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Jennifer Hudson on GMA
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Her success has been such an inspiration for so many different reasons. First, she turned rejection on American Idol all the way around and blew us away with her vocal power in Dreamgirls, for which she snatched an Oscar in her very first acting role. Then with success came tremendous pain as she lost her mom, brother and nephew to a senseless act of murder at her sister's husband's hands. That kind of loss and devastation could leave anyone in a catatonic state for 6 months, but she became reborn as she found love and gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Then amazingly lost 80 pounds after childbirth and has kept if off for nearly 4 years. She looks stunning and keeps growing as an artist and a woman. It's a pity she's never named as one of our true beauties. That's sadly and rountinely reserved for Halle Berry and Beyonce. Her flawless skin, almond eyes and full lips are never heralded in our community as emblematic of black beauty.
As I try to get a "do-over" on the weight I gained over the last few months from emotional eating to cope with a hard personal loss and overindulging in holiday eating, I think about what losing most of your immediate family could do to one's mental state and how you just have to overcome. Somehow her personality and background make her seem accessible. Like, she's the sister-girl next door and if she can do that, then damn it so can I. Never mind she has access to trainers and chefs to keep her body in red-carpet ready condition. I still know it's hard for anyone to get up while it's dark outside and push oneself to do burpees or lift weights. I workout most days of the week and I feel encouraged by sisters like her who've faced tragedy and all of life's ups and downs and still get on the treadmill at 6am, eat that spinach salad and pray to handle all of the stuff we all go through whether we're rich and famous or not.
You know I really don't follow football as a sport. I watched the Super Bowl in 2007 when the Giants waxed the Patriots in a surprise victory over a team that had zero losses their whole season. That was just historic and I'm glad I can say I watched that game. So I really had no skin in the game when I heard Seattle was going against Denver in the big game until I saw all the hate and racism spewed against Richard Sherman after a well publicized rant after his victory in a decisive game.
The young man was in a tight game for a place in the Super Bowl where he produced in a clutch moment. He was unarguably amped and hyped to the max in a post game interview with a white female reporter who seemed afraid of him. Let's get it straight- he's in an aggressive contact sport where men always trash talk. Period. I happened to watch it as it aired and his interviewer acted as if she was put off by his passionate demeanor, loud voice and braggadocio. Maybe she shouldn't be on the field interviewing men at the height of their aggression. Or was it the unbridled black male masculinity that bothered her? His conduct shouldn't surprise anyone, yet even a fellow black footballer tweeted a comment saying he was setting the race back ten years. Who the hell made him the arbiter of black conduct, especially the conduct of someone in a violent sport. I mean the brother couldn't get a break. He was called every manner of disrespectful racial diatribe on twitter, and a loudmouth and a thug by the press for the unpardonable offense of being ramped up or "passionate".
Everyone seemed to forget he graduated from Stanford University with honors and started a master's program there as well. A native of Compton, CA and a renaissance man as an athlete and a scholar he was reduced in a moment to a "thug". Meanwhile just two days later, a US Congressman (appropriately named Grimm representing Staten Island, NY) threatens to throw a reporter over a balcony and no one in the media calls him a thug or even anything derogatory at all.
So for a chick that ain't really into football or Super Bowl Sunday, I'm right in front of my tv cheering for the top cornerback in the sport. Tonite as I type, they're going into half-time with the Seahawks at 22, Denver 0. That just warms my heart and I hope that Sherman makes stunning, re-defining plays all nite long. I want them to embarrass Peyton Manning and Denver. Maybe I'm just an eternal cheerleader for the underdog, maybe a fan of passionate athletes who aren't shy about proclaiming their supreme prowess, maybe I'm expressing racial pride and love for a brother who no matter what he's accomplished and overcome is diminished and reduced to a racial stereotype in a moment's passion. Spectator sports in America have always had the subtext of race all over it. Jackie Robinson in baseball, hell the move of the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles was about race. Whatever, I hope Seattle gets them a ring and a talented, dark skinned, dread locked, smart, fearless brother from Compton makes this a night to remember.
