The National List of Beautiful Black Women welcomes: Jill Scott...

This morning I heard there is a new show hitting the air waves, and that it's starring Jill Scott and Anika Noni Rose (two of my favorite performers). I then hear that the show, being viewed on HBO Sunday nights at 8p.m., is centered on a woman's detective agency that is placed in the heart of Africa. Now, my first instinct was to worry for the careers of my two favorite performers. Lawd knows that many times over, I've seen the careers of great artist brutally bashed and buried by the media for stepping out on a ledge; far out of their comfort zones, to supposedly do what they deemed important to their lives or, less honorably, break out of the cocoon that the media had carved for them to live and die in. So naturally, I worried for the two budding stars, while praying that this venture on the small screen would not confirm the end of their careers.

After watching the HBO premiere of “The No. Ladies Detective Agency,” I must say I couldn't have been more pleased. Not only did Jill Scott and Anika Noni Rose give outstanding and award-winning performances in their respective roles, but the show itself was a surprising delight. Shockingly, I was fed a different view of the Homeland, Africa. Unlike the perspective of this pride country that I'm fed in movies, telethons, and charity commercials, this show revealed something new and fresh. I saw the people of Africa; not diseased, bloody and war-torn, but much like me (with the addition of their cultural traditions and customs of dance, which I found even more delightful).

This show revealed that not all of Africa is dried up and rotten, as most of the media would project. This show, in my eyes, brought back a pride in that land, while redefining black beauty.

Test: I looked up a survey online that calculated the opinions of many white Americans on who they view as beautiful black women. Surprisingly, another survey I collected, which conveyed the popular views of black women on the same subject, wasn't must different. In both cases, Halle Berry topped the list. Slightly behind her was Beyonce', Tyra Banks, Marey Carey (that for years no one knew was black), Thandie Newton, Vanessa Williams, Iman, Alicia Keys, and the newcomer Lauren London. Now, I couldn't help but find humor in the survey. Acknowledging that a few of the women on the beautiful black list were malotto and nearly all were fair skinned or petitely fitted into a European frame, nearly made me bust a lung. Being unable to deny that all of these women, though some may be of great aid to the African-American community, do not necessarily carry features commonly linked to those of African-decent or barely even sport a tan, yet they are the ones considered to be among America's most beautiful black women, made me realize that black beauty in America may have indeed severed its Africa roots.

So what now? I began to wonder. Had the image that America worked for years to publicize as the "true definition of black beauty" truly become the only definition. Certainly, black women in America see Michelle Obama and Gabrielle Union as beautiful black women, but does their dark skin or full frame then place their names lower on the list, or worse, has unconsciously Michelle and Gabrielle placed themselves beneath Americans' surveyed beauties, because by being Americans they too think like Americans.

Just when I began to give up hope on the American perspective, which at times has become my own, proudly locking in Halle, Thandie Newton and the girls, as black beauty's female representatives, along comes a show to contradict it all. While watching the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, I saw black Americans playing the roles of Africans, whose beauty sprung out of their skin, and works, and good deeds. It was then that I began to think that this new image of black women publicized in America, could reattach the African-rooted idea of beauty to this country's dangling ideas. In fact, I'm certain that the operation process has started on this night, after the shows premiere. Therefore, let me be the first to welcome Jill Scott and Anika Noni Rose to the list of beautiful black women in America. After their performances on their show, I sense there will be no need for a survey. By taking on the roles of these African women, showcasing how black skin in either a small petite package or a full-figured shapely frame is no less beautiful to the eye, and can be further magnified by smile and spirit, makes them not only number one detectives but number one on my list.

The IDEAL Black Man or Black Woman...part 1.

The swag, the intelligence, the acceptance of God, the strength of body and mind, the knowledge and appreciation of one's history and family, the good weight of character, the will to overcome all adversity, and the desire to not only climb for self, but to elevate in pursuit of a position that could carry a multitude is what makes up my I.B.M. (Ideal Black Man).
Of course, nowadays, before the emergence of Barack Obama into the National spotlight, the ideal of such a man existing in this day and time seemed utterly ridiculous. In fact, even now, when I sit in the mist of conversations pertaining to this very subject, which are normally sustained by women from different cultures and from a wide range of social-economic backgrounds, the very idea of such a man, besides President Obama, walking the earth has often summoned a hint of laughter. Why is this, I wonder, when there are so many of these men around.
Off the top of my head I can name ten, at least. Oddly, these are the men who, after revealing to me that my definition of my I.B.M. perfectly matches their qualifications to mark their Ideal Black Woman, also leaks laughter at the thought of actually linking up to their Ideal. In their confessions, they often tell me that only a hand full of women that they know, including me, fits their I.B.W. And out of those women, they complain, none are available to them; whether they are married, gay, or so blinded by ambition or "the flesh" that they don't notice that their psychological match is actually standing in front of them.
I sense this is why so many relationships aren't satisfying; why some people, who haven't the realistic expectations of ever finding their I.B. M. or I.B.W., and have thereby settled for what they figured was the next best thing or the best right now, aren't truly committed to the one they vowed to love. I'm convinced this is why those who've worked or are naturally born to be somebody's I.B. M. or I.B. W. are single, viewed as unattainable, or simply a fantasy.