Egalite for All

I recently saw this excellent PBS documentary about the Haitian Revolution, which was screened by Black History Studies.

Egalite for All was chock full of factual information, as was the subsequent presentation by Charmaine at Black History Studies.

Click here to read some of what I learned.

This is important information for all African people. And there is always more to learn. See also:

The Haitian Revolution and Practical Spirituality. The book entitled The Logical and Historical Significance of the Haitian Revolution was mentioned by Panyin on What U Need to Know. Click here to read more and listen to the show.

Dark Girls Lecture with Directors

The Dark Girls documentary explores color prejudice/colorism among African American women. See below for a trailer.

The Du Sable Museum in Chicago will hold a lecture with Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry, the directors of Dark Girls, on Monday, October 10, 2011.

For details of this and other events, see Black History/Cultural Events.

See also: Chicago African Festival of the Arts.

For more great stuff like this, click here to join Nurture Success.

See also: Africa and Africans on Film.

Dark Girls: Preview from Bradinn French on Vimeo.

Andrew Jackson Beard - Black Inventor

I have just discovered a great site about Black inventors.

Andrew Jackson Beard saved the lives and limbs of many people working on the railroads in the 19th century. Click here to read more.

Plus click here for advice from Black business experts.

Here's to your success!

Chicago African Festival of the Arts

The African Festival of the Arts in Chicago celebrates the arts of the African Diaspora. 2-5 September 2011.

For details of this and more events, see Black History/Cultural Events.

Below is a video about the African Festival of the Arts.

Why My Book Is Not for Everyone

My book Success Strategies for Black People is not for everyone.

That's because many people of African heritage are not ready to take the steps necessary to bring about positive change.

They are too busy looking for something else to do it.

Looking for a solution for "us", for the Black community, rather than facing up to the fact that positive change starts with the individual. Positive change starts with self.

When we know and understand how to bring about positive change for ourselves, in our own lives, we understand how others in our families and communities can use these methods to bring about the change they need, too.

Harriet Tubman has been an inspiration for me since I was a child - more than 40 years now. A few months ago, I learned that the first time she ran away, she went back to the plantation.

She ran away with her brothers, and they all turned back.

Eventually, she made the decision to run away on her own. Once she took that step, she found others who helped her and gave her the support she needed.

Having proved that it was possible, Harriet was then able to go back time and time again, to lead many others to freedom.

Learn the lessons of history. We need to be willing to take that first step. Then we will see how to encourage others to do the same - for the benefit of our Black families and our Black communities.

Click here to order Success Strategies for Black People today.

Here's to your success!

Bill Gates Offering Scholarships to African American Students

The information below was sent to me by Black News.

Bear in mind Bill Gates's company Microsoft has used cheap prison labor.

Click here for my ebook, Shaking the Money Tree, on how to raise sponsorship funds for your education or your business.

The Gates Millennium Scholarship Program (GMS) will select 1,000 talented students next year to receive a good-through-graduation scholarship to use at any college or university of their choice.

Scholars will also be provided with personal and professional development through their leadership programs, along with academic support throughout their college career.

The program, funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was established to provide outstanding low income minority students with an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education in any discipline area of interest. To date, the program has given scholarships to more than 15,000 students.

Continuing scholars may request funding for a graduate degree program in one of the following discipline areas: education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science.

The deadline for submitting an application is Wednesday, January 11, 2012.

To apply, visit www.blackstudents.com/billgates

Toussaint L'Ouverture and the Haitian Revolution

On Saturday, we were honoured to have Sister Panyin as our guest on What U Need to Know.

She spoke very eloquently about African Remembrance Day and the Haitian Revolution.

Panyin emphasised the role of traditional spirituality in the revolution, in which the Haitian people under L'Ouverture's leadership defeated the armies of France, Spain, Britain and France again.

Click here to listen.

We talked about practical spirituality, which is the basis of my book Success Strategies for Black People.

Practical spirituality is what helped African people to survive during slavery, and we can use practical spirituality to achieve our goals.

My parents taught me about Black history and heroes and sheroes like L'Ouverture and Harriet Tubman. We cannot rely on the schools to teach our children about our history and heritage.

Panyin also shared information about a book by Clinton A. Hutton entitled The Logic and Historical Significance of the Haitian Revolution and the Cosmological Roots of Haitian Freedom

To read more about Haiti past and present, see Two Films about Haiti.

Exam Results Day

You and your family may have had weeks of anxiety waiting for exam results. Today, at last, they have been announced.

But now that you have the results, you may be facing another anxiety - how will you pay for university education?

Matthew Wright of Channel 5's The Wright Stuff has said that many young people are deciding not to pursue higher education, because they do not want to be saddled with a high level of debt.

But there is a solution.

Shaking the Money Tree is my ebook which explains how you can raise funds for college or university tuiton.

The experts interviewed in Shaking the Money Tree also explain how to raise sponsorship funding for business events, arts and community projects, and sporting events.

Click here to download it now.

If you are worried about your exam results, phone the Exam Results Helpline on 0808 100 8000.

Here's to your success!

Rodney King Urges Young People to Stop Violent and Criminal Behaviour

Rodney King became a household name in the early 1990s for some of the worst possible reasons - he was badly beaten by racist police officers in Los Angeles.

Rioting broke out in L.A. when the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty" for the police officers involved.

Similarly, violence broke out in Tottenham, North London when the police assaulted a 16-year-old girl during a peaceful protest.

King has now stressed that people should not loot and burn their own neighbourhoods - this is not a solution. He says: "Being a looter is a crime, but who are you hating? Your local store? My message to all rioters is to stop.”

Click here for a positive alternative to the violence.

See also: UK Riots - Ending the Violence.

Click here to read more about King's statement.

Targeting the Black Community

The African Caribbean community is now being scapegoated - we are being blamed for the riots and violent disorder of last week. Like the riots, this was entirely predictable.

Click here for a positive alternative - the African Caribbean Family Leadership Project.

One caller on The Wright Stuff this morning said that people who use Patois are violent. The guest presenter did nothing to challenge him on this.

Patois is spoken by many people including parents, teachers and community leaders.

This call was in response to remarks by historian David Starkey, who claimed that Black culture is violent and that the infamous "rivers of blood" speech by Enoch Powell was right.

What is this if not incitement to violence against the Black community. Apparently, links to the English Defence League (EDF) website have been added to Starkey's video on YouTube.

This is just the thin end of the wedge. Expect more of the same.

Click here for a positive alternative - the African Caribbean Family Leadership Project.

Commentators including Bishop Dr. Derek Webley, Chair of the West Midlands Police Authority, and Sgt. Winston Christie, Interim Chair of the Black and Asian Police Association, have stated clearly that the riots were not just to do with Black people - they reflect the disaffection of many young people in British society today.

See also: Ending the Violence.

Looking for Work?

Have you been looking for work for some time? Or do you know someone who has?

Recently left school or graduated from university?

Or are you facing layoff or redundancy?

Are you worried that there are just not enough jobs out there? Or that you're going to be stuck in a McJob forever?

Have you answered loads of job ads? Tried lots of different things? Getting fed up?

The jobsearch can be frustrating, but I can help.

Click here to download my free report on 4 Steps to Finding the Job You Want.

Plus click here to read about how you can use EFT in your job search.

And click here for my free jobsearch consultations.

Here's to your success!

Why We Are Afraid to Try Something New?

Does this describe you?

You have had a health problem for some time. Maybe you are in pain. Or you know someone who is.

If you have tried lots of different things, but you still struggle with this issue, you are probably feeling fed up by now.

You have experienced so much disappointment you don't even want to try anymore.

I can help.

I am offering solutions for diabetes, Alzheimer's, pain relief and other health issues.

If you are open to the possiblity that MAYBE you can find a solution, I can help you find one.

Click here to read more and download my free resources.

See also: Alternative Health Remedies.

Click here for more information about me and my work.

Here's to your health!

African Emancipation Day: What U Need to Know

I hope you will join us for What U Need to Know tomorrow (Saturday) at 7:30 p.m. UK time, 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

We will be discussing African Remembrance Day.

Can the riots and violence we are seeing on the streets of the UK be linked to revolutionary action? Or is there no connection?

We will be joined by Sister Panyin, who will talk about the Haitian Revolution.

Click here to listen or click here to join us on Facebook.

This Is an Opportunity to Create a Better Future

The footage from the UK riots is terrible and unrelenting.

People are losing their homes and their jobs. This situation is bringing out the worst in people.

I can't help thinking this could have been prevented. See I Saw This Coming.

However, this is an opportunity to create a better future. This crisis can be a positive turning point. The potential is there.

To read more, see UK Riots - Ending the Violence.

We can go on pointing the finger of blame, or we can find a positive solution.

This is a great opportunity. We can continue escalating the violence, or we can change direction to create a better future.

UK Riots - Ending the Violence

As the riots in many parts of London continue to spread across the UK, there is more and more talk about putting troops on the streets.

The situation is highly chaotic. The police are overstretched. They appear to be making it up as they go along.

For a better way to communicate and end the violence, see Improving Communication.

Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is one of the most effective methods of countering violence. NVC is used to transform situations, including cases of extreme violence.

We need leadership. We need strategies to address this situation.

The police and the authorities need to be using better strategies now. The old ways are not working - how more obvious can this get?

For news of NVC workshops in Britain and Europe, click here, here and here.

See also: Ending the Violence through a Creative Response. When are we gonna learn? We need a better way.

More Violence in London

The violence in London is continuing. Since Saturday night, the rioting and looting in Tottenham and Enfield have spread to Hackney and Bethnal Green in East London, Brixton and Clapham in Southwest London, Lewisham and Peckham in Southeast London, Croydon to the South.

Now the violence has spread outside of London to Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool.

As I said a couple of days ago, I Saw This Coming.

People are complaining because the police are slow to respond, but they are clearly overstretched. They seem to be making it up as they go along. It will not surprise me if there are troops on the streets by the end of the week, like what happened in Detroit in 1967.

Mayor Boris Johnson and Prime Minister David Cameron refused to break off their holidays at first, but as the violence has spread, they are both now heading back home.

For those of us who have been here, the situation is very tense. We don't know where the violence will break out next.

The terrible incident which led to the death of Mark Duggan is not the cause of this. That incident was just the catalyst. I feel terribly sad for his family and the grief they are experiencing.

It stopped being about that a long time ago, though.

And it's not about the Black community. White English youths are out there rioting. Turkish young people, Eastern European immigrants are out there, too. Not just young people, older people are out on the streets.

Home Secretary Theresa May keeps saying this is "criminality", and of course, this is true. But it's missing the point.

I saw this coming because people are angry. People have been angry for months.

I saw this coming because the government is not listening.

Be very clear. I am not condoning the violence and mayhem.

I am saying it was inevitable and could be predicted months ago. In fact, I predicted it.

Don't know what's going to happen next, but it won't be good.

And it won't surprise me if the Black community takes the brunt of any repercussions.

Tottenham Riot: I Saw This Coming

Probably a lot of people saw this coming. I sure did.

Click here for a video on the Tottenham riot last night.

I've been saying for months now, expect a summer of rioting. I thought we might have been spared because the weather had turned cloudy and temperatures were down. But no.

The sun came out and it was lovely, warm and sunny. And then the police decided to shoot somebody.

At least one eyewitness said that Mark Duggan was lying on the ground when the officers shot him.

Cuts, layoffs and redundancies. Pensions are shrinking. Tuition fees are rising. Then the police decide to shoot somebody. In Tottenham, a Black community with a history of tensions with the police.

Somebody please convince me this is not a conspiracy.

See also: Death of Smiley Culture.

We need to focus on solutions. There is a solution to this problem if we take a positive approach - the methods of the past do not work. Not for us. And ultimately, not for anybody.

Flora Nwapa: The Mother of African Women's Writing

I came across this blog post today: Remembering Flora – The Mother of African Womens Writing.

According to this, Flora Nwapa was the first African woman writer to be published in English.

We must remember that still, in many parts of Africa, women and girls are denied education. Buchi Emecheta, a Nigerian author of more than 20 books, has said that without her education, which was paid for by a grant from the Methodist church, she would never have achieved financial and personal independence.

Click here to read my interview with Buchi.

See also: Her Husband Burned Her First Novel.