I was fortunate enough to travel to Los Angeles on the weekend of the 26th of September.  Not only was I able to reconnect with some old friends, I had a chance to visit the newly opened Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.  Picture above is myself in orange with my friends, in front of a statue of Princess Leia choking Jabba the Hutt, a statue that has renewed relevance with the horrible news of sexual assault coming out of Cornell University.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is a place for art not traditionally housed in art museums, whether it be storyboards, comic pages, illustration or science fiction art.  This art is typically considered more “commercial” or “low-brow”, but the Lucas museum aims to challenge these assumptions and present the work on terms that validate and celebrate it.

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The author upon intake at a psychiatric hospital in the summer of 2001.

“The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.” ― Marcus Aurelius

25 years is a lifetime.

25 years ago, I was 22.  I had just been released from my first psychotic break that summer and was supposed to start my first day at my new job at a restaurant appropriately called, “The American Café”.

When I walked in to start my first shift, my manager told me I could go home.  I asked him, “Why?”.  He pointed at a television broadcasting the footage of the twin towers aflame.

I called a friend, and we congregated at their house.  We watched the footage of the plane striking over and over, dumbfounded like a mass-hypnosis event.  It was a beautiful day outside that day, no clouds to be found in the sky.  Eerie and serene, no planes in the sky, and I live by both Dulles and National Airports.  It was quiet.

25 years is a lifetime.  Some people were robbed of that lifetime.  We try our best to honor them and their memories today.  I lived in New York.  I lived in Northern Virginia.  I’d been to the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.  This was personal to me, I knew the places that were attacked and the areas affected.  I knew people and family members of people who worked in both the Pentagon and the Twin Towers.

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Those of you who have heard my speeches, know that one of the main motivators in my own recovery from serious mental illness was the birth of my nephew.  19 years ago, I was told that my sister-in-law was pregnant, and that if I wanted to be involved in the child’s life, they didn’t want me to be the “crazy uncle” who couldn’t be trusted with their child.  That motivated me to be the best uncle I could be, and I have always had a strong interest in my nephew’s life and well-being.  That being said, I got to celebrate their special day on Monday, as they walked in a cap and gown at their high school graduation ceremony!!!  Surrounded by close family, we cheered them on during their special day.

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Artists (L-R) Ron Wimberly, Kevin Earley, Leon Reid IV, Brian Polite, Reggie Ross, Ollie Seeley and Patrick Seeley at the Opening of Leon Reid IV’s show in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending my friend Leon Reid IV’s solo show in Brooklyn, New York.  I met Leon at Pratt Institute that I attended around the turn of the century.  Unfortunately, Leon’s show was only scheduled to run for two days, and is now over.

I had to opportunity to not only meet with Leon, but several of my comrades from my days at Pratt, whom I have been friends with for almost thirty years!  I think about all the things that happen in thirty years, from relationships, to children, to wars, political administrations, social movements, et cetera…

To see an artist not only continue their craft, but excel and make a living off of it was a wonderful delight.

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This past Wednesday, I was lucky enough to be able to catch an advance screening of NO ONE CARES ABOUT CRAZY PEOPLE, a new documentary film based on the book by the same name by Ron Powers.

This movie is not for the faint of heart.  It depicts several people living with some of the most severe mental illnesses, people like Mark Rippee, who lived on the streets with schizophrenia and was legally blind after a traumatic brain injury; Miles Hall, a young man who was shot to death by police while undergoing a psychotic episode; and Kevin Powers, who ended up killing himself after his bouts with depression: as well as a slew of other people affected by SMI.

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Jesus Christ Crucifixion on Good Friday Silhouette

Today is Good Friday.

It is a day Christians traditionally commemorate the crucifixion of Christ.  A most violent way to kill someone, it is brutal and the root of the word “excruciating”.  I am releasing a new single from an album today, and that single is about the history of lynching in America.  It was a cosmic coincidence that I released the single today, I didn’t realize the connection to Good Friday with the song until I saw that April 3^rd was actually Good Friday earlier this week.

So I want to talk about lynching today, because I draw a direct connection to lynching and crucifixion.  I have a voice, I am going to use it.  This is a really heavy song, I am not going to lie.

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