25 minute read
Wiley L. Day Day II Entertainment LLC 16
By Dr. Marrissa Dick Photos by Still Shots Photography
Throughout our lifetime, most people have heard the saying, “there’s nothing new under the sun”. Well, that biblical quote actually comes from Ecclesiastes 1:9 and it simply means there is nothing in the world that has not already happened, been seen, or been done. All of our experiences good or bad are testimonies that can help others navigate their lives more efficiently and effectively. Another thing that’s not new under the sun are candles. They have been used for centuries for religious purposes, ceremonies, prayers, and relaxation techniques. Spirituality speaking, candles are also a representation of Jesus Christ - - The Eternal Light of the world. Candles can also be symbolic of passion and they can create a euphoric environment for the mind, body, and soul.
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Meet Cassandra Durham, owner and operator of Black Girl Candle Company. Her candles are fashioned with a purpose. She shares, “I started Black Girl Candle Company because I felt like Black women needed something of their own. You know Black women do a lot of work, but they rarely get the recognition they deserve. It was important for me to create something for Black women that speaks to our needs. For me, Black Girl Candle Company is a way to empower, equip, and strengthen other women by letting them know that they can achieve anything they set their minds to and know that their lives have meaning. I want Black women to know that they aren’t dreaming alone. They aren’t walking by faith alone even though the enemy will tell you that you’re alone believe me when I tell you that you are not by yourself. God and Black Girl Candle Company are here supporting you.”
Cassandra understands scented candles can be purchased at any store, but she also knows that those candles are not poured with an anointing and purpose in mind.
According to Cassandra, “My candles are different because we start with love. I am of the belief that whatever it is inside of you is going to come out. So, if there is hate and bitterness inside of you then that’s what’s going to be evident in everything you do and it’s going to be evident in everything you touch. I am a believer; I have submitted my life unto God. I believe that love is in me so that’s what I exhibit. Love is exhibited in everything I touch. It’s exhibited in the way that I show up and present myself, but most importantly love is exhibited in the candles I pour. When I pour my candles, my focus is creating something especially for you that gives you moments of peace and clarity. You know so many things in our lives are tied to aromas and scents. If you go into a restaurant and smell a particular dish, you are like oh my God this reminds me of my grandma house. Now if we keep it 100, I like men who smell good! I don’t know maybe it’s just me but even an unattractive man who smells good, talks good, and he’s on point then a brother may have a chance for a dinner date! I’ve turned my head on more than one occasion at an unattractive dude just because he smelled good! There’s power in scents. I want to create products for women who are stressed out so when they light one of my candles, they will experience moments of emotional peace and regain clarity in their mind. It’s hard being a black woman because we have to be ten million things to ten million different people and we hardly get the chance to be what we need to be to ourselves. We know what we want, and we recognize that we’re tired, but we will put ourselves on the back burner and keep on pushing knowing nobody is pouring back into us. So, when you get a Black Girl Candle that’s your signal to step back from your life for a minute. The kids are going to be alright for a half hour; the husbands going to fine; the house isn’t going to fall apart.” “I remember when I got my undergraduate degree from NC A&T State University. I was really struggling..... I remember saying to God if I can get across this stage, I promise you I will bring 50,000 of my sisters with me if they follow me. And that’s what I have been doing ever since I walked across that stage.”
www.blackgirlcandlecompany.com info@blackgirlcandlecompany.com
We should all take time out and exhale so when life happens, we do not feel as though our backs are up against the wall. When our emotions are not centered, and our thoughts are unclear it becomes difficult to make rational decisions. Black Girl Candle Company was created for women to take time out for themselves so they can rejuvenate their mind, body, and soul. “I believe that women just need an opportunity to sit down somewhere and take a moment. I often ask women when was the last time you took some time out for you with no distractions? I’m not surprised when they respond, ‘I don’t remember,’ especially with all that comes with this pandemic like virtual schooling and maybe relationship, employment, and housing issues too. You could run yourself crazy and then what?”
As women many of us revolve around a continuous cycle of taking care of everyone else’s needs while neglecting your own. Cassandra Durham believes in self-care, “One of my goals in life is to empower women. Everything I do is centered around that purpose. You know when I was growing up there used to be this commercial for Motel 6 that said, ‘We’ll leave the light on for you.’ That mantra right there is my purpose. As long as I am on this earth, I plan to leave a light on for my sisters now whether you come or not is up to you, but that light is going to be on. There’s not much that I haven’t experienced in my life. I’ve experienced molestation; I’ve experienced being addicted to crack and all that comes with that life; I’ve gone through a divorce, and I’ve experienced the death of a child. I lost my daughter to a house fire and that alone made me want to commit suicide, but I made it through all of that. So, if I made it so can you. Women can stand on my shoulders and I will help carry them to where they need to go.” Cassandra has come to recognize that God has appointed her to be her sister’s keeper and it is a calling she accepts and embraces wholeheartedly.
When you think of the word, keeper, one could see a person who manages or looks after something. For Cassandra that something is Black women. As she recalls, “I remember when I got my undergraduate degree from NC A&T State University. I was really struggling. I had kicked my crack habit; I had gotten married and I was raising kids, but I still had a lot of ciaos in my life. I remember saying to God if I can get across this stage, I promise you I will bring 50,000 of my sisters with me if they follow me and that’s what I have been doing ever since I walked across that stage. I’ve been adding to that number in many ways. I can help a woman return to school. I can also help her with spiritual advice because I continued my education, so I also have my master’s degree in theology. So, if I am not physically with you my candles can be because they are personally made by me. In fact, all of my scents are customed made. Like, Make Him Jealous. That fragrance is a kind of heavy masculine scent. You know when your man has been acting crazy and been gone all night and comes back home, he’s wondering whose been inside of his house. Well, it’s not a man it’s a candle but if he had been home, he would know that. And then there’s Make Him Eat It which is a play on words because I am also a writer, too. When I first started mixing that candle I would it pass around to a lot of people and I would ask them what does this smell like or what’s your reaction and most people said, ‘gosh this makes my mouth water or man I want to eat this,’ so hence, Make Him Eat It. Then I have Grey Sweatpants which is a deep wood masculine scent, and Honey Bourbon Sunrise. Now that candle right there
makes me think of that high school senior trip to the beach and all that debauchery going on or that girl’s road trip and then you’re taking that walk of shame back to your room well maybe that was just me! Then we have Spa Day Candle. Now that scent ministers to me. It makes me a better person. You know after a long day and I have been stressed out I go home and light my Spa Day candle and whatever stress I have this candle just levels me out. It’s truly calming. It’s like the Spirit of the Lord walked into the room. It may sound cliché but whenever God enters, He brings everything He is with Him and that includes love, joy, and peace,” she says.
Unless you have lived a charmed life all of your days then you know that having peace is priceless and that is one of the reasons why Black Girl Candle Company has created specialty gift boxes for all occasions. “We do multiple gift boxes for different reasons. We offer the Gift of Rest Box which is really our Mental Health Box. Then we have a Get-Well Box which is for people who have been sick or who have been under the weather. We have a Happy Birthday Queen Box, and we’re getting ready to launch our Happy Birthday King Box. We also have a Big Girl Box. Now that box has a little bit of everything, we offer in it and we also include a custom candle called Sunday Morning which was created specifically for that gift box. I really wanted to give people a fall candle, so we offer our Christmas Morning candle. I tell people if you are not in the mood for the holidays by the time you get through burning our fall candles in your house honey, you’re going to be dancing to the Jackson Five and reminiscing of the days at your grandma’s house! I understand the importance of scent because candles really do set the vibe of your space and their smells evoke memories. Candles can make a room feel cozy it just depends on the vibe you’re going for and I just believe we can set the tone of any space,” she says.
Cassandra also offers other selections of candles such as Apple and Bourbon, Birthday Cake, Cranberry Dream, Headache B Gone, The Power Within, and Spa Day.
Black Girl Candle Company believes in “pouring” into the lives of other women. Every month they gift a box to a woman who is experiencing difficulty. Much like Dorcas also known as Tabitha in Acts 9:36-42, Cassandra is known for her good works and generosity. She shares “People will write me all the time and say my aunt, or my sister is going through can you send her something? I do a lot of gifting because this is what I know - - if I take care of Gods business, then He’ll take care of mine. Women will write me and express how depressed or sick they were, but when they received that black box from us, they felt better knowing that somebody was thinking about them. You know the enemy has tricked so many people into believing that they are suffering alone, and they are the only person going through something but that’s not true. You are not the only one whose been cheated on, been lied to, or been abused. You’re not alone because you have 300 sisters that are praying for you, fighting for you, and interceding on your behalf. Just because you don’t see us that doesn’t mean we are not undergirding you through prayer - - we are.” Tabitha had a well-deserved reputation as an almsgiver, a philanthropist, someone whose generosity made a difference in her community. We can consider Cassandra as your modern-day Dorcas. So how are these candles made and what makes them so unique? Well, it’s the way they have been “poured” with a purpose. Cassandra shares, “The foundation of my candles starts with love then I add the wax, the scent, the wick, and pour it inside of the jar. I have help with the packaging but when it comes to pouring, I do that by myself. I don’t let anyone pour except me because while I’m pouring, I’m also praying. There are days when I have the music loud and I’m in here hollering and crying and then sometimes it’s silence but it’s always me and the Lord. It’s a private thing I don’t expose that piece of my life to the world. Every other part of my life is an open book.” h
Gamal Williams Fin: A Story of Love and Hope
By Dr. Marrissa Dick - Photos by Gwendolyn Wilson
Becoming an author can be a massive undertaking but it is certainly worth the effort if you want to achieve creative fulfillment while touching the emotions, hearts, and minds of others through writing. Some people feel the unction more readily than others to express their emotions and thoughts openly while others may be more introverted with their emotions and thoughts and could quite possibly replaying scenes over in their mind. How creative is that? If you believe there’s a story inside of you then you should let it out. Meet Gamal C. Williams, a native of Brooklyn, New York, a father of four, and a retired 20-year Naval Senior Chief Officer hailing from Hampton Rhodes, Virginia. On November 29, 2020 Gamal released his first novel entitled, Fin: A Story of Love and Hope. Remember we spoke earlier about scenes being replayed over in their mind? Well Gamal’s novel was created through dreaming.
According to Gamal, “First, let me explain how I came up with the name, Fin. Fin is actually short for Finely. One thing we do in the military is shorten last names. For example, my last name is Williams, but everybody calls me, Will. So, this whole thing started because of a dream I kept having. I had this same dream four or five times a week for about three or four weeks. In this dream I am working in a convenience store and as I’m taking the trash out in the back somebody comes in and tries to rob the store. The cops intervene and somehow, I accidently get shot. Each time I had this dream I would wake up in a panic. After a while I realized I was dreaming. Then finally one night I woke up at two o’clock in the morning and I grabbed my laptop and just started writing. I wrote the first ten or twelve pages of the book and sent it to my publisher, Sasha Ridley. After she read it, she encouraged me to finish this story. So, I started thinking if I’m going to finish this story then I am going to have to figure out how did this person get here, and how do I write this scene, so it was the dream that actually got me into writing. I never grew up saying I wanted to be an author it was never anything like that. I didn’t know I wanted to be a writer until I started writing Fin. I loved it immediately. I enjoyed seeing the characters come to life. Every waking moment I had I would be thinking about this story.” Talking about making your dreams come true. Gamal literally wrote his dream into existence. How many of you have dreams and you don’t know why it continues to reoccur? Who knows perhaps your dreams are speaking to warn you or they could be speaking to you to create a novel. Either way, your dreams can be looked at as gifts and we already understand that your ‘gifts will make room for you’ - - Gamal’s did.
When writing your book an author should have a particular audience in mind because having a base to connect with is important. For Gamal’s target audience are adolescent black males, specifically. He shares, “The main group would be young adolescent black males because they need help with learning how to communicate with one another and they need to learn how to show love and affection toward one another without negativity being associated with their actions. Today there’s not as much condemnation associated with telling another black male who is your close friend that you love him, but when I was growing up that’s not something we did outside of the family. I grew up in Brooklyn and saying those words to another man is something that was frowned upon. You were looked at as being soft or weak. You couldn’t show any other type of emotions other than being tough or being street wise. So, this is a good seaway to the three main characters in Fin: A Story of Love and Hope. There’s Fin, the protagonist, and he’s the son of Command Master Chief. Then there’s a guy, Justin, who is the son of a former police officer, and the other guy is Chris, who goes by the name, Stacks, well, Stacks father is really a gangster. So, these guys from three completely different worlds end up becoming friends and they find out that they have way more in common than they thought they did. And even though they don’t overtly say ‘I love you’ it’s apparent through their actions the love they have for one another.” As a black male, Gamal understands the social anxieties and depressions that both pre-adolescent and post-teens experience. Some of his experiences can be found in Fin. He shares, “You know as a young male nobody teaches you how to deal with anxiety and depression or even how to deal with your anger. Those things just aren’t discussed in the black community. Instead of talking about it openly we are more likely to go to church
and pray it away. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with church. What I am saying is that sometimes you need to go to somebody and talk about your feelings and say hey I need help. Communication is important and that is also apparent in the book. All three characters have their fathers in their lives, but their level of communication just isn’t where it needs to be.” Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place, person or group to another. It is Gamal’s earnest desire for his readers to pick up golden nuggets while reading his novel and implement those nuggets in their lives. Though the book is fiction there are some elements of truth imbedded in the fabric of the story line. “There are elements in the book that do pull from my life. I think you can say this of any author who is writing a book that there are certain elements to the characters that they get from within themselves or people around you. There has to be some point of reference to understand what anger looks like or what a loving person looks like. There are definitely influences from my family and friends and people I have served with, but I wouldn’t say that there is any one character that’s a specific person. No, there isn’t.”
It took Gamal the better part of five weeks to type out his first rough draft. Along the way he would send chapters to his publisher who would provide him motivation to continue forward. He says, “I just got the raw version of the story out. I didn’t think about spelling, punctuations, sentence structure or grammar. All I did was write and send pieces of it to Sasha to read and she motivated me to keep going. Once I got the full story out then I went back and started doing rewrites and expanding on the story, the characters, and the scenes. So, from beginning to end I would say it took me six months to finish the book.”
Gamal is aware that the pandemic has caused a huge disruption in the world, but he has been able to make good use of this time by bonding with his children and working on his next book Jump which has been coauthored by his 12-year-old son, Gabriel. According to Gamal, “I created Jump just for him. He would say, ‘daddy what if he did this or that’ and I would give it some thought so I told him when I do the rewrite, I’m going to put that in there and add his name to the book as my coauthor and he just smiled.” See what our children can help us do when we communicate.
Support is always important in our endeavors and Gamal is grateful for Rae Legacy Publishing. He admits, “I like Sasha’s company because it’s small enough to where I can have that personal touch. She and my cousin Brian helped me a lot with editing. Sasha has really been a champion for this book, and she has also gotten me interviews and set up all my social media platforms. I believe in her and I like the fact that I can pick up my telephone and just call my publisher and talk to her about what my thoughts are or simply about what’s going on in my life. Rae Legacy Publishing is really the driving force behind getting the book out there so, no, I don’t have any regrets with going with her company at all” Many of you could be asking yourselves why you should go out and purchase this book. Gamal explains it this way, “The book is a great story. It’s a gripping tale of three young boys who form an unlikely friendship and soon discover that despite their differences, they have more in common than they realized. When 14-year-old Fin meets Stacks and Justin, he never thought their union would be bonded in love, friendship, joy, and pain. When an unexpected tragedy occurs, the young men’s bond is put to the test. A test of friendship, loyalty, family, and love. For one of them, their choices
“You know as a young male nobody teaches you how to deal with anxiety and depression or even how to deal with your anger. Those things just aren’t discussed in the black community. Instead of talking about it openly we are more likely to go to church and pray it away. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with church. What I am saying is that sometimes you need to go to somebody and talk about your feelings and say hey I need help.”
would shape his life, mold him into the man he had to become, and pushes him to the edge of death itself. The book has been heralded as “evocative,” “thought-provoking,” “heart-warming,” and “gut-wrenching.” Fin never allows you a moment to catch your breath. You’ll think you know everything, then Fin spins you in a direction you never saw coming.” The book also shows the complexities of love on multiple levels. For instance, there is a romantic love between Fin and his girlfriend Cory; there is the love between his grandparents; and there is the love that father and son show one another. Fin: A Story of Love and Hope is a book that transcends nationalities and genders; it is relatable enough to spark the interest of everyone who reads it.
Gamal shares, “I hope the book sparks conversations that families need to have when it comes to sharing information. There is a generational divide where the older generations don’t share with the younger generation what they’ve experienced in their lives or even thigs about their health. If they would share those struggles the youth could gain so much from their grandparents, parents, aunts or uncles experiences. I’ve been guilty of it too - - not sharing information with my daughter or sons that could have prevented them from messing up. Again, it’s been my experience that we just don’t share information until it’s too late. We should have these difficult conversations early. I hope this book can spark that level of conversation so adolescents can begin to make better decisions. I hope this book sparks life changing conversations and deliberate actions of correction. You know I was at my local library doing the photo shoot for this book and the director came out and asked where she could purchase the book so it could be displayed in the local author section. I happily gave them the copy I had. When I was growing up on my way home from school me and my friends would stop at the library every day to do our homework then we would read for hours. To know that some young man will be able to go into the library and see a book that looks like him on the shelf and be able to resonate with the emotions going on in the book is so rewarding for me. If a young kid can see themselves in one of those characters, then I am happy. That’s a blessing right there. I just hope people would give it a chance and pick it up and enjoy it.” You can purchase this newly released book on amazon.com in both paperback, and in Kindle and Nook. You can also visit Gamal William’s website at www.authorgamalilliams.com which will usher you to all the links to purchase this new and inspiring novel. h
Heal The Hood Foundation of Memphis
By Terry L. Watson Photos by Ernest Fields
His purpose is to make someone else’s life better. LaDell Beamon is the CEO of Heal The Hood Foundation of Memphis.
Heal The Hood Foundation of Memphis is a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to wholistic community rehabilitation through its groundbreaking innovative formula for community development. It provides positive outlets for youth of all ages and young adults through singing, dancing, art, acting, motivational speaking, screen writing, and modeling. The impact and impression of HTH speaks for itself. HTH has help to improve academic performance and standardized test scores, help to improve school attendance rates, graduation rates, and post-secondary attendance, develop college and career goals and workforce readiness, help to build self-esteem and self-awareness, reduce bullying and violence amongst youth, decrease discipline referrals, encourage leadership, teamwork, and community involvement, assist with developing character and taught life skills that have helped students succeed in school and beyond, and help to reduce poverty and welfare dependence.
LaDell states, “If we can positively influence our young people to think before they make decisions, get out of gangs, avoid outcomes that result from peer pressure, stay away from drugs and alcohol, steer away from weapons and other mass destruction, then we have just saved someone’s life and helped them be the dynamic person they were created to be.”
While working hand in hand with the community of Memphis, particularly the churches, ministry principles are incorporated into their efforts and serve as a baseline for reaching others. Being a native Memphian, LaDell skillsets include screenwriting, filmmaking, and that of a composer, director, producer, and youth advocate. LaDell was born into a single parent home in which he was raised by his mother and grandmother. After seeing the lives of several youth being affected by the media, he decided to use his talents of being a musician, writer, actor, producer, director, and minister of the Gospel to become a catalyst for change through the arts. He has worked on several projects and serviced over 400,000 youth with the powerful anti-social deviance tour, The Wake Up Tour. LaDell is also the co-creator of Wake Up Tour Evolution Comic Book Series in which he doubles as the Super Powered Hero “Wake”. This work has added author to his list of many titles, and he still shows no signs of slowing down with a new book series entitled, “Hood Fables”.
LaDell has worked with various celebrities such as Master P, Lil Romeo, Day 26, Vivica A. Fox, Gospel Legend John P. Kee, Ginuwine, Tank, Lil P-Nut, Trevor Jackson, Sammie, Jacob Latimore, Tiny, Robert Townsend, Michael Jai White, Taimak, Adolpho Shabbadoo Quiones, and comic book creator Martheus Wade.
His newly developed passion is to complete the new youth and family facility, fittingly called the Hero Empowerment Center that will house the first fully functional 4D Theater in Memphis, and a Museum of Heroes dedicated to Urban, Modern, Fictional and Non-Fictional Heroes. The Hero Empowerment Center will be the light on the Hill. The Memphis community is extremely fortunate to have a jewel like LaDell. His efforts and dedication will continue to have a lasting impact on thousands of lives for many years to come.
To learn more about LaDell and HTH, please visit their website.
