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This flag silently fluttering in the breeze speaks volumes. I, personally, consider anybody who displays it anywhere to be a person who is saying they are proud of their Confederate heritage which included the enslavement of black people, and I am automatically leery of these die-hard rebels.

I've been looking forward to the much-hyped HBO bio starring Queen Latifah as the legendary Bessie Smith who was known as the "Empress of the Blues." I am drawn to movies and books about the 1920's and 30's and this was why I was such a fan of HBO's "Boardwalk" series. Altho I was a young girl during the decade of the 30s, I totally relate to the on-screen depictons of this time period. I remember my Daddy had a car that looked like the ones in these old movies, and my mother wearing clothes of the style women wore back then. Our house even resembled the settings the way it was decorated with flowered wallpaper, and furnished with the wing-back chair, club sofa and fringe-shaded lamps that occupied the living room along with a big floor model radio. I also remember my parents talking about Bessie Smith and I'd later heard scratchy old vinyl records by her, amused by these renditions of the blues sung in her powerful voice. Well, I finally caught "Bessie" on cable and although I appreciated how well her era was recreated and captured by the camera, I wasn't that impressed with the story line. The actors, who included Monique in the role of Ma Rainey, another well-known blues singer, did the best they could with their roles but the movie itself was just a series of episodes. There wasn't a lot of flow or character development. Personally, I didn't find this portrayal of Bessie's life that compelling. There wasn't even much footage devoted to her singing. And I'm curious as to why her tragic death following a car accident at the relatively young age of 43 was omitted from the story-line. One part I did like, however, was Bessie's encounter with the Harlem Renassiance literati, replete with brief appearances by black poet, Langston Hughes, and white author, Carl Van Vechten and someone who could've been Zora Neal Hurston. But - I'm going to give "Bessie" another shot and watch it again. Maybe it will resonate better with me the second time around and inspire me to upgrade my 2 star rating to a 3 star one.

OK. I'm actually not that surprised that Essence wouldn't have her on its cover because it is a fluff magazine focusing on fashion and cosmetics and hair care and the glamorous world of entertainment. But I would think that Ebony might at least have had an article about her, since it proports to be newsmagazine. Not too long ago there was speculation about whether putting Condi on a Republican ticket as vice president would split the black and womens' vote. I really think sistas would have mixed emotions about this; especially those who are disillusioned with the Democrats. This extraordinary woman is an example of the black dilemma. If you follow all the rules and achieve success, you disrupt the agenda of black activism and become part of the problem instead of part of the solution. To a certain extent, Obama is also a victim of this. What is the solution to this? Damned if I know, and at this point in my journey, I find myself in the position of not really caring. I'm just plodding along, shaking my head and very often laughing out loud.

As a black woman, I acknowledged how accomplished Condi was because it was so obvious. She may have inspired eye-rolling on the part of sistas but they never aggressively attacked her. I remember modifying my disappointment with her Bush affiliation a few years back, when I read about what a big football fan she was, and that she'd once dated a black NFLer. Her name came up from time to time on this board back during its heyday, and I think Kola Boof defended her in her capacity as a feminist. I'm sure she has appeared on the covers of both Ebony and Essence at least once. I seem to also remember Oprah and Maya Angelou accepting her as a black sista. I wouldn't even be surprised if the NAACP had included her among honorees of the image awards at some point. She was, after all, Secretary of State, and they didn't penalize Colin Powell for his Bush taint. In time, Condoleeza Rice will take her place among distinguished black women because history tends to transcend political partisanship.