aprilisms
the APRIL R. SILVER blog
Established 2008
BET Network Apologizes
From AllHipHop.comBy Houston WilliamsFriday, July 3, 2009BET has expressed remorse over a performance by Lil Wayne, Drake and Young Money Records that involved underage girls during songs “Best I Ever Had” and “Every Girl.”The songs, which have overt sexual references, were performed during the Sunday BET Awards ’09 show as …
Beneath Low: BET, Lil Wayne Set the Stage for Child Pornography
Last night, live at the BET Awards in Los Angeles, a room full of head-bobbing, consenting adults bounced to Drake and Lil Wayne’s back-to-back performances of the hit songs “Best I Ever Had” and “Every Girl.” I watched, underwhelmed. I wanted more “Michael” in what was supposed to be this …
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“The Myth of the Happy Slave” and 6 Other Comments on The Senate’s Apology for Slavery
Earlier this morning, the weekly media panel on WBAI’s “Wake Up Call” (which featured regulars Stacy Patton and April R. Silver and this week, guests Chole and Hilary Crossley) was asked to dissect and comment on an article about The Senate’s apology for slavery. The Washington Post article can be …
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“Senate Backs Apology for Slavery”
[The following news article was one of the topics of discussion for the weekly media panel on WBAI Radio’s “Wake Up Call,” conceived and hosted by ESTHER ARMAH and featuring regulars STACEY PATTON and APRIL R. SILVER. Click the post title above to get the link to the article.]“Senate Backs …
Dear, Mr. Silver. I Love You, Dearly!
My father is Eddie Silver, Jr. from Suffolk, VA. I am his first born and for that and other reasons, we share a special bond. I love him dearly and I’m a better woman for the man and father that he is. Happy Father’s Day, “Diedy”
Me and President Barack Obama? GTFOH!
The 44th President of the United States of America is supposed to be speaking at the National Father’s Day Rally tomorrow…the same rally where I’m speaking (see June 18 post below). I heard that he couldn’t wait to hear my remarks about “BE A FATHER TO YOUR CHILD,” and its …
I’m a Featured Speaker at the National Father’s Day Rally THIS SATURDAY
Father’s Day 2009 marks the 100th anniversary of Father’s Day. Who knew? This Saturday (June 20) at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, there’s going to be a national rally to bring attention to a number of issues related to the topics of fatherhood and strong families. I’m honored to …
I’m a Featured Speaker at the National Father’s Day Rally THIS SATURDAY Read More »
Happy Birthday To Me 🙂
Welcome to any of my nearly 1300 Facebook friends who may be visiting this site for the first time. My blog site, “aprilisms” is where I houses my writings (essays, poetry…yeah, I write poetry, too. Who knew?). Because so many of you have stopped by my Facebook page to say …
Quote of the Week: “On Children” by Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran is a poet, philosopher, and artist…born in Lebanon (1883 – 1931). He is one on my favorite poets. My father introduced me to him when I was a child. On the ocassion of Byron and Kenya’s baby shower today and because they asked me to offer a blessing …
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Quote of the Week: Powerful People
“Powerful people never have to prove anything to anyone, and by extension, powerful people never apologize to powerless people for the actions they take in order to stay in power.” ~ John Henrick Clarke (Historian, Author, Professor)
I’m Sweatin’ Youssou N’Dour
I’m embarrassed. Saturday night was the first time seeing Youssou N’Dour perform. I knew him by name, knew he was famous, knew he was widely respected, and that he played in Brooklyn and/or NYC often. I also knew that I would, one day, check him out. That was it. I …
AKILA WORKSONGS Honors Esther Armah
[from my Put On BLAST! (TM) email service] Peace, Fam. I am happy to announce that on Sunday, May 3, 2009, AKILA WORKSONGS, Inc. will honor Esther Armah with its 2nd Annual Founder’s Award. Ms. Armah is an international journalist, playwright, and radio host on WBAI 99.5 FM Radio in …
My “Going Away” Party
Today is the first day of spring and I had a going away party recently. I learned the hard way that I had to do something bold to sweep away the things, the people, and the energy in my life that were eroding me. My extra special guest was Tardy. …
In the beginning there was the word
Words are the units of language that we use to carry meaning, to ascribe value, to speak or write our truths. Throughout the history of the world, words have been perceived to have a sacred power, one that could be constructive or destructive. Like living beings, words have an origin …
My Article In Today’s New York Daily News
“Economic crisis a good time to reestablish real priorities” New York Daily News, March 3, 2009 (Brooklyn Edition, Page 6) Nearly 2.6 million people nationwide loss their jobs in 2008. Roughly, that’s equivalent to every man, woman, and child in Brooklyn. In this economic crisis, people are losing more than …
I’m With Boycotting Barnes & Noble, If…
This image has been circulating around the Internet. I saw it on Facebook this weekend and I got it twice this morning. Rightfully so, there is a call for a boycott of this bookstore. The claim is that this picture was taken at a Barnes & Noble in Florida and …
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