MANIFEST & More!

Hey folks,

February is rapidly coming to an end. It’s been a great month for me. Honestly, I can’t really complain all that much, which is always a blessing.

In March, as a special treat, we are doing TWO MANIFEST events. As you probably know, MANIFEST V is coming up on March 11th. For those who aren’t familiar with our musical features, I wanted to give you the opportunity to check them out and familiarize yourselves with them in advance. So, you can listen to Ryan Oyer’s debut album here: http://www.myspace.com/ryanoyer/music/albums/come-together-14867414

Also, you can check out Darren Johnson’s website here: http://www.darrenjohnsoneffort.com/Home.html

On March 12th (the night after MANIFEST V), we’re doing MANIFEST Presents… at The Camp House. MANIFEST Presents will be showcasing Two People Playing Music, who are a Florida-based band on tour for their new record, While No One’s Watching. They will be sharing the bill with Chattanooga’s own The Hearts in Light, who are finishing up their debut album, which will be released this year. Doors open at 8:00 and the show gets under way at 9. Admission is $8 at the door.

For more info on Two People Playing Music, you can peep them AND listen to their record here: http://twopeopleplayingmusic.bandcamp.com/album/while-no-ones-watching

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to be one of the judges for the NAACP’s Black Ink competition. It was a really incredible and inspiring event. This was my second consecutive year being a judge, so it’s something that I’ve come to enjoy doing.

The other judges and I managed to decide on the winners pretty easily, which is yet another blessing. However, I caught a little bit of hell about the decision.

After the contest, I was walking to my car, and one of the contestant’s mothers asked me what criteria we used to judge the competition. I told her that the criteria we were given, and she said, “Oh, okay. Because I don’t think you did it right.”

I told her that I was sorry that she felt that way and proceeded to keep moving, but she wouldn’t relent. One of our contestants who came in 2nd place was white, and the woman asked me how we (the judges) could let a white woman be a winner when “she can’t relate to our history.” I told her that Black history is American history. It includes more than just us. It still does.

The heart of the matter, which was never brought up, was that the woman was upset that her daughter didn’t win. The whole time this conversation was taking place, her daughter looked mortified. I felt sorry for her, so I chose not to allow myself to get angry at what the woman was saying. It was a challenge, but I think I handled it pretty well.

Anyway, moving on, for all you Twitter folks, I have officially joined the conversation. I’ll be dropping some special exclusives on there, so I’m looking forward to that. You can follow me here: @IChristian3030

Well folks, that’s me for now. Be good to each other.

Blessings