of my name will be cut off from me by the original owners of the name. I will have traveled thousands of miles over a period of years to realize a truth that my mother told me over 10 years ago in the house on a hill. I will finally realize that my vaulted roots actually begin with the names of a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old who fell in love in the early seventies, got married, and signed their names on my birth certificate. Actually, I'm a little wrong there.

The tree begins with a woman whom I never met who shares the same name as one of the months. She was married to the man whose name starts with H. which a tarot card reader in Sydney, Australia correctly guessed. They begat the woman with strong Native American features who used to give me grape soda when I was sick with chicken pots and lived in a house that had no bathtub. The 17-year-old is named after this woman. But the 17-year-old didn't know this was her proper name until later in life.

The branches of this tree are filled with church-going, working people, a Pullman Porter, some teachers, a slew of life of the party-types including the legendary Ms. B., a sprinkle of ministers, a former Ebony Fashion Fair model, police officers, and a jazz musician, me thinks. My roots are indeed vaulted and strong as the Redwoods which help stabilize me as I rush madly and excitedly around the world looking for something that is already within me.

I will travel all the way to Africa to realize, yet again, that my mother is usually right. "Your roots begin with me, " she curtly noted in an semi-uncomfortable conversation we had over 10 years ago.

I must remember that sometimes the journey is much more important than the destination.

Class Really Matters

The New York Times is publishing a series of reports about social class in America called "Class Matters." Hell, I could have told them that class is a central component in American life even though some people still want to believe the U.S. is a classless society. Social class is an emerging chasm in the African-American community. I'm very interested to read their upcoming series of articles about this topic.

I always bring up the class topic in political discussions I have with middle class or upper middle class Americans. My experience is that some Americans, especially those in the upper social ranks, don't realize the impact of class in American life. I have firsthand knowledge of how class works in American life. I hate the fact that poor and working class kids of all colors who desperately need quality education usually get stuck with low quality education which makes them only suitable for low-wage service work.

The New York Times is defining class as a combination of occupation, education, wealth, and income. This is where things can get dodgy for me. I have the education attainment of the upper echelons of American society because I hold a master's degree but I have no wealth. My occupation prestige is in the middle rank but my income is above the middle level also.

I have definitely moved up in American society but I still call myself a working class girl, like this noted writer. Although I'm becoming obsessed with building wealth. I want to buy a house or condominum when I return to the U.S. I want to be an entrepreneur because I'm sick of working for other people. I also think it is very important for African-Americans to build their own businesses and use them as a tool to bring opportunities and wealth back into poorer communities.

But I can't shake my working class origins and I don't want to. A British friend of mine who also shares a working class background pointed out that working class people don't travel all over the world for leisure and exploration. This brings me back to a central question in my new life- How do you call yourself a working class girl as you country hop all over the world?

15 Things You May or May Not Know About Me

This list was influenced by Mr. Lyons.

1. I`m over 30 years old and I love it!

2. I have over 15 nicknames and alias, including Princess, The Word Girl, and West End Girl.

3. I own various albums by Bananarama.

4. I like to order vanilla lattes that are ``hot as hell`` from Starbucks & Seattle`s Best in various countries.

5. I make friends easily.

6. I don`t think I really understand heterosexual males.

7. I`m a little over trying to understand heterosexual males.

8. I`m very opinionated which sometimes is viewed for being bossy.

9. I know I`ve been very blessed in my life but I`m still a little bitter about some things such as the slavery of my ancestors, the bullshit game the U.S. has runs on African-Americans, and the fact that way too many people underestimated my brilliance.

10. I`m a weird mix of Christian piety and mad horniness.

11. I`ve been ``in love`` once.

12. I know if I wanted to lose my excess weight that I could do it but I'm clinging to the protection it gives me.

13. I like being a big girl because I think I can kick ass (if I need to) and it is very important to me that I can kick ass.   

14. I believe I'm a member of the first generation (born in the post-Civil Rights era) of African-Americans who actually had a somewhat fair shot at the American dream.

15. Sometimes I toy with the idea of joining the Peace Corps.