My 1st Las Vegas Experience - Part 1

Peace & Blessing everyone,

I pray everyone had a great, safe new calendar year.  I spent New Year's in my new area but a couple days later, I was in Las Vegas to go see & hear Dr. Umar Johnson's Lecture.  If you don't know who this king is, don't worry, I'll be doing a whole feature on him very soon with information on how to donate to the school he's opening for young black boys.  He's such a humble dude, but I say he's the Malcolm X of our time so I must take my time when writing a feature on him; it must be correct and in order out of respect for this king, and his many accomplishments.  He makes me feel like I'm a slacker.

Don't wait for me though, feel free to Google him or check out his website at http://www.drumarjohnson.com/ and for those who already know of his work and want to donate, mail a check or money order to:  FDMG ACADEMY, PO BOX 6872, Philadelphia, PA 19132

Once I touched down, I found out there would be a meet and greet with Dr. Umar, a blood descendant of Frederick Douglass.  This was a treat because I flew in just for this event but to be able to sit in the room with him and have a private dialogue with a small group of folk was awesome. Guess what?  You have the opportunity to ask him anything even if you don't agree with what he's saying, the man listens to you and respectively converses with you.  Not many people can do that; especially when an individual is being emotional, and disrespectful but Dr. Umar keeps it cool, calm, and simple.

A person used the word hero worship on one of my posts, and I'd like to address that here once and for all on my forum.  When I see a person doing - working - nonstop to educate and equip our people to address the outcry of our young black children being wrongfully labeled, classified, and put onto medication, I pay attention.  I don't put all my focus on the person and their personal lives, I'm focused on their work and what they're doing in the community or their area of expertise.  One of the major problems in our community is the lack of supporting each other. If I can' support my brother or my sister then shame on me!  When one is doing something right then everyone will come out of the woodwork to discredit you and your work, but a soldier never gives up until they take that last breath. So, may God and the ancestors continue to bless you and give you strength to carry you on your journey Dr. Umar Johnson; we all have one.

His Facebook post under (Dr. Umar Ifatunde) shared the meet & greet information and paid respect to the Queen Mother Dr. Frances Cress Welsing.  Rest in Power Queen.

A beautiful sister named Bobbie opened her natural hair salon with her own line of products to the public for this great event; thank you Raw Remedies.  If you're ever in the Las Vegas area, and want your hair done then call and make an appointment at 702-303-9520.  It was an honor being around so many like minded folk that look just like you.  He's right, we need to get back to study groups in our community.

The meet & greet was from 10pm - 2am which was late right, and he had 2 lectures the next day; yet he came and sat with us for 4 hours.  That's a pretty big sacrifice that I don't see many others doing. It was such an honor to have a dialogue with him before the event that was scheduled the next day.

I know you curlies are wondering what I did with my hair.  After my last wash, I two strand twisted it from the roots then bantu knotted the ends.  I loved the result because my hair was full and curly! It got really big within hours though.

Before & After - Can I tell you how this Dashiki gave me life?! Yes, this queen was over the moon in her girlishness!

He takes pictures after the event, which is always a treat to us.  I know everyone else feels the same way because the long lines at the end of every event is proof.  Me included!!

One can ask anyone who has ever been to a lecture, and been in the presence of Dr. Umar Johnson, what was the presence or spirit like in the room?  The answer is always high energy and love for your fellow African people. I purposely wore royal blue because I knew I was going to be in the presence of royalty.  I'm not going to lie; I was a little intimidated.  I have to thank the king for giving me his seat when I walked in, especially since I decided to be brave and leave my back brace at the hotel. However, dudes seat was right next to Dr. Umar!!

Here is a before & after of my hair for the meet and greet.  I ended up putting in up in a loose ponytail before bed, and wore a high ponytail with a headband to the event.  Big hair don't care!

The lecture was absolutely amazing, and yes I got in line to take more pictures.  I'm no different from anyone else when it comes to capturing every moment of being around someone you respect. This time I asked for a usie, and he said yes!  My smile says it all.  I'm so grateful to be able to experience this movement because I'm a pan-Afrikanist who finally met the Prince of pan Afrikanism!  This was truly a treat.  Thank you God for this opportunity.

Part 2 of my Vegas experience up next.  Until next time......Shauntay