What Mama Taught Me
The Seven Core Values of Life
By Tony Brown.  

     Tony Brown is the host/producer of the longest running show on the PBS network, Tony Brown's Journal. His show has been in the forefront of Black journalism for over 20 years and has received critical acclaim and national sponsorship from leading companies. All of his hard work and effort he now publicly attributes to his mama, Ms. Elizabeth Sanford, whom he calls an angel. Mr. Brown has always maintained a private life, separate from his public persona and this book, What Mama Taught Me is a glimpse of what makes him so successful. Not strictly classified as an autobiography, the epitaphs he learned through his 12 short years with his mother and the mentors found in his "separate but equal" education in Charleston, West Virginia have propelled him to where he is today.

     The Seven Core Values of Life, as he terms them, were deeply moving to me. What a person thinks of oneself starts at a young age and is molded by what is around to guide him. Mr. Brown was the last child of five, born to a couple who themselves, were products of hatred within their own race, based on color. As an infant, he was near death when his mama, no blood relation, came to rescue him. She had immeasurable love to share with him, (one of the core values of life). It was through this example and her deep-seated religious belief that love has no color, and that deep down 99.6% of our makeup is genetically identical, that Mr. Brown transcended the box society tried to place him in. Mr. Brown became instrumental in organizing the largest peace march that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. participated in and from there, he has grown in popularity and stature in the African American community.

     What Mama Taught Me is wonderfully written. The journalistic, matter-of-fact style makes it an easy and absorbing read. I can hear the same mantras which were told to me as a child: trust, love, honesty, purpose, being true to yourself, and keeping the faith, all make a person better to themselves. Loving oneself is the true catalyst toward being a productive and worthy member of society. These are such valuable lessons to learn as a child and to practice throughout adulthood.