Hello All: Harlem has always been a food mecca for me. Of course my mainstay, and my home away from home has always been Sylvia's Queen of Soul Food - and the Woods family have maintained a 60+ year tradition. But there are other equally good restaurants in Harlem, depending on your taste. Recently opened is Savannah Rae's that offers healthy alternative cuisine - and of course Red Rooster. Malcolm X Boulevard has become a food fan corridor. You can go from one restaurant to another and find something fantastic in each one of them.
So BonApetite y'all Stay Blessed & ECLECTICALLY BLACK Gloria
44th ANNUAL HARLEM WEEK CONTINUES TO EXPLORE THE DIVERSE FLAVORS OF
HARLEM CUISINE WITH THE 2018 HARLEM RESTAURANT WEEK FROM AUGUST 20-26
For over four decades, The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce has
celebrated Harlem’s rich cultural heritage through the month-long
celebration
of HARLEM WEEK—lovingly described “the longest week of the year.” From
Monday, August 20 – Saturday, August 26, the festival will highlight the incredible diversity of Harlem’s international culture and cuisine with
Harlem Restaurant Week, the annual culinary initiative that allows visitors to sample some of the best foods that Harlem has to offer representing
cultures from across the globe.
The
2018 Harlem Restaurant week will feature everything from Southern soul
food Cuban, Latin and Caribbean dishes to Asian cuisines, and food from
the various nations in Africa, giving visitors a chance to
explore the international cultural influences that make Harlem a
celebrated home for immigrants from all nations. THE LIST OF PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS IS LISTED BELOW.
“New
York – and particularly the village of Harlem - is beloved to visitors
from all around the world because we are the true definition of a
melting pot – we welcome so many different types of people from
all over the world to come, visit and be a part of the culture here,”
said Lloyd Williams, President of The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce.
“Our culinary initiative, Harlem Restaurant Week, is so important
because we know that nothing brings people
together like sitting across a table with one another to enjoy a great
drink or break bread together. With that in mind, we a thrilled to
partner with 16 Harlem-based restaurants and eateries for this year’s
celebration.”
The
restaurants will feature menu items ranging from classics like
smothered pork chops, hot and sweet chicken, and crab cakes with mango
salsa to paella Valenciana, Southern fried chicken with eggnog waffles,
and lobster rolls. Also featured will be a variety of cocktails,
including mojitos, caipirinhas and Cuban- and Harlem-influenced fruit
drinks of every flavor.
Please see below for a complete list of participating restaurants, and for more information, please visit
www.harlemweek.com
For me Sylvia's passing was like losing a member of my family. I've known and admired her and her family since my first eating at her then humble restaurant in 1968. Thanks to a friend, Sam Anderson, who took me there because I was homesick for home cooking, I became a regular diner of Sylvia's over the years.
That friendship and kinship was born of her eternal genteel nature, graciousness, elegance; her love of people, and her wonder food. Even when her restaurant was no more than a small facility with a few benches, plank floors, and a few high stools at the counter, you always felt loved when you walked into Sylvia's.
I was preparing to do a write up of the upcoming celebration of her 50th anniversary of Sylvia's Queen of Soul Food Restaurant. 50 years is a major mile stone, and a gargantuan feat for a teenie little lady who started from very humble beginnings in a beanfield in Hemingway, South Carolina. When I heard about the fact that she had made her transition, I felt as though someone had punched me in the stomach. I was in a state of suspended animation for nearly an hour, as memory after memory of Sylvia flashed across my mind. She had accomplished so much, and was so loved by so many, I wondered how many knew how great a woman Sylvia Pressley Woods really was.
Indeed, there had been many who found it incredulous that she still owned her famed restaurant; many who could not believe that this beautiful woman had the moxy to make such a long term success of her business without selling out. Those were the ones who did not understand the tenacity, dedication, discipline and vision that made, and continues to make, Sylvia's the most successful Black owned and run restaurant in the US (not just New York, folks – others are still trying to catch up).
You walk into the restaurant and you immediately feel welcome. I remember the days when Sylvia, and her late husband, Herbert, used to sit in the back of the restaurant at a designated family table, and observe as people came and went. She always took the time to personally greet visitors – out of state or out of the country; regardless of nationality, race or ethnicity, she was gracious to the core.
Thanks to food columnist, Gael Green's dubbing her Queen of Soul Food in the New York Times, the restaurant became internationally known; bringing tourists from Japan, Germany, Great Britain, Russia, France, Africa, South Carolina, Georgia, Atlanta, Texas, California – you name it, they came. The restaurant became a destination point for tourists. And she did not disappoint.
Tour buses lined up around the block on Malcolm X (Lenox) Ave. not just because of the food, but because of Sylvia's personal stamp of hospitality. But as much as she appreciated the patronage of the tourists, she loved the support of the local community who came again and again to enjoy food at Sylvia's. There were several romances and marriages spawned at Sylvia's because it was so easy to just "be" there.
I remember admiring how patient she was when people asked her to pose with them for photographs, autographs, and just an opportunity to tell her how much they enjoyed the food. I admired how Sylvia and her family – Herbert (her husband) Van, Bedelia, Kenneth, and Crizette, worked together to make the business a success. How she taught her children, grand children and great grand children the value of honoring the customer, how to work together, how to manage the food, service, and business and still have a life. I admired how they worked together, honored their mother, and each other, during the course of their working together. Regardless of the ups and downs, she, and the love of her life, Herbert, managed to maintain their family and their business.
I have sooooo many fond memories of Sylvia. As the former editor of their newsletter, “Sylvia: Nothing But the Good News” - which was started by her eldest son, and my friend, Van Woods, I had the privilege of being involved in many of the events – good and bad – that made the restaurant the great place it is.
If Sylvia was the heart and guiding light of the restaurant, Van was the business expansion guru for the family. But the wonderful thing about it was that his mother gave him full support for his ideas, as long as it did not encumber the original restaurant. The concept of “Nothing But the Good News” came out of Sylvia's concern for so many negative headlines in the news and on TV. Van took up his mother's interest in providing people with the overlooked empowering information that often go unreported in most major publications. It was a great opportunity to really highlight people in the community, many of whom came to the restaurant, and what they were doing to contribute to society.
Other fond moments include Johnnie Cochrane who came regularly to eat at Sylvia's. He always celebrated his birthday (October 2) by having a birthday breakfast there. When President Barack Obama won the presidential election in 2008, Sylvia had already commissioned an ice sculpture with his name, image and likeness on it, and had it prominently displayed in front of the restaurant for everyone to see.
For years Fox Five Television used to broadcast live from Sylvia's restaurant on the anniversary of her opening because it coincided with the launching of their news show. Jim Ryan and Lynn Brown, would coordinate with field reporters, and would broadcast live from the restaurant. Sylvia's would close off the street in front of the restaurant, and serve free breakfast to the community consisting of grits, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, biscuits, coffee and juice. Live entertainers, such as Boyz to Men, Lonnie Youngblood, the Silver Belles (former Cotton Club Dancers), among others would perform. In the evening a gala was held under a tent that was erected between the main restaurant and the newly renovated property on the corner – Sylvia's Also. Sylvia and Herbert were always the most gracious hosts. They made sure they honored their staff, people in the community as well as family members who had worked so hard to keep the restaurant a success – Clarence, Moogie, Olga, Ma Mae, Sidara, and other mainstays who have been part of the Sylvia family for decades.
Sylvia's was the unofficial capital of Harlem. Political aspirants held campaign fundraisers there. Strategy meetings to improve Harlem were formulated there. Dignitaries from every stripe made a pilgrimage there - President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev.Jesse Jackson, Dexter King (son of Martin Luther King), James Brown, Diana Ross, among others - the photos that regale the walls of the restaurant are a small percentage of the people who frequent Sylvia's over the past fifty years.
When they were invited to put a Sylvia's Restaurant in Atlanta, GA by then mayor Bill Campbell, I had the privilege of covering the grand opening. Johnnie and Dale Cochrane, Mayor Campbell, former mayor Maynard Jackson were among the dignitaries who attended. But few knew that the grand opening almost didn't happen because the chef did not make biscuits to Sylvia's standards. Sylvia refused to allow the restaurant to open until he got it right. “Those biscuits represent the quality of our food. I will not have him put out something that is not like the quality we give in New York. If he can't get it right, we may have to get another chef.” Which, by the way, is exactly what they ended up doing. It was then that I totally understood why the restaurant in New York was so successful. Her standards for quality control were unimpeachable. People tended to look at that beautiful little chocolate brown lady and think she was a pushover. She was anything but.
In 1999 they decided to inaugurate a Sylvia's Family Cookbook because Sylvia and Herbert said they came from a family of cooks. Sylvia, who was an active member of her church in Hemingway, and a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, often spoke of how popular venison was in South Carolina. They decided to have a family cook off to determine whose recipes would be included in the cookbook.
In driving down to their home town of Hemingway with Sylvia and Herbert in their signature car – a Rolls Royce with the vanity plates “HerbSyl” on the back, we had an ongoing conversation about their life, their love and marriage, and their children.
Sylvia and Herbert wore matching satin jackets with the “Sylvia's Queen of Soul Food” logo on the back. They were a striking design in purple, gold and black. The nearly 12-hour drive took us through many southern communities. At one point we stopped for gas in one southern town. While Herbert Woods was pumping gas, Sylvia and I had gone to the ladies' room and stopped to pick up snacks. As we were checking out at the cashier, a very enthusiastic white woman, upon seeing the Rolls Royce, and Sylvia's jacket came over to her and said: “That's your car out there?” Sylvia responded by saying “Yes”. To which she asked, “Are ya'll somebody famous?” Sylvia started laughing, but did not answer. So I responded, “She is the owner of Sylvia's restaurant in New York City.” The lady got so excited, and ran over to one of her friends, and exclaimed: “I knew it! I tole you they were somebody famous. I tole you!!” She turned back around to Sylvia and said, “Can I have your autograph?”
When we reached Hemingway, SC, it was like royalty returning home. Everybody turned out for Sylvia, not only to participate in the contest, but to great one of their most beloved citizens. I was introduced to Spots, a kind of fish that is so sweet and easy to cook, I found myself easily eating 10 of them at one sitting. We walked around the place where Sylvia was born, and her mother built their first home from scratch. We picked pecans and greeted neighbors. But the main thing we did was sample food for selection for the cookbook. I had never eaten so much venison in all my life. It seems as if there had to have been hundreds of ways to prepare it; as well as sweet potato pie! I had to write a descriptive about the dish, a brief bio on the cook and his or her relationship to Sylvia; and finally the recipe for the particular dish. The research and meticulous attention to detail that went into the book is reflective of how Sylvia did everything.
I will always remember attending Herbert and Sylvia's 50th wedding anniversary, where they renewed their vows at their beautiful, palatial home in Mt. Vernon, NY. It was the first time I had been to their beautiful home. You could feel the love in every room of that palatial home. The vow renewals were presided over by the Reverend Calvin Butts, and was one the most beautiful I've ever attended.
Even when I was residing in Jersey City, NJ, I made it my business to come to Sylvia's if I was in Manhattan, to check in on the family. And when 911 happened, I made a bee line to Sylvia's to make sure everybody was all right. I remember Sylvia saying that she was glad Herbert was not there to witness the collapse of the World Trade Center. She had already maintained that she didn't know what would happen if she died before Herbert. “We love each other so much, but I think Herbert would be lost if I left before he did.”
Indeed, their love was the stuff that fairy tales and dreams were made of. Sylvia and Herbert met when they were 10 and 12 years old, in a bean field. Herbert was an orphan and was picking beans for a living. Sylvia remembers thinking even then that he was going to be her husband. And throughout the years they were inseparable. When Sylvia's mother Julia took her to New York to so she could attend beauty school, Herbert was devastated. He enlisted in the Navy under the assumption that he would be stationed in New York and close to Sylvia. However, they sent him everywhere but New York. So it was two years before they were reunited.
In their golden years, Sylvia and Herbert used to spend quiet days at home relaxing and enjoying each other's company. He would prepare breakfast in bed for her, to give her a break from cooking. They'd read the newspapers, and basically keep each other company. They never lost the romance in their marriage – something I always admired about them. They were the rare couple who put each other first, no matter what.
I can envision Sylvia now, finally reunited with her beloved Herbert once again, enjoying those quiet moments together, as he serves his queen breakfast in bed. She's done a great and mighty work, built and empire for her family, provided hospitality for the world. I always cherish those days, but know that it is now for the new generation of the Woods family to continue the legacy as she rests in peace, knowing that it is now completed.
As we approach the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Sylvia's next week (July 31 through August 1) there will no doubt be thousands of Sylvia stories. There is so much to celebrate. And we all owe it to one tiny, elegant little woman – Sylvia Woods, who totally understood the meaning of family, and made it happen in the heart of Harlem.
Thank you Sylvia!!!
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK &
Eternally Loved - from
GLORIA DULAN-WILSON
To Van, Bedelia, Kenny, Crizette and the kids: You know how much I loved your mom, and how much I wish I could be there for her homegoing services; but I'm in Oklahoma City visiting my mom and family. My love and condolences to each and every one of you; as well as my gratitude for your being my New York family. I treasure each and every time I've had the privilege of being with you all.
When I received the call from my friend, Ronnie Sykes, in reference to the 10th Anniversary of the Sylvia & Herbert Woods Scholarship Fundraiser, I had a brief flashback to the day when they started planning the first event. Sylvia, who has always been about education, Vann the eldest son, Kenneth, Bedelia, Crizette and the rest of the family had gathered at the restaurant to determine just how to launch it, and what their first scholarship amounts would be.
I remember it was a tented affair, held at Sylvia's Also, the banquet facility on the corner of 126th and Malcolm X. Those were very intense times, coming on the heels of Herbert Wood's passing earlier that year.
Most of us remember when Sylvia's Restaurant was the "city hall" of Harlem. Where political figures and celebrities came to hang out and tune in. Well nothing has changed in that regard, except that Sylvia is more often than not relaxing at home, having recently turned 85. She has literally worked since the age of 10; and truth be told, had her children not persuaded her to take a break, she's be at the restaurant as usual greeting customers with that famous beautiful smile of hers.
This Scholarship Fundraiser is yet another in the long line of services the legendary restaurant has provided so generously to the community of Harlem, where they have made their home since the 40's. The restaurant will be turning 50 next year, and there are still many who find it difficult to believe that the Woods family still retains ownership. So let me assure you - they own it and the property, lock, stock and barrels. Despite her demure good looks, Ms. Sylvia, and her husband Herbert, were great business people. Their children (and grandchildren)have likewise followed in their footsteps, insuring the institutionalization of this great family affair.
Sylvia's Restaurant has been my home away from home since I moved to New York. And, even though I live in Brooklyn now, I can't come anywhere near Harlem without "checking in" to see what's going on.
I recently received the following email from Ronnie: "The Sylvia and Herbert Woods Endowment Scholarship Fund to Celebrate Its 10th Anniversary At New York City Gala Ceremony to Recognize National Leaders in Education- Alma Powell-America’s Promise Alliance, Geoffrey Canada-Harlem Children’s Zone & Marcia Young Cantarella, Ph.D.-Educator/Author."
So I'm sharing it with you, because I know you will all want to come out and celebrate this great milestone, as well as to congratulate the awardees and scholarship recipients.
"The Sylvia & Herbert Woods Foundation (SHWF) will mark its 10th anniversary by awarding 10 students with scholarships and recognizing three national leaders in education for their commitment to advancing opportunities for young people in Harlem and beyond during its annual awards ceremony on October 28, 2011 at City College's Great Hall.
Award-winning Anchor and Reporter, David Ushery of WNBC TV-NY will serve as guest host for the evening. Alma J. Powell, the Chair of America's Promise Alliance, Harlem Children's Zone Founder and CEO Geoffrey Canada will receive the Herbert Woods Community Service Award and Educator/Author Marcia Young Cantarella, Ph.D., and daughter of noted civil rights activist Whitney M. Young, Jr., will receive the Sylvia's Award.
Established in 2001, by Sylvia Woods, owner of Harlem’s world-renowned Sylvia’s Restaurant, in honor of her late husband Herbert, the Sylvia & Herbert Woods Endowment Scholarship Fund is a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to college-bound youth, which helps to bring some much needed relief to students and their families. Awarding the first 2 scholarships in 2002, the Fund has provided over $200,000 to 66 students in scholarship funding in the past 9 years. To be eligible recipients must have a 2.5 G.P.A. or better and must also submit an essay of at least 275 words stating why they should receive financial assistance as well as personal recommendations, among other requirements.
Dr. Joseph Feldman, chairman of Hackensack University Medial Center’s emergency trauma department and Lew Zuchman, executive director of Supportive Children’s Advocacy Network (SCAN) are honorary committee angels. To date sponsors and partners include: Cogswell Realty, Steiner Sports and Marketing, Exquisite Apparel, Crest Gems, PK Furs, Unitex Laundry Service, Panoply Corporation (Distributors of Sylvia’s Food Products) and Christopher Hunte Designs.
WHEN: Friday, October 28th at 6:00pm WHERE: City College- The Great Hall -Convent Avenue & 138th St. WHO: Geoffrey Canada, CEO and Founder- Harlem Children’s Zone Alma J. Powell, Chair of America’s Promise; Marcia Young Cantarella, PhD Educator and Author/Daughter of Whitney Young, Jr.; David Ushery, Anchor-WNBC TV- New York
Sister Betty Dopson has written her first book. Or maybe I should say “our” first book, because she wrote it for us -- we Black women, and it’s appropriately entitled: SHARED SECRETS OF ELDER SISTERS WHO PROVE THAT AGE IS JUST A NUMBER.
Synchronicity is everything. I distinctly remember asking Sister Betty, at the recently held African Voices Awards Ceremony in June, what her beauty secrets were. Though she had just turned 76, she looks as though she was in her mid-40’s. She just smiled, but didn’t say a word about this book. So when I got the call from her to cover her book opening at Sista’s Place in Brooklyn, on July 10th, I thought, “how did she write that book so fast?”
Most people think of beauty in frivolous terms. But it’s much more than that. It’s the standard by which a whole race of people (us and other non-whites) have been weighed in the balance and found wanting by most mainstream (WASP) criteria.
But Sister Betty re-establishes the fact that beauty is not only more than skin deep, it goes to the very core of who we are. It includes Betty’s personal advice to Eclectically Black women of all ages and origins -- African, African American, Caribbean.
But the most significant feature is that she’s coupled it with interviews and profiles of Black women between the ages of 76 and 101 years of age, who are Black, proud, and beautiful. Is the list exhaustive? No. We each know someone, whether in our family or in our community who have defied the so-called accepted concepts about age and beauty, and maintained their youth, dignity, grace.
Among the women she included in the book are Dr. Adelaide Sanford, educator, and former New York State Regent, who is 84 years old; Agnes “Brooksy” Brooks, age 93; educator and cultural activist Nana Camille Yarborough, ?? Years old; actress Cecily Tyson, 76 years; the late Lena Horne, who lived to age 94; vocalist extraordinaire Aretha Franklin, ?? Years; and sister Lina Moore age 101; Sylvia Stokes, age 76; Mae Lewis, age 89.
In this book is the wisdom of ages being shared by a woman who walks her talk. Sister Betty Dopson is a natural beauty, who has maintained her beauty and her figure, while at the same time heading a proactive organization CEMOTAP, (Committee to Eliminate Media Offensive To African People) to protect us from invective media hype and onslaught of negativity that has been leveled at Black people from the day we were stolen from Africa and dragged kicking and screaming to these hostile shores.
Sister Betty is more than well aware of the distortions and lies that have been promulgated about Black women in the mainstream media; the false advertisements; the never ending barrage of crapola that passes for commercials that cause us to eat the wrong foods, chose cosmetics over natural beauty, and behavior patterns that don’t serve our highest and best good.
Sister Betty’s wisdom of ages is interlaced throughout each and every chapter, packed with advice for us no what our age, no matter where we find ourselves on the chronology of life. In fact, one of the first things she advises is that we stop lying about our age, and be proud of our ages regardless of what others may think.
And it truly is about time a candid, conversational, down to earth examination of what it is that we can do to mature, rather than just age, or get older. We’ve been mis-educated from a Eurocentric standpoint, which is counterintuitive to who we are genetically, culturally, and racially. Instead of celebrating our beauty and qualities, the mainstream has devoted most of its time to either denigrating us, or stealing our knowledge and appropriating it as though the concepts started with them.
This book is more a good study than it is just a great read -- and it is indeed a great read. Getting a peek into the lives of such great women, how they managed to stay so eternally beautiful -- look at Dr. Sanford, who dresses so beautifully, with those wonderful high cheekbones, and not a wrinkle on her face; or Viola Plummer, who is definitely an Ebony queen (no false eyelashes, no bleached blonde hair, no wigs here!) She also pays homage to First Lady Michelle Obama, who, she asserts, broke the mold for standards of Black femininity.
Issues such as whether or not going “blonde” really enhances who we are as Black women; concerns about dietary supplements, certain types of cosmetics, as well things that affect your mental, physical and spiritual health, are also included.
This book could not have come at a better time, with so many of our young women going down a path that is both hostile and negative; so full of hatred for their own people that their mannerisms toward their elders, and each other, borders on the confrontational.
In 1966 Stokely Carmichael enunciated the famous phrase, “Black is Beautiful!” Since then there has been a not-so-silent revolution going on among Black people; and SHARED SECRETS OF ELDER SISTERS is the culmination of at least 40 years of a struggle for the hearts and minds of Black people to love themselves, and enhance what it is that we have so naturally, rather than abandoning it for other standards.
Other highlights include: Sharp Tongue and Attitude: Nothing Ages You Faster Than A Wicked Tongue; Melanin Cannot be Manufactured; Sisters Suffer More Intense Public Degradation; We Live in a Racist World; Aging is Natural and It Does Bring About Physical Changes; Don’t Hide Behind Excuses; Face and Conquer Your Fears; Search Your Soul and Find Out Who You Are.
Sister Betty extols our skin tones, full lips, wide baby-carrying hips, thick, dark hair, almond shaped eyes -- all attributes of our African beauty heritage, which became popular during the 60’s. It was during this period of Black power that we began to really focus on things African, and our residual African nature; wear clothes that more accentuated our figures, hair styles than enhanced our faces, walk more proudly, and wear jewelry that was more organic and reflective of our natural origins. We began learning the languages, dances, music, and customs of our African ancestors. We began tracing our African roots and routes.
In many instances, while we were becoming more in tuned with our African heritage, many of our African sisters (and brothers) were trying to look more European. So we had Black women from Africa wearing wigs, while we African Americans were going natural or wearing corn rows (they are not “French Braids“, by the way - the French had nothing to do with that African hair style); or extensions. Interesting contrast, what? SHARED SECRETS will be as useful for them as it is for African Americans born and raised in the Diaspora.
In fact SHARED SECRETS picks up the continuity of where most of us were before we were so rudely interrupted by the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and this current new millennium, with bombardments of the direct antithesis of all that brought us together as a people. So intense has been the brainwashing, CEMOTAP’s focus on combating it has been a 24/7 responsibility.
SHARED SECRETS OF ELDER SISTERS should be a primer for women (and men) of all ages; but would be an excellent entre for pre-teens (as well as their own mothers, who are often the victims of media hype themselves). But it is an essential for those of us who are most assuredly planning to be here at least until age 100, and who may have already crossed the line of demarcation.
While we are all individuals, with our own personal issues and attributes, I think SHARED SECRETS has something for each and every one of us. And to make it even more action oriented, Sister Betty has included a helpful questionnaire to assist you in determining where you are (or need to be) on the continuum of ageless beauty. Her “Successful Sister Scale” can help the reader rate herself in how serious she is about living life to the fullest at least for a century.
Additionally, her “Age Busting Beauty Tips”, which I think should be framed and hung next to the mirror either in your bedroom or your bathroom (or both), are a must have.
I, for one, will be rolling around with this book for the next few weeks, adding to the repertoire of wisdom I’ve already gleaned from my beautiful mom, Ruby Love Dulan who, at 87, is still energetic, beautiful and sharp; my aunt Mary, her older sister, who at 88 drives a beautiful gold Cadillac Brougham and is living and thriving in Los Angeles. As a kid my maternal Grandmom Cornelia Gaines (a Cherokee beauty) and my paternal Grandmom Zady Dulan (Crow and Black), both beautiful women, taught me about cornstarch, baking soda, and herbs. In truth, we are surrounded by so many living, breathing examples of the old saying, “good Black don’t crack.”
Sister Betty states: “In order for a Sister to live a long, healthy, successful and purposeful life, she must maintain a healthy mental state, good personal health, a sense of humor, a cheerful personality, maintain good relationships with family and friends, enjoy sex, love a bunch of people and believe that she will live to reach the age of 100. “
While the media marvels on the likes of several white actresses who have made it to the age of 60, other timeless beauties, such as Sylvia Woods (83), owner and founder of Sylvia‘s Queen of Soul Food Restaurant, and former City Council rep, Una Clarke (??), are putting us (and them) to shame. While they may not have been included in the book, they definitely are well respected (loved), alive, well, active, involved and gorgeous. I often ask them the same question I posed to sister Betty Dopson and Adelaide Sanford: “What are your beauty secrets? How do you manage to maintain your youth; where did you get that fabulous outfit? I just love that jewelry! Where’d you get those shoes!! I love that hat!”
Now, with Sister Betty Dopson’s book, SHARED SECRETS OF ELDER SISTERS WHO PROVE THAT AGE IS JUST A NUMBER I finally have an answer to those questions and so much more.
Check it out for yourselves. Look for Sister Betty Dopson this weekend, July 17 & 18, 2010, at the Harlem Book Fair, where she will be reading excerpts from her book and signing autographs.
Also check for other Black writers who will be participating in this wonderful annual event that showcases Black authors. It takes place on 135ths Street, from Malcolm X Blvd. to Fredrick Douglass.
Stay Blessed & ECLECTICALLY BLACK Gloria Dulan-Wilson
