Mentor Speaks

Ushers Says......

 Pop star Usher addresses the racial controversy surrounding his protégé Justin Bieber, the R&B singer has made another public statement regarding the videos that have emerged of the young star making racist jokes. Speaking to People magazine, Usher once again stated that he supports Bieber and believes that these videos, which are a few years old, do not represent who Justin is now.

“At my core, I am a person that supports growth and understands without judgement, that growth often comes as a result of pain and continuous effort,” Usher writes to the magazine. “As I have watched Justin Bieber navigate difficult waters as a young man, I can tell you that he hasn’t always chosen the path of his greatest potential, but he is unequivocally not a racist.”

Usher’s full interview has not been published by People, but in the released portion, he also emphasizes Bieber’s immaturity at the time of the recordings.

“What he was 5 years ago was a naive child who did not understand the negative power and degradation that comes from playing with racial slurs,” Usher says. “What he is now is a young man faced with an opportunity to become his best self, an example to the millions of kids that follow him to not make the same mistakes.”

-Will T Barlow

Following the Foot Prints of LEGEND

A Sons Words

We’ve gleaned so much from Dr. Maya Angelou. She’s been a mentor, mother and guardian angel to the world. But we often forget that she has her own family. At the age of 16, Angelou, born Marguerite Ann Johnson, gave birth to her pride and joy, son Guy Johnson.

During an interview on OWN, Johnson tells Oprah, “I grew up in her light. Sometimes I wasn’t worthy of it, but it has always been an experience that expanded me.

“She thinks that the divine hand is in all things,” he adds. “She has faith that’s like a rock — you can stand on it. She speaks to our humanity and she reminds us that we are both brother and sister to the rest of the human race.

“Keep on speaking, Ma,” Johnson says. “We need the lessons, the beautiful poems, books, movies, dances, celebrations and love.”

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Johnson, who completed college in Egypt, is also a writer and poet. After graduation, he managed a bar on Spain’s Costa del Sol, ran a photo-safari service from London through Morocco and Algeria to the Spanish Sahara, and worked on the oil rigs in Kuwait, according to his Random House bio.

Some of his poetry can be found in the anthology of black male poets titled My Brother’s Keeper. Johnson is married, has a son and is a resident of Oakland, California.

-Will T Barlow