Steve Harvey’s Wife Helps Teens Steer Clear Of Pregnancy And Prostitution

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By Team Blam

We’d like to give a special shout out to Marjorie Harvey who on October 28th – 30th in Atlanta, Ga., will be conducting her second annual Girls Who Rule The World Mentoring Weekend.  The Harvey Foundation will host 100 “diverse” teenage girls from the Atlanta Metro Area and help them navigate the pressures of teen issues such as pregnancy and prostitution.  You’re probably thinking as we were…”What..teen prostitution?”  According to some statistics Georgia ranks third in the nation for teenage prostitution.  Wow!!!

In consideration of the grim statistics Marjorie spoke on the importance of getting involved.  She said, “To me it’s just a moral responsibility that we have, we’ve got to start doing something, each and every person that can,” she added. “I’m doing what I can, but that means you and any and everybody else that will get involved, we’ve got to get involved in these girls lives to get them to understand regardless of what mistakes that you’ve made, we’re here and we can move forward and turn things around.”

Yall know that we here at BLAM are all about turning things around for our relationships, families, and community.  We are proud of the young women who have shown the courage to take this positive step toward their growth and development.  And guess what…if you know of anyone that may be interested in being one of the 100 teenage girls that participate in this program IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO APPLY.  THE APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO SEPTEMBER 12, 2011.

Application Requirements

  • Eligible participants must be girls 13-18 years old
  • Currently enrolled in an accredited school at time of submission
  • Live in metro Atlanta, GA and/or surrounding areas
  • Complete application & Submit 300 word essay
  • Commit to minimal two year mentoring program
  • Commit to attending full mentoring weekend
  • Attend mid-year retreat & commit to mentoring process

Once again…kudos to Marjorie Harvey to investing time and energy toward the development of teenage girls.  If you or someone you know may be interested in applying for the Girls Who Rule The World Mentoring Weekend CLICK HERE for more details.


So Official! Beyonce And Jay Z Announce Baby On Board

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Last night at the VMA’s Beyonce in stunning fashion “freed” herself by exposing the secret she’s been hiding from the public for some time…..she’s pregnant.  After performing “Love On Top” she dropped the mic, unbuttoned her jacket, and began rubbing her belly….instant classic.  Jay Z was grinning from ear to ear as the audience clapped and cheered.  This moment…their moment was definitely memorable.  Congratulations Jay Z and Beyonce on your pregnancy.  We at BLAM wish you health and happiness as you continue to build your family.  To check out their announcement….see the video below.

Get More: 2011 VMA, Music, Beyoncé

Dear Daddy: A Riveting Depiction Of The Impact Of Absentee Fathers

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By Ayize Ma’at

VIDEO: Yesterday I watched the trailer for “Dear Daddy” by Janks Morton for the first time and to say the least I was moved to tears.  I watched it with my wife and she sat there stoically, seemingly holding back or just not in touch with the raw emotion that was displayed.  I was kinda surprised because Aiyana is a major crier….but considering the fact that there’s some similarities between her story and that of the young lady in the video….I was able to walk away with a quiet understanding.

Major shout out to Janks Morton for having the courage to create this piece.  I’ve got much respect for his ability to capture the raw emotion that needs to be revealed to absentee, neglectful, and irresponsible father’s everywhere.  To donate to this project visit http://www.FundDearDaddy.com If you’re interested in checking out and purchasing any of Janks other enlightening films visit http://whatblackmenthink.com/

Jada Pinkett Smith Puts Her Kids Before Her Career

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Actress Jada Pinkett-Smith is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Redbook magazine. In the issue, the actress reveals that she gave up her career so she could concentrate on raising her children Jaden, 12, and Willow, 10.

She says to Redbook magazine, “I had to make choices. Believe me, I would still be on the road with my band, Wicked Wisdom, and making as many movies as I can a year, and doing all sorts of other things if I didn’t have the responsibility of a family. But I have children with their own talents and dreams, and I know I have to be standing next to them for that journey.”

She adds, “It was excruciating, completely excruciating. When Jaden was auditioning for The Pursuit of Happyness, my band had just gotten an offer to open for Guns N’ Roses in Europe. For me, that was unbelievable. But the choice was: I could be a rock star, or I could be on the set with my son to make sure he was healthy and happy. We all know how that story ended!”

The working mom also admits that she would prefer to raise her children in Hollywood than “in the streets of Baltimore or Philly”.

“Let me tell you what I fear most: Them growing up like I did, in a house with drugs in a war zone, where if I walked out my door I could be shot. Hollywood ain’t nothing compared to that! Growing up in the streets of Baltimore, or the streets of Philly where Will grew up — I’d rather have my kids here. It still makes me nervous that they’re part of something that isn’t totally real, but it’s up to Will and me to teach them what’s real and what’s not.”

Should 3 Races Of Dolls Be Mandatory At All Daycare Centers?

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Colorado is leading the way in attempting to make the early education of our youngest little citizens as diverse as possible. They actually are trying to do something to make what our children see in their classrooms every day a closer representation to the reality of our country. Some people are ecstatic……others not so much. This is quite an interesting story. Check it out.

From The ROOT:

The state of Colorado has proposed a long list of new regulations for day care centers, including a requirement that they provide dolls of at least three different races (not to mention other rules governing issues including the amount of juice and snack served, and providers’ shoulder coverage).

Some childcare providers in the state aren’t too happy about it. One daycare owner told a local news station why she’s against the proposal: “They are infringing on a lot of our rights. […] We’re not giving parents a choice. We’re not giving children a choice. We’re not giving caregivers a choice.”

We’d hope that daycare providers would want to make doll choices reflecting what the country actually looks like. Really, why wouldn’t you? And is it that hard? But we all know that that’s not where inclusion and equality begin or end (Remember the Kenneth Clark doll study, which has been recreated in recent years? Most of those black kids didn’t seem particularly inspired by the black doll. In fact, other parts of their experience in the real world made them dislike it) And any discussion of race and ethnicity issues in the context of playtime feels almost silly given the ongoing educational disparities faced by kids of color in this country.

As this story develops, we predict a sideshow of a debate the government “infringing on rights,” and a backlash against multiculturalism that distract from real issues of equality that have nothing to do with the toy corner.

Kids On Medicaid Are Being Denied Medical Care

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Shouldn’t we all be afforded decent health care regardless of our economic situation?  Well..unfortunately in this country there is a clear distinction in the quality of services provided to the “have’s” and “have not’s”.  We use those terms loosely because we feel everyone has inherent worth as a human being that is of greater value than there socio/economic status.  In the below article from BlackAmericaWeb we see that some children are being shut out from receiving medical care because their economic status is determining the quality of services they are provided.

Article

Children on public insurance are being denied treatment by doctors at much higher rates than those with private coverage, according to an undercover study that had researchers pose as parents of sick kids seeking an appointment with a specialist.

Snubbed even by specialists whose offices supposedly accept public insurance patients, these kids also had to wait much longer to see a doctor. Low Medicaid reimbursements are the likely reason, the study authors said.

The study was done in Cook County, Ill., the nation’s second-most populous county which includes Chicago, but the researchers and others say the results likely reflect practices around the country.

“People should be very concerned,” said Dr. Karin Rhodes, the lead author and an emergency medicine specialist at the University of Pennsylvania.

The study results suggest many of the 40 million publicly insured U.S. children are not getting recommended timely treatment for dangerous conditions including asthma, diabetes and depression, she said.

“I work in an emergency room … where you see the long-term consequences of people who did not get the care they needed,” Rhodes said.

The study appears in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine.

The study is “simple and elegant” and bolsters previous research while presenting a more accurate real-world picture of disparities facing public aid patients, said Dr. Steve Wegner, former head of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ child health financing committee.

To test whether type of insurance influences doctors’ willingness to schedule appointments, the researchers posed as parents of fictitious sick children referred to specialists by primary-care doctors or emergency room physicians. Seven scenarios were created, including a 9-month-old with a severe skin rash, a 7-year-old with diabetes, a 12-year-old with a suspected broken arm and a 13-year-old with symptoms of severe depression.

The researchers phoned 273 specialty clinics twice, a month apart, seeking an appointment with doctors including dermatologists, allergists, psychiatrists and bone specialists. In one call, the children were said to have private insurance; in the other, they were insured through Illinois’ Medicaid program.

Overall, specialists refused to grant appointments for 66 percent of the Medicaid children, versus only 11 percent of privately insured youngsters.

Among 89 clinics that accepted both insurance types, Medicaid children had to wait an average of 42 days for an appointment, versus 20 days for private coverage.

In about half the calls, clinics asked about insurance before telling callers whether an appointment was available. In other cases, callers volunteered their insurance information — and were often told that Medicaid was the reason the appointment request was denied, the researchers said.

Orthopedic (bone) doctors were among specialists most likely to deny appointments for public kids; psychiatrists were among the least likely. Rhodes said an analysis of the reasons offices gave has not been completed.

In about 20 percent of the denials, callers were told they could seek treatment at the county public hospital or at an emergency room.

CLICK HERE to read more.

The Blessing Of Giving Back: 5 Celebrities Sponsor Summer Camps For Kids

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You push me…I pull you.  I push you….you pull me.  These two statements have become mantras in our home because we recognize that if anything positive is to be produced, it must be done in the spirit of selflessness, cooperation, collective work and communal responsibility.  With that being said, it’s always an honor to shine the spotlight on people that internalize and actualize the importance of giving back.  In the below post we recognize 5 celebrities who are experiencing the blessing of giving back through sponsoring summer camps for kids.

Photo captions from TheGrio.com

Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels’ Camp Felix, teams up with the New York Foundling to give 175 kids a summer they will never forget. Campers are selected from The Foundling’s foster care and prevention programs and from Haven Academy, The Foundling’s charter school in the South Bronx.  DMC visits the camp every year. The four week sleep away camp teaches campers teamwork and helps them tap into their creativity and make new friends – away from the troubled streets they call home.

Keshia Knight Pulliam’s Kamp Kizzy gives girls the opportunity to learn about different career options and offers a huge emphasis on leadership skills.

Usher’s Camp New Look gives an inside view into the world of sports and entertainment. Campers enjoy a two week all expense paid, (thank’s to Usher’s New Look Foundation,) taste of some of the most influential careers in the nation, but it also strives to put New Look alumni into the industry itself.

Jill Scott, through her Blues Babe Foundation, sponsors a one-week day camp, at the Cherokee Day Camp in Pennsylvania. Campers are selected from under served communities and are taught art, music, health, financial responsibility, and basic environmental awareness training during the week.

Camp Mariah works with the The Fresh Air Fund to give 300 lucky inner-city teens, the opportunity to test out career options and educational paths, during the three and a half week summer session.

Motherhood: Overcoming The Diffilculties

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By LWH

Mothers, especially a new one, experience great joy when they cradle their newborn babies in their arms. No matter how painful the delivery process was and how tired she may be, a mother immediately yearns to bond with her baby and looks forward to the experience of motherhood.

Unfortunately, in many instances, the trip back from the hospital with the baby can also be the beginning of a nightmare for a new mother. While previously her thought of motherhood is centered on taking care of a cute and smiley little one, now, she may feel that she is being saddled with an ‘uncontrollable’ baby. Exhaustion and lack of sleep coupled with a fussy baby can easily trigger a switch in emotions.

Sometimes, the problem is also compounded by the lack of help from the spouse, especially when he is not always home due to work commitments, resulting in the mother having to shoulder the burden of childcare on her own. This causes resentment to build up and together with the exhaustion, they become a potent combination for quarrels to take place. The downhill slide into further unhappiness and depression is but a step away in such a scenario.

If you are one of those mothers who is feeling this way, there are a few things that you can do to make the experience of motherhood more fulfilling.

1. Take the Initiative to Learn

If you have a fussy baby and are at a loss on how to handle the situation, be proactive and search for solutions. For example, many babies like to be rocked to sleep and the moment you put them down in their cot, they will start crying incessantly. On the other hand if you continually rock your little one to sleep, you may be unknowingly creating a dependency (i.e., baby needs to be rocked in order to .Take a step back and do not be consumed by anger or sadness. Instead look for the reason behind the problem and find out whether there are solutions that could possibly work for your baby. Talk to other parents and check if they have encountered the same problem before. Alternatively, the internet is a rich source of information and there are many websites that offer valuable advice on a wide range of issues when it comes to baby care. If you take the initiative to learn, you will have a better idea of what to expect and what you can do to cope, thus, lessening unnecessary pressure on yourself.

2. Be Flexible

We are all creatures of habit and sometimes, this may not necessarily be a good thing. For instance, you may have a list of chores that you need to do each morning but are now finding it difficult to squeeze in all of the tasks before your baby wakes up for the day. If that is the case, redo your list and move your chores around. There is no fixed rule to say that you have to do the laundry at a particular time of the day, is there? Similarly, if you have not vacuumed the floor for the third day in a row, so be it. If you are tired, get yourself some rest when your baby nods off and leave the not-so-urgent chores for another time. Try to be flexible and organize yourself around your baby’s schedule.

3. Communicate with your Spouse

We all know that communication is a vital ingredient in any relationship. But it is also something that is very easily overlooked, especially when a baby arrives, as our time and attention are now fully diverted towards the baby, sometimes to the exclusion of everything else. Therefore, you have to make time to talk to your spouse and tell him your feelings and difficulties, if any. Encourage him to be more involved in taking care of the baby and more importantly, learn to let go and let him take charge if he is willing.

4. Look at the Bright Side

If you are at the bottom now, then tell yourself that the only way to go is up. Be positive because the difficult moments do not last. After all, your baby will grow and all the problems that you are facing now will most probably not be there within months or even weeks. For example, if you are forced to wake up every two hours each night now to feed your baby, remind yourself that you will probably be waking up only once a night or even not at all, in another two or three months’ time. The difficulties will disappear as time passes and before you know it, your child would have left babyhood behind to graduate into a toddler.

Yes, being a mother is not easy, especially if you are new to the task. But whatever negative feelings you may have, learn to put them aside. Do not dwell on them. Instead concentrate on bringing up your baby to the best of your ability by adopting the few suggestions above and/or whatever means that may be helpful. If you learn to enjoy your baby, you will find motherhood a much more pleasant and fulfilling experience.

Check out the author’s blog which details transition tips from crib to bed. Also read about sleepless nights with a crying baby which is a common experience for many parents here.

Samuel L. Jackson Reads “Go The F**K To Sleep”

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VIDEO *WARNING* If you are hypersensitive about curse words you may not want to watch this video.

It’s Thursday night.  We’re sitting here contemplating about whether we should put this post on our site because the language is a bit abrasive and many a folk may be offended by it.  But then….

– Our 3 year old gets out the bed and says “Baba (means daddy in swahili)…I’m pulling on my finger and it hurts”  Baba says…”Stop pulling on it”…  3 year old says “OK”

– Our 5 year old gets out the bed 5 minutes later and say “Mommy….my eye hurts.”  Mommy says…”O.k baby…close your eye and go to sleep”.  5 year old says “ok”.

– Our 9 year old gets out the bed 1 minute later and says “Mom…I need some toilet paper”.  Mom says “Did you look in the bathroom?”  9 year old says “no”. Mom says “well..you might want to do that.”  9 year old says “o.k”

– Our 3 year old gets back out the bed 30 seconds later and says “Baba ….Baba….Baba…Baba”.  He keeps saying Baba because Baba is intentionally ignoring him..LOL.  Finally, Baba gets up and 3 year old says “you didn’t get me a bike yesterday”.  Baba says “Get back in the bed.”  3 year old says “o.k”

– Our 5 year old gets out the bed 4 minutes later and says “Baba my finger hurts.” Baba says “Get back in the bed.”  5 year old says “ok”

– 6 year old and 5 year old get out the bed 9 minutes later and say “Mommy…we can’t go to sleep”……

And it’s at that point that we look at each other convinced that we’ve got confirmation that doing this post is the right thing…..because in our gut both of us were feeling that our children need to get back in the bed, be quiet, and GO THE F**K TO SLEEP!

For those of yall that are a part of the BLAM Fam that have children, we know you can identify with this feeling. Question…could you ever see yourself reading this “children’s book” to your child as a bed time story?  Let us know what you think.

13 Year Old Black Prodigy Raises The Bar On Youth Brilliance

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By Team BLAM

Shout out to Autum Ashante, the 13 year old Bronx prodigy that is headed to the University Of Connecticut for her Freshman year.  This girl is baaad….and we mean that in the most positive way possible.  She speaks at least three different languages (Arabic, Swahili, and Spanish), is a spoken work artist, and scored 149 on an IQ test, which is higher than most college students.  Can you say WOW!!!.  We’d be irresponsible if we neglected to mention her father, Ben Ashante, who recognized his daughters brilliance at an early age and decided to assume complete responsibility for her education and home school his daughter.  Special shout out to big brotha Ben for doing the damn thang.    In a quote from AOL BlackVoices Mr. Ashante said:

“What she’s doing is groundbreaking but this is not about vanity. It’s about setting the tone for other black and Latino children who will come behind her. They’re always being told they are underachievers. We want to show this can be done.”

Autum is no newcomer to the media….her intellect, critical analysis, and courageous voice challenged some folks back in 2006 when she wrote and recited the poem below for middle and high school students.

“White Nationalism Put U In Bondage”

White nationalism is what put you in bondage
Pirate and vampires like Columbus, Morgan, and Darwin
Drank the blood of the sheep, trampled all over them with
Steel, tricks and deceit.

Nothing has changed take a look in our streets
The mis-education of she and Hegro — leaves you on your knee2grow
Black lands taken from your hands, by vampires with no remorse

They took the gold, the wisdom and all of the storytellers
They took the black women, with the black man weak
Made to watch as they changed the paradigm
Of our village

They killed the blind, they killed the lazy, they went
So far as to kill the unborn baby

Yeah White nationalism is what put you in bondage
Pirates and vampires like Columbus, Morgan, and Darwin

They drank the blood of the sheep, trampled all over them with
Steel laden feet, throw in the tricks alcohol and deceit.
Nothing has changed take a look at our streets.

Autum Ashante is serious.  She’s had several television appearances as well as performances at the Apollo Theater and African Burial Ground in Manhattan.  For all of her accomplishments we at BLAM definitely salute her and wish her continued success as she continues to grow and realize her divine destiny.