Wednesday
Aug272008
Black Folks At the Convention- NY Govenor Patterson's Entourage Nearly Tramples the Elderly and Infirm
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 2:21AM The Blogmother
First, I HATE asking people to pose for photos, but I am making sacrifices for y'all so I am pushing myself beyond my comfort zone to snap pictures, but I WILL NOT ask for pictures from someone with a posse or people holding conversations with others, or people who look downright evil.
*BEGIN RANT*Basically anybody that posed for a photo was nice, otherwise I would have not taken their picture. But before we get to the photos, lets talk about entourages gone WILD. You have never seen this many entourages in your life. Fully grown human beings who are incapable of walking from A to B alone and without drama. The most annoying example of the day has to go to the entourage of New York Mayor David Patterson a disabled American whose entourage nearly trampled two elderly women so that he could walk by. That was completely unnecessary. Here's a thought Governor Patterson, why don't you introduce the concept of WALKING AROUND a group of people instead of yelling "Coming Through" and shoving elderly women out of the way.
What is so sad is that the group of people gathered had mobility issues. They were standing there waiting on an elevator that is always full for an extended period of time because they couldn't walk down the stairs. Not only that, but can you imagine the reaction time lag between hearing someone come out of nowhere yelling "coming through!". If these women could move swiftly, they would have walked down the stairs like I did instead of standing in line waiting on an elevator that wouldn't have room for a good hour or so. What were these little old ladies going to do? Trip him with their canes? Unnecessary drama. Okay, I am done. But that just made me sooooo mad to see little old ladies treated like that so an able-bodied man can walk by when there was plenty of room behind the little old ladies for him to pass through. I guess politicians can only walk in a straight line. WHATEVER!!! *End Rant*
Anyway. Now that I am done with my rant about self-important members of entourages and drama, on to some more photos of famous Black folks at the convention.
I got a photo of Sheryl Lee Ralph and her husband looking fabulous. You know how some people look amazing on TV, but in person its meh. Well Sheryl Lee Ralph looked stunning. Cute couple.
I also saw Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth she was very nice about taking a photo.
I saw the NAACP's new president, Ben Jealous he was surrounded by an entourage. He appeared to be surrounded by staff that were essential to carrying out his presidential responsibilities at such a momentous event. (What I was really thinking "Maybe if he didn't have such a large posse the NAACP wouldn't always be in debt. I mean how many handlers does it take to get you from your seat to a car? That's a whole lot of hotel rooms, airfare and per diems")
I took a picture Farai Chedeya of NPR.
I almost asked Jurnee Smolett for a photo, but again, she was holding a conversation so was Angela McGowan. I saw a bunch of other people too, but I didn't feel like taking a picture of them. I'm sorry y'all, I like to write, not take pictures, but I did it for y'all. I might take more tomorrow. Depends on how I feel. In my next post, I'll put up some of the photos of Black women attending events at the Pepsi center on Tuesday night.
*BEGIN RANT*Basically anybody that posed for a photo was nice, otherwise I would have not taken their picture. But before we get to the photos, lets talk about entourages gone WILD. You have never seen this many entourages in your life. Fully grown human beings who are incapable of walking from A to B alone and without drama. The most annoying example of the day has to go to the entourage of New York Mayor David Patterson a disabled American whose entourage nearly trampled two elderly women so that he could walk by. That was completely unnecessary. Here's a thought Governor Patterson, why don't you introduce the concept of WALKING AROUND a group of people instead of yelling "Coming Through" and shoving elderly women out of the way.
What is so sad is that the group of people gathered had mobility issues. They were standing there waiting on an elevator that is always full for an extended period of time because they couldn't walk down the stairs. Not only that, but can you imagine the reaction time lag between hearing someone come out of nowhere yelling "coming through!". If these women could move swiftly, they would have walked down the stairs like I did instead of standing in line waiting on an elevator that wouldn't have room for a good hour or so. What were these little old ladies going to do? Trip him with their canes? Unnecessary drama. Okay, I am done. But that just made me sooooo mad to see little old ladies treated like that so an able-bodied man can walk by when there was plenty of room behind the little old ladies for him to pass through. I guess politicians can only walk in a straight line. WHATEVER!!! *End Rant*
Anyway. Now that I am done with my rant about self-important members of entourages and drama, on to some more photos of famous Black folks at the convention.
I got a photo of Sheryl Lee Ralph and her husband looking fabulous. You know how some people look amazing on TV, but in person its meh. Well Sheryl Lee Ralph looked stunning. Cute couple.
I also saw Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth she was very nice about taking a photo.
I saw the NAACP's new president, Ben Jealous he was surrounded by an entourage. He appeared to be surrounded by staff that were essential to carrying out his presidential responsibilities at such a momentous event. (What I was really thinking "Maybe if he didn't have such a large posse the NAACP wouldn't always be in debt. I mean how many handlers does it take to get you from your seat to a car? That's a whole lot of hotel rooms, airfare and per diems")I took a picture Farai Chedeya of NPR.I almost asked Jurnee Smolett for a photo, but again, she was holding a conversation so was Angela McGowan. I saw a bunch of other people too, but I didn't feel like taking a picture of them. I'm sorry y'all, I like to write, not take pictures, but I did it for y'all. I might take more tomorrow. Depends on how I feel. In my next post, I'll put up some of the photos of Black women attending events at the Pepsi center on Tuesday night.
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Reader Comments (13)
I love Journee Smollet!
I love you even more! Nobody can order around an East African cabbie better than Miss Gina!
Thank you for coming out of your comfort zone for us. This insider view of the DNC from an African-American woman's perspective is priceless!
Thanks for the photos, and the entourage outrage of the day story--sometimes the beautiful people are just too beautiful for their own good.
Patterson is a hoot, though. He was quickly upfront about he and his wife's infidelities.
"Let me go ahead and get this out in the open, I have not been a good boy, either. Now, let's get to the governor's mansion."
You had to know his kids were going..."What the %^&*"
Can someone tell me how a reality tv person got a ticket to the DNC Convention? Farai is a journalist, Sheryl Lee Ralph is an activist and married to a senator. What is Omarosa doing there, what purpose dose she serve other than fullfilling stereotypes of black women on TV that we are mean and bitchy for no good reason.
Naima,
Actually there are a ton of celebrities here who aren't activists. Omarosa I believe was a Clinton staffer. This is basically like the Super Bowl. What you don't see are the tons of parties that are going on and Hollywood has a HUGE presence here. the Creative Coalition is throwing a bunch of stuff. Omarosa wasn't the only person I saw. lots of retired NBA players are walking around as well.
Not suprised to hear about Patterson. He seems to be a bit self absored.
There is a saying pretty is as pretty does and Sherly Lee Ralph is a beautiful person on the inside. I saw her in August at my Delta convention and she was such a gracious and kind person, taking pictures w/ sorors, talking with sorors and being involved in things as though she were an interested newly "made" soror and not some sort of diva.
I might add that ironically, she wasn't mean to me at all. She was actually quite friendly in the 90 seconds we interacted.
Gov. Paterson is the first Black (not to mention daggone near blind) governor of New York. He has a target on his back just like Sen. Obama. He needs his entourage to help him move from place to place quickly. Deviating from the path probably isn't the best idea for a mostly blind person. I can't really blame his security for being less than polite from time to time.
Jenene,
I am not going to argue with you because you weren't there, but let me assure you that they could have moved the man around with no problems and if it was a security concern, you can move around the place and avoid crowds all together. It wasn't being less than polite. It was completely a power play and he would have gotten around faster by moving two feet over.
Might I add that it is disturbing what we are willing to excuse in the name of "security" especially when there is a more "secure" alternative that does not involve disrespecting or inconveniencing the American people.
Sis, I'm curious... why would you allow your rules to get in the way of what could have been excellent journalism? Journee Smollet is a "daughter" and I would be extremely interested in knowing her thoughts about being at the DNC. Ben Jealous is a history maker in his own right, no story. I appreciate your candor and ranting is a black woman's birthright, however, you're in a unique position to tell stories I will not find anywhere else. I'm kind of disappointed. You've ignored the stories I'd really like to share with my nieces and goddaughters. And by the way, Gov. Paterson only uses one 't' in his name and his disability is blindness. (He couldn't see what his gatekeepers were doing.) Oh yeah, Omarosa comes from a political background, and is a former Clinton staffer. Her thoughts would have been interesting to note as well.
gina, i feel you on the elderly lady. gov. patterson and co. should have moved around her and the other folks. tyou for the photos. i love sheryl lee ralph and farai chideya.