Martin Luther King, Jr.

Some Memorable Quotes:
"Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think." -MLKJ

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'..." -MLKJ

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." -MLKJ

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom." -MLKJ

My Reflection: 
 If it were not for people like Martin Luther King, Jr., I would not be able to live as freely as I can now. Because of people like him, I can attend college and be what I desire to be. Because of people like him, I can have interracial relationships of all kinds and be treated with the equal respect a white woman would receive. It is people like him who put forth in motion the change needed to unite all races of people. If only this man had lived longer. As much as this man has sacrificed, I still feel that we as a people need to do better. If I were brought up back in the day just walking down the street I would have been verbally abused by white men...but it is as if the tables have turned because today if I walk down the street I get verbally abused by my black men. What's up with that? People talk about change being needed every day, but the truth of the matter is that we have to be the change we seek just as Mr. King would want.

Haiti Disaster Relief

My heart and prayers go out to those effected by this tragic event and as painful as it is to see these photos I'm hoping that as rich a nation that we are we can make a huge difference. I remember when my "okay" house burned down December 16th, 2008 we lost almost everything. But through donations, insurance, and restoration our house is better than it was before. My point is that sometimes it takes a disaster to open the eyes of others and to make a difference.

Click on this blog's title to get footage on what happened and what's going on. Also, you can click here as well:
Haiti Disaster Blog

How You Can Help:

The Red Cross started a program today allowing the public to donate $10 by texting “Haiti” to 90999. Music artist Wyclef Jean is also running a mobile donation campaign for his charity Yele. If you text ‘Yele’ to 501 501, $5 dollars will be donated. Both programs automatically add the charges to your cellphone bill.

Also, if you have clothing that you cannot fit or do not wear anymore please don't throw it away! Call the Salvation Army. What you may consider "trash" could be someone else's "treasure"

Please be careful of online relief and charity scams! It's sad that people would even try to take advantage of the disaster by running false charities.

ATE Clothing Online

Sooo I've been supporting ATE since my ending Freshmen year at VCU in 2008 because the mission behind it is sincere and the logo is pretty sweet. Plus the guy who began the ATE movement (Esmel Meeks) is pretty down-to-earth. I could sit here and type of a whole history of the line, BUT this excerpt from the Info portion of the site sums it up. Also, to go to the site just click the title of this post. =)

"ATE, the acronym for Ancient Thread Empire, is a newly launched high-end street wear brand that is rapidly making noise in both the local and mainstream fashion realms. Established by Esmel Meeks, a Virginia Beach native and a fashion entrepreneurship major at Virginia Commonwealth University, the ATE label aims to carry on the legacy of the pioneering street wear brands while encouraging an innovation and influential originality of its own. ATE prides itself on guaranteeing quality over quantity by taking calculated time to utilize only the finest threads, to hand-sew every tag, and to ensure all garments are printed in the United States. The fashion style of ATE aims to be the beacon of individuality, inspiration, and growth.

ATE is much more than a clothing line: Our mission is to not only provide the world with a fresh element of fashion by any means necessary, but to pursue philanthropy for the people with an equal amount of passion and dedication. With each transaction of ATE merchandise, a percentage of that sale will automatically be contributed to our very own Achievement Through Education Foundation, which provides tuition scholarship for underprivileged students. Our clientele look good but feel even better about our product knowing they benefited a powerful cause. In essence, ATE personifies the fusion of style, generosity, and education. We are the product of fashion’s ever-evolving, diverse culture and the influential youth of the past and present generations.

Inspiration: ATE’s conceptual roots originated from biblical scripture. When Eve “ATE” the apple in the Garden of Eden, Mankind and thus clothing were spawned.

Genesis 3:6-7, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ATE™ it. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they realized they were naked.”

Thanks, Eve!

Enjoy ATEclothing.com— the site of fashion, exclusive interviews with the artistically influential elite, updates of the brand’s charitable benefactions, and progress."

-Copyrights to ATEClothing.com