This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a luncheon in which the Mistress of ceremony was none other than Kalyn Chapman James, the former Miss Alabama who spoke about her conflicted feelings regarding the shooter at the Dallas rally [for peace]. Although she spoke about the aftermath of her statement, she chose not to dwell on it, and spoke positively about women, wealth, and wisdom. The affair – for that is what it was, with all the women in their signature little black dress (thank you, Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s!) and pearls – was stylish, fresh, and tres chic!

The Keynote Speaker was Ms. Traci Otey Blunt, Executive Vice president of Corporate Marketing and Corporate Affairs for RLJ entertainment. The format of the speech she gave was as an interview, in which Ms. James was the hostess and Ms. Blunt the guest. The discussion ranged from weight (both women are quite slim) to color (both are what we in Mississippi would call ‘light skinned’) and how the latter may have affected their careers. Neither thought it did but a very beautiful, dark-skinned black woman immediately thought that her color might have been a detriment in her past. Will it ever end, this color distinction we have among ourselves? I can answer in one word: no. And I’ll use a phrase a colleague used when denying another colleague tenure: I shall say no without narrative.

Why was I there, really? Well, the food was good, and free. The table company was good. I bought a beautiful clutch purse. And I passed out as many postcards as I could about my four novels, asking the recipients to consider them, and that they were on Kindle, available from Amazon, etc. So, it is fervently hoped that a few of those women in their little black dress and stunning pearls will buy my novels!

We converged in unity and solidarity. Now, just go get those novels, girls, go get those novels!