
Behind the Wall by Tracy Chapman: When a Woman’s Cries for Help Are Heard, but Help Never Comes
Some songs stay with us because they are beautiful. Others stay with us because they tell a truth that society has spent generations trying not to hear.
In 1988, Tracy Chapman released a song called âBehind the Wallâ on her s [...]

Before âI Am Womanâ Became an Anthem, Women Were Fighting to Be Heard: The Story Behind Helen Reddy’s Song
The history behind Helen Reddy's 1972 anthem, the rights women were fighting for, and what her story can teach Survivors about independence, solidarity, and finding their voices.
In 1972, Australian singer Helen Reddy release [...]
Who Did You Have to Become to Survive? A Gentle Introduction to Jungian Self-Reflection for Survivors
Exploring the parts of ourselves we learned to hide, the roles we learned to play, and the freedom to discover who we are today.
Sometimes we become so accustomed to being a certain kind of person that we forget we had other [...]
đ Black Sitcom Halloween Episodes: The Ultimate Watchlist for a Cozy Night In or a Watch Party With Friends
From Martin and Living Single to Girlfriends, Family Matters, Abbott Elementary, and more.
There is something special about revisiting the television shows that made us laugh growing up. The familiar theme songs, the characte [...]

Because They Refused Jim Crow, We Walk Through Different Doors
October 7, 1955: Ella Fitzgerald Arrested After Performing Before an Integrated Audience in Houston
We live inside freedoms that somebody else had to be brave enough to imagine. I am grateful for the people who challenged Jim C [...]

10 Surprising Lessons for Survivors from Gloria Gaynorâs I Will Survive
When most of us hear Gloria Gaynor sing âI Will Survive,â we hear certainty.
We hear a woman who has figured something out. She sounds like she knows where the door is, knows she deserves better and knows she can live without [...]

10 Lessons from The Forever Tree for Black Women, Girls, and Survivors Who Have Learned to Play Small
There is something quietly radical about The Forever Tree.
Tawny Bennett, played by Olivia Washington, is a young Black woman living during the Harlem Renaissance. She is intelligent, knowledgeable and working as an antiquari [...]
10 Lessons for Survivors from Sandy âPepaâ Dentonâs Letâs Talk About Pep
Sandy âPepaâ Denton is known to millions as one of the women who helped change hip-hop. But Letâs Talk About Pep tells another story underneath the records, performances, fame, laughter, relationships and celebrity encounters. D [...]

Tammi Terrell’s Story Reminds Us That Survival Is More Than Staying Alive
When people speak about Tammi Terrell, they often begin with how young she was when she died.
Twenty-four.
They talk about the brain tumor. The interrupted career. The songs she never got to record. The future that was cut sho [...]

7 Reasons Survivors May Want to Read Taraji P. Hensonâs Around the Way Girl
Sometimes the books that stay with Survivors aren't the ones written specifically about surviving.
Sometimes they are simply somebody telling the truth about her life.
Taraji P. Henson's memoir, Around the Way Girl, was pu [...]

Angie Stone, Roberta Flack & Gwen McCrae: The Power of Their Musical Legacy
Angie Stoneâs Music Pulled Us ThroughâAnd Now, Sheâs Gone.
Angie Stone has passed, and somehow, it still doesnât feel real.
During one of my lowest valleys, her music became my guide, my comfort, my reassurance that I [...]

The Wishing Tree With Alfre Woodard: A Beautiful Movie About Finding Your Way Home + Full Movie
Sometimes you want a movie that doesn't demand everything from you.
Something you can put on while folding clothes, answering emails, working on a project, cooking dinner, or finally dealing with that pile of papers that has [...]

How Singing is Surprisingly Good for Your Health
There's a vocal teacher on Youtube that I love, and I wanted to share her with you. Kristel Cherelle's approach reminds me of our choir teachers back in school who had faith in our ability to sing if only we understood technique [...]

10 Lessons Women Can Take From Star Jones, Al Reynolds, and Everybody Who Had Something to Say
There was a time when Star Jones and Al Reynolds seemed to be everywhere.
The proposal came at the 2004 NBA All-Star Game. Then came the enormous wedding, the vendors, the publicity, the photographs, the commentary and eventu [...]

7 Survival Lessons From Eve: Your Life Is Allowed to Have More Than One Act
Some chapters prove you can survive. Others remind you that survival was never supposed to be the whole story.
I love Eve's music.
Let me get that out of the way because, obviously. Tambourine. Love Is Blind. Let Me Blow Y [...]

Vanessa Williams Refused to Become the Worst Thing People Said About Her
Deal with yourself as a individual, worthy of respect, and make everyone else deal with you the same way. -Nikki Giovanni
It was 1984, and Vanessa Williams was surrounded.
Only months earlier, she had made history as the f [...]

Some People Don’t Wait for Affirmation. They Give It to Themselves.
They did not wait for the world to settle the question of their worth. They kept something sacred for themselves: the authority to know who they were.
There is an old story about Diana Ross. "Call her Miss Ross."
[...]

There Are No Children Here: When Survival Makes a Child Grow Up Too Soon
In 1993, Oprah Winfrey starred in a television movie called There Are No Children Here. She played LaJoe Rivers, a Black mother raising her children in Chicagoâs Henry Horner Homes, a public housing development where violence, p [...]

Survivor Affirmations: You Are Not Too Late for Your Own Life
Maybe the life you imagined for yourself was supposed to happen by now.
That is the part we don't always say out loud.
You thought you would have written the book by now. Started the business. Finished school. Traveled. Ma [...]
Steve Harvey Survived the Closed Door Because It Wasn’t His Only Door
There is something Steve Harvey has been saying lately that I think is worth hearing beyond the celebrity story.
Harvey has spoken about conflict he experienced with a powerful television executive and what he believes ha [...]
AFFIRMATIONS AND SELF LOVE
151+ Positive Affirmations for Black Women from TheBrandBoy
There is a lot of positivity being latent in this world and we have to do everything to get it out in the open. Positive affirmati [...]
HEALING JOURNEY
Survivor Affirmations: I Tend My Own Light (w video)
We might not be able to be friends and that's okay.
âą Part of my healing is recognizing that not every person deserves access to my spiri [...]
đ„ 20 Fire-Burning Affirmations for Black Girls Who Were Never Protected
You deserved to be shielded, nurtured, and fiercely loved. These words are for the girl you were and the woman you are becoming.
They [...]
The Wishing Tree With Alfre Woodard: A Beautiful Movie About Finding Your Way Home + Full Movie
Sometimes you want a movie that doesn't demand everything from you.
Something you can put on while folding clothes, answering emails, working on a [...]
Emotional Bandwidth: Why You Sometimes Canât Be There for People You Love | Dr. Tracey Marks
Emotional bandwidth explained: why cognitive load and stress make empathy harder, and why low bandwidth looks like emotional unavail [...]
You Didnât Ask to Be the Mirror
⊠[SurvivorAffirmations.com] âŠ
Dear Survivor,
You didnât ask to be the mirror.But here you areâliving, healing, choosing joy.And without even tryi [...]
Survivor Affirmations: I Am the Quiet I Was Once Denied
I Am Not Too MuchâI Am a Whole World
My presence is not a burden.
My truth belongs in every room.
I take up sacred space.
[...]
CONFIDENCE/POWER/RESILIENCE

đż Dear Woman Who is Learning to Say No Without Explaining
I see the weight you carry when you even think about saying no.The hesitation.The catch in your breath.The flood of reasons rising in your chest, read [...]
Survivor Affirmation: I Do Not Rush to Be Understood
"Even silence can be a form of sacred truth."â SurvivorAffirmations.com
âïž Reflection Prompt:
When have I felt safe to speak slowly?
[...]

đ” Everyday People: A Prayer for Boundaries and Belonging
âI am everyday peopleâŠâ
Simple words, sacred meaning.
Arrested Developmentâs âPeople Everydayâ is more than a remix of a classic â itâs a less [...]
HEALTHING JOURNEY
SHE DIDN’T HAVE TO REPRESENT EVERY BLACK GIRL đ€
This may be one of the greatest gifts of having many Black girls in our stories.
Laura could be Laura.
Ashley could be Ashley.
Moesha could b [...]
Confidence Moves Dreams to Reality (video short)
Confidence Moves by Tonya GJ Prince [...]
8 Lessons for Survivors from the Film Mi Familia
I first saw this film back when walking down the aisles of Blockbuster on Friday nights was hot.
I picked up the case, saw a lot of my favorite acto [...]
She Traveled Deep Within: A Spiritual Portrait of Alice Coltrane
âđœ For SurvivorAffirmations.com
There are people whose healing path takes them outwardâ
into movements, microphones, and moments of bold declarati [...]
Radical Self-Love Is Resistance
⊠[SurvivorAffirmations.com] âŠ
Dear Survivor,
Loving yourselfâfully, loudly, and unapologeticallyâis a radical act.Especially when youâre surround [...]
She Is AMAZING
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 [...]
18 Things You Didn’t Know were Invented By Black Women
Just because some people try to keep you unsung doesnât mean your melody is lost. âInnovation is my inheritance, and I multiply it daily. [...]
PBS Newshour: A Brief But Spectacular take on appreciating what we have
âJoy multiplies when I choose to love.â đ«
âI find joy not just in myself, but in celebrating others.â
âLove is the soilâjoy is the [...]
India.Arie Sings “I Am Light”: Plus 10 of Her Affirmations
"I Am Light" â India.Arie
The Vibe: A holy, minimalist prayer. Stripped down to just acoustic guitar and vocals, you are not your piecesâyou are di [...]
Survivor Affirmation: My Scars Tell a Story of Strength
If youâve ever worried that sharing your story makes you look weakâLet me remind you what your story really says:
Something struck me.Something t [...]
I Donât 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 [...]
ART HEALS
Survivor Affirmation: For Patti LaBelle, the Beautiful Assertion
Before the world knew her as Patti LaBelle, she was Patricia Louise Holte, a girl from Philadelphia with a voice that could rise from the church floor [...]
I Donât 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 [...]
Survivor Affirmations: Musical Empowerment for Women
elink.io | See Original
[...]
Affirmations for Cutting Through the “Devil” Dodge
Here is a set of affirmations designed to cut through the "smoke and mirrors" of redirected blame. These are meant to ground you when someone tries to [...]
JOURNALING/WRITING IN A HEALTHIER WORLD
WE Survive Abuse Podcast














