Excerpts from the Diary of a Diva

Dear Quvenzhané, First of all, I want to congratulate you on your Oscar nomination. You've done something at the tender age of nine that some women three time your age or more will never get to do. No matter what else happens in your life, this historic moment is something to be cherished. Sadly, not everyone is able to celebrate with you. As I'm sure you know -- or will be told in your future -- sometimes being in the spotlight subjects you to people who aren't very nice. They aren't able to be as wonderful as you are, and it makes them feel bad about themselves. Rather than working toward being good at something, they'd rather insult you and try to cut you down to their size. And because your skin is caramel-kissed in a world full of rosy-cheeked babies, you're going to be subjected to even more ugliness than you deserve. If you're a typical child, you'll probably wonder why. Here's your answer: those of us who live in brown-skin are often be...

I'm in tears. Again. This time, though, the tears aren't for me. They're for another young person gunned down, another victim of the senseless violence that's so prevalent in our society right now. This girl was 18-years-old and left behind a three-month-old son. Her little sister was busy listening to President Obama speak on gun control. Just last week, his wife attending the funeral of another bright young woman who was shot and killed in the streets of Chicago. How many babies have to die before people get it? How many mothers will have to bury children long before they've reached their potential? How many families will have to suffer before something is done? Please understand -- I'm not against people having guns. I understand and applaud the right to bear arms. However, you can't tell me that anyone who's not on the front lines of a war in some far away place needs to have assault rifles or magazines with 30 rounds. If you're a hunter, a...

In the immortal words of Jimmy, the cracker of corn, "I don't care." #RandomThought This is the sum total of how I'm feeling today. Let me tell you why... When you work in radio, you get used to change. My current boss recently announced his resignation. That wasn't a complete shock. When he took the job six months ago, he made it very clear that his heart wasn't in the running of an out-of-control radio station. However, the chain of events that took place after were mind-boggling indeed. The person they named to take his place has been with the company all of 20 days. Yes, that's less than a month. Even though New Guy was just named head of programming, his background is in sales. So how did he get the job, you ask? Well, according to the stories I heard, New Guy and the big boss have been friends for years. In fact, their wives are BFFs. It really goes to show that when it comes to getting ahead, it's not what you know, but WHO you know. Ev...

As we celebrate the life and legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King today, let's not forget about our own dreams. I have a dream... That one day, men will realize that marriage isn't a life sentence to misery and boredom. It's the basis for economic success and stability. I have a dream... That women realize that we're not in competition with each other. If we work together, we can change our world. I have a dream... That both men and women will come together to educate the children. If we teach them to love and respect themselves and each other, maybe they'll be too busy to engage in the foolishness that makes their lives miserable later. I have a dream... That one day, we won't see one body type, or facial type, or ethnicity as beautiful. Instead, everyone's beauty will be celebrated for its uniqueness. I have a dream... That we'll learn to celebrate the diversity in humanity. And we'll learn that we can love each other in spite of o...

It's been a minute since I weighed in on current affairs, but as I listen to all the flack Beyonce is getting over her $50 million-dollar endorsement deal with Pepsi , I feel that I must. To all you naysayers, leave that woman alone! We all know that Pepsi isn't the drink of choice if we want to be healthy. We all know that Beyonce probably isn't kicking them back on a daily basis. And the people who want to drink Pepsi -- or any other kind of soda -- will do it whether or not Beyonce is on the commercials. And let's be real clear -- if they gave you $50 million dollars, you'd shake your groove thing to the music of anything, too. At the end of the day, obesity isn't something that's thrust upon any of us. It doesn't hunt us down and overtake us while we're not looking. It's the result of active neglect. Contrary to popular belief, there's not one food or drink we can blame for being fat. And if we really want to lose weight, we know that...

I crossed a line. After six years of fighting, I crossed a line with a friend. It's not like I didn't know it would happen. It was always a matter of when...and how. When I first met him, I wasn't overly attracted to him. For one, he's really not my type. And honestly, he reminds me of every chauvinistic guy I've ever met. He insists on being "The Man" in every situation. Which would be fine...except he's too impatient to wait on all the information before he acts. That particular brand of impatience explains why he had his first baby at 15 with the woman who'd later become his wife. He couldn't wait to grow up and get educated like normal teenagers. Instead, he got married and raised three kids...and became a grandparent at the tender age of 36. Now he's playing catch-up on the life he should've had. He just got his degree last year. And now he wants to date. Here's what's wrong with that -- besides the obvious. This near...

Dear Republicans, Yes, you lost the election. Yes, your message didn't resonate with women, African Americans, Latinos, and Asians. And yes, the stupid members of your party really helped those on the fence decide to vote against you. Mitt Romney is running around saying that the Democrats basically bought specific voting blocks with 'gifts' like affordable health care and student loan forgiveness. For a party that prides itself on taking personal responsibility, you're playing the blame game like a champ. Did it ever occur to you that your willingness to let the auto industry tank would come back to haunt you? Did you think that endorsing (for all intent and purposes) a member of your party who told women that they couldn't get pregnant from 'legitimate' rape would be okay? Honestly, how did you expect people to vote for you when you wrote off 47 percent of Americans as freeloaders who're looking for a handout? You know, this isn't a time in h...