2017 Is the Year Of Black Men Praising Black Women

Harlem-based rap duo, Mankind lets the world know they love and appreciate black women in their latest project titled ‘Chocolate Eclair’. Featuring images of the most iconic black women in history, the two-and-a-half minute video reminds us of the powerful legacy from which we all come.

This is in line with recent events after Kofi Siriboe made a very public proclamation of love for black women (namely his mother) and didn’t let an angry Twitter troll stop him in the process. Clapping back to his antagonist by saying:

love & respect to all the good mums. i’m honoring my mom, my sisters and their bold, black skin. they deserve my specificity.

For all the black men in the world, be they in the limelight or their very own living rooms – thank you for having a sister’s back.

Do Real Men Plan Weddings?

When it comes to love I’ve seen a lot and have heard even more. That is until this past weekend when I attended my friend’s wedding in the ‘Nasty Nati’.  

It was a beautiful ceremony made even more beautiful by the fact that the groom planned the entire wedding and reception festivities. Between the joy and sheer elation that my girl had found someone to share her life with I couldn’t help but be impressed by the man responsible for the experience. Now, my future husband can rest assured that simply showing up to my own wedding does not appeal to me. But if you are the kind of woman who enjoys releasing the wheel a bit – just know taking this route could lead to extreme relaxation for the bride.

The bride and groom.

All night, we would ask my dear freshly married friend about the details of her own wedding and she didn’t have a clue about a single thing. It was clear, during the festivities, that the wedding was planned by a man. There was absolutely no pomp and for the sake of pomp. It was incredibly economical and efficient, in spite of being hosted at 21c – a swanky downtown hotel that doubles as an art museum.

My takeaway was that men and women may think differently but ultimately want the same things – love, peace and happiness. Men are typically big-picture, few-details kind of people.  

This wedding did not break from that particular stereotype. Bride – check; groom – check;  minister – check.  The rose petals, the containers of floating candles, the guests, these were are all extras.

Of course, the reception followed the same line of traditional guy logic. Food, drinks  and music – what else is really needed to celebrate two people in love? It reminded me of being in college when the guys would host bar-b-ques. We could count on the presence of meat, charcoal, drinks and bread. Plates, cups, napkins – these were unnecessary options.

This shindig was lacking some traditional frills. Garter toss, what’s that? Bouquet toss? Why would we throw these lovely flowers? In fact in the absence of champagne toasts,and cake cutting I began to wonder how they became traditions in the first place. We partied the night away and love was in the air – this was all that mattered. My conclusion was that only real men can plan weddings and this was an exceptionally real man. Not only did he plan the wedding, but he changed his last name for her. So much for hyper-masculine traditions, I guess.

The moral of this inside out love story is that love, in fact is not a wedding planner and neither are most guys. But love is a guy’s willingness to give it a try. And love is also, most definitely, a woman who trusts him enough to do so.

What’s one wedding tradition you think
should get the boot?