Greetings!
 It's the 4th of July weekend and it's been raining all day with more to come throughout the weekend. What do you have planned, family reunion, Taste of Chicago, Essence Music Festival, or just chilling at home? Whatever you do, please be safe. I was looking forward to taking my girls to the Essence Festival in New Orleans but it didn't pan out. If you have read my bio then you know I penned my first novel, "He Loves Me He Loves Me Not!" after attending the 1997 Essence Music Festival and being inspired by Tavis Smiley, Michael Baisden, and others. The premise of the book is actually set around the festival. For over a year I tried unsuccessfully to get the scoop on participating at the Essence Book Fair, which is held at the convention center as part of the festival marketplace. Low and behold, as fate would have it, the opportunity presented itself about two weeks ago but I did not find the terms favorable and decided to past. Maybe next year. I still think it would be a great way to bring this journey full circle. Holiday festivities aside, have you all been following the unemployment crisis facing Americans, coupled with the US Congress failing for the 4th time this week to extend unemployment benefits to over 1 million people who have lost their benefits since June 2nd? If you get a chance, please check-out my blog on this very subject ( click here). This topic is personal for me as I am one of the over 15 million unemployed Americans who have lost their jobs due to no fault of their own, (i.e. layoff's, company closures, outsourcing, etc). I hope you enjoy this months newsletter and will forward it on to others. Remember, email addresses are not captured when you forward my newsletters. Much Love, Tracy Tracy L. Darity is the author of the award-winning novel "He Loves Me He Loves Me Not!" and the controversial "Love...Like Snow In Florida On A Hot Summer Day." |
