This Is Why I Study Our Art — Deeply, Tenderly, Proudly
There comes a time when I grow beyond saying:
“That’s just old.”
“Just something from back then.”
“Just music, just fashion, just dancing.”
No.
O [...]
🎶 Choose Love, Joy, Hope (w/video)
🎶 Choose Love, Joy, Hope
Hate makes little ditties —short, sharp, and forgettable.But joy?Joy makes songs that reach the bones.Songs that bring p [...]
Different Go-Go, Same Refusal to Disappear into Misery
I just discovered something beautiful.
There are two kinds of “GoGo.”
One was born in Washington, DC.
One comes from Tanzania.
And somehow [...]
Your Voice Is a Lighthouse: Keep Shining Through the Noise (Featuring Amazing Animated Story by BigBoi)
I woke up and encountered this story by BigBoi. Made my morning.
Your story has the power to do that too. Keep living. Keep crafting your storytel [...]
The Lie of “Not Enough Trained People”: What Martin, Motown, and Black Representation Already Proved
There is an old lie that keeps getting dressed up as wisdom.
It says Black communities do not get full representation because there are not enough “t [...]
Life Calls Us to Evolve Culturally Too: Sinners Dancers Revealed !! Juke Joint Scene Explained — Dance Styles, Symbolism & Forgotten History
Life does not call us to evolve through advancements in technology only. Life calls us to evolve culturally as well.Â
Without cultural evolution:
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🌸 Groovy Affirmations: My Hair, My Glory, My Groove
My curls, coils, kinks, and waves are a love letter from God.
The texture of my hair tells stories my ancestors whispered into my roots.
[...]
🌿 You Were Never Meant to Live for Their Applause (w/playlist)
Survivor, I see you.Maybe you’ve been praised for being strong. Maybe you’ve been ignored for being too real.Either way, too many of us were taught th [...]
Sometimes Integrity Gets You Removed: And That Doesn’t Mean You Were Wrong
🎤 Dusty Springfield was a British singer known for her soulful voice and hit songs in the 1960s. Wikipedia
đź“… Â 1964: During a tour of South Africa, sh [...]
What Song Has Brought Comfort and Healing to You?
In this life, there will be pain, trials, and tribulations. Â I am truly thankful for the gift of music. High-quality music can sooth [...]
Denise Ho: 🌿Once You See It, You Can’t Go Back
“The greatest gift in this life is always more of me—and I am not going back to less.”
Denise Ho was a singer.
A successful one.
She had:
[...]
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 [...]
There Are Souls Beyond the Scoreboard: A History Lesson in Hope, Radio, and Second Wind (podcast episode)
We are not living in the time of afterschool specials, radio dedications, and songs that reached through the static to touch a hurting child’s heart.
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Living in Truth in a Loud World: The Courage to Stand Tall
There was a time when a singer could stand on a stage, look out at the world, and sing a line that would echo for generations:
“I did it my way.”
Th [...]
You Have Every Right to Be Beautifully Represented
✦ [SurvivorAffirmations.com] ✦
Dear Survivor,
You have every right to speak your mind about how you are represented.
Your story.Your image.Your s [...]
Lessons from The Wedding: The Kind of Love That Looks Good—and Still Costs You
Another televised Oprah production. She doesn't appear in this film, but if you are a fan of the wonderful series Greenleaf, you will definitely note [...]
10 Facts About Lift Every Voice and SING!
So my childhood was spent learning this song. We sang this and other songs like it for assemblies. I get out into the world and learn not only have ot [...]
What “Find 100 Ways” Teaches Us About Uplifting the People We Love
There are some songs that do not simply play.
They enter the room.
They adjust the light.
They sit beside you with a kind of grown tenderness [...]
Artist Jossie Harris Thacker: Building On Where You Come From — Without Going To War With It
Some of us were taught that “healing” means disowning everything that shaped us.
The accent.The neighborhood.The elders.The songs.The faith.The grit. [...]
Inspired by Survivor Viola Davis: You Don’t Need Perfect Weather to Bloom
Some flowers wait for sunshine.Others learn how to grow toward the light
even while clouds remain overhead.
Gratitude to a shining star....Viola Da [...]
🌺 Frida Kahlo: She Lived in a Body That Hurt—and Still Created Beauty
 For a long time I celebrated Frida's art and had no idea she lived in pain. I was truly spellbound by the art. As a young person, I thought the art w [...]
When Being Yourself Is Labeled “Political”: Why some people are punished simply for showing up
Nat King Cole really was attacked on stage during a concert in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1956.
While performing at the Municipal Auditorium in Birmingh [...]
You Belong Here, Here, and There too; Even If Others Reject You.
🎷 Green Book Affirmations 🎷
Just like the Green Book guided travelers through danger, I trust my instincts to guide me to safety, dignity, an [...]
Vivica A. Fox: A master class in showing up and showing out from her days on Soul Train
Soul Train dancers were not “just dancers.”
They were artists.
People sometimes talk about Soul Train like it was simply a place to party.
But look [...]
Helen Baylor’s Testimony| I Had a Praying Grandmother
Helen Baylor’s gospel classic “A Praying Grandmother” is more than a personal testimony—it’s a spiritual archive for many Black families. It speaks to [...]
Women Are the Source, Not the Punchline
“It is not inclusive to sit silent while people mock the beauty and humanity of women. That is not progress—it is plain old misogyny. The same misogyn [...]
It’s Not About Safety. It’s About How He Used His Body.
Notice how people speak about sacrifices made for art vs. how they speak about sacrifices made for their favorite football or basketball player.....
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7 Ways Listening to Sad Music Can Relieve Sadness (podcast recording)
Podcast Episode Link
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Soul Train Dancer Tamechi Toney Briggs Influenced A Generation & Created Infamous MC Hammer Pants
I've been screaming! No one was going to tell me?Â
Now all those years watching Soul Train and I did not make this connection when MC Hammer, who I a [...]
Quotes from Harlem Renaissance Author Nella Larsen
✨ Nella Larsen was one of the most brilliant yet often overlooked voices of the Harlem Renaissance. Born in 1891 to a Danish mother and a West [...]