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VIDEO: Love is a beautiful thang…especially when you can genuinely witness it between two people. Barack & Michelle Obama have made a lasting impression in the hearts and minds of so many Americans. Love is good for the heart, mind, and soul and we just love watching it between Barack & Michelle. Enjoy this YT vid highlighting our fabulous President and his Queen Michelle!
VIDEO: How important is it for our children to learn to recognize and deal with how they are feeling? In my opinion….it is HUGE! At Brighter Choice Charter School For Girls that’s just what they are doing.
Every morning students literally check their emotions at the door by looking at a ‘mood meter.’ Are they happy, sad, in the blue zone or the red?
4th grade teacher Helen Danciu said, “Say somebody is in a bad mood. That’s clearly going to affect how they’re learning, a test grade or how they’re reading or if they’re understanding what they’re reading.”
We say Hats Off to to the work they are doing! This simple yet critical skill they are teaching is a straight up power move that many adults could stand to learn from….Check you emotions before you walk into the office…..that would be a great start!
“Sex addiction isn’t really about sex. Sex addicts realize that they’re using sex to numb out emotions, escape, feel powerful, loved, wanted, etc. It’s like how alochololics use booze to cope.
If you’ve never experienced it, you’re probably not going to understand.
If you don’t understand, you probably don’t want to believe it exists.
There’s a difference between having a high sex drive and being a sex addict. Look it up.”
“Society should get an award for being the best at labeling things. “addiction?” come on…addiction? this is just excessive brainstorming on how to diagnose MORE people with things to make MORE money. sure being addicted to the feeling you get during sex is very likely, but you should not be administered to rehabilitation for it. if “addiction” is a negative word then you shouldnt be labeled that either. and the word is mostly used to connect a problem with something. please try and send me to rehab being diagnosed with “addiction” to life, how would they treat me, with a gun? lol.”
“People judge what they can’t understand. How is it that we can understand “food addiction” or “shopping addiction” and the things that are happening emotionally and psychologically with people who have those addictions but with sex–where you receive one of the most powerful emotional and physiological feelings known to mankind– an ORGASM–you just can’t be addicted? Give me a break.”
“No woman can ever understand what it’s like to be a man. All men are sex addicts, or they aren’t healthy. Whether you control these animalistic compulsions is certainly going to affect how well adjusted you are to modern society, but claiming you have a problem with addiction is really just a cop-out for not being a stronger person. Most men relieve themselves daily, whether it’s manual or with a partner, and it’s been that way for centuries. One could argue that a strong sex drive means increased likelihood you’ll continue your bloodline. If a man has little or no drive, then he is not as likely to pass his genetic encoding on.”
These are some random comments about sex addiction we picked up from across the web. These comments reflect the great divide there is when it comes to how our society thinks about, approaches, and deals with sex addiction. Just last week they talked about sex addiction on The Today Show. Listen in below and then, as always, let us know what you think. Is sex addiction real or a just a lame excuse?
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by Aiyana Ma’at Β I am so happy that Janet Jackson is finding the strength and courage to truly know and love herself these days! Not only is she on the path of of love and self-acceptance but she’s sharing what some of her journey has been like with the world. For that I am grateful. I think that so many of us see a celebrity like Janet and think she’s got it going on, has no reeeal issues (like making ends meet, etc.), and she certainly can’t have self-esteem issues…as beautiful as she is.
But, Janet’s courage and recent words reinforce for me that we are ALL perfect imperfections. We are ALL hurt and broken in some way. We are ALL trying to make sense of our lives in some way. Some say the goal of adulthood is to get over and make sense of our childhood….no matter what your childhood was like. We are ALL in need of growth, insight, and in my opinion the love that only God can give that can heal like no other. Hats off to Janet for sharing her story! Everyone has a story to tell but many go to their grave with their story still untold. Will you tell your story—in some way or another. Somebody’s waiting for YOUR words and YOUR words only. ‘Cause I don’t have what you have and you don’t have what the next person has. We’ve all got our unique truth to tell. Don’t keep yours locked away!!
Check out an excerpt from Janet’s new book here:
“Itβs important that I present myself just as I am. So I must tell you right away that Iβm no expert. I have no psychic powers and I sure donβt possess any secret wisdom. Iβm just Janet. I have strengths, weaknesses, fears, happiness, sadness. I experience joy and I experience pain. Iβm highly emotional. Iβm very vulnerable. And, as anyone who knows me well will testify, Iβm extremely sensitive. I have lifelong patterns of behavior that have caused me difficultyβpatterns tough to break. Like everyone, I have talents, but with those talents have come challenges.
This book is about meeting the challenges that face all of us.
For more than three decades, Iβve struggled with yo-yo dieting. Some of my battles with weight have been very public. But most of them have been internal. Even at my thinnest, when my body was being praised, I wasnβt happy with what I saw in the mirror or how I felt about myself.”
βIβm loved, Iβm valued, and Iβm capable of achieving balance in my life. I can learn to eat well. I can exercise. I can express gratitude for the simple act of being able to breathe in and breathe out. I can move away from darkness and depression to light and hope. I can be happy with who I am, not what I should be, or what I might have been, or what someone tells me I must be.
I am me, the true me; you are you, the true youβand thatβs good. Thatβs beautiful. Thatβs enough.β
Janet was interviewed about True You by HLN’s Richelle Carey. That interview will air on HLN Sunday, February 20, 2011 at 7 and 10 p.m. ET. Mark your calendar! Buy her book HERE.
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It’s no secret that us Black folks have some things we have to work on. When looking at almost any segment of our community you’ll find that we lag behind where we shouldn’t or are far ahead when we shouldn’t be. We thought this article from The Atlanta Post was a thought provoking one. There’s so much to do, attend to, and clean up in our community. No one person or group can do it alone—that’s for sure.
However, as you look over these 8 areas of concern in our community ask yourself “Where I am helping?”, “What am I doing?”, “Where can I use my gifts to impact someone else?”. You know what we say over here family…we’ve gotta Stop Playing & Start Pushing. Each One. Teach One. Read this very sobering list and let’s all re-commit to DO OUR PART TO HEAL OURSELVES.
We Must Be The Change We Wish To See Β ~Mahatma Gandhi
According to a recent study published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in February 2011, βAlthough blacks make up only 13.6 percent of the U.S. population, they account for 50.3 percent of all diagnosed cases of HIV. Additionally, the rate of HIV diagnosis among black men is eight times that of whites and two times that of Hispanics, and the rate for black women is 19 times that of whites and four times that of Hispanics.β
According to a recent study conducted by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University, βThe wealth disparity between white and black households has more than quadrupled, regardless of income bracket.β Predicated on economic data from 1984 to 2007, the IASP study indicated that the average white family in the sample group held around $95,000 more in assets than the average black family. Additionally, the study found that middle-income white families have more assets (stocks, bonds, business interests, real estate other than primary residence) than do high-income black families.
Single Mothers
According to the most recent government figures from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, β72 percent of black mothers are unwed which eclipses that of most other groups: 17 percent of Asians, 29 percent of whites, 53 percent of Hispanics and 66 percent of Native Americans.β To be sure, these statistics do not imply that babies born to unwed mothers will be unsuccessful or devoid of opportunities. However, the data does bespeak of the need for more fathers in the home who are involved in their childβs life.
According to the US Department of Education, βNearly half of the nationβs African American students attend high schools in low-income areas with dropout rates that hover in the 40-50% range.β βDropout factoriesβ (i.e., high schools that routinely have senior classes with 60% fewer students than their entering freshmen classes) are estimated to produce 73% of African American, 66% of Latino, and 34% of White dropouts, respectively.
According to a relatively recent graduation rate report from the Education Sector, an independent think tank, βFewer than half of the black students who enroll in college graduate from four-year institutions within six years. Nationally, the average six-year graduation rate for all students is 57 percent.β
Moreover, a 2009 Associated Press analysis of government data on the 83 federally designated four-year HBCUs indicated that only 37 percent of their black students finish a degree within six years, which is 4 percentage points lower than the national college graduation rate for black student
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, βThe racial composition of the US prison and jail population as of 2008 was 60.21% (African American (non-Hispanic), 20.29% Hispanic, 13.44% White American (non-Hispanic) , and 6.06% Other (American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander American, and Multiracial American).β
Relative to black on black crime, the most recent government statistics indicated that β43% of all murder victims in 2007 were African American, 93.1% of whom were killed were African Americans.β
According to recent US Census Bureau data, β24.7% of all African-American live in poverty in comparison to 8.6% of all non-Hispanic White, 11.8% of all Asian-American and 23.2% of all Hispanic.β The Labor Department statistics still show the current unemployment rate among blacks hovering around 16 percent, although the economy as a whole has shown some improvement.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control Health Disparities and Inequalities Report (Jan. 2011), βBlack women and men have much higher coronary heart disease (CHD) death rates in the 45β74 age group than women and men of other races. A higher percentage of black women (37.9%) than white women (19.4%) died before age 75 as a result of CHD, as did black men (61.5%) compared with white men (41.5%). And, a higher percentage of black women (39%) died of stroke before age 75 compared with white women (17.3%) as did black men (60.7%) compared to white men (31.1%). β
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We just learned about this amazing independent movie that is taking the world by storm through a grass-roots campaign to spread the message of this film across the globe. We are particularly excited about this film not only because of its message of unity and being open-minded but also because the maker of this film is a young brother simply known as “Q” (Qasim Basir) who has used social media and word of mouth methods to spread the word of the awesome work he is doing.
Taken from “Mooz-lum” The Movie’s Facebook Page:
We’re making a movie that we hope will offer a different perspective on Muslims/Islam than what is normally portrayed. As a result, opening the minds & hearts of millions.
With your help we will create a grass roots marketing campaign that will ensure the success of this film before it’s release. This page is yours as much as it is ours. We want all of our supporters to get involved and make this a vibrant, interactive and fun journey to the finish line… And when the movie does come out, it will be a win for us all.
The crew behind this film consists of many different religions, cultures & nationalities. We’re not trying to push anything on anyone… We just have a story to tell.
Please take the time to watch the trailer above, visit the official website, Β Fan the Facebook Page, and buy a ticket and see the movie in your town. Let’s support the movie, its’ message, and the man behind it. Learn more on Mooz-lum’s Wikipedia Page.
It’s in select theaters: 2.11.2011 (February 11, 2011) in the following cities:
Atlanta
Chicago
Dallas
DC
Detroit
Houston
Los Angeles
New York
Philly
San Francisco
We were recently interviewed by L.A.-based premier community newspaper Our Weekly for an article focusing on “Real Love & Spirituality”. In it we talk about how important spiritual work is in trying to create and maintain a good and healthy relationship. We said that Yes, love makes you feel all warm & fuzzy but real love challenges, grows, helps, and matures individuals within a relationship.
Check out the article here: Valentine’s Day. When Love Is Special As Well As Spiritual: The Ma’t’s Advocate Real Love
This article written by Colbert I. King really left an impression on me. It really made me look at the condition of the African American Family today….where we’ve been and where we are now. And, to be honest it just made me sad. It made me sad yet more committed than ever to continue doing the work that my husband and I do. We have to. We just can’t afford to keep going down this path as a people. We’ve got to start thinking and doing more to PREVENT the madness that is happening in our own backyards. Have a read of this thought provoking article and let us know what you think.
Excerpt From SouthCoastToday.com
When Black History Month was celebrated in 1950, according to State University of New York research, 77.7 percent of black families had two parents. As of January 2010, according to the Census Bureau, the share of two-parent families among African-Americans had fallen to 38 percent.
We know that children, particularly young male African-Americans, benefit from parental marriage and from having a father in the home. Today, the majority of black children are born to single, unmarried mothers.
Celebrate? Let’s celebrate.
Three years ago, I wrote about young girls in our city who are not learning what they are really worth, young men who aren’t being taught to treat young women with respect, and boys and girls who are learning how to make babies but not how to raise them. Those conditions, the column suggested, find expression in youth violence, child abuse and neglect, school dropout rates, and the steady stream of young men flowing into the city’s detention facilities.
Boys get guns, girls get babies. This pattern isn’t new. We don’t need maps to tell us what the problem of teen births means to a city.
We know that most teenage mothers don’t graduate from high school; that many of the youths in the juvenile justice system are born to unmarried teens; and that children of teenagers are twice as likely to be abused or neglected and more likely to wind up in foster care.
We know, too, that children of teenage parents are more likely to become teen parents themselves.
An intergenerational cycle of dysfunction is unfolding before our eyes, even as we spend time rhapsodizing about our past.
No less discouraging is the response that has become ingrained.
Sixteen, unmarried and having a baby? No problem. Here are your food stamps, cash assistance and medical coverage. Can’t be bothered with the kid? No sweat, there’s foster care.
Make the young father step up to his responsibilities?
Consider this statement I received from a sexual health coordinator and youth programs coordinator in the District of Columbia concerning a teen mother she is counseling: “She recently had a child by a man who is 24 years old and has 5 other children. He is homeless and does not work, but knows how to work young girls very well … This young man is still trying to have more children.”
He’s a cause. Our community deals with his consequences.
A 16-year-old mother who reads at a sixth-grade level drops out of school? Blame the teacher. Knock the city for underserving girls during their second and third pregnancies. Blast social workers for not doing enough to help children with developmental disabilities or kids in foster care. Carp at the counselors responsible for troubled youth in detention.
Sure, tackle the consequences. Construct a bigger, better, more humane safety net. I’m for that, especially where children are concerned. And the causes?
God forbid, don’t mention causes.
Celebrate? Let’s celebrate.
CLICK HERE for full article.
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Can you believe it? One of the “whitest” professional sports we know was actually created by….wouldn’t you know it black folks. Check out this ESPN segment on the book “Black Ice”. Black Ice tells the story of Nova Scotia’s (CHL) Colored Hockey League circa 1895-1925. This clip was quite informative and interesting. We learn something new every day! How many of you knew?! π
Learn more about this amazing book and purchase your copy here.
VIDEO: This story evokes many emotions, many thoughts, and intense anger. Β While it is an outrage to us, Β the pervasiveness of this activity indicates that this behavior is permitted and socially accepted by a “certain” pocket of the U.S. population. Β The question we ask is Why? Β Why do grown men traffick underage girls? Why do grown men sleep with underage girls? Β What rationalizations do adults use to shift their psychology from being protectors of children to being exploiters of children? What do the traffickers see in the mentality of SuperBowl attendees to suggest that there would even be a market for selling sex? Β There will probably be tons of exploratory answers addressing these questions. However, most of the conversation will fall on deaf ears. Β This is unfortunate…because alongside the cheers that encourage super defense and exhilarating offense there will be ignored tears trickling down the faces of girls sold as “sex slaves” to the some of the sons, fathers, and grandfathers sitting in the stands.
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