The Help may be historically inaccurate

Recently, the Association of Black Woman Historians issued a public statement to the fans of the book, The Help, and the movie based on it. They basically said that;

The Help distorts, ignores, and trivializes the experiences of black domestic workers.

While I didn't read the book, I saw the movie a few weeks ago and came away very much interested in the subject and having picked some historical context from it. But bearing in mind that it was fiction, I wanted to continue the discussion with real people and I've also read a lot of articles which was how I came to hear of the ABWH's statement.

During the 1960s, the era covered in The Help, legal segregation and economic inequalities limited black women's employment opportunities. Up to 90 per cent of working black women in the South labored as domestic servants in white homes. The Help’s representation of these women is a disappointing resurrection of Mammy—a mythical stereotype of black women who were compelled, either by slavery or segregation, to serve white families. Portrayed as asexual, loyal, and contented caretakers of whites, the caricature of Mammy allowed mainstream America to ignore the systemic racism that bound black women to back-breaking, low paying jobs where employers routinely exploited them.

One of the most powerful scenes in the movie for me was of one morning in the black community when they were on their way to work, almost all the women wore the uniform of maids, and the man seemed to be mainly casual laborers. One of the main black characters had lost her job because of a racist white boss, and had to pull her daughter out of school to work and make money. In the scene, she was putting her 13/14 years old daughter through the do's and don'ts of servitude, it was heart-breaking. On another note, the ABWH point out that;

Portraying the most dangerous racists in 1960s Mississippi as a group of attractive, well dressed, society women, while ignoring the reign of terror perpetuated by the Ku Klux Klan and the White Citizens Council, limits racial injustice to individual acts of meanness.

In a discussion with Atala (I went to see the movie with a meetup group so he missed it), he remarked on this particular point and how easy it was for people to then say, "I'm not like that individual", thus discounting the ability of such a work to provoke deep soul searching and public discourse. The ABWH concludes;

In the end, The Help is not a story about the millions of hardworking and dignified black women who labored in white homes to support their families and communities. Rather, it is the coming-of-age story of a white protagonist, who uses myths about the lives of black women to make sense of her own. The Association of Black Women Historians finds it unacceptable for either this book or this film to strip black women’s lives of historical accuracy for the sake of entertainment.

While I accept The Help as fiction, there is still that power that writers have to influence their society, and maybe Kathryn Stockett should have been more cultural sensitive. That said, one big lesson I took from the movie was that more people should tell their stories. Nobody can write your history the way you can, and the author of The help has done her bit, the rest is left for us.

Have you read the book or seen the movie? What did you think?

PS, maybe one day I'll write about how the movie reminded me so much of the house-help culture in Nigeria.

My Hand is free + Using the new blogger

Hi everyone, hope your weekend is going well?

Yay, I took out my cast and now I have both hands to play with again. What a relief!

Having that cast was bearable but there were days I got so frustrated with it, especially because I couldn't get it wet and had to wrap it in plastic each time I had a shower. Then a friend pointed out that my hand was getting smaller, and it was! I've lost some muscle definition in that hand and much of the strength. But no fear, the Occupational Therapy people have given me a series of physio exercises to bring the hand back to speed. I laughed yesterday doing some of them, it's amazing how we take so many things for granted until you can't do them again. Like squeezing your hand or touching your thumb to the tips of your other fingers. Well, small small...

On other news, have you started using the new blogger interface? I logged in a couple of days ago and old Blogger said I should try it out. I was like, meh, I'm used to this one, but Atala wanted to see what it looked like so I clicked over. TBH, I haven't gone back to old blogger since. The look and feel is so clean and more integrated, and I like it, lol. Maybe I'll do a proper post about it soon.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend people. For those in America, have a great Labor day.

Myne Whitman Presents: The Vow by Lowladee

Lowla Dee is a Nigerian born in the heart of Kano. With a B.Sc in Mass Communication, she's a writer/blogger and philanthrophist who believes in making the world a better place is by impacting one person at a time. You can contact her at ladydeedollie@yahoo.com

Her website, LOWLADEE.com is a fast growing lifestyle website set up as a channel for others to be inspired. She says, "our readers mean a lot to us and we strive to affect their lives in divine ways." This description comes with a warning, "You are about entering into a world where fiction feels so real. Once you start, you won’t stop." After reading the story below, I hope you agree with them. TGIF. This is a long story, but I promise you'll love it. Enjoy...

Beyonce's Love is on Top - Baby Bump Reveal!

One of my country people sang it this way, This na serious love nwantiti, lol.

Beyonce announced recently at the VMA's that she's pregnant and performed a song - Love on Top - from her latest album where she showed off the baby bump. I saw the video, and my heart was melting. Still is, I'm such a sucker for public displays of affection, lol. I wish them all the best!

Enjoy the lyrics and video after the break and may the new month bring us all lots of love and goodness. Mwah!

BLOGFEST: Design Your Book Cover

This is from Teralyn Rose Pilgrim of A Writer's Journey, she wants us to stretch our cover design skills, lol. I have to admit that I had professionals design the covers of both my books, A Heart to Mend and A Love Rekindled. I'm terrible with GIMP, Paint, Adobe and all those other arty softwares though I have the free versions on my laptop. Anyway, I did the one below on paint for my current WIP.

I know, I know, it's terrible. Bear with me. :) And this is just the tentative title.

A Fiery Love: Thirty year old Dunni returns to Nigeria on vacation and is seduced by local lothario, Babs. Can the chemistry between them translate to lasting love?

PS, the writing is going slow but it's going. I should post an excerpt next week. Cheers!

Re: Mercy Johnson - Marriage and Divorce in Nigeria

I read some of the drama that preceded Mercy Johnson's wedding on Linda Ikeji's blog, and it got me thinking about marriage, and how some Nigerian women view the institution, viz-a-viz divorce. Note the last response by the first wife.

Linda, I can give you my lawyer's number, please call him and ask him if he signed any divorce papers or if he was in court on Tuesday. I'm still legally married to Prince Odi Okojie, I have not returned any bride price and if Mercy Johnson wants to marry him, let her go ahead. She should just know that she's a second wife.

Now, I didn't read all the posts, but from when the story broke, I was interested by this lady's story. She claimed to be the wife of the man a popular actress was about to get married to (in a 3-day Jamboree)  with photo and documentary evidence that proved the man had actually married her by law and custom.

A Love Rekindled reviewed in Sleek Magazine

I think this is an old issue but pick it up if you see it, ALR is reviewed in the book section.

... the strength of the novel is the emotional journey that the author takes the reader on. She creates a sympathetic picture of both Kevwe and Efe, showing their innermost feelings as they interact with each other and with others who are not so favorably disposed towards their relationship. She deftly weaves both stories together, showing them alternately falling in love by gentle degrees, and then struggling desperately to regain that love they once had. And ultimately, in the final third of the novel, she brings the narratives to a dramatic crescendo as she shows not only the searing heartbreak that betrayal can bring, but more importantly, for hearts torn apart by such heartbreak, the power of love to heal.

The magazine is available in various countries including Angola, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, UAE and the UK.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and watch out for my post coming up soon. :)

Jacob Olisa Jones - The Septavalent Stone: Guest Author

My guest author for today is a YA aspiring author living in the Ukraine. Jacob Olisa Jones describes himself as currently studying a very weird branch of medicine where he treats spirits, ghosts, and beasts including werewolves and banshees. Of course, when I read that on his blog, I was immediately intruiged. I've downloaded his book on my Amazon Kindle (only $0.99), and can't wait to dig in. Enjoy our interview...

What inspired you to want to become a writer?
Right from when I was little I have been fascinated by weird things, you know. I liked watching X-men a lot so the idea of having powers that make you do things that others can't it an exciting feel for me. That being said, I really started writing after I read Prince Caspian of the Narnia series.

Please tell us about the Septavalent Stone
The Septavalent stone is a young adult novel set in two countries, Nigeria and Ukraine. It's about a boy called Andrew, who has a mother who is paranoid about almost everything including her brother Uncle Jeffery, and who is also not as normal as other mothers can be. Andrew gains admission into a medical school in Ukraine, but on getting there, he discovers it's not just a medical school, it's actually a school where apart from human beings, ghosts are treated, magical beasts and a couple of other paranormals stuffs. As the story unfolds, Andrew discovers new secrets about his family and himself, he also discovers a cousin he never knew existed, ad realizes that his mother is not all about cooking utensils and aprons but that in fact there is more to her paranoia and lies than meets the eyes.


Do you have any other books in the pipeline? What are your goals for future projects?
I am a sucker for magic, anything mystical (I hope my mum does not read this) Like I said before the idea that there are unexplainable powers is fascinating to me. Right now, because I'm on holiday, I am doing research on superstitions and myths of every country I can find. By the end of maybe next year, I hope to release a picture book drawn from my descriptions of all these superstitious creatures.


Have you achieved your aim of writing The Septavalent Stone?
Partially yes. I think my main accomplishment will be when someone even if it''s just one person can truthfully say my book really did something to him or her in a positive way. And of course, I would love to sell loads and loads of my book.

Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
I have this very negative friend that almost sees nothing good in anything. He asked me he wanted to read my book. I refused, but he took it anyway and read it and kept saying it was really good. What really touched me though wasn't his comment. He actually finished it in two nights, because we had exams during the day, and we were both talking about the characters like they were real. Honestly, forget the sales, that was a golden moment for me.

How are you enjoying being in Ukraine? How has the reception been like?
It has been quite good that is if you don't count the time my initial illustrator stopped working with me when we met in a restaurant and he discovered I was black. But that was a good thing because right now, the comments I am getting for the book cover from my new illustrator is awesome.

Platform Building Campaign for writers

Most of you know that both of my books are self-published, but a lot of people are amazed at how well they're doing.  I've heard the question, What's the secret? a few times and I never fail to refer them to my blog. I've worked hard on this blog, but more than that, I was able to connect to other blogs and bloggers through it. I'm taking this opportunity to build it even further through a campaign pioneered by a fellow writer.

Rachael Harrie is a blogger and aspiring author of YA Horror and she started the Writers' Platform-Building Campaigns as "a way to link writers, aspiring authors, beginner bloggers, industry people, and published authors together with the aim of helping to build our online platforms. The Campaigners are all people in a similar position, who genuinely want to pay it forward, make connections and friends within the writing community, and help build each others' online platforms while at the same time building theirs."

If you're interested, you can read about what's involved in being a Campaigner, and the idea behind the Campaigns. For my followers who are writers, it would be great if you can join in the campaign, because with these things, the more the merrier. I already follow and read the blogs of some other campaigners and I can assure you that they're all very helpful in sharing posts on how to write better, and also about querying, publishing and promoting. See you there.

Blog Abandoned

When I read this article on GHOST BLOGS, I couldn't help nodding my head.

I'm talking about those strange spaces on the Internet that haven't been closed; they remain up, abandoned, their owners disappearing into the ether. There is no final post at the top announcing the cessation of the project. On the contrary, the most recent post (which is sometimes years old) usually gives no sense that the blog is coming to an end. It's like walking into a house and finding the table fully set with a warm meal but devoid of people.

I'm never sure what to do with these blogs on either the enormous blogroll I keep or in my personal blog reader. I usually leave them up on the blogroll because I figure the archives could still be helpful to someone seeking information. I also usually leave them in my Google Reader because there have been a handful of times that the person has -- years later -- popped back on (and, let's face it, I'm too lazy to prune my Reader).

Personally I have over 800 blogs in my reader, though more than half of them are ghosts. There are some that I take personal. Bloggers that I really liked, I thought we had a connection, or maybe were writing a series and just abandoned them. I'll list some of them below.

- QMoney of Discovery for women, only recently updated after 6months.
- Solomon Sydelle, finally replied my twitter message yesterday, but her blog?
- Naijadaydreamer is AWOL, she mentioned a tasking job, but still! And she owes me a story, and a book.
- Betrayed Naija Wife, I want to assume it is well with her life now
- September to Andrea on my life, hope she and family are doing well.
- Let me not even talk of the really old timers...Where is Baroque, Nolimits, Mancee, Kay9, etc...

What about you? Do you miss any blogs? Why do you think owners abandon their blogs?