In Rotation: Tomika Anderson
Tomika Anderson
Freelance Journalist
Brooklyn NY
My background: I've held editorial jobs at MTV News, Time Inc. and Essence, and now I'm working for myself. I'm still writing about entertainment, but I'm also adding a more socio-political spin to my work, writing about things I really care about (the state of Black America, AIDS in our community and African countries in crisis).
Musicians that move me: Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, Tupac, dead prez, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Marvin Gaye, Celia Cruz, Lauryn Hill, Prince, Chaka Khan, Anita Baker, and Erykah Badu.
Magazines I dig: Time and O Magazine. Oprah) Magazine is the sh*t! No kidding...there's no other magazine out there more devoted to whole, healthy, centered and complete living than this one.
Most humbling moments: Getting laid off from my very first job; meeting Muhammed Ali and Stevie Wonder.
Scariest moments: The day my baby brother went off to fight the war in Afghanistan; Being trapped near the border of Iraq during the Persian Gulf War (I'm an army brat).
Happiest moment: When I beat all those other hungry college grads for an internship at Vibe magazine, where I got my start (shout-out to Kenya Byrd, my original mentor; also Shaheem Reid and Mark Allwood, my fellow interns)
Books that have changed me: Manchild in a Promised Land, Invisible Man, Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue, The Miseducation of the Negro, We Were The Mulvaneys, and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
Must-see TV: "Six Feet Under," "The Sopranos," "Making of The Band," anything on New York-1 (as in the channel)
And my Academy Award goes to: Best Actor-Denzel Washington in The Hurricane (I'm still salty about that loss), Best Movie-The Color Purple (ditto for this one), Best Actress-Ellyn Burstyn in Requiem For a Dream (that crazy old-lady act really had me!)
My kind of folk: People who don't apologize for who and what they are. People who make it a point to tell the truth, regardless of the consequences. People who don't give up on their dreams. People who vote, mentor kids, laugh long and hard and live life fully.
I'm a sucker for: First Fridays at the Brooklyn Museum, a trip to Coney Island (as filthy as it is), sunflowers, yogurt parfaits (with lots of strawberries or blueberries), my terror-baby/cat Winnie and "Ne Me Quitte Pas" sung by Nina Simone.
Guilty pleasures: Putting the soundtrack to The Color Purple on repeat, sleep marathons on Sunday morning/afternoon/evening, Bob's (that hole-in-the-wall bar down on Staunton Street), Apple pie a la mode, and chat rooms on AOL.
Movies I'll never get tired of: Juice, Finding Nemo, Lord of the Rings (1-3), The Usual Suspects, The Joy Luck Club, Menace to Society, Six Degrees of Separation, and Fight Club.
Favorite travel spots: Casablanca, Morocco; Acapulco, Mexico; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Berlin, Germany; Istanbul, Turkey; Paris, France; Amsterdam; Brussels, Belgium--too many to name.
Websites of choice: Those of your typical freelance writer like Mediabistro.com, journalismjobs.com and craigslist.com
Food I can't live without: My mother's homemade German chocolate cake and caramel brownies. Day-yum!
Stress Free Spots: Prospect Park, my girl Tamara's house in Spanish Harlem, the lake near my parents' house in Virginia, my balcony in Brooklyn (okay, my fire escape!)
Favorite colors: Orange, red and turquoise.
What keeps me sane: Reading. Writing. Talking. Thinking---all the time. LOL
The wackest sh*t out there: Not to preach, but...industry folks who don't give a damn about anything except finding a way into their next party. With all that's going on in the world, are our lives really that empty?
Things I obsess about: The friendships I've cultivated, the quality of my work, and my own happiness.
My motto: What you do in the dark always comes to the light.
Future Plans: To write a book about sexual assault in the black community. To visit South Africa--maybe even move there for awhile. To get married, raise some righteous, nappy-headed children, keep writing and eventually retire in Barbados.
Message Tomika Anderson and tell her what you think
« What's In Your Deck? #3 The Herbert Holla »
The 2-Way
Replies: 9
posted by: Audio Assassin @ 04/28/04: 04:04 PM EST
Keep putting it down. I'm looking forward to reading your work
posted by: bridgette @ 04/28/04: 10:10 PM EST
hey tomika,
i'm glad to see you're still doing your thing - it's bridgette formerly of ecp... congrats and keep it up, i was so happy to see your pic and read your piece! :-)
posted by: Greg Caldwell @ 04/29/04: 08:08 AM EST
Tomika,
Glad to see another "ESSENCE-baby" still doing their thing. I didn't know all of this about you. We should have hung out more while I was in NYC!! LoL
I've since moved to the ATL and working on creating/living my reality through music.
Stay true to you, sis. Sounds, reads, and feels beautiful.
peace
posted by: Chi_Honey @ 04/29/04: 09:09 AM EST
A woman after my own heart! God bless and keep up the good work!!
posted by: dreadmedia @ 04/29/04: 12:12 PM EST
Sounds good
posted by: Epee @ 04/29/04: 03:03 PM EST
Do your thing baby. It's always good to see your articles !
posted by: Johnny Neumatic @ 04/29/04: 04:04 PM EST
Congrats on all that you have accomplished Tomika.
posted by: Tomika @ 04/29/04: 06:06 PM EST
Thank you dearly for the love Audio, Bridgette, Greg, Chi, Dread, Epee and Johnny. :-) Much respect.
posted by: Nicole Duncan-Smith @ 04/30/04: 08:08 AM EST
There are few women in the industry that have the ability to walk into any circle and bring sunshine to the conversation: You are one of the few.
There are few people in this world that always offer a kind inclusive smile and are intuitive to ask & really care about how you are doing: Again, you are in the number.
We always talk about getting up (never do) but our cordialness speaks volumns: I like to think queens recognize other queens.
Best of luck in all you do.
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