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Kevin Clash and Elmo

He may not look like it, but that Elmo's a love machine.

When parents tell me, "My child lives for Elmo," I tell them that Elmo lives because of their child's love for him. I don't just mean that Elmo is alive in their child's imagination, though that is certainly a part of it. That child and Elmo aren't just experiencing love; they're creating more of it to go around, and in doing so they make the world a better place.

It works like this: Elmo feeds off the love he receives from kids, from the adult characters on the show, and from his fellow Muppets. He doesn't just take that love in as a fuel and use it up. Instead, he drinks it in and gives it right back in spades. He's a kind of love-energy power station, and the more love he takes in, the more love he produces for the rest of the world. The more love he produces, the more love he receives, and the cycle completes itself over and over again. Talk about a renewable resource!

I first saw this powerful cycle in action shortly after Elmo debuted and was gaining in popularity in the mid-1980s, when I did an appearance with him at a school in the Bronx. A group of preschoolers were gathered in the library, all of them bundles of fidgeting energy with their legs swinging like metronomes. As soon as Elmo said, "Hello, everybody! Elmo loves you!" it was like a floodgate had opened, and Elmo and I were awash in a surge of little children. I could almost feel an electric charge in the room, as their shouts of "I love you, Elmo!" reverberated off the cinder-block walls. Elmo laughed and opened his arms wide and tried to scoop up all the love and hug it to his chest, all the while repeating "Elmo loves you, too."

That may have been the first time in my adult life when I finally comprehended the ancient notion that what you put out in the universe comes back to you. Since that day, I've learned to try to put as much Elmo and Kevin love out into the world as I can, knowing that it will have a very positive ripple effect. Elmo and the children taught me that one. Somewhere along the road to adulthood, we seem to forget this little secret about the power of love, but it's worth remembering.

When children tell Elmo that they love him, they all have different styles of expressing their emotion. Some of the more demonstrative kids throw their arms around his neck, snuggle their faces against his, and with an eyes-closed, sigh-heaving, hand-me-my-Tony-Award gesture that projects to the very last row of the theater's balcony, they proclaim their undying devotion to Elmo in prose as purple as Telly Monster. "Oh, Elmo, I love you more than chocolate ice cream! More than I love the new baby! Please come and live in my house forever!"

Older kids are a little more matter-of-fact, as if they've been married for twenty years and they're picking up their keys and their bag and heading out the door with an affectionate but perfunctory "Love you." Still others are more shy and reserved, like the bashful and nervous teen letting his or her feelings be known to their crush for the first time. I often wonder how these children will express their love as adults and how many of them will remain demonstrative and unembarrassed, or if they'll naturally pull back into more conservative styles as they grow older. It would be ridiculous if we all greeted each other the way the more enthusiastic kids greet Elmo -- imagine how long it would take to get that first cup of coffee at the office with all the morning greetings in full swing! -- but still, doesn't imagining a love-filled world like that put a smile on your face?

Children approach Elmo differently depending on their age, but they also are inevitably influenced by the kinds of physical demonstrations of affection they receive at home. Elmo wants to reach all kids, and sometimes he can be like that overly enthusiastic puppy who finds everything in the world so fresh and new and wonderful that he can't contain himself. Just as kids may squeal in delight when they first see a puppy and then retreat in leg-hugging, face-shielding fear when the puppy starts to jump on them, Elmo can evoke the same response. Over time, I've learned to think quickly on my feet, to gauge the kinds of responses I'm getting from a child and either tone down or amp up Elmo's enthusiasm level accordingly. I constantly have to remind myself that even though they've seen Elmo countless times on television, they're meeting him face-to-face for the very first time.

The funny thing is, no two kids are alike. I've seen the quiet ones respond with smiles and giggles that escalate to a full-on Elmo love attack -- the eardrum-piercing, vibrating, arms-wide, hugging and squeezing and kissing frontal assault. Other shy kids need a little bit of time to warm up to Elmo and his "de-monster-ative" displays of affection. But in the end, they all come around.

Excerpted from My Life as a Furry Red Monster by Kevin Clash with Gary Brozek. Copyright © 2006 by Clash Puppets, Inc. Excerpted by permission of Broadway, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

   

Left to Right:  Photo #1:  Kevin, Elmo and Alicia Keys.  Photo #2:  Kevin and the late Jim Henson

Click On Photos To Enlarge

Author
Kevin Clash began making his own puppets and performing for live audiences when he was a boy. He turned his childhood obsession into a professional passion, forging a career in television and making an indelible mark on children's imaginations. Kevin has been with Sesame Street for twenty-six years and is co-executive producer of "Elmo's World." He has won three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and six for his work as co-executive producer of an Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series. He has a daughter, Shannon, and lives in New York City.  

For more information, please visit www.kevinclashbook.com. 

Written by Kevin Clash and Gary Brozek
Category: Self Help - Motivational
Publisher: Broadway
Format: Hardcover, 224 pages
Pub Date: September 2006
Price: $19.95
ISBN: 978-0-7679-2375-0 (0-7679-2375-8)

Also available as an eBook.

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Book Review:  My Life as a Furry Red Monster by Kevin Clash

I was pleasantly surprised reading this book.  It was light-hearted, emotionally uplifting, and informative as well.  I actually felt the urge to find some of the old TV shows highlighting the author's career.  It was good to read about an African American who had a wonderful childhood, loved and admired his parents, and was proud of the area where he grew up.   I'm sure Elmo or Kevin could have dished out some behind the scene Hollywood dirt or focused on the darker side of life that we all experience, but then that's just not Sesame Street.  Although I can't help but think having a three and a half year old alter ego is a bit creepy, I truly wish continued and even greater success to Elmo and Kevin.

Sharon Bowden, Clinton, MD

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Author Erica Simone Turnipseed 

  

Question and Answer with Erica Simone Turnipseed

Q&A with Erica Simone Turnipseed, author of A Love Noire, and the recently released follow-up, Hunger, two sophisticated looks at Black love. 

Question: Did you find it difficult to write a sequel? Do you feel any of the pressure surrounding sophomore efforts? 

Erica Simone Turnipseed: I learned from my publisher that the term of art is “continuation” rather than sequel because the latter suggests that one must have read the first before reading the second, and Hunger does stand up as its own book. Nevertheless, the two books are connected, and that creates some additional pressure. Readers want to see growth in the characters and so do I. But even as I, as the writer, explore new terrain for these characters, I must resist the trap of having the characters become caricatures of themselves. They must be authentically themselves even as they grow and mature, make mistakes and learn lessons. This is part of the pressure of the proverbial sophomore effort. You want to show growth as a writer. And now that people have expectations—in this case expectations about preexisting characters—the pressure is that much greater. But I am very pleased with Hunger. I find it a very satisfying story that is a natural progression for Innocent, Noire, and the others who people their world. I trust that readers will feel the same, even if they did not read A Love Noire before reading. 

Question: Sometimes first-time writers are surprised by the publishing process. Did anything surprise you when A Love Noire was released? Is there anything that you learned from that experience that made the second time around easier?  

Erica Simone Turnipseed: I can’t say that I was honestly surprised by the process when A Love Noire was published; it was just new to me. With ALN, it was interesting to see the process unfold and I wasn’t completely sure where I could (or should) drive the process and when I needed to step back and let it work. With the publication of Hunger, I’m clearer about my role in marketing and publicity efforts, I’m surer of my voice, I’m always prepared with back-up copies of my book wherever I go. I’ve learned many times over that, as the author, I must always be prepared to advocate for my books (and my career). I’m also becoming clearer on what I hope my career progression will be and how I am touching people through my writing. 

Question: You created A Love Noire/Hunger: The Soundtrack. Can you tell us more about it? Do these songs follow the books’ storylines?  

Erica Simone Turnipseed: I must give my husband, Kevin Webb, the credit for developing A Love Noire/Hunger: The Soundtrack; it was his brainchild and he is the project’s executive producer in addition to being a contributor with his band, LEANiN6. As he has noted, I created a world in A Love Noire and expanded it in Hunger. I like to say that he heard the music that lived between my words. The Soundtrack extends the world created in my books, making it a multi-sensory and complementary experience to the written word. The ten tracks from the album come from ten extraordinary independent artists and capture the themes of love, loss, and redemption that are explored in both books. For some, the Soundtrack is a postlude to two satisfying reads and for others, it is an enticement to read the novels. People have been very receptive to the Soundtrack.  

Question: A Love Noire could have also been named Hunger because of Innocent’s and Noire’s intense desire for love, understanding, neatly packaged identities, companionship and success. With this continuation, how have Innocent and Noire grown, what new set of struggles do they face and how have their desires changed?  

Erica Simone Turnipseed: You’re right about the intensity of emotion and desire in A Love Noire, but with Hunger, the stakes have been raised. Both Noire and Innocent are dealing with true life and death issues: both experience loss, both have radical shifts in identity thrust upon them, both have to carve out a new place for themselves and find how to live in their own skin, right their own wrongs, and find peace in a turbulent world. It’s a bumpy ride full of ill-advised erotic entanglements, humiliation and reality checks, and a humbling quest for life’s sweetness and joy. As Jayna, Noire’s childhood best friend, states in Hunger, “simple just isn’t coming back.”  

Question: Both books are sophisticated looks at Black love. Are there specific aspects of Black love that you are trying to convey or explore?  

Erica Simone Turnipseed: I think that love is love but that people are impacted by their reality. Blackness is social reality that is loaded with certain things. For Noire, she is an educated black woman seeking lasting love and trying to figure out if she’ll find it, what package it will be in, and whether she’s willing to compromise to get it. Innocent is an immigrant from Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa who is uneasy about being a part of the so-called brain drain of Africa: Africans who go abroad for academic and economic opportunities and don’t return home to share their knowledge and economic resources for the benefit of their people. These realities impact how they negotiate the relationships in their lives, especially their love relationships. There are pressures and prejudices that black women face, especially black women in their late twenties and early to mid thirties, that make the pursuit for love especially daunting. The same is true for our black male contemporaries. And for those black people who hail from Africa and the Caribbean, there are additional issues of where one should seek love and whether that pursuit will take you farther away or closer to “home.”  

Question: What are you currently reading? What is one book that has made a significant impact on you? 

Erica Simone Turnipseed:  Because I am in the midst of promoting Hunger, it’s been hard to read books consistently. I've got quite a backlog! On my shortlist is the non-fiction book There Goes the ‘Hood by Lance Freeman about gentrification in Harlem in Brooklyn, as well as Edward P. Jones’s The Known World and Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake. I keep on picking up I Got Somebody in Staunton, a collection of vivid and evocative short stories by William Henry Lewis. And, as I prepare to sit back at the computer to write, I've been looking at Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America, Hung: A Meditation on the Measure of Black Men in America, Kenji Jasper's Dark, and the largely unsung Harlem Renaissance novellas Quicksand and Passing by Nella Larson. I’m also reading The Power of A Praying Woman with the women's ministry at my church. The list of books that have been formative for me is long and it certainly includes Migrations of the Heart by Marita Golden and Maya Angelou's The Heart of a Woman.  

Question: How has your writing developed since your debut? Can you pinpoint how it may have changed with Hunger? 

Erica Simone Turnipseed: The benefit of writing characters who are your contemporaries is that you mature and grow right along with them. When I first started writing A Love Noire I was 27 and single. But by the completion of Hunger I was pushing 35, married to a wonderful partner, and living with the reality of having lost my daughter, Grace Ayodele Webb, just days after she was born prematurely and I nearly died myself. And I’ve witnessed loved ones struggle with the experiences of life that we never hope for but are sure to have. Those things shape you; they inform what you think about and how you think about them. Thankfully for me, they’ve made me a better, more thoughtful, more humble person (rather than crushing me). I’m thankful for that. And as I sat down to write Hunger, I sought to explore the issues of love, loss, and redemption through the particular experiences of Innocent and Noire.  

Question: Will we see Noire and Innocent again?  

Erica Simone Turnipseed:  I think that Noire and Innocent have earned the right to live their lives in peace! But that said, I’m not ruling out the possibility of revisiting them in another phase and stage of their lives (and my own). I have no plans to revisit their characters, but that doesn’t mean that it will never happen!  

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About Erica Simone Turnipseed:
Erica Simone Turnipseed is the author of Hunger, an Essence Book Club Recommended Read. Her debut novel was A Love Noire, which won the Atlanta Choice Award Author of the Year from the Atlanta Daily World.  In addition, Turnipseed was nominated for Breakout Author of the Year for the African American Literary Awards Show Open Book Award.  A full-time writer, Turnipseed has B.A. and M.A degrees in anthropology from Yale and Columbia universities, respectively, and is also the founder of the "Five Years for the House Initiative," a fundraising drive for the Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale. She lives with her husband in Brooklyn, NY. 

More information about Erica Simone Turnipseed and her books can be found at her web site, www.ericasimoneturnipseed.com or through her blog, www.ericasimoneturnipseed.com/blog/, and her MySpace presence, www.myspace.com/ericasimoneturnipseed.

 

Author Frank Chase, Jr.

 

FRANK CHASE, JR., a native of Baltimore, Maryland, served in the United States Army and is now an ordained Deacon and a Minister at Emmanuel Church International in Decatur, Alabama.  Frank also serves as a contributing writer and editor for the church’s newsletter, The Flame.  As a lay minister, he has served as a teacher, counselor, mentor and leader in men’s ministries and is also a noted conference speaker. 

We wanted to feature Frank Chase for quite some time and finally got our schedules coordinated.  Here is the result of that interview.

 

The Frank Chase, Jr. Interview  

BMIA.com:  You have a diverse background.  Where did you grow up?  Go to school? 

FC, Jr.:  Believe it or not Gary; I grew up in your neck of the woods (Baltimore, MD).  Back then it was called the Junction.  I grew up on 2212 Garrison Boulevard and lived around the North Avenue area for a while and the Glen Falls Medical Center area.  As far as school, I spent my elementary school years at Edgewood Elementary, and then I went to Garrison Junior High school and finished out and graduated from Walbrook Senior High School in 1979 in the Junction.  I went to college in another state, and graduated from Washington State University in 1989 with a BA degree in Communications. 

BMIA.com:  What lead you to write the book “False Roads To Manhood:  What Women Need To Know, What Men Need To Understand?” 

FC, Jr.:  For years, I've always desired to write a book. I didn't know what subject it would entail, but my intrigue and passion concerning the rites of passage into manhood drove this book from my heart to paper and experiencing divorce.  Getting to the point of your question, Gary, God sparked a match in my soul to write False Roads to Manhood, What Women Need To Know; What Men Need to Understand to help men and women recover from failed relationships and to ensure that no man would go through what I went through trying to heal and deal with hurt and pain. Another aspect that brought this docu-story to life is seeing men struggle with failure and success.  Those last two words are loaded.  In any case, I wanted to write something to empower, teach and heal male and female, youth, men and women so they wouldn’t travel false roads to manhood or womanhood.  In the end, Gary, men in all kinds of predicaments inspired me to write this book.  However, I think the question is not what lead me to write this book, but who inspired me to write False Roads to Manhood. 

BMIA.com:  What is that you want the reader to learn or “get” as a result of reading your book? 

FC, Jr.:  Readers will learn about destiny, purpose and about exit ramps from false roads.  They will gain an understanding often missed in the noise of conversation and dialogue. When a person reads my book they will get an understanding about themselves and the complex emotions of men. Now I know that sounds like a misnomer, but light will begin to illuminate when people read this book. To pull from a scripture text, the words of this book will be a lamp to readers’ feet and a light to a pathway of insight. They will walk away saying, “I’m glad for the heads up!”  

BMIA.com:  How long have you been involved in the ministry? 

FC, Jr.:  Gary, I was called to the ministry when I was 20 years old. After I gave my life to Christ, I did a double take on God and ran for twenty years, but never far enough away. I stayed in the shadows of ministry, hoping God would not catch up to me. But He did and I finally submitted to the call, plan and purpose He had for my life. Let me tell you, I now have a little understanding of what Noah experienced in the Bible when he decided to run from God’s mission.  

BMIA.com:  Who do you look up to and admire? 

FC, Jr.:  Gary, without reservation, I look up to God first, but to answer your question, my Pastor and spiritual father, Apostle Karockas Watkins and his wife Audra Watkins, hands down are the people I look up to and admire. You have to know their story to appreciate why I speak so highly of them. That’s why he’s on the front cover of my book for the foreword. To say more would lead into a long written dissertation. 

BMIA.com:  What have you learned about the “souls of men?” 

FC, Jr.:  The “souls of men” are waiting to be called out into their manhood by the community of men. They’re yearning to be called son by their earthly father, but don’ t know that God the Father has knighted them as Sons of the Father. 

BMIA.com:  You been quoted as saying:  “It's time for men across the world to "break free" from the traditions of men.”  What does that mean? 

FC, Jr.:  Gary, breaking free from the traditions of men simply means you can be the man without apology.  Society often defines a man in different ways until they seek false images of manhood and not authentic manhood. Breaking free means, abandoning truancy, rejecting rejection, killing anger, turning discouragement into encouragement, not becoming emotionally or physically incarcerated, embracing trust in relationships and never embrace ignorance because it is not good for a man or a women to be without knowledge, don’t let offenses define who you are as a man and don’t become a nomad in the lives of people around you who care. 

BMIA.com:  What motivates you to do what you do? 

FC, Jr.:  I would say the Joy of the Lord which is my strength motivates me to do what I do. In addition, when people come back to me and echo how much my book gave them insight, reconfirms what God spoke to me eight years ago about how this book would change lives in ways I may never hear about. I’m motivated by manhood in Christ.  

BMIA.com:  Who’s the most influential person in your life?  Why? 

FC, Jr.:  Gary, right now as I stated earlier in the interview, my pastor Apostle Karockas Watkins is very influential in my life because he pushes me to excellence. I often feel like I have a hand in my back and a voice in my ear saying, “Son, go for the gusto!” You ask why he’s the most influential. I believe it’s because I see in his life a drive for God and people that makes me want to go with him to another dimension. He’s a man of excellence that wants every person he meets to discover their destiny and purpose.   

BMIA.com:  What’s your definition of courage?

FC, Jr.:  To know that I’m the head and not the tail, above and not beneath. Courage is not allowing people to define your life because if they can, then they will determine your destiny. Courage is: commitment over ugly responses amid guided excellence.  Courage also means admitting to wrong when everything in you says run and hide.   

BMIA.com:  What do men in general need to know or do to improve themselves? 

FC, Jr.:  Men need to know who they are in Christ. They need to know that their background doesn’t determine their future. Look, I was a 2-pound pre-mature baby when I was born. I am a living miracle. Medical science said I should not have survived, but destiny on my life understood that death could not stop me from living. I think when you fully understand your destiny you can’t be stopped.  Even death must take a back seat until your work is done.  Also, men improve themselves by reaching back to others to usher them into the promise of authentic Godly manhood. 

BMIA.com:  What role do women play in this improvement process? 

FC, Jr.:  Every woman needs to know that they are important to the man and vice versa. I would encourage women to read proverbs 31 in the Bible and there will be no doubt how women improve the process! 

BMIA.com:  How can people reading this article support you and your work? 

FC, Jr.:  This may sound self-serving, but I think reading my book and providing comments on my web site guest book is great support and encouragement. People can also support my work by logging on to my website to read the articles I’ve written to gain a better understanding of my purpose and passion. I want to bring reconciliation to the hearts of men so that men and women receive healing from past hurts, which brings cooperation with each other. Word of mouth advertisement about my book is the most effective way to bring others to my website. Purchasing False Roads To Manhood would bring financial support to my God given purpose to plant seeds of healing into the hearts of men, one man at a time. 

BMIA.com:  What’s the best part about being Frank Chase, Jr.? 

FC, Jr.:  The best part about me is that I’m a born again believer who loves God and wants the best for my life and family, spiritually and financially by the truth of the Word. I understand that there is a seed of goodness in everyone even when you’ve been wronged. I’m not too serious about me and at the end of the day it’s all smiles even in the midst of trouble or struggle. The other best part of me is what my name means. Frank means “Free Man” and the spiritual connotation of my name is “Shining.” So, I’m a free man that shines. That’s the sum of me.   

BMIA.com:  Where do you draw your strength? 

FC, Jr.:  I draw my strength from the joy of the Lord because the joy of the Lord is my strength. I also draw strength from my brothers in Christ through fellowship and intimate connection with them as men. As I said in my book, it takes men to teach men. So as an iron sharpens an iron, other men of purpose who influence my life sharpen me. I surround myself with men who know their purpose in life and draw strength from them. 

BMIA.com:  Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? 

FC, Jr.:  I see myself holding life-changing seminars, with my book as a number one New York Times best seller. As an author and President of FC Publishing, LLC, I see myself publishing at least 5 books in the next five years of other clients. I’ll take you on a more in depth journey. I see my book as a major play, then a written screenplay for the silver screen. Now that’s vision and without a vision people perish. I don’t see the future; I have visions of the future. Don’t take this as arrogant, I’m just bubbling over with words of confidence. 

BMIA.com:  What is the biggest challenge facing black men in America? 

FC, Jr.:  Let me say this Gary, he who reads leads.  We have to read about our history and remain vigilant. Like the Jews, we need to pass on our history to the younger generation so they will know where they are going. I think our challenge as black men is that we are not imparting or equipping other men and youth to take the baton of the future. We must educate, teach, train and never get trapped in the blame game. We must stand up and say, “Hey, young brother, come here! We must call them into their destiny and not let them fend for themselves on false roads to manhood.   

BMIA.com:  Thank you Frank. 

FC, Jr.:  Thank you Gary and Black Men In America.com. 

Frank Chase currently works as senior aviation writer on Army Helicopters for the Department of the Army’s monthly publication, PS Magazine, LOGSA, located at Redstone Arsenal, Al.  He is a graduate of Washington State University and has a BA degree in Communications with a minor in Sociology.  Frank has authored and published numerous religious and relationship articles for newspapers, online magazines and print media. He has appeared on many television and radio programs as a recurring guest.  Frank lives with his wife Teresa in Alabama and is the father of six children.

You can visit Frank’s web site at http://www.fcpublishing.com.  Click here to read our review of Frank’s book.

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Sylvia Henderson Is A Springboard To Success

According to author Sylvia Henderson, “Talking White” is more than speaking well.  It is communicating effectively, presenting yourself professionally, and conducting yourself in a socially acceptable manner as perceived by the business and professional world in which we make our living and establish our careers and businesses.  She goes on to say that “talking white” is a choice that only you can make for yourself.  “I can help you discover what to do and how to do it.  Only you can choose to eliminate the behaviors that sabotage your success.  Or help those you care about do the same.”   

Sylvia is the CEO (Chief Everything Officer) of Springboard Training, a training and personal development firm in Olney, Maryland a suburb of Washington, D.C.  Ms. Henderson conducts leadership and communications programs for organizations that want to develop their people for success.   

Sylvia visited the Black Men In America.com office and sat down for an extensive conversation with Gary Johnson.  Sylvia is indeed a multifaceted and talented woman. 

The Sylvia Henderson Interview 

BMIA.com:  Hello Sylvia.  I don’t know where to start.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Sylvia Henderson:  Thanks for having me. 

BMIA.com:  Tell me a little bit about your background? 

Sylvia Henderson:  I was raised in a lower middle class family in Philadelphia.  I attended public school and an all girl high school.  From there I went to Cheyney State and earned a B.S. in Secondary Education.  I pledged Zeta Phi Beta at Chaney.  I earned my MBA from University of Pittsburgh.  From there I interviewed with IBM and got a job with them and an assignment to Minneapolis. 

BMIA.com:  I’m going to jump around a bit.  Tell me about Springboard Training. 

Sylvia Henderson:  I actually became an independent contractor when AOL got rid of me and several hundred other people.  I was faced with not having a job.  I didn’t have the guts to follow my own dream when I was being paid well.  When that situation changed, I started my own business.  I didn’t know anything about what I was going to do.  I liked the name and concept of the term “springboard.”  One night I researched the domain name “Springboard Training” found out that it was available and got started. 

BMIA.com:  You’ve been around a lot of “successful” people.  How important is it for people to dream? 

Sylvia Henderson:  If you don’t have a dream, you don’t have hope.  If you don’t have a dream, you don’t have anything to be discouraged about.  You don’t have anything to keep you going.  Dreams don’t cost anything.  You can have a dream no matter who you are.  Anybody can have a dream. 

BMIA.com:  As you can see, I have your book in my hand.  How did you come up with the title:  “Why You Talk So White?”  Talk to me. 

Sylvia Henderson:  Growing up, both of my parents taught me, my father, specifically, taught me to speak well.  By that I mean to enunciate words, use my voice well, and to use the right words for the right situation.  I thought I was learning how to be successful in the “white” business world.  I was corrected constantly, and was told, “speak right.” 

As I gained additional exposure, I would get stopped and asked:  “Why you talk so white?  I haven’t been asked that for about 20 years. 

BMIA.com:  What has been the reaction to your book? 

Sylvia Henderson:  Overall, the reaction has been positive. 

BMIA.com:  What does “talking white” or “acting white” mean? 

Sylvia Henderson:  It’s a way in which a black person puts another black person down by accusing them of “selling out” and “leaving the race” because they’ve learned to speak so that they are accepted in the whiter professional world.  Through my lenses it means doing the things that someone needs to do to be accepted.  That’s my short answer.  In some ways its similar to what you do in a job interview.  You’re trying to impress someone, who is usually not dark skinned, to get him or her to accept you.  That’s pretty much what “talking white” is. 

BMIA.com:  Is there an element of racism when someone tells you that you “talk white?”

Sylvia Henderson:  In a way – reverse racism.  No white person has ever said outright that I “talk white;” it’s a black phrase.  It’s a mind-set that keeps kids who try to better themselves hiding the fact that they study, seek knowledge, and discover their culture and it’s beauty.  It’s an implied insult if you allow it to be taken as such.  I consider it a compliment. 

BMIA.com:  Why should people buy your book?

Sylvia Henderson:  There are several kinds of people who I think need to buy the book.  The every day kind of black person who is struggling with why they can’t get promoted, or why they may be struggling in other areas, you need to buy this book.  I give you short and sweet advice.  Get to work on time, project yourself well, and dress well. 

BMIA.com:  OK, I have to stop you.  Let’s talk about page 55.  The is the page that references the “bling-bling.” 

Sylvia Henderson:  When I teach basic presentation skills, I talk about how you dress.  The “bling-bling” or the stuff you where reflect who you are.  If you are professing to be humble and church going and don’t need the finer things in life, but you come to me wearing a big gold cross with diamond inserts, and rings on most of your fingers, that may not be sending the message that you want to convey. 

BMIA.com:  I don’t see any bling on you.  I don’t see any rhinestones or diamonds on that blazer. (Laughing) 

Sylvia Henderson:  No, you won’t find that on me. 

BMIA.com:  Let me step back to the book.  What is the one thing that you want people to get or learn as a result of reading your book? 

Sylvia Henderson:  That’s too hard to narrow down.  Can I give you two? 

BMIA.com:  Sure. 

Sylvia Henderson:  For those folks who are really trying to better themselves, but get beat down by their friends, the family and other peers, I want them to learn that it is OK to do what you need to do to get out of your situation to better yourself.  For those who aren’t trying to improve themselves, I want them to get or discover what it is specifically that’s not working for you. 

BMIA.com:  Great. 

Sylvia Henderson:  I was lucky enough to have mentors and people who took the time to point things out to me. 

BMIA.com:  One of the best things that I like about the book is the “Success Card.”  Tell me about the success card. 

Sylvia Henderson:  Sure.  It’s a postcard size card with 10 short tips that come directly from the book.  It’s designed to catch your attention and to give you some great tips. 

BMIA.com:  Let’s play a game called “fill-in-the-blank.  You ready?  

Sylvia Henderson:  Sure!

BMIA.com:  When it comes to hard work I ___________. 

Sylvia Henderson:  Dislike it, but realize that I have to do it anyway. 

BMIA.com:  When it comes to being successful, I __________. 

Sylvia Henderson:  I feel that I am successful, but there’s a lot more to do. 

BMIA.com:  One of the key components to success is _____________. 

Sylvia Henderson:  Hmm.  My own self-image.  That’s what allows me to take the risk that I take.  It’s how I feel about myself. 

BMIA.com:  Attitude is ___________. 

Sylvia Henderson:  Everything!  When I have nothing else, I have attitude. 

BMIA.com:  The biggest stumbling block for black folks in America is ___________. 

Sylvia Henderson:  They’re own mind.  I’ve had a lot of advantages, but when you look at how many people come from nothing and overcome insurmountable odds, such as poverty and abuse, it is amazing. 

BMIA.com:  The difference between success and failure is __________. 

Sylvia Henderson:  Repetition.  

BMIA.com:  OK, this is the part of the interview where we strap you in the Black Men In America.com Hot Seat.  This is our version of “Call and Response,” where I call out a word or a phrase and you respond with the first thing that comes to your mind.  Are you ready?  Great. 

·         Spike Lee à Insightful; controversial; unresolved issues (for himself and society).

·         Whoopi Goldberg à Keep strong; talented; versatile; herself; funny; passionate (loving and for causes).

·         Condoleezza Rice à Distant; reserved; survivor; admirable; brilliant.

·         Two words that most black people mispronounce à speech patterns more than single words.

-        Run words together (KknowwhatImean? · Wa’s up? · Y’all)

-        Drop endings or beginnings of words (An’ · ‘Dis ‘n ‘dat · Sumpin’)

·         White Women à Complacent; survivors; soccer moms; self-preservationists; partners.

·         Black Women à Passionate; searching; underestimated; beautiful; multifaceted.

·         Rap & Hip-Hop music à degrading; subjugation of self; word power and usage (beyond M.F., ho, bitch, and yo).

·         Favorite Movie à Wizard of Oz 

BMIA.com:  Is there anything that I have not asked you, that you would like to share? 

Sylvia Henderson:  Hmmm.  I want people to actually read the book and have conversations about the book.  Take heed of the lessons – do something for yourself to improve your life and let me know how the lessons affect you.  Pass the lessons on to others (by buying more books for others) and discussing the lessons with others, especially our youth.

BMIA.com:  Sylvia I appreciate your visit today.  It has been a pleasure. 

Sylvia Henderson:  Thank you.

Please visit Sylvia's web sites at www.springboardtraining.com and www.whyyoutalksowhite.com.