Entertainment

Reel-ality TV Talk

Published

10 years ago

June 15, 2015

By Marquesa LaDawn
NNPA Columnist

Real Housewives of Atlanta (RHOA) via Kandi’s Family ski trip just ended and it was really good. It’s no secret that this family had some kinks in the relationships department. The real divas on steroids were Mama Joyce and the old lady gang, as they call themselves. Frankly, without them in the mix, it would have been a bit boring.

Some highlights:

Mama Joyce and Carmen (Kandi’s assistant and best friend) had it out and all hell broke lose. Carmen finally realized that the gossip has nothing to do with her, Mama Joyce had some issues she needs to face. Carmen had a conversation with Mama Joyce’s sisters and all was confirmed. The sisters agreed that Mama Joyce needs to deal with some internal stuff.
Because of the big argument between Carmen and Mama Joyce, Kandi had to admit to herself, her Mama just refuses to accept her husband.
Todd was so frustrated that he swore on his mother’s grave that he’s never been with Carmen and those words seem to shut Mama Joyce down.
Todd, for the first time, felt welcomed into the family by the old lady gang and all it took was a trip to the “pot” shop.
The mini-series ended with the family writing down their issues with one another on a slip of paper and burning it to signify a new start.
Everyone burned their issues and accepted some type of responsibility, even Mama Joyce –kinda.

This was wonderful. I will miss the Tuckers until next season.

Up north, the Real Housewives of New York (RHONY) killed it, as always. I know because I am a New Yorker and admit we can be tough in relationships! That aside, it was really good this week. Let’s start with my girl Bethenny, the business powerhouse. Bethenny, I say this in love, can be a mean girl! She either likes you or doesn’t and there is no in between. Since these ladies are in a group, this is frustrating and confusing to the ladies, I have to say, in everyday life, women make the same decisions, they just do it, with a fake smile, just saying. Anyway, Bethenny was emotional and messy boots in one scene, especially if someone disagrees with her yet professional and classy in another. Yes, it’s a rollercoaster and you have to hold on for the ride.

Did you see the skinny girl summit, dang! You go girl! Sonya was the lucky housewife guest attending and taking lots of notes. It was refreshing to see Carole stand up for Heather doing a heated conversation with Bethenny and Ramona. Bethenny was complaining about Heather mothering her. Now, I get an adult not wanting to be mothered, but I felt like Heather was being nice and caring. Bottom line, it’s not about Heather, but Bethenny’s pain around never really having a mother or a peaceful childhood. Our hearts ache for her.

This episode ended with Bethenny feeling attacked, though I think it was about boundaries. Luann’s checking in, Carole’s sharing Bethenny’s mean words with Kristen and Kristen’s asking Bethenny why. Bethenny responds with a harsh reaction and walking away, she then leaves. Whew, that was interesting!

More drama, although at times inauthentic, on the Queens of Drama from the ladies of daytime TV. Although I enjoyed the show, and simply loved Donna Mills being her alter ego, Abby Ewing, from Knots Landing. Actresses need to stay with fictional TV. Just sayin!

Married With Medicine, my medical reality TV girls are back and messier than ever. I’m surprised by how messy the relationships are so early. Keep your eyes on these gals because we are in for an over the top season for sure.

Speaking of over the top, the Braxton girls are putting on their “medium girl” panties. Between Trina’s messy divorce, kids getting married at 17, Tamar trying to get along with her sisters, this show is on fire!

Quick note on RHOBH, Kim Richards is out and her sister Kathy Hilton is in! More news on that coming soon.

Marquesa LaDawn is a professional businesswoman who escapes the pressures of living in New York City by retreating into the real world of reality TV. Follow me on twitter @realityshowgirl and subscribe to her podcast at www.RealitytvGirl.com.

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Arts and Culture

BOOK REVIEW: Love, Rita: An American Story of Sisterhood, Joy, Loss, and Legacy

When Bridgett M. Davis was in college, her sister Rita was diagnosed with lupus, a disease of the immune system that often left her constantly tired and sore. Davis was a bit unfazed, but sympathetic to Rita’s suffering and also annoyed that the disease sometimes came between them. By that time, they needed one another more than ever.

Published

1 day ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Love Rita Book Cover. Courtesy of Harper.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Author: Bridgett M. Davis, c.2025, Harper, $29.99, 367 Pages

Take care.

Do it because you want to stay well, upright, and away from illness. Eat right, swallow your vitamins and hydrate, keep good habits and hygiene, and cross your fingers. Take care as much as you can because, as in the new book, “Love, Rita” by Bridgett M. Davis, your well-being is sometimes out of your hands.

It was a family story told often: when Davis was born, her sister, Rita, then four years old, stormed up to her crying newborn sibling and said, ‘Shut your … mouth!’

Rita, says Davis, didn’t want a little sister then. She already had two big sisters and a neighbor who was somewhat of a “sister,” and this baby was an irritation. As Davis grew, the feeling was mutual, although she always knew that Rita loved her.

Over the years, the sisters tried many times not to fight — on their own and at the urging of their mother — and though division was ever present, it eased when Rita went to college. Davis was still in high school then, and she admired her big sister.

She eagerly devoured frequent letters sent to her in the mail, signed, “Love, Rita.”

When Davis was in college herself, Rita was diagnosed with lupus, a disease of the immune system that often left her constantly tired and sore. Davis was a bit unfazed, but sympathetic to Rita’s suffering and also annoyed that the disease sometimes came between them. By that time, they needed one another more than ever.

First, they lost their father. Drugs then invaded the family and addiction stole two siblings. A sister and a young nephew were murdered in a domestic violence incident. Their mother was devastated; Rita’s lupus was an “added weight of her sorrow.”

After their mother died of colon cancer, Rita’s lupus took a turn for the worse.

“Did she even stand a chance?” Davis wrote in her journal.

“It just didn’t seem possible that she, someone so full of life, could die.”

Let’s start here: once you get past the prologue in “Love, Rita,” you may lose interest. Maybe.

Most of the stories that author Bridgett M. Davis shares are mildly interesting, nothing rare, mostly commonplace tales of growing up in the 1960s and ’70s with a sibling. There are a lot of these kinds of stories, and they tend to generally melt together. After about fifty pages of them, you might start to think about putting the book aside.

But don’t. Not quite yet.

In between those everyday tales, Davis occasionally writes about being an ailing Black woman in America, the incorrect assumptions made by doctors, the history of medical treatment for Black people (women in particular), attitudes, and mythologies. Those passages are now and then, interspersed, but worth scanning for.

This book is perhaps best for anyone with the patience for a slow-paced memoir, or anyone who loves a Black woman who’s ill or might be ill someday. If that’s you and you can read between the lines, then “Love, Rita” is a book to take in carefully.

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Faces Around the Bay: Author Karen Lewis Took the ‘Detour to Straight Street’

“My life has been a roller-coaster with an unlimited ride wristband! I was raised in Berkeley during the time of Ron Dellums, the Black Panthers, and People’s Park. I was a Hippie kid, my Auntie cut off all our hair so we could wear the natural styles like her and Angela Davis.

Published

1 day ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Karen Lewis. Courtesy photo.

By Barbara Fluhrer

I met Karen Lewis on a park bench in Berkeley. She wrote her story on the spot.

I got married young, then ended up getting divorced, raising two boys into men. After my divorce, I had a stroke that left me blind and paralyzed. I was homeless, lost in a fog with blurred vision.

Jesus healed me! I now have two beautiful grandkids. At 61, this age and this stage, I am finally free indeed. Our Lord Jesus Christ saved my soul. I now know how to be still. I lay at his feet. I surrender and just rest. My life and every step on my path have already been ordered. So, I have learned in this life…it’s nice to be nice. No stressing, just blessings. Pray for the best and deal with the rest.

Nobody is perfect, so forgive quickly and love easily!”

Lewis’ book “Detour to Straight Street” is available on Amazon.

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S.F. Businesswomen Honor Trailblazers at 44th Annual Sojourner Truth Awards and Scholarship Luncheon

This year’s well-deserved award recipients were women who graciously and continuously have served and empowered the Bayview community and beyond.

Published

2 days ago

April 27, 2025

Oakland Post

Carletta Jackson-Lane, 21st Western District governor of the National Association of the Business and Professional Women’s Club, Inc. sits with honoree Carol E. Tatum the 2025 Sojourner Truth Award recipient of the NAB&PW, Inc. Photo courtesy of Sheryl Smith.

By Rev. Dr. Rochelle Frazier
Special to The Post

On Saturday, April 19, the San Francisco Business and Professional Women’s Club (SFBPWC) held its sold-out 44th Annual Sojourner Truth Awards and Scholarship Luncheon at the Southeast Community Center at 1550 Evans Ave. in San Francisco.

The luncheon’s theme was “Moving Forward with a Purpose: From Trailblazers to Game Changers.”

This year’s well-deserved award recipients were women who graciously and continuously have served and empowered the Bayview community and beyond.

Carol Evora Tatum received the National Sojourner Truth Meritorious Service Award for her decades of leadership and dedicated community service.

Brittany Doyle, founder and CEO of WISE Health SF, was honored as the Businesswoman of the Year because of her insightful and innovative business acumen regarding community-centered health programs.

La Shon A. Walker was recognized as the Professional Woman of the Year for her community empowerment and leadership work as the vice president of Community Affairs at FivePoint.

The luncheon also provides an opportunity to present scholarships to well-deserving students. The scholarship awardees were Jayana Harbor and Zari Moore, both graduating from Immaculate Conception Academy, and London Robinson, who is graduating from Raoul Wallenberg Traditional High School.

Harbor plans to attend Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland; Moore will attend Loyola University in New Orleans, and Robinson will attend Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“The 44th Annual Sojourner Truth Awards and Scholarship Luncheon is more than a celebration,” said Cheryl Smith, president of SFBPWC. “It’s a tribute to the legacy of Black women who have paved the way and made a commitment to uplifting future generations. We are proud to honor extraordinary leaders in our community and invest in the bright minds who will carry us into the future.”