For Father’s Day, I’d like to tell the story about the worst line-up a barber ever gave me. To understand how it happened, you have to 1st understand the respect people in Birmingham had for my father. Thread...

my father’s resume in civil rights journalism is very unsung. Alabama State University posthumously honored him for his contrubutions to the campus over the years. This snippet from their tribute video summates a lot.

If no time for the video here are some bullet points. From the front lines he covered:
* the South African Soweto race riots
* the Rhodesia/Zimbabwe civil war
* Vietnam w/ black platoons on the front lines who were dying faster than white soldiers.
* radio show w/ Ernie Banks

My dad was the first news director at Chicago's black run new station WVON. He also hired Don Cornelius. THEN gave Done $500 to help get 'Soul Train' off the ground. THEN turned down a producer cred . Thankfully @BET that part out of @AmericanSoulBET but did show how they met

This gives you an idea of why ppl in Birmingham had such of respect for my father. My barber was a man my father met in Vietnam, Pete Stone. Pete cut my hair for free out of respect for something my father did for him in Vietnam. I'll never know what. Dad took that to his grave

My father did not allow me to get any of the cool haircuts. The most I was allowed to have was a part. And I couldn't have two or three like MC Hammer. I got a caesar w/ a one guard and a part on the left. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. year after year.

So one year, pops was outta town on a speaking engagement. I decided I wanted to grow a high top fade. I informed Pete Stone of this decision to which he simply asked "Does yo daddy know you doing this?" I lied and said 'yes." The next day was school day pictures. BOOM--

My pops got back to crib Sunday saw my head, and lost his shit. He called Pete, and there was a little bit of back and forth and my pops hung up and simply said, "get in the car" Pete Stone offered to open his shop on a SUNDAY to fix my head. Respect.

Only the sound of '60 Minutes' filled the air as Pete Stone went to work on my head. When he was done. My dad looked Pete sternly in the eyes and said "A THAT IS HOW YOU WILL CUT HIS HAIR!" he said it in that same tone of Will Smith 'FROM NOW ON THATS HOW YOU DRIVE" in 'Bad Boys'

Pete handed me the mirror, I looked at my mangled head. There was no way this was an accident. Pete Stone is a Birmingham Barbering legend. he LITERALLY Teaches barbering classes. As My pops left the room. Pete leaned in & whispered "that's for lying to me lil nygga"

He legit cut my hair with his eyes closed and my father sat there and let him do it. All because I wanted to look like Kid-N-Play .... fail.

My father loved cameras. Once or twice a month I got to tag along as he hit camera shops & pawn shops to see what'd come in. He' father is smiling so hard because he found a used (then state of the art) Canon Photura. I clearly could give a shit less. Happy Father's Day

lastly. Another snippet of the Alabama State tribute vid. including the parts about Don Cornelius and my father's @NABJ Lifetime achievement award.

Please consider donating to Black Lives Matter Birmingham & ‘I Believe in Birmingham’ two organizations that stand for things my father deeply believed in https://www.gofundme.com/f/BLM-bham