Limitless Creation, Limitless Power

One thing I talk about in my book Success Strategies for Black People, and one thing I have taught my students, is the Law of Increase. Whatever we focus on, concentrate on, increases. We can focus on the problem or the solution.  Whatever we give our energy to, we experience more of.  

In ancient times, only the privileged had access to the Law of Increase.  That was how they maintained their their power and privilege and that was how they increased it.   But we live in the information age now, and we have access to, and can use, these universal laws.  

What we give out, we get back.  Whatever energies we put out, be they negative or positive, the universe gives us back. 

Many people have an attitude of “leave it to god”. It's been called "learned helplessness". Given our experience over the last 500 years, it's understandable that people feel that way. But it's time to break out of that mentality now.  It's time to recognize our true power and our true worth. 

We have enormous power, but we don't use the power we have.  In fact, we have forgotten the power we have.  

SRT is just one way to enjoy our power.  For more information, check out Black Success:  How to Get Clear, Precise Answers.  

You’re Fired! Company Terminated Employee Who Called Cops On Black Man at Swimming Pool

white woman at swimming pool

Some of us may be glad this happened.  At least, some kind of justice has been done.  A white woman was fired from her job after she phoned the police when a Black man wore socks at a swimming pool.  But it really should not have come to this. 

This is just the latest of similar stories about places such as Starbucks and Denny's. 

We are not allowed to hold meetings at Starbucks.  Nor can we stop at a gas station to buy drinks for children after a nonviolence demonstration.  Not without some white employee calling the cops on us.  But at least we can wear our socks in the pool. 

It should never come to this.  We MUST Learn to treat each other with respect. 

Niecy Nash received some very interesting responses to the spoof telephone helpline she created for racists. 

See also:  White Woman Calls Cops 911.  

And then there's the Ryanair incident.  (Warning:  this contains offensive language.)  Yep, we definitely gotta avoid flying anywhere with Ryanair. 

And remember the nail shop incident? 

This nonsense really has to stop. 

Go here for more from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2018. 

Please leave your comments below, and please share this with your networks.  Thanks.

Interview with the Archbishop of York

John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York

The Rt. Rev. John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, is the first Black Church of England Archbishop to be ordained within the United Kingdom.  

Here, he talks about the importance of nonviolence for him as a Christian.

Z:  How are you personally affected by the violence in the world today?   

JS:  Saddened (and angry!) because:

• Violence seems so often to be a knee-jerk reaction to either fear of personal threat or manipulation by vested interests combined with social media.
• Targeted violence designed for maximum collateral damage hitting bystanders to the arguments, often those who have least resilience
• Even more collateral damage to society in general – disruption of governance, daily life, resources with an undermining of trust, truth and community.  
    

Please can you give me one or two examples of how you practise nonviolence in your own life?

Jesus said, “blessed are the peacemakers”. Making peace means action, not passivity. With that in mind, I try to give young people a goal to aim for: that is God’s Kingdom. You can find some of the components in Matthew’s Gospel, Chapters 5 – 7. But we humans need more than good advice and good examples, so I also share with them the good news about Jesus Christ himself, who is the Prince of Peace. He gets to work within us, putting right what is wrong and through the Holy Spirit giving us dness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Surely this is how we all want to live?  

Many parents are struggling with issues around violence today. Young people are shooting and stabbing each other – I am sure you are aware of the fact that violence is increasing, both in London and across Britain. What practical advice or suggestions can you offer to parents about how to protect their children from violence, and how to prevent violence? 

• encourage them to have a circle of trusted friends who are not all like them
• be interested in their interests, feelings, hopes and don’t work so hard there’s no time for children
• relax together. Don’t put children under so much pressure – positive support is better than negative sanctions
• surround them with adults, other than family, who will be protective of them, who they can learn to trust and go to when they get to the “asserting independence” phase of their lives (role of godparents!)
• watch age-appropriate news and other programmes with them
• encourage them to read stories – a wonderful way of learning about the world, universe and everything else (especially themselves) and to see things in perspective.
• there are some excellent books for children and young people about difficult topics, eg the children’s version of I Am Malala with lovely illustrations, and Michael Morpurgo’s books.

Please add any further remarks you would like to make.

Because of my Christian faith, for me, it is a privilege to belong to a church family that breaks down barriers between people of different places, cultures, backgrounds. I want young people to be able to celebrate diversity whilst also knowing we all belong together - different, but one family, sisters and brothers together.

+Sentamu Ebor 

Go here for more blogs from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2018.  

Go here for NVC resources.  

Please leave your comments below and please share this with your networks.  Thanks.  

White Woman Calls Cops 911

Shopping While Black News:  A white woman has called the police on 911 when a group of Black/African American anti-violence protesters stopped to buy drinks at a gas station.

In yet another instance of racist stupidity, the white woman, identified as "Brenda", called the cops when a group of anti-violence protesters, many of them children, ended their demonstration outside a gas (petrol) station in North Charleston, South Carolina.  The demonstrators planned to buy drinks for the children there.  Let's hope they did not spend any money at the gas station. 

Go here for more info.

As far as I am aware, the demonstrators were not arrested, as were several people in two different Starbucks several months ago.

Shopping while Black is becoming increasingly interesting.

Go here for more blog posts from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.

Please leave your comments below, and please share this with your networks.  Thanks.

Black History: New Revelations about Emmett Till

Okay, it's not exactly a revelation, but the white woman whose accusation sparked the brutal murder of Emmett Till in 1955 has now, AT LAST, admitted that she lied.

The 14-year-old whistled at a white woman - that much has been made clear by his cousins, who were present at the time of the incident.

But he DID NOT touch her inappropriately.  This white woman has FINALLY admitted that.  So she will not take that secret to her grave.

Of course, Ida B. Wells researched this many decades ago and proved that these allegations that Black men had touched or, indeed, attacked white women were completely erroneous.  They were simply a pretext, used to justify the lynching of Black men, women and children.

Go here for my blog post about Ida B. Wells.

Go here for more Black history blog posts.

Please share these with your networks, and please leave your comments below.  Thanks.

Black History: Rosewood

We have heard about the Black Wall Street.  Other Black communities were also destroyed by racist violence, including Rosewood, Florida.

Rosewood was attacked and destroyed by a racist mob.  Even the children  had to hide, or run for their lives when there was nowhere left to hide.   

Go here for more Black history posts.

Please leave your comments below, and please share this with your networks.  Thanks.  

Patrick Vernon on the Importance of Black History Month

In this video, a panel including activist and campaigner Patrick Vernon discuss the importance and relevance of Black History Month/African Heritage Month.

If you have seen the documentary More than a Month, you know that this debate continues in the United States, where it was found that the way Black history was taught in schools focused on a few signicant figures.  People such as Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks featured prominently, as so they should.  But Black history did not begin with slavery.

Although this approach to Black history is wholly inadequate, when there was no attempt made to recognise Black History Month, Black history was not acknowledged or taught at all.

Therefore, Black history is still very relevant, and although there is no need to confine it to one single month, Black History Month/African Heritage Month serves as a signpost towards greater knowledge and understanding, both here in Britain and in the United States.  . 

I am keen to share Black history as far and wide as I can.  Therefore, please share this with your networks and please leave your comments below.

Please also share these Black history links.

Please also share my short film about Harriet Jacobs and Harriet Tubman.

Black History: Who Was Roots Really Based On?

Laurence Fishburne in Roots

Everyone remembers Kunte Kinte, the central character in Alex Haley's Roots.  Stolen from Gambia, he was taken in chains to the United States (land of the free) along with thousands, maybe millions, of other Black people.

But whose background really formed the story of Kunte Kinte's upbringing and culture?

Want to find out?  Go here to buy my book, Black Success Stories.

Plus go here for more Black history blogs and African history blogs.
 
See also: Black History: How to Give the Gift of Knowledge.  

Please share this with your networks and please leave your comments below.  Thanks.

Black History: How to Give the Gift of Knowledge

Len Garrison

Do you want to give the gift of knowledge to your child?  Do you want your child to be aware of Black history and heritage?

Did you know that the late, great Len Garrison, who created the Black Cultural Archives in London, did so with no training and no funding?

Want to find out how he did it and how to research your own history?  Read my interview with him. Go here for my book Black Success Stories.  Order your copy today!

Go here for more Black history blogs.

Please share this with your networks and please leave your comments below.  Thanks.

Six-Year-Old's Encounter with Gun Violence

Merkel Taylor, recovering from head wounds

If you read or follow my blogs, you know that I am committed to nonviolence and Nonviolent Communication (NVC).

Go here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2018.

Markel Taylor, 6, was being driven to football practice by Marlow Parker when he was attacked.

This little boy was shot in the head, which has led to serious long-term issues for him and his brother. They are still living with the aftermath of this horrific incident and the trauma it caused.

Go here to read more.

This case is currently subject to legal proceedings, so not much information is available at this time.  But this is an example of what can happen when we resort to using violence. 

The Black Man Who Attends Klan Rallies

I am sure you have heard about Spike Lee's new film, BlacKkKlansman.

In this TED talk, Daryl Davis talks about forming a friendship with a Klan leader.  He didn't do it because it was his job. Unlike Ron Stallworth, the author of BlacK Klansman: A Memoir and subject of Spike Lee's film, Daryl Davis was not an undercover police officer.  

Davis was fascinated with finding out how, and why, people hate others whom they don't even know.  So he approached the Klan. 

This TED talk shows that true friendship can form between people who come from conflicting ideologies, even the white supremacist ideology of the Klan. 

Daryl Davis has proven that, although we stronngly disagree, we can have mutual respect for one another.  And we can connect with, and form friendships with, anyone. 

See also:  Spike Lee Wants Us to Respect Our White Allies.  

Please leave your comments below and please share this with your networks.  Thanks.  

Go here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.

Book Marketing Genius: Sell More Books

I did this interview on Black Folks Hot Spots a couple of years ago and basically forgot about it.  In this interview, I mentioned my forthcoming ebook,Sell More Books.  I was waiting till I pubished the ebook before I shared this video.

Well, my ebook is out.  It's called Book Marketing Genius and, at the moment, it's still free.  It's still a work in progress, and your feedback is vital to completing the book.  You can download it here.  

Book Marketing Genius is a workbook which outlines a practical program to help you market your books.  It can help you to produce your books as well.  The marketing process begins BEFORE you finish your book. 

Do you want to 

• help more people?  
• reach more readers?  
• grow your audience?  
• increase your sales?  

Do you want to sell more books?

If the answer to these questions is "Yes", then please download Book Marketing Genius now. 

Plus go here to join my group, Book Marketing and Financing, where I will continue to add more resources. 

Remember, Book Marketing Genius is a PRACTICAL workbook.  You can't just read it, you have to DO what it says.  And I really want your feedback, so please let me know your results.  

Go here for my Black Success Audios.  

Please share this with your networks, and please leave your comments below.  Thanks. 

Spike Lee Wants Us to Respect Our White Allies

I am so glad Spike Lee has said this.  And, of course, he is right.  There have always been white people who were committed to justice.  And there have always been white people who risked, and sometimes lost, their lives due to their commitment to justice. 

During slavery, the people who owned the safe houses in the Underground Railroad were often white. 

Having said that, a lot of the violence that's going on now is no different from what happened during slavery. 

During apartheid in South Africa, some white people were imprisoned and risked losing their lives for challenging the apartheid regime.  Many others protested against apartheid internationally. 

And in Jim Crow America, white people risked their lives on the Freedom Rides.  

So let's not forget our history.  

And always remember, WHITE PEOPLE ARE NOT OUR ENEMIES.  I'm sure you know this already.  

The enemy is group mentality.  

Racism, racial discrimination, racist violence, racial profiling, bigotry - these are all different ways of saying "group mentality".  And it's not just about race.  Everybody has some group mentality. 

White people often come with group mentality, and when they do, they are our enemies.  Group mentality is vicious. 

Go here to read what Spike has to say. 

Please leave your comments below and please share this with your networks. Thanks.

Black Girl, 11, Tasered by Police

Girl of 11 Tasered by Police

A girl of 11 was tasered by an off-duty police officer in Cincinnati, OH.  

Go here to read more.  

I've said it before and I'll say it again - we need to change this situation.  And we can.  So tired of reading and hearing about these stories.  Tired of having my heart broken.  I am sure you are, too.  

Here's another one:  

Florida Cop Handcuffs 11-Year-Old Boy.   

How is this any different to what they were doing to us in slavery?  

We MUST change this situation.  And we can!  

And let's remember that this is an INTERNATIONAL problem.  Go here to read my blog about the Death of Kevin Clarke. 

We need to work together to sort out this problem.  And we can!  

My work focuses on solutions,  Let's talk about solutions.  Go here for 8 Books about Nonviolent Communication (NVC).  

Plus go here for more NVC resources.    

Please leave your comments below, and please share this with your networks.  Thanks.  

Black Entrepreneurs: Are You Ready to Change the World?

I really like this video because my work is all about changing lives.  That is how we can change the world. 

If you are serious about changing lives and changing the world, go here to download my ebook, Achieving Success. 

Please leave your comments below and please share this with your networks.  Thanks. 

This Upsets a Lot of People

I have had this argument with a lot of people, online and offline, over the years.

I met this guy at the park the other day. He is an active church member and works with young people.

He was insisting that we “have to” beat our children. In Africa, we beat our children – and "it works".

I confess I did not use my NVC skills during this encounter. I did not try to connect with his feelings and needs. I get very reactive when I see parents behaving in ways I don't like, and I particularly react, when people tell me we “have to” beat our children.

People also think it is part of our culture, but it's not. This is behavour that was learned and reinforced during slavery. Violent parenting, ruling by fear and intimidation, is NOT part of our culture. It is part of white culture. White people don't want us to know this. They don't want us to know and understand that we can have relationships, including parent/child relationships, based on trust, mutual understandin,g care and respecct.

“We have to” is a form of jackal speech, which Marshall Rosenberg terms “the language of no choice”. He points out that the Nazis used this kind of language to justify their actions.

For more about jackal speech, see “Transform Your Life with Nonviolent Communication”.

Also, check out my book, Success Strategies for Black People. 

Nonviolent Communication also works.   

Just because I have knowledge about NVC and I understand how it works, doesn't mean I always use it. I fall down. I make mistakes. It's called learning.

Jackals are very useful, as they point us to our unmet needs. I was experiencing a lot of unmet needs in this argument. Needs for kindness, care, respect and, most importantly, listening. A lot of parents tell me they are having problems with their children. “She's angry, she's slamming doors”, etc. But when I ask what unmet needs the child is experiencing, they tell me, “she doesn't have any”.

If your child is angry or upset, he or she is experiencing unmet needs. And you need to LISTEN to the child to understand what unmet needs he or she is experiencing.

We need to LISTEN to children, not beat them.

Please leave your comments below, and please share this with your networks.

Black Lives Matter: Death of Kevin Clarke

Did you know – it was reported Monday that Kevin Clarke, a young Black man, died in police custody in Catford, Southeast London after being detained by NINE police officers. 

Clarke had mental health problems.

One more reason Why I Am Committed to Nonviolence.

See also: Rashan Charles's Death.

Please leave your comments below, and please share this with your networks.  Thanks. 

Increase in Gun and Knife Crime

London Metropolitan Police 2018

If you have been reading and listening to my blog posts, you know that my work is about solutions. 

As I am sure you know, there has been an increase in violent crime, including knife crime and gun crime, in London. Black communities have been dealing with this crisis for many years.  

What is the response to this from the police?   

Sara Thornton, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, has said that there needs to be an increase in stop-and-search, and The Metropolitan Police are planning to do just that.  

 

As we know, the stop-and-search is deployed overwhelmingly against Black African-Caribbean people, particularly young Black African-Caribbean men.

Given that British prisons are already disproportionately incarcerating Black people, something is definitely wrong here. Several things, actually.

The police conducting their stop-and-search incidents are finding larger numbers of weapons.

http://www.itv.com/news/2018-04-07/london-knife-crime-met-police/

This would suggest that stop-and-search is not working. Stop-and-search is not preventing young people from carrying knives. The ethos has been described as making young people more afraid of being arrested than they are of carrying knives. Given most young Black men are aware that the police may kill them with impunity, and this has happened numerous times, making them more afraid of police is a tall order.

What needs to happen is for young people become confident in their ability to reduce or prevent violet crime without needing to carry weapons. Our young people need to become skilled in methods such as NVC (Nonviolent Communication) that can PREVENT violent incidents and PREVENT situations escalating into violence.

By the time a young person starts carrying a knife, ostensibly for protection, the situation is out of control. We need to PREVENT young peoplle believing they need to carry guns in order to protect themselves,as they know other people who are carrying weapons.

For more about this, see  Children and Knife Crime.

See also: Which Children Are More Likely to Bring Weapons to School? 

Please share this with your networks, and please leave your comments below.  Thanks.  

Black Panther's African History + the Books to Prove It

This is another highly enjoyable, engaging and educational event from London Black History Walks. If you want to learn about the practical, historical basis for The Black Panther Movie, take the opportunity to attend this event. 

Go here to read my review of The Black Panther Movie. 

And go here for the next event, on 28th April.  

I am not going to share all the knowledge Brother Tony dropped on us.  Instead, I will raise some of the questions he asked. 

What was the first superhero film produced by Marvel Studios?  Okay, I will give you that one.  Go here for the answer.  

Who is the richest superhero in the Marvel universe?  

Is there a real-life precedent for a rare precious mineral which is found in abundance in an African country?  

Who first used the term "Black Panther" and used a black panther logo?  (It's probably not who you think.)  

Are there real-life examples of an African king or leader having an all-female bodyguard?  

What African language does the Black Panther speak?  

What is another name for the British Museum?  

What precious African artefacts are held in the British Museum and other collections?  Again, I'll give you this one - go here for one answer- one of many. 

Go here for more Black history and African history blogs.  


Please share this post with your networks and please leave your comments below.  Thanks. 

End Taser Torture in U.S. Prisons

Watch some horrendous footage of tasers being used to torture prison inmates.  

People have been tased when restrained with their arms behind their backs. This is despite a lawsuit dating back to 2011.  

The guards have been called "sadistic". 


I wonder how many other prisons are using these kinds of brutal tactics. 

Of course, this does not apply exclusively to Black people/people of African heritage. But Black people are more likely to end up on the sharp end of the criminal injustice system.  For some statistics about this, see:  How to Escape the Prison System.  

The U.N. has been called in to investigate this situation. 

If you are in prison or you know someone who is, or you work in a prison, you really need to check this out. 

This is just one reason why we need Nonviolent Communication (NVC) - as a PREVENTATIVE measure, to PREVENT these kinds of incidents. 

Please share this with your networks, and please leave your comments below.  

What Does The Black Panther Movie Tell Us about Black People?

The Black Panther Warrior Women

The Black Panther movie tells us a great deal about Black/African people, psychology, traditions and potential.  I saw the film last night and I enjoyed it immensely. It is doing brilliantly at the box office, breaking all kinds of records, as well it should. 

 

Lest we forget, the first Marvel comic films were the Blade trilogy, which did so well at the box office that they enabled Marvel to bankroll all the other superhero films they subsequently produced, yet, somehow, they have been left out of the Marvel narrative.

Further, lest we forget, Black filmmakers, notably Oscar Michaux, have been making films giving positive depictions of Black filmmakers since at least 1919.

I have a few quibbles about The Black Panther, as follows (this contains spoilers): 

• I do not like to see two Black men duking it out as they do in the film, albeit displaying awesome fighting skills;  

•  I particularly disliked seeing Black men and women fighting each other on the battlefield, and I'm not even sure what they were fighting about; 

• The brother from U.S. appeared conflicted – he addresses a white woman as “Coloniser” and makes reference to the plunder of African artefacts, yet he partners with a white thief of, and dealer in, such artefacts;

• Perhaps my strongest objection is to Martin Freeman's role – he plays a duplicitous, double-dealing CIA man (in other words, a CIA man) who allies with the Wakandans and, at the end of the film, is shown in the United Nations like some kind of benevolent paternalistic figure.

Having said all that, the visuals are amazing, the storyline and the depiction of African people as masters of technology are – well, masterful, and The Black Panther offers us a largely positive view of African people and traditions. The Wakandans, from the fictional African state of Wakanda, are depicted as kings, queens and heroes. And the movie is highly entertaining.  
 
The Black Panther is a dazzling sci-fi romp.  I am old enough to remember a time when Black people did not exist in the future, i.e. in science fiction.  So I greatly enjoy this film's strong characters. 

The characters' inner and outer conflicts mirror, to a certain extent, similar conflicting emotions within and among people from the Diaspora and the African Continent. I found this fascinating. 

 

One thing I particularly liked was that the men, and the women, were so beautiful to look at and so strong, brave and fearless. These sistas looked awesome. The characters carried themselves with great pride and dignity and the sistas were warriors, fully ready to throw down. 

 

I need to see this film again, soon, to gain clarity and because it is such great fun!  If you have not seen it yet, see it! 

What did you think of The Black Panther movie?  Please share this with your networks and please leave your comments below. Thanks.  

 

Looking for Black Bloggers to Interview (2)

The landscape has changed a great deal since I produced Secrets of the Black Bloggers.  There is still a vibrant Black blogging community, and many more Black bloggers have emerged.  

Do you have a story to tell?  

Are you able to inspire and motivate others?  

Does your blog contain useful, educational material?  

Are you a writer or author?  

These are just some of the qualities and skills Black bloggers display.  

If you want to share your blog and would like to be interviewed, please contact Zhana here or here.  Please include the link to your blog.  

See also:  The Black Blogger as Modern Griot.  

For a list of the types of blogs I am looking for, see:  Looking for Black Bloggers to Interview. 

Please share this with your networks and please leave your comments below.   Thanks.  

Looking for Black Bloggers to Interview

Black bloggers wanted

It's been awhile since I published Secrets of the Black Bloggers. 

Are you a Black blogger who really wants to make a difference? I am looking for bloggers to interview for Volume Two of Secrets of the Black Bloggers. To be interviewed, you need to have been blogging for at least two years. Your blog must be aimed primarily at Black people, i.e. people of African heritage. The primary focus of your blog must be about one or more of the following: 

• Black health
• Nonviolence
• Black history
• Personal development
• Mind/body/spirit
• Parenting
• Education
• Black business
• Energy healing
• Books/Literature/Writing
• Black film
• The arts
• Current affairs
• Travel

More topics may be added later. They will NOT include beauty, fashion or celebrity gossip.

If you would like to be interviewed, please contact Zhana here or here.  Please include the link to your blog.   

Please share this with your networks and please leave your comments below.   Thanks.  

See also:  The Black Blogger as Modern Griot. 

 

Black Success: How to Escape the Prison System

I have called this blog post How to Escape the Prison System, but I could have called it

How to Overcome Mental Slavery. 

And I believe that knowledge is power. So we are aware of the problem. The only solution

is one that we can provide. Nobody else can do this for us. We have to do it. 

Listen below for more.  



Please share this with your networks, and please leave your comments below.  Thanks.   
  

Go here for more Black Success audios with Zhana. 

Success Strategies for Black People 

 

Slavery by Another Name

Slavery Did Not End in 1865

Prisoners Provide Cheap Labour for Microsoft

Major Firms Divest from Prison Industry 

Dunkirk's Use of Prison Labour

Percentages of Death Row inmates executed by race

63 % of all people exonerated are African Americans.

African American Wrongful Convictions