So, I met Ben Jealous in VIP at AFRAM on Saturday. It happened like this, I was chatting with my bestie Monica about something stupid. We were in the VIP tent talking about alcohol, or something. Anyway, before I knew what happened, I looked away from Mon and saw a tall super fair-skinned man that looked familiar. But, I couldn't place him. Before I could fake like I wasn't staring, he turned to me and stuck his hand out to introduce himself. "Hi, I'm Ben Jealous. I'm running for governor." The smarty-pants that I am, the only response I could think to say was, "I had heard that. Nice to meet you." I'm such a little snot. Anyway, he went on to compliment my name and my glasses saying they reminded him of the glasses Malcolm X wore. I thought that comment was weird, but Mon said that seemed on message for a him given his background. Politics aside, he seemed pretty relatable in person. He had his kids and someone was with him that looked like a cousin who also had his kids in tow. Mayor Pugh came in and chatted him up for a while before he went back to hovering around the general area where we met. There were these cozy white-cushioned seats near Mon and me which were empty. So, it was a perfect place to plant his and his cousins kids while they ate. Mon and I just kept it classy and went back to our own little world and before we knew it, the whole entourage was gone. I saw him one more time that day when Mon and I decided to leave VIP for a second to check out the entire festival. He was working the crowd and his supporters were passing out campaign literature.
I don't know what November will bring, but I do know that I didn't see Governor Hogan at AFRAM...
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AuthorBae is a Baltimore-based art lover, foodie, music-head, history buff, and afro-futurism enthusiast. Archives
July 2018
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