Black Relationships in America

A while back the New York Times reported that 70% of African American women live alone. The 2006 US Census Data concluded nearly 50% of African American women have never been married. Why is this? Some would have us believe that black women are single because our standards are too high. Why wait for the middle-class white collar brother when the man working on the construction site or collecting our trash is available? Others have said, the black woman's insistence on dating black men is the problem.

Why not look to other races for companionship,

black men have been doing it for years. Then there's the ol' too many black men are in jail, on drugs, or just downright trifling that it's become an issue of mathematics. Too many women, not enough men. I belong to the school that believes all of these things in some way are responsible for the disproportionate number of single black women to men. However I know that we can sit around and point fingers at each other until the cows come home and still not get anywhere unless we're willing to talk to one another. That's right black men and women together discussing relationships, marriage, parenting, finances and community building. Though I did not watch the CNN special, (I have satellite T.V. - it was raining - nuff said) I did watch a few of the segments made available on the CNN website (not sure if there from this special or an older one.) I am going to reserve my judgment of the series until I get a chance to watch it in it's entirety. What I will say is that I hope at the very least this special will open the door to a long overdue exchange between brothers and sisters.

Thank you to Dr. Joyce Morley Ball for taking time out to join me on this week's Cocoa Mode and also to playwright, Mary McCaullum. If you're in the DC area please consider seeing her play The 70% Club this Friday and Saturday night at Trinity College. You can buy your tickets here. See you there!

Photo by Derek Anderson

Up Next: Kissey Asplund

Direct from Sweden, Kissey Asplund is gearing up to take the U.S. by storm with her unusual brand of Hip Hop/Electronica/Jazz. This past weekend I got to see her perform live at The Bloom Bar in Washington D.C. The venue was small and HOT HOT HOT (like no A/C on a 80+ degrees night hot) but that didn't stop Kissey from giving it her all. Like Erykah or Bjork, Kissey is more of a vocalist than a singer which in my opinion makes her sound even more interesting. A few days before the Washington DC performance Kissey called into my Global Hip Hop show, The Cipher on FLAVA, Worldspace Channel 204. We talked beats, technology and Celene Dion! Check it out.

Introducing.....

Cocoa Om is my latest on-line project designed to encourage women of color to consider a more holistic approach to living. I am using the Cocoa Om blog to document the final phase of my yoga teachers training as well as provide you with information that I hope inspire positive changes in your life - mind, body and soul. Please check it you and let me know what you think. shawna@cocoamode.com

Pass the NyQuil

Normally I wouldn't touch the stuff, but if I don't shake this nasty little flu in the next 24 hours, you can call me a convert. On second thought, don't call me at all cause I'll be KNOCKED OUT!!! Since my scratchy throat, stuffy nose and nagging cough have temporarily suspended all normal brain activity, I'll just leave you with this piece of musical/video goodness to set your weekend off right.

Fonzworth Bentley, Kanye West, Andre 3000 and Sa-Ra.

Everybody [Don't Stop]

Good googly-moogly, I love that Andre 3000!!!

Have a great weekend everyone.

In case you missed it...

In case you missed today's Cocoa Mode in the Eagle's Nest all it not loss. Tune into the encore performance at 2:00am on XM Channel 169. If that's too late (or too early) for you, check back for the downloadable podcast on Monday.

Check out Dorri C. Scott's website: High Heels and High Worth.
Jam Donaldson's new t-shirt line: Jam Donaldson Designs.

Looks like I caught a little bug while I was whoopin' it up in Detroit, so I'm going to take it easy for the rest of the day. Check back tomorrow for more.