"Practice What You Preach" by Nina Kennedy

By

Practice What You Preach

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Practice What You Preach

Author        Nina Kennedy
Country      United States
Language   English
Subject       Autobiography, American                                       history, classical music, sexism,                             homophobia, race relations,                                   filmmaking
Published   January 2022
Publisher    RoseDog Books, an imprint of                              Dorrance Publishing                                              Company
Media type  Print
Pages          363
ISBN            978-1-63661-011-5              
Practice What You Preach: Book 2 of the Practicing for Love Series is the continuation of the 2019 nonfiction autobiography written by Nina Kennedy and published by RoseDog Books. It is about her life and experiences as a former child prodigy and the daughter of college professors, her career as a concert pianist, and her attempt to escape from American racism. 
The book continues the story of Nina's adventures in New York City, and her return to Europe where she resides in Vienna, Cologne, and Paris.
Early in the book, Nina receives news of her mother's death and must return to Nashville for the funeral. While cleaning out her parents' house, she unearths material for a documentary film which she spends the next six years producing. That film, Matthew Kennedy: One Man's Journey - on the life of her father who was a concert pianist and director of the world-renowned Fisk Jubilee Singers - becomes an award-winning hit at international film festivals.
Producing the film was a labor of love and solidified her father's place in history; however, it was not enough to win his approval. He continued to fight her every step along the way, and to argue with every decision she made. It also became clear that he refused to acknowledge the fact that her mother was an alcoholic, and verbally abusive to both of them.

While in the U.S., Nina becomes involved with an African diplomat who forces her to come to grips with new levels of sexism, homophobia, and anti-Americanism that permeate many African cultures. She learns to appreciate her national identity in a new light, in spite of the American racism that has victimized her family for generations. The encounter teaches her "...just how privileged we are as LGBTQ Americans, and that all Africans are not necessarily our allies just because they're black."
On March 19, 2022, Chadra Pittman of The Sankofa Projects and Michelle Brown of Collections by Michelle Brown Podcast presented a "virtual" Zoom book launch celebrating Women's HerStory Month, which will be broadcast on The Noshing with Nina Show on Manhattan Neighborhood Network in May of 2022.

"Not only is Nina Kennedy a renowned classical pianist, but she now reveals her versatile talent as a marvelously engaging memoirist."
                   - Ann Allen Shockley, author of Loving Her

Practice What You Preach is available at infemnity.com/shop.

Categories:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nina Kennedy's "Practicing for Love: A Memoir" is Nominated for 2021 Lambda Literary Award

By
Image
  On March 15th, the Associated Press announced the finalists for the 2021 Lambda Literary Awards. Practicing for Love: A Memoir by Nina Kennedy is nominated in the Lesbian Memoir/Biography category. Kennedy is the only African-American author nominated in this category. Lambda Literary has championed LGBTQ books and authors f or over 30 years. To quote their website : " We believe that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer literature is fundamental to the preservation of our culture, and that LGBTQ lives are affirmed when our stories are written, published, and read." The announcement of the finalists as reported by the Associated Press  has appeared in Publishers Weekly , Kirkus Book Reviews , NYU Press, among other publications. Meshell Ndegeocello Finalists and winners will be celebrated in a virtual award ceremony on Tuesday, June 1st, 2021, which will feature a performance by  Meshell Ndegeocello , along with other guests. Nina Kennedy is a world-renowned conc
Read more

Remembrances of the Clit Club

By
Image
The first time I tried to enter the Clit Club, I didn't even make it inside. A beautiful young lady picked me up right there at the entrance, and took me back to her apartment. A few weeks later when I actually made it all the way inside, I saw that the atmosphere was highly sexualized. Topless dancers shook their stuff on the stage, on top of the bar, and on various elevated platforms. When I ventured downstairs, women were dancing, grinding, making out and making love in dark corners. Hostesses Julie Tolentino (made famous by the photo montage with her partner Alistair and Madonna in the book Sex ) and Jocelyn Taylor (aka Jaguar Mary) gave birth to the infamous party in the Meatpacking District, where celebrities including Debbie Harry and Madonna were often spotted. Photographer Lola Flash was behind the bar, and often displayed slides of her photographs on the walls. There was usually a line of people waiting to get in, and the dancefloor was normally so packed that we could ha
Read more

JOI CARDWELL at Club Bonafide

By
Image
How long have we been waiting for the return of Joi Cardwell? Well the "Dancehall Diva" is back with a vengeance, with a new album titled Cambia (Change). Last Tuesday at Club Bonafide on East 52nd Street, in what she called "a one - rehearsal gig”, Joi treated us to new songs as well as old hits with her band, including James Preston on keyboards, Yance Drew Lambert on drums, Enrique Mancia on bass, and assisted by soprano Charlotte Small, percussionist Jimmy Lopez, and violinist Ali Bello. What a night! What a party!! Vegan Shoes by Melissa Always socially conscious and enlightening, from telling us "You've got to pray!", down to the fabulous vegan shoes by Melissa, Joi rocked the house moving us to jump out of our seats and dance in the aisles. We all certainly remember her club hit "Jump for Joi." A veteran of the music biz, we have heard Joi Cardwell's voice as background singer for Melba Moore, Jermaine Jackson, LL Cool J, an
Read more