Blog Archives

Anita

11/20/2015

“My mom came from a family of twenty brothers and sisters (who lived), and my dad from a family with fourteen brothers and sisters, so I grew up around lots of people, some of whom were always cooking. I learned to cook at an early age too and always loved it, but I didn’t realize a person could make a living that way. I majored in accounting in college but never lost interest in the kitchen; I was always taking food somewhere. Then, while I was working as an accountant, I decided to go to culinary school. I took on little catering jobs, just for the experience, and the business started to grow. It got to the point where I had to make a decision between accounting and catering. I couldn’t do both, so I chose what I loved. I thought, ‘If I lose, I lose. If I win, I win.’

"I had some savings, so I quit my accounting job, sold my home and downsized to a smaller place. Then I stepped out on faith and never looked back. The catering business has continued to grow without much advertising; it was and is basically word of mouth. I’ve always had an interest in the Bible too, so I decided to take a few seminary classes on the side and ended up completing a degree in theology. My doing all that seemed to motivate my son. He was in middle school at the time and told me, ‘Mom, as old as you are, if you can get straight A’s, I can too!’ It may sound strange to have accounting, theology, and culinary degrees, but I use all of them every day. I handle the business end of things, I cook, and I have an opportunity to encourage people who are stressed out over big events or changes in their lives. There’s nothing like doing what you love for a living. And my clients are great; they're all special to me.”

Anita Woods, Executive Caterer / Owner
Complete Catering (Weddings, Banquets, Lunches, etc.)
Website: Complete Catering Memphis
Email: AnitaWoods64@gmail.com
Phone: 901-691-7924

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Cairo

11/19/2015

"As a little kid, I went back and forth from my mother to my aunt to my grandmother, living with each one of them for stretches of time, but my grandmother is probably the one I spent the most time with. Her name was Akiba Shabazz, and she was an artist, librarian, and storyteller. She was always taking me to museums and art shows and the zoo. In her house there were books to read, a piano, a didgeridoo, two sets of encyclopedias, her storytelling props, and all kinds of trinkets and knickknacks to mess with. If I said I was bored, she made sure I got busy. She didn’t believe in letting me sit around the house playing video games or doing nothing. She made me try to grow a garden in the backyard and she'd send me outside to play with other kids whether I wanted to or not. She always made me talk to people I didn’t know and try new things. I remember the first time I went with her to one of her storytelling events. It wasn’t her just telling us stories at home anymore. She was really in her element onstage and interacting with the audience, and that made a big impression on me. She was a great cook too. I could scour the world and never find spaghetti, salmon croquettes, or biscuits like my grandmother used to make.

"My whole family has gotten me to where I am today. They’ve all guided me in some way or another. I got my sense of humor from my uncle and my toughness from my mom. My mom went through a lot, but she survived and she’s doing great. I have a lot of respect for her. But I’d have to say that my inquisitive spirit comes straight from my grandmother. She taught me that the world isn’t a terrible place and that you can find joy in just about anything if you really try. I’m always eager to try new things, and I know I got that from her. I enjoy swing-dancing and break-dancing, and I’m majoring in anthropology and Japanese at the University of Memphis. Someday I’d like to be knighted by the Queen. Sir Cairo Tatum. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?"

Cairo's favorite storybook as a child, one that his grandmother often read to him:

Below: Cairo's grandmother, Akiba Shabazz (photo credit: Memphis Daily News)
See Feb 6, 2009, article about Ms. Shabazz in the Memphis Daily News.

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Greg

11/18/2015

“I really didn’t know what to expect when I first started volunteering with hospice a couple of years ago. I knew I’d be there one day a week, manning the front desk, feeding patients, and helping out where I could, but I didn’t realize how much it would enrich my life. I think I expected hospice to be a sad place, but it isn’t at all. It’s peaceful. The stress of a hospital setting is over, there are no more painful or extraordinary measures to be taken, and the focus turns toward controlling a patient’s pain and helping him or her feel comfortable.

“I remember one lady in particular who was with us for thirteen months, which is unusual for a hospice patient. She was 97 years old when she came and had multiple age-related issues, but her mind was sharp. She was a favorite among the staff, and she and I developed a wonderful friendship. After I’d feed her---she didn’t like carrots, but she’d agree to eat a bite or two for me---we’d sit and visit. She loved to talk about her childhood, her growing up years, and it was always fun to hear her stories. My grandparents and relatives are all gone now, and I wouldn’t have expected to find that kind of relationship again at my age, but for that year we were like grandmother and grandson. She taught me that a person can enjoy life even in difficult circumstances. She looked forward to every day. If someone brought her a rose, it was the most precious rose she’d ever seen. She lived in the moment because, really, that’s all she had. Like most hospice patients, she seemed to have a deeper appreciation of relationships and a heightened awareness that this might be the last time she saw you, the last conversation you’d have. Every week when I’d leave her, I’d say, ‘I hope I’ll see you next Thursday', and she’d say, ‘I do too!’ But finally the Thursday came when I went to her room and her bed was empty. It hurt, but that’s the deal. You have to accept the pain with the joy. You have to learn how to hold relationships lightly. I did what I could to help her, but she gave back to me too. It goes both ways. I’m just happy that I had that time with her.”

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Malik

11/18/2015

“My parents have always been there for me. They brought me up in church, and I’ve seen their marriage from the inside out. They work hard, love each other, and live out what they say they believe. I didn’t always listen to them though. As I approached my teen years, I was hanging out with friends who were making some bad decisions. I had gotten really disrespectful and was headed toward the same party life my friends were pursuing, but then I had a bad bronchial attack and ended up hospitalized. As I was getting better, I heard God tell me, plain as day, ‘Use your breath for my glory.’ That's when I turned my focus toward gospel rap, which I’ve written and performed ever since.

“I’ve had the privilege of seeing many of our city’s artists perform at church, and I’ve learned from them as I’ve developed my own style over the years. I record in my home studio, do 35-40 events a year, and speak and perform for teenage groups. Young people need a message of hope and encouragement to go in the right direction. The things I was exposed to at the age of 12 or 13, kids are exposed to now when they’re 6 or 7 years old. Whenever I have the opportunity to speak, I talk to the kids about music and how it affects them, I convey to women and girls that they’re beautiful the way they are, and I let the teens know that high school is nothing but a phase in their lives. They think it’s everything, and they end up wasting opportunities. I talk to them about goals, how much they can accomplish if they start now, and how they need to handle their business because when life hits you, it gets real. And yes, I talk to them about Jesus, about how he is relatable: he wants to be with you in your everyday life, whatever you’re struggling with. He’s accessible: he’s in church, but he's everywhere else you are too. And he’s available: he always has open arms. That’s what I found to be true when I got to know God for myself. That’s what everything boiled down to. I want to be a part of planting those seeds in the lives of young people. I want to help them go in the right direction.”

Click HERE or on the image below to listen to more M.K.J. tracks:

Malik Kiambe Johnson, aka M.K.J., Gospel Rapper
Website: 10:15 Records

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Nairobi

11/16/2015

"My daddy is my hero. He takes me everywhere. I love my grandmama too. She buys me things, takes me places, and I spend the night with her."

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Gregory

11/15/2015

"My grandmama always told me to put God first in my life. It took me a long time to realize what she meant, but I've been clean and sober for 6 years, and I know now. I know what it means to put God first. It's real. Without him, I'd still be out there."

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Paulette

11/14/2015

“I taught theater, speech, and art at White Station High School for 22 years and really enjoyed it. For the kids who wanted to do extra, I was always happy to give them opportunities after school to work on plays and musicals and to practice their speeches, poetry, and spoken word presentations. I taught some incredibly talented hearing-impaired students there too. I was privileged to work with Rita Grivich to produce shows with hearing-impaired student actors, for hearing-impaired audiences. Rita does amazing work; she was one of many great colleagues at White Station. While I was teaching, I basically lived at school, but now that I’m retired, I’m finally living in my house again here in Binghampton. This is where I’ve been for thirty years. The neighborhood has gone through a lot of changes in recent years. The biggest change, I believe, has been brought about through Caritas Village. It’s a place of community and caring, a place where the arts are embraced, where people are fed, and where we can sit down with each other as human beings and be comfortable together. Every neighborhood needs a place like this. I can envision living here in Binghampton for the rest of my life and driving my little scooter down to Caritas when I’m an old lady. The good Caritas has done and continues to do will outlast my generation.”

Paulette with long-time friend Maxine Strawder at Caritas Village. Maxine and Paulette will present their third annual Carols for Caritas on Wednesday, December 23 at lunchtime. Come!

Paulette Regan, Dancer / Singer / Teacher (retired)

Musician with Zeke Johnson
Musician with Binghamsters rock and roll band (at The Cove, 2559 Broad)
Her art will be for sale at the Memphis Arts Collective Holiday Show, which opens the day after Thanksgiving at 1501 Union Avenue.

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Maxine

11/13/2015

“I’ve been a dancer all of my life, starting in the 1940’s when I performed with a high school group. The college I attended didn’t have dance, so I escaped to Denmark to the Scandinavian Seminar, an international school: the hatch just opened, and I slid in. While there, I sang with several jazz club groups, but eventually I left the Seminar and headed to Germany to improve my language skills; I had been a German major originally. While in Frankfurt, I studied with a student of Mary Wigman, an expressionist who was as important to European dance as Martha Graham was (later) to American dance. When I returned to the U.S., I went back to my home theater, the Karamu House in Cleveland, Ohio [oldest African-American theater in the United States, where many Langston Hughes plays were developed and primiered]. There I married, had a daughter (Dawn Rebecca), and danced with several modern dance groups in Ohio. I had the good fortune to be one of the organizers of the First National Congress on Blacks in Dance in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1973. The dance congress got me to library school, library school got me to Memphis, and I opened the Gaston Park Library in 1979. As soon as my daughter went to college, I ran away to St. Croix (Virgin Islands), but I’m back in Memphis now dancing with Project: Motion Modern Dance Collective and serving on its board. On my 75th birthday, Project: Motion produced 75 Rotations : Celebrating Maxine Strawder's Passion for Dance. The most important thing about that production, to me, was that it was intergenerational. The youngest dancers were twentyish, and the oldest was 80.

"I'm 77 now myself and of course I'm still dancing. I’m thinking that one day I may write a biography / autobiography about my mother’s life and mine. Both my mother and grandmother lived to be 96 years old, both faced many obstacles in life, and both possessed a loving fierceness. They instilled that in me.”

Maxine with long-time friend Paulette Regan at Caritas Village. Maxine and Paulette will present their third annual Carols for Caritas on Wednesday, December 23 at lunchtime. Come join them!

Maxine Strawder, Dancer / Activist / Librarian (retired)

Originator of the Project: Motion Maxine Strawder Dance Enrichment Scholarship at U of M
Recipient of the University College Outstanding Alumna Award, 2014
West Virginian by birth
Advocate for Campus Workers Union to avoid privatization
Commercial Appeal article about Maxine Strawder: For the Love of Dance

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Gaelle

11/12/2015

“As I was growing up, I imagined that one day I would be a writer and travel the world covering stories in war zones. My own mother stayed at home with my two brothers and me, and I knew I didn’t want to be like her. I wanted to have a purpose in life, and that did not include children. Things changed though when my husband and I had Sarah. My job ended three weeks after she was born, and I didn’t go back to work. Then our son came along. If someone had told me five years ago that I would be staying at home with two children and volunteering with nonprofits, I wouldn’t have believed them. It’s so natural though. I look back on the great childhood I had, how I was loved and cherished, how my mother cooked such wonderful meals and did so much for our family, and I realize that not every household is that way. I came to understand that Mom wanted to stay home with us; it wasn’t that she had no choice. My husband and I are from France and moved to the U.S. ten years ago, so I only get to see Mom every 2 or 3 years, but I relate to her and appreciate her now more than I ever have. Life has a funny way of changing your mind about what is important.

“Sarah goes to PreK in the mornings, and I teach her in the afternoons. We only speak French at home, so she’s growing up bilingual. It’s very important to us that our children be able to communicate with grandparents and cousins back in France. When we visited for two months last summer, Sarah was so excited. She ran in from playing and said, ‘Mommy, all the kids here speak French!’ She loved it. I think knowing more than one language helps her to be more open-minded. I don’t want her to lose that.”

Gaelle Lespinasse-Llambi's husband's research job with St. Jude brought the family from France to the U.S. in 2005. Gaelle studied both English and Spanish in France and now volunteers with Centro Cultural organizing art, theater, and dance classes for the community. She also helps to organize the annual Day of the Dead Festival and speaks to school groups about the richness of Hispanic culture and heritage.

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CM Digital Issue: Nov 2015

11/11/2015

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