Baby Boomers Don't Like to Face Ugly History

Today marks the anniversary of the worst race riots in our nation’s history. It was known as the Tulsa Riots of 1921.

The trouble began on May 31, 1921 when a young black man named Dick Rowland was accused of assaulting a white girl named Sarah Page in an elevator. Although police questioned her, there was never a written account produced of her statement. Whatever the conversation was between Page and the police, it is generally accepted that the police decided that what had happened between the two teenagers was something less than a serious assault. In any event, the police did not launch a man-hunt for her alleged assailant. They apparently knew who they were looking for, but they felt no great urgency.

Whether or not an actual assault had occurred, Rowland had reason to be afraid. In those days, just an accusation of an assault on a white woman might incite violence. He realized the seriousness of the situation, and Rowland fled to his mother's house in the Greenwood neighborhood.

The morning after the incident, Rowland was located, booked on suspicion of assault, and taken to an interrogation room on the top floor of the Tulsa County Courthouse for questioning.

AND THEN THE MEDIA GOT INVOLVED….need I say more….

By late morning, news of the event had apparently reached the Tulsa Tribune. The newspaper broke the story in that afternoon's edition with the headline: 'Nab Negro for Attacking Girl In an Elevator', describing the alleged incident with the details that could be assembled on such short notice. It was, however, another article in the same paper that is credited with providing the misinformation which sparked the chain of events that ensued later that evening.

When it was all over, the area known as “Black Wall Street” was completely destroyed and it’s believed that more than 300 blacks were killed---although the official number only reported 39 deaths.

As baby boomers, this is a part of history we do our best to shy away from because we know these people were mothers, fathers, other relatives and friends. Even if our family members weren’t directly involved in the Tulsa Race Riot, it’s safe to say the majority of baby boomers have parents and grandparents who were either the racist culprits or the victims somewhere in America. The question is how much of that attitude and racism is still a part of the baby boomers you know today?

A Baby Boomer's View of the Jena 6

As a veteran journalist and baby boomer, I have followed, with much interest, the controversy surrounding the Jena 6 in Jena, Louisiana. This is one of those times when I wish I was still working in the newsroom---fighting for the right to cover stories of the injustices done to African-Americans---especially to African-American males.

I have seen very little coverage on this story and I know why. The “white shirts” who run newsrooms around the country don’t see the same significance as they do in a story berating OJ Simpson. It’s OK to kick a black man down BELOW the ground but don’t try to lift him up because he might try to steal a white woman.

I worked in an environment where an Assistant News Director expressed his fear of driving in a predominately black neighborhood and chastised me for his belief that I wanted him to show me favoritism because of my race. My question was----and still is---how do you get objective news reporting coverage from a manager like that?

What is getting ready to happen in Jena is historic. But let’s not forget, it’s happening in other places across America. Take the case of James Johnson in Wilson, NC who is scheduled to stand trial for the murder of an 18 year old white girl next week. There is NO EVIDENCE linking him to the crime but the District Attorney seems gung-ho on connecting him since he was apparently at the crime scene with another young man who has already confessed that he did it and he acted alone.

The Jena 6 movement is also very similar to the marches of the late 1950s and 1960s when people who believed in freedom marched and said “I ain’t gon’ let nobody turn me around..turn me around…turn me around…”

It is somewhat similar to Woodstock, when free thinkers said make love---not war.

I salute Davie Bowie who recently donated $10,000 to a legal defense fund for the six black teens charged in the alleged attack on the white classmate in Jena. It tells me that there are baby boomers who still have a conscience and awareness for what SHOULD be right with the world

Now I know this blog is going to piss some people off but I thank God I live in a country protected by the First amendment.

Whatever! happened to David Hartman?

He’s alive and well right here in Durham, NC! I ran into him and his wife this morning while getting my daily workout in at the Duke University cross country trail.

I was just starting my 2.8 mile trek and it looked as though they were finishing up. I immediately recognized Hartman even though he had on sunglasses. Some faces you just never forget and his was one I watched for many years when he was the co-host of Good Morning America.

He looked great and he was so charming! He was even gracious enough to stop and chat with me for a few moments. Of course I just had to tell him about my book, Whatever! A Baby Boomer’s Journey Into Middle Age. He smiled as he told me he was beyond the baby boomer generation. He may be 72 but he doesn't look a day over 50! That’s when I turned my attention to his baby boomer wife and told her she would absolutely love my book. I wanted to give them a copy but I didn’t have any in the car.

Let this be a lesson to all authors: Carry your books EVERYWHERE YOU GO.

Hartman said he and he wife walked the trail often so I was bound to see them again. And you know I’ll be looking out.

This is what I am calling a “Thank God for menopause moment!” because menopause and its annoying symptoms have forced me to be much more conscientious of my physical health and that’s why I go to the trail and that’s how I was able to run into David Hartman.

Mama's Warning about Menopause is Subject of New Ebook

Baby Boomer Author Beverly Mahone is taking a short break from her “I’m Still Hot…It just comes in Flashes now!” Summer Tour to introduce her brand new ebook: Mama Said There’d Be days Like This. “My mama was notorious for handing out warnings. She had a warning about everything---from dealing with men to dealing with menopause!” laughs the author.

But it’s what her mother DIDN’T say about menopause that Ms. Mahone says were the red flags she discovered later in her own adult life. “My mama never talked about the “M” word but her bizarre behavior ended up being clear warning signals for me. She taught me more than I could ever read in a book about what to expect.”

In addition to her own writings, the new ebook also contains essays from baby boomer writers around the country who share their own “warning experiences” from dear sweet mom. It covers everything from the dangers of eating the wrong food to what happens when you choose the wrong career.

Ms. Mahone, who is also the author of the best-selling book, Whatever! A Baby Boomer’s Journey Into Middle Age, says pre-orders are being taken right now at a special discounted rate before the book is officially introduced to the public on July 2. For more information, you can visit her website at http://www.thebabyboomerdiva.com

“This is the kind of book you’ll want to share during your July 4th cookout or family gathering and it’ll definitely make you reminisce on your own mother’s warnings”, she says. “Then ask yourself, just how many of those warnings did you end up having to learn the HARD way?”

"I'm Still Hot" Tour Part I

Last week I started the first phase of my "I'm still Hot...it just comes in Flashes now!" book tour. First stop, WGHP Fox 8 in High Point/Greensboro. I decided to take my daughter and grandson with me so they could experience what it was like to be "on the road." I have to say I probably learned more from it than they did.

At WGHP, I was interviewed by a young woman named Shannon--she looked young enough to be my daughter. I didn't think she understood the whole "menopause" thing but she did read my book and asked some VERY GOOD QUESTIONS during the interview. It appears the one book I sent got passed around to the women at the station because they all had a comment about something they read. Fortunately, I was able to wait until the camera stopped rolling before I had a "hot flash!"

My biggest thrill was getting to see a guy I worked with 20 years ago at WITN-TV (NBC Affiliate) in NC. His name is Bob Buckley and he was hired to do sports back then. He was always a friendly guy and I enjoyed his take on sports. Well, at WGHP, he is now a news anchor/reporter---a job he says he prefers---and he seems to be doing a wonderful job at it. As a matter of fact, he's the one who pushed for me to be interviewed at WGHP because it just so happened that he was filling in as an anchor for the morning show last week.

Bob and I reminisced about old times and connections. I learned, for the first time, that he went to school with Brad Pitt and Sheryl Crow and another former colleague of mine from ABC-11. The man has connections.

I left the interview feeling really good about it. My daughter even said she enjoyed it. From there I spoke at a luncheon of about 60 women. They laughed at my jokes and gave me a standing ovation at the end.

Next it's on to Charlotte, NC.

Wanna know what the rave is all about? Pick up a copy of "Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age" on amazon.com and find out!

I'm Taking my Hot Flashes on Tour

This week I'm kicking off my summer book tour with "Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age." Tagging along with me will be the seven dwarfs of menopause (and probably a few of their cousins) and some hot flashes. Now I want you to know they are UNIVITED GUESTS. I'd love to leave them at home with my husband but, just like me, he's had to endure them and, bless his heart, they've been harder on him sometimes than on me. So I'm packing them up and taking them with me.

On Wednesday, June 20th I'm making a guest appearance on the Fox8 Morning News Show. On Thursday, June 21, its on to Charlotte, NC where I will be a guest on Fox News Rising (Fox18). At noon, I will be doing a book signing at Park Roads Books, also in Charlotte.

Now it just so happens that Thursday, June 21---the first day of summer---is also my 50th birthday so I guess me and the dwarfs are all gonna be celebrating this new milestone together.

If you’d like to schedule me and my menopause crew for an interview, book signing or as a guest speaker, please contact me directly at 301-356-6280 or via email at bmahone@nc.rr.com

Drugs, Sex and Rock-n-Roll

I love talking to fellow baby boomers. I am always fascinated at the various roads we traveled on to get where we are today. I had the pleasure of talking with a man named Alton Cooley earlier this week.

We actually met online. Now before you start trippin' let me tell you that I'm a happily married woman and based on my conversation with Alton, he's a very happily married man to a good woman. We are both a part of a networking group (Nextcat.com) that includes artists from various areas like music, theatre, authors, singer, etc. I was interested in connecting with him because in his profile he said he was from Ohio and so am I. As a matter of fact, our cities are relatively close to each other.

Alton is a baby boomer who’s been doing what he loves for the past 30 years. He says he started doing it in his garage. He’s been shot at while doing it and he’s even done it in the nude! Yes, you read this right..in the nude…and it isn’t sex. The best part of it all, he says, is he gets to do it with his friends. You’ll have to listen to this podcast to see exactly what it is that he loves doing.

You can access it by going to: http://www.talk2bevpodcast.com/podcast/ or http://www.successtalk.com/whatever

Also, don’t forget about the Women’s History Month Contest for the chance to win some cash prizes. Go to: www.thebabyboomerdiva.com