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They Loved the Style, Not the Black Woman: Esther Jones and the Betty Boop Lesson
Exploitation is a hand that smiles while taking.
It praises your light, then sells your flame.
It calls it “help,” but leaves you colder.
These days when people are pretty casual and complacent about women's [...]

10 Lessons the African Drongo Bird Teaches Us About Manipulation
Most of us have the capacity to manipulate at times. We may exaggerate, avoid difficult conversations, or try to influence outcomes in our favor.
But some people make manipulation a way of life.
They study peop [...]
Survivor Affirmations: Lessons From the Female Elephant on Survival
There is a question women are asked to answer that we were never really equipped to answer.
How do you know which men are good and which men are dangerous?
Women are expected to somehow know. After harm happens, people may [...]

Across the Water: We Were Never Surviving Alone
There is a way of telling Black history that can accidentally leave Black Americans standing alone.
We learn about the courage it took to survive slavery and Jim Crow, build schools and businesses, organize churches and mutua [...]
SurvivorAffirmations: You Do Not Have to Become a Tragedy Before We See You
Sometimes a woman does not need another person telling her to be strong.
She has been strong all morning.
She got somebody dressed. Found the missing shoe. Answered the message. Remembered the appointment. Made something to ea [...]
The Scar Is Not the Whole Story: What Miss World Uganda’s Extraordinary Gown Asked Us to See
There are dresses designed to make us look.
Then there are dresses designed to make us understand.
When Miss World Uganda Muhoza Trivia Elle appeared in a remarkable gown called Layers of Life, she was certainly beautiful. The [...]
The Day the Women Came Together: The Nigerian Women’s War of 1929
It began with a question at a woman’s home.
Not a battlefield. Not a government building. Not a grand speech delivered before thousands of people.
A question.
In 1929, in southeastern Nigeria, an Igbo woman named Nw [...]
Naomi Osaka: They Mocked Her When She Was Hurting. Now They Mock Her for Shining
I can't. Some of the loudest fashion critics of Naomi Osaka are at work right now dressed like they came to help somebody move.
There is a particular kind of woman who gets dressed for work.
Not merely dressed enough to ar [...]
I Don’t Remember a World Before Dolly Parton
I think some artists enter your life so early that you cannot remember becoming a person without them. Their voices get mixed up with childhood itself: the rooms you lived in, the things you loved, the first private discoveries [...]

The Afro-Peruvian Woman Who Started Telling the Story She Couldn’t Find
Natalia Barrera Francis did not have to invent an Afro-Peruvian history. It was already there. Generations of Afro-Peruvian people had lived, worked, created, struggled, raised families, made music, built communities and helped [...]

Survivor Affirmation: I Was Not Raised with Silver Spoons, But with Iron Will
🌟 Affirmation 🌟
I was not raised with silver spoons, but with iron will.The hood taught me rhythm, resilience, and how to breathe through storms.I honor the struggle, but I am not chained to it.I move forward with the fire of m [...]

Gary, Indiana Needs Us Right Now: Here Is How You Can Help
Gary, Indiana is hurting.
On August 11, 2026, powerful storms tore through Northwest Indiana with winds reported as high as 99 miles per hour. Trees came down. Utility poles snapped. Homes were damaged. Electricity disapp [...]

Before MTV: The Hidden Story of the First Black Music Video and the Legacy It Built
There’s something powerful about this moment in history.Not just the music—but the intention behind it.Movement. Precision. Style. Storytelling before the world even had language for it.
This wasn’t just a performance.It was di [...]

🎵 Tennessee: A Prayer for the Weary Soul
I miss the days when there was prayer in hip hop. Vulnerability in hip hop. And baring of the weary sick and tired soul in hip-hop.
“Lord, I’ve really been real stressed, down and out, losin’ ground…”
Those fir [...]

Michael Wright Gave Black Audiences Something Hollywood Still Struggles to Give Us
I am genuinely saddened by the passing of actor Michael Wright.
His family has confirmed that Wright died on August 19, 2026, in Los Angeles. He was 70 years old. His remarkable career stretched across nearly five decades, wi [...]

For the Hate Crimes Prevention Act: Affirmations for Black People Carrying Too Much Hate from Too Many Directions
racism chases us down for miles.....
On this day, the anniversary of The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act which was signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009. It expanded fede [...]

Finding Your Anchor: How to Prioritize What Matters in Times of Chaos
Man speaks out after climbing 19-story building during fire looking for his mother
In times of uncertainty, it is easy to feel pulled in a dozen directions by the noise of the world. This post is a gentle reminder t [...]

Sometimes Healing Has Four Paws: How Pets Can Help Us Through Grief.
Grief does not always announce what it needs.
Sometimes we think we need answers. Sometimes we think we need to be left alone. Sometimes we bury ourselves in work, exercise, responsibilities, television, or anything else [...]
After Jason Arday: Black People Must Be Allowed to Be Human
‘The question is not whether racism exists, but how it manifests.’ Ta-Nehisi Coates
Can you make it past this phrase? I'm having a hard time doing so.
“Cambridge’s diversity poster boy.”
They called that Black man a boy. [...]

Before We Called It Therapy, Black Folks Had the Stage
There is an old kind of healing that many Black Americans know, even if nobody ever gave it a clinical name.
Some of us met it in a church basement.
Some met it underneath hot stage lights in the school auditorium.
Some [...]
AFFIRMATIONS AND SELF LOVE
🌺 Marielle Franco: She Spoke. Even When It Was Dangerous to Speak.
Marielle Franco was a Black woman from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.
She knew violence.Not from headlines.From proximity.
From [...]
HEALING JOURNEY
10 Gentle Ways to Grow in Self-Awareness After Trauma
🌿 For the Survivor learning to listen inward—for the first time or all over again.
For many Survivors, self-awareness is not just about knowing who [...]
🌿 10 Affirmations for Healing (Even If It Doesn’t Feel Like It)
Dear Courageous One:
These are designed to speak directly to the heart, especially in moments of doubt, quiet strength, or unseen growth:
“E [...]
🌬️ Anxiety Doesn’t Always Shout: Affirmations for the Survivor Who’s Carrying It Quietly
A gentle reminder that your body’s signals matter—even when the world ignores them.
Some people think anxiety looks like panic.Tears. Hypervent [...]
CONFIDENCE/POWER/RESILIENCE
Sheila Johnson: When the Path Changes, I Do Not Shrink—I Reimagine
I am not limited by what did not work.I am expanded by what I now know.I dream again—and this time, I dream with power.
There are women who succeed.
[...]
A Mother’s Grace: A Poetic Tribute to Love, Strength, and Evolution
the truth is…
motherhood is ever-changing,and so is the mother.as her child develops, each stage requires a different version o [...]

Soul Music Connects to Your Soul and Your Spirit
“Soul music is true to its name. It's music that connects to your soul, your spirit. … when people can emotionally connect with something or it helps [...]
HEALTHING JOURNEY
Black Culture is SO Beautiful
Black culture is truly a wonderful vibe. Being Black is a beautiful blessing I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world!
Dear God, thank You for th [...]
Denise Oliver-Velez: May the Ancestors Welcome a Warrior Home
She was connection. Connection to history. Connection to power. Connection to love. Connection to belonging. Connection to power.
Some lives become [...]
The Power of Music: Candi Staton’s Anthem
This is one of my favorite songs from girlhood. I LOVE the tone in her voice and listen to her song catalog regularly. She is soulful.&nbs [...]
Survivor Affirmations: I Love Myself Because I am Worthy of Love! (video and audio)
Video Link
I love myself because I am worthy of love.
I respect myself and the healing journey that I have taken to bring me to thi [...]
The Day the Women Came Together: The Nigerian Women’s War of 1929
It began with a question at a woman’s home.
Not a battlefield. Not a government building. Not a grand speech delivered before thousands of peop [...]
PBS Newshour: A Brief But Spectacular take on living like we’re dying
To love deeply is to live joyfully.
[...]
She Is AMAZING
THEY LET BLACK GIRLS BE LITTLE GIRLS 🎀
There was something precious about watching Rudy Huxtable.
Olivia Kendall.
Judy Winslow.
And the little Black girls who appeared across the s [...]
Ketty Lester: Honor the Firsts, Remember the Closed Doors
Ketty Lester deserves more than a passing mention. She deserves the kind of appreciation that slows the room down.
Born Revoyda Frierson in Hope, Ark [...]
Survivor Affirmations: I Carry Forward the Creativity and Brilliance of Women Who Came Before Me.
Sarah Boone (1832–1904) was one of the first Black women in the United States to receive a patent, but not the very first.
In 1892, Boone w [...]
Playing by Heart: Alberta Hunter and the Power of Soul Wisdom
Alberta Hunter’s life was a testament to the power of the "unpolished" authentic soul. She was a woman who conquered the world's stages, walked away t [...]
9 Quotes from Maya Angelou to Nourish the Survivor’s Soul (Part 2)
Updated for 2025
🌟 Resilience & Strength
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced [...]
ART HEALS
Survivor Affirmations: Deep Lessons in Self-Assurance
"You alone are enough." — Maya Angelou
Self-assurance is a quiet confidence rooted in knowing who you are. It doesn't require applause, constant ag [...]
Lessons from Pam Grier’s Memoir for Survivors
updated from December 2024
I love it when women tell our own stories in our own words!
When Pam Grier's memoir came out...I [...]
Across the Water: We Were Never Surviving Alone
There is a way of telling Black history that can accidentally leave Black Americans standing alone.
We learn about the courage it took to survive s [...]
The 80’s Was a Great Decade| A Black Perspective
She's right. It was pretty amazing. It was HARD. But that just meant you worked harder to bring in the joy. And we definitely did that.
Gratitude a [...]
JOURNALING/WRITING IN A HEALTHIER WORLD
WE Survive Abuse Podcast

















