R.I.P. Bobby Womack

I just found out that Bobby Womack passed away today. Also known as "The Preacher" and "The Poet", we just lost another great soul man of R&B--who, ironically, often times referred to himself as "The Last Soul Man". Across 110th Street, Facts Of Life/He’ll Be There When The Sun Goes Down, Harry Hippie, I Can Understand It, If You Think You’re Lonely Now, Inherit The Wind (w/ The Crusaders), Lookin’ For A Love, Love Has Finally Come At Last (w/ Patti LaBelle), Nobody Wants You When You’re Down & Out, Sweet Caroline, That’s The Way I Feel About Cha, Woman’s Gotta Have It, and You’re Welcome-Stop On By are just some of my favorite songs by him. There will never be another voice like his and he will be missed...

Free Summer Meals For Kids in Philadelphia!

Please share this information with anyone you know who might be in need of these meals for their child(ren) during the summer months. No registration or ID is needed, and there are no income requirements in qualifying areas of the city. Summer meal sites include recreation centers, schools, places of worship, community organizations, public housing complexes, etc. Click on the image or use this text link for more details and pass it on!

Happy Heavenly Father's Day Dad

Roosevelt Williams
October 9, 1936 - May 2, 2002

I thought of you with love today, but that is nothing new.
I thought about you yesterday, and days before that too.
I think of you in silence, I often speak your name.
All I have are memories, and your picture in a frame.

In life I loved you dearly, in death I love you still.
In my heart you hold a place, that no one could ever fill.
It broke my heart to lose you, but you didn't go alone.
For part of me went with you, the day God took you home.

No farewell words were spoken, no time to say goodbye.
You were gone before we knew it, and only God knows why.
A million times I needed you, a million times I cried.
If love alone could have saved you, you never would have died.

Gone yet not forgotten, although we are apart,
your spirit lives within me, forever in my heart.
Nothing can ever take away, the love a heart holds dear.
Fond memories linger every day, remembrance keeps you near.

A gift for such a little while, your loss just seems so wrong.
You should not have left before us, it’s with loved ones you belong.
Your memory is my keepsake, with which I’ll never part.
God has you in His keeping, I have you in my heart.

If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane,
I’d walk right up to heaven, and bring you home again.
Our family chain is broken, and nothing seems the same.
But as God calls us one by one, the chain will link again.

😇 Stepfathers Are A Blessing From God

"Color Him Father" Performed By The Winstons

There's a man at my house, he's so big and strong.

He goes to work each day, stays all day long.
He comes home each night, looking tired and beat.
He sits down at the dinner table, and has a bite to eat.

Never a frown, always a smile,
when he says to me, how's my child.
I've been studying hard, all day in school.
tryin' to understand the golden rule.

I think I'll color this man father.
I think I'll color him love.
I'm gonna color him father.
I think I'll color the man love, yes I will.

He says, education is the thing if you wanna compete,
because without it son, life ain't very sweet.
I love this man and I don't know why,
except I'll need his strength, till the day that I die.

My mother loves him and I can tell,
by the way she looks at him, when he holds my little sister Nell.
I heard her say just the other day,
that if it hadn't been for him, she wouldn't have found her way.

My real old man, he got killed in the war,
and she knows she and seven kids, couldn't of gotten very far.
She said she thought that she could never love again,
And then there he stood, with that big wide grin.

He married my mother and he took us in,
and now we belong to the man with that big wide grin.

I think I'll color this man father.
I think I'll color him love.
I'm gonna color him father.
I'm gonna color him love.

Footnote: In 1969, this song ranked #2 on the R&B charts and #7 on Billboard's Hot 100; the composer, Richard L. Spencer, won a Grammy Award for Best R&B song in 1970. Click on the record label for a link to YouTube and listen to this classic gem, the only one of its kind, which pays tribute to all of the stepfathers holdin' it down out there. And, always remember, as my pastor so eloquently pointed out in a sermon once... Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was actually raised by a man who played the role of a stepfather and his name was Joseph. So, never underestimate the importance of the part you play in God's divine plan. You are loved and appreciated much more than you know. May God continue to bless all of you!

All About Father's Day

Who came up with the idea of Father's Day? 

Her name was Sonora Louise Smart Dodd and she lived in Spokane, Washington. Sonora was the oldest of six children raised by their father, William Jackson Smart, when their mother died during childbirth. Sonora honored and revered her father, and while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909, she determined there should also be a day to honor fathers.

Sonora gained local support and made her dream a reality one year later within her own city of Spokane, Washington. Sonora married John Bruce Dodd. She died March 22, 1978, several years after Father's Day became a permanent national observance.

Why June? 

In 1910 Sonora chose June 19th as the day to celebrate Father's Day because that was her father's birthday. With support from the Spokane Ministerial Association and the YMCA, the first Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane on June 19, 1910.

When did the United States begin celebrating Father's Day? 

1910 Spokane, Washington celebrates Father's Day.

1924 President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father's Day.

1926 The formation of National Father's Day Committee in New York City.

1956 Father's Day was recognized by Joint Resolution of Congress.

1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring that the third Sunday of June as Father's Day.

1972 President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday in June.

Do other countries celebrate Father's Day? 

Father's Day is celebrated in every part of the world. In the United States, Canada and most countries in Asia, Father's Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June.

Happy Father's Day!

R.I.P. Ruby Dee

Ruby Dee (October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014)

We lost a phenomenal actress, civil rights activist, and entertainer last night. She was 91 years old. Now, she can be reunited with her husband, Ossie Davis, who also left us too soon in 2005.

The Autism Care Act

Autism Speaks Champions.org 

Legislation that would save federal autism funding is headed for a vote. Called Autism CARES, the bill would reauthorize the Combating Autism Act of 2006, dedicating $260 million a year in federal funding for autism activities over the next five years. The current law expires September 30, 2014. Use the link above to ask your Representative to support the Autism CARES Act (HR. 4631). Please repost and share to help spread the word ASAP.

25 Years Ago Today...

Two hearts became one! #WeMadeItToTheSilver! 

Kappa Alpha Psi 'Black & White Ball'

The Radisson-Valley Forge Casino Resort
Saturday, May 31, 2014