White Husband Kills His Black Wife

This is one of those horrible stories I am seeing more and more of these days.  I am adding this to my collection entitled, "Do Black Lives Really Matter?". 

A white man has been sentenced to 72 years for killing Jenean Chapman, his Black wife.  Go here to read more.  

 I hate these stories.  I hate reading them and I hate blogging about them.  But I do it for a reason - the violence has to stop.  And we have the powe to make it stop.  

Violence is preventable.  This is why I host the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence every year.  We can PREVENT violence.  We can PREVENT domestic violence.  And you can help.   

Go here for more about Nonviolent Communication (NVC).  

Go here  for my review of the book Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg.  

Go here for more from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2025.  

To be clear, the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence is open to EVERYONE who is committed to nonviolence and peace.  

You can make a difference.  We can all make a difference.  

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Success Strategies with Zhana: Black History Month and the Month of Nonviolence

Unfortunately, this is a very, very sad time.  I am beginning the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence on a tragic note, once again.  

My guests on today's show were Dr. Lynne Muhammad, founder of the STREAM Labs, and Pastor Charetta Hodge, who is on the ministerial staff of Christhood International Ministries of St. Louis.  Both of my guests attended the recent HWPL Peace Summit in South Korea, as did my Executive Producer Naimah Latif.  

TRIGGER WARNING:  We talked about two extremely violent incidents which recently occurred in South London, and strategies for preventing these types of attacks in future. 

Go here to listen.  

To correct what was said there, 15-year-old Elianne Andam was killed when she intervened in an attack on a friend of hers by the friend's ex. 

Go here for a blog post on domestic violence.  

Go here for my conversation with Mercy Makinde on her experience of escapiing domestic violence.  

Go here for more from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2023.  

October is Black History Month here in the UK. And it is also the annual Month of Nonviolence which is held by Black Women for Positive Change, and is open to EVERYONE. And that means this is month is the annual Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence. So stay tuned for all the blogs I’ll be publishing this month.  The link for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2023 is above.

 What are your thoughts?  Please share this with your networks and please comment below.   

Escaping from Domestic Violence

Mercy Makinde was married in Nigeria at 17 to a man older than her own father.  She eventually managed to escape from her abusive marriage.  Mercy then founded her charity, The Amazing Amazon Initiative, which helps other women in similar situations to build new lives. 

Go here for my conversation with Mercy. 

Go here for readings from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  

Go here for NVC resources.  

Go here for more from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2021.  

Domestic Violence + the Coronavirus Crisis

As we all know, for many, the current covid-19 outbreak is having tragic, even lethal consequences.  And the long-term impact on the economy is yet to be seen. 

The global lockdown in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic is having many positive, beneficial consequences.  Street crime, burglary and other crimes are down (although cyber crime and internet fraud are on the increase).  The air quality has improved, and the impact on the environment means that fewer are animals dying.  Go here for more about the positive aspects of the coronavirus.  It's useful to have a fresh perspective. 
 

However, one of the many downsides is that people locked down togther for an ongoing period of time are more likely to experience domestic violence.  Some sistas are locked down with their abusers - and even their killers.

For Black Women Suffering Domestic Abuse, Coronavirus Quarantines are Life-Threatening.

Four in 10 Black women experience physical abuse. We’re also more likely to endure psychological abuse such as humiliation, bullying, name-calling, coercion and control.

Although we are being told, "Stay inside, don't go out", the message to any woman in a violent situation remains:  Get Out!

Go here for more about how to escape from a violent situation, and where to find resources to support you.  Remember, our self-care MUST be our priority.

Go here for more about how the coronavirus is disrupting all of our lives - as well as being potentially postive for our future. 

Go here for more about how we can look after our mental health during the coronavirus crisis. 

And, as we all need to smile and laugh more than ever these days, go here for some coronavirus humour.

Please share this with your networks and please comment below.  Thanks. 

Stop the Violence, Stop the Killing

Phillip Spruill, 11-Year-Old Boy, Commits Suicide

        

If you have been reading my blog posts, you know that I am passionate about ending the violence.  Ending the violence within the Black community.  Ending the violence within Black families.  Ending the violence against our young people.  Ending the violent acts our young people are committing against themselves and each other.  Ending police violence against members of the Black community.

I want to see an end to all violence experienced by everyone, everywhere all over the world.  And my community - the global Black/African community - is my priority.

Below are some news stories I have seen recently.  You may have seen them, too.  Each and every one of these stories breaks my heart. Bullying is something that blights children's lives.  In some cases, bullying has cost children their lives.  And it can be prevented. 

As you know, if you are familiar with my work, I am very solution-focused.  Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is one highly effective method of PREVENTING violence.  See below for more information about NVC.

Let's end the violence together.

9-Year-Old Girl Commits Suicide after Months of Being Bullied at School. 

11-Year-Old Boy Commits Suicide after Being Bullied about His Weight

11-Year Old Boy on Life Support after Suicide Attempt

Alabama Police Set Up and Falsely Arrested 1000+ Black Men

And now for some good news:  

Black Father Helps Teen Son Build Business - At his son's request, this father dropped a case about racial bullying within the classroom.  Instead, they built a new business.  Well done!

Let's talk solutions!

Nonviolent Communication 9 (NVC) is based on EMPATHY.  Go here for books about NVC and nonviolence. 

Go here for more NVC Resources.

Youth and Adults Must Work Together to Stop Violence

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Listening to Our Black Children

Are We Listening to Our Black Children?

I posted this blog some time ago and it's still relevant:  Are We Listening to Our Children?  Plus click here for part 2. 

Those posts are for everyone, regardless of racial or cultural background (although the examples in part 2 came from the Black community). 

But I continue to be very concerned about parenting within the Black community - how we parent our children.  It's not just about physical violence.  About physical abuse, i.e. beating children, and the fact that so many of our Black parents tell me we "have to" beat our children.  No, we don't "have to" be violent to children.  We need to find better ways to communicate. We need to upgrade our skills. 

As I said, it's not just about physical violence.  I was on the bus a few weeks ago and I saw this sista with a beautiful, beautiful little girl on her back.  The child had such a beautiful smile.  She was trying to get her mother's attention and her mother was telling her to "shush" so she could talk on the phone.

This really hurt me.  And I see similar things all the time in my neighbourhood, in my community.  WHY would you ignore your child to talk on the phone?  

And I have seen a lot worse than this, and I experienced far worse than this when I was a young person.  So many of us are so damaged.  We come from damaged families.  We have been damaging each other in our families for many generations, as a direct result of racism.  As part of the legacy of slavery.  We carry wounds that go very deep. 

As I have said on this blog many times, we have learned toxic ways of communicating, toxic ways of behaving.  And we will keep infllicting these toxic behaviour patterns on one generation after another until we heal them.  This is probaby the main reason why I wrote Success Strategies for Black People.  We CAN heal ourselves and each other.  And the healing process begins with healing oneself.

My own healing journey has been a long and difficult one, and it is ongoing.  I have learned a lot through my healing process and my aim is to share with you what is of value.  See also: Violence Begins at Home. 

Detroit Mother Pleads Not Guilty to Killing Daughter

This is such a tragic story.  Detroit Mother Pleads Not Guilty to Brutally Murdering Her 8-Year-Old Daughter. 

The child was just a few days short of her ninth birthday.  She died from multiple stab wounds.  

This mother was obviously disturbed - I say "obviously"  because of her behaviour - and needed help.  She needed support.  She was abusing her five children in front of other people - obviously, she was desperate for help. 

This kind of thing is often preventable.  Be very clear, I am NOT suggesting that our communities are the only communities afflicted with domestic violence and abuse.  

What I am saying is that this kind of thing can be prevented.  The woman's family and friends reported her to the authorities numerous times, but the family did not get the help they needed and now one of the children is dead.  

Please, please read my book Success Strategies for Black People.  I am passionate about helping more people find out about Spiritual Response Therapy (SRT), which can prevent tragedies such as this from occurring.  SRT is a form of energy therapy which brings about miraculous results in many cases.  For more about SRT, listen to my short recording on Your Inner Wisdom.  This is just one of the methods I cover in Success Strategies. 

Plus, we need to unlearn some of our patterns of toxic communication.  Toxic communication affects our relationships with partners, work colleagues and family members.  We have inherited some of these patterns because of the slavery experience.  

Nonviolent Communication (NVC) can transform violent situations and is helping people all over the world to transform their lives.  For more about NVC, please read Success Strategies for Black People.  Please also share this with anyone who can benefit from it - social workers, counsellors, anyone who is working within the Black community or who is working to combat domestic violence.  

We can transform our lives and the lives of people in our families and communities.