Author Archives: mdixonvmg

Clarence Thomas’s “Pull Yourself Up by Your Bootstraps” In an interview many years back Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas admonished black folks and told them they need to not look to others but better yet, pull themselves up by their bootstraps.  The problem is many of us don’t have boots.  So much has been takenContinue reading “Clarence Thomas’s “Pull Yourself Up by Your Bootstraps””

Why I am Happy I begin each day being thankful that God  has allowed me to see another day.  I am happy that I continually wake up with my health, my strength and my right mind.  The hustle and grind of our daily activities sometimes causes us to not take note of the things inContinue reading “Why I am Happy”

Elder Respect There used to be a time, especially in the African American community when elders were held in high esteem.  Parents taught their children to respect older adults and those in positions of authority. Now it is not uncommon for young people to use profanity, assault and generally disrespect their elders.  Just recently standingContinue reading “Elder Respect”

Haters Let’s talk about haters.  They are all around you.  They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.  They can be a friend, a family member, a co-worker, or a church member.  The list goes on and on.  Sometimes they are quite elusive. Some are chameleons and the side of them that you see isContinue reading “Haters”

Quality of Life Wikipedia defines the quality of life by many standard indicators that include wealth, employment, the environment, mental and physical health, education, and recreation. Having and maintaining a decent quality of life during one’s golden years requires advanced preparation. While growing up in the seventies and eighties my parent’s way of preparing myContinue reading “Quality of Life”

Rolling Fork Mississippi Before March 26, 2023, I had never heard of Rolling Fork Mississippi until this name (Rolling Fork) was appearing on local as well as national news broadcasts. This very small community of 1,883 people was the victim of a catastrophic storm that decimated the town. Our purpose at VMGReview is to inspire,Continue reading “Rolling Fork Mississippi”

Bad times, Seek Better Growing up around Springtime I always heard “March winds and April showersbring May flowers”. The Cherokee name for the moon in March is “windy moon”.The elders often spoke using proverbs, which are short sayings that express ageneral truth or advice. Now I will expound on a “wind related” proverb. It states,“it’sContinue reading “Bad Times, Seek Better”

Hip Hop Culture Hip Hop originated in New York around 1970 as the brainchild of DJ Kool Hero. Artists utilizedtheir hip-hop talents to express their inner feelings regarding police brutality concerns.Gangster rap emerged on the scene in the 1990s. Gangster rap artists depicted misogyny,violence, drug dealing, and degradation of women among other things as aContinue reading “Hip Hop Culture”

The American Dream is Fading As I look around at all of the neighborhoods of color in Atlanta, I see a subversive force movingin and changing things. These changes are not for the best. There are investors coming, buyinghomes, investing a small amount of money, and painting a lot of the brick homes gray. AfterContinue reading “The American Dream is Fading”

Retirement My parents were not educated in financial planning, but they did share with me things they were taught.They said to me “get a job, pay your bills, save as much as you can, and you’ll receive social security”.Many of you reading this article probably heard similar things from your parents.The reality is that planningContinue reading “Retirement”