Children and Knife Crime

Knives Taken from Schoolchildren

Let's talk about solutions.  

In the news today, we learn about the increase in children bringing weapons into school, particularly knives.  

This is in the news now, but it is something I have been very concerned about for some time.  I am particularly concerned about violence within Black communities, but this is something that affects ALL communities.  Listen below for more.  



Click here for my interview with Ike Lasater.  

Click here for more blogs from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  

Click here for blogs about how violence affects Black communities. 

Click here for Success Strategies for Black People.  

New Review of What They Don't Want Us to Know.

What They Don't Want Us to Know

I have just received a new review of my ebook, What They Don't Want Us to Know.  You can read it below. 

I wrote What They Don't Want Us to Know several years ago and I recently updated it.  There is an urgency to this work, as more and more Black people are being killed by the police and the authorities (and, it seems, any random white person).  Plus there are many other ongoing issues which affect our communities.  For more about this, click here to download Why We Need to Heal, which is a free download.  Our communities need practical, effective solutions. 

Plus click here for your free sample chapter on Achieving Success.  

Here's the review: 

There are those in life that have a special calling, a calling that beckons us to seek out ways to enrich and improve their lives so that they may do the same for others. People such as this, with this burning desire in life, often find themselves in roles such as mentors, gurus, teachers, educators, and even parents. I myself am a parent and I have learned (be it the hard way) that in order for me to be able to be the best mother, the best sister, the best friend, the best daughter, and the best me I could be will require that I work towards improving myself in every aspect of my being.

We all want to have it all, but why does it seem so elusive and hard to obtain? Maybe it is because our whole lives, we have been living under the illusion that the key to our happiness lies in some external source, when in all actuality genuine, undying happiness sprouts forth from within.

What They Don’tWant Us to Know is a book that addresses those components of the lives of Black people - people of African heritage - that are most important in pursuing the best you. The chapters on Gratitude, Mindfulness, and Manifestation are only a few of the many nuggets of wisdom lent in this book that you can implement into your journey toward self-discovery. Learning how to release negative blockages, limiting beliefs, and fears were lessons I found to be highly beneficial to my overall wellbeing.

All of the information granted in this well-written, comprehensive guide will lead Black readers down a path towards lasting joy, peace, abundance, and prosperity in ways that are easy to implement into the busiest of lifestyles. I enjoyed the thoroughness of Zhana’s writing and the way she conveys a message of this complexity and proportion in an engaging and entertaining manner. Excellent read and I highly recommend this book to people of African heritage who strive to make positive change today for a better future tomorrow - for ourselves, for our families, for our communities and for humanity!

How Can We Best Educate Black Children?

This is a great podcast from The Wilmer Leon Show.  

Wilmer Leon's guests were two educators who talked about their experiences of teaching Black children in the school system.  

Some of their experiences underline what I keep saying:  we need to learn from each other internationally.  For example, one of the guests talked about the fact that he went into teaching Special Education, only to find out that a lot of Black children are being put into that category.  

The same thing happened here in the UK in the 1960s and 70s, when Black children were often labelled "educationally sub-normal".  Nowadays, exclusions are often used to deny our children an education.  

Another point the guests made was that Black boys are often being raised by women, and they come into the classroom to find themselves being taught by women.  So where do they learn to be men?  Where are their male role models? 

The presenter also makes the point that HBCUs do not teach their students some crucial Black literature.  You can graduate from Harvard without having read Carter G. Woodson's The Miseducation of the Negro or Ivan van Sertima's They Came before Columbus. 

This podcast was very rich.  You need to hear it.  Click here to listen. 

And always, always Remember Your Greatness.  

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.

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

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!

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.

A Great Way to Reach Teachers and Students

If you want to reach school pupils, teachers and educators with your work, Squidoo is a highly effective way to do so.

Get started now so that you will be up and running by the time school starts again in September.

My Black history lenses (articles) are my most popular articles on Squidoo. Sometimes they get hundreds of hits in a month. This is because people are interested in reading and learning about Black history, and Squidoo lenses are an excellent place to begin or expand their research.

Some of my Black history lenses include:

Black History International – This one contains Black history polls and links to other lenses.

London Black History Walks – focus on Black British history

Naij - A Film History of Nigeria

News and Views: ANC Welcomes Ruling - this lens includes reviews of films made in secret under apartheid in South Africa.

I have quite a few more.

Squidoo is one of the online resources people use when seeking information. If your lenses are "G" rated, people of any age can read them.

Squidoo lenses (articles) are highly targetted. This means the only people who visit them are the ones who are interested in your subject.

If you want to become established as an expert in your field, Squidoo is a great way to get started.

Plus, if you have products or services to sell, you can link to them from your Squidoo pages.

Click here to get started for free by building a Squidoo lens.

Click here if you are looking for ideas for things to write about. See also: Write Your Book in Two Days (you can use this for writing articles, essays or blogs).

Click here for more suggestions about how to make your lenses interesting and keep people coming back.

Here’s to your success!

Do We Need to Learn from White People?

A few years ago, someone wrote a book in which he said that in order to be successful, we need to think like white people. I strongly disagree. We don’t need to think like white people, we need to think like successful Black people. Like London-based PR guru, Mavis Amankwah, pictured, whom I interviewed in MBS 10.

Recently, on my radio show, What U Need to Know, a brother called in and was talking about books where we can learn about how to be successful in business. He talked about Think and Grow Rich and he also mentioned Robert Kiyosaki. I said, it’s fine to read those books, we can learn from anybody. And there are plenty of successful Black people who we can learn from. That is why I publish Black Success Stories and the More Black Success free ebooks.

We have many, many successful people we can learn from in our own community, who reflect us culturally. We need to learn from the experts.

Click here to order your of copies of More Black Success now - remember, they are free.

Plus, if you are a parent,teacher or educator, or you work with young people, remember to share them with others. For more information, see Inspiration and Motivation.

Click here to listen to an audio interview with me on Interviews with Black Entrepreneurs.

Please leave your comments below. Thanks.

Inspiration and Motivation

The More Black Success free ebooks are inspiring and motivating. If you are a parent or teacher, or you work with parents, or young people, you will want to share your copies. Click here to read more. Click here to order your copies.

Click here to listen to an interview with me with Interviews with Black Entrepreneurs, about Black Success Stories and More Black Success.

Homeless Mom Arrested for Sending Son to Better School

A homeless woman has been charged with first-degree larceny for sending her child to a better school. The authorities claim she lied about her address in order to get him into the school.

For many people, education is seen as the passport to a better future. This mother is doing what she can to get her son the best possible start in life - and she's been arrested for it. I would argue it would have been a crime if she HADN'T done this.

She used her friend's address and the friend has now been evicted from public housing as a result.

This is so outrageous. She faces the prospect of 20 years in prison. Because there are not enough Black people in prison already, right?

Click here to read the story.

See also: Are Black Parents to Blame for Their Children's Educational Under-Achievment?

Cameron Gets It Wrong

Prime Minister David Cameron recently stated that Oxford University had only accepted one Black student last year. As we all know, this statement was incorrect, as Oxford accepted 27 African and Caribbean students last year - he was not counting the students from the African continent.

Wow, a whole big 27.

The broadcaster Henry Bonsu, himself an Oxford graduate, has been working for years to encourage and support Black students to apply to Oxford and Cambridge. He takes groups of young people to Oxford for a one-week intensive programme. As he says in Black Success Stories, his teachers encouraged him.

The funny thing is, if you're one of the few Black people in a majority white school, you'll either be the best or the worst. Because if your teacher spots that you are good at something, they'll see you all the time. That's what happened to me. So I was pushed in my Latin, I was pushed in my German, to the point where they said to my parents when I was 15, he could go to Oxford....

The universities are now under pressure to get in students from non-traditional backgrounds. So if you do the work, you'll get a fair hearing now.

So if the teachers spot that potential, they will encourage Black children - at least sometimes. But I still think it's mainly up to the parents.

Mind you, Henry was later sacked by the BBC for being "too intellectual". But that's another story.

Worried about how to pay for university tuition? Check out my new ebook Shaking the Money Tree.

Need Finance for Your Business?

Many people are seeking finance for their businesses, and finding that the banks aren't lending.

Many people and organisations are also seeking sponsorship to attend conferences and other events.

If you are seeking alternative sources of funding, my new ebook Shaking the Money Tree may help.

I consulted many financial advisors about sponsorship, but they didn't have the information I needed. So I researched it and published this book. Click here to download Shaking the Money Tree now.

For a limited time, you can get a 75% discount off the regular price.

Here's to your success!

The Future for Black Boys

One of our guests on What U Need to Know on Saturday, Theron J. Jackson, author of Never Be Nothin, talked about his experience of having been told in 5th grade "You'll never be nothing". He was told this by a Black woman teacher. Click here to listen to the show.

I use the term "teacher" advisedly.

One of the many challenges faced by our Black boys and young men is that many are being raised in an environment where they have no positive male role models. One result of this is that many of them are lost in the education system and end up in the criminal justice system.

Although our guest was speaking about African American boys, we see the exact same things happening in the UK.

Although being raised without positive male role models is not the only reason for this problem, the lack of role models does have an effect.

I think girls as well as boys need positive male role models.

This is why I published Black Success Stories Volume 1.

Many of those interviewed in the book speak about educating our young people, and the duties and responsibilities of Black parents.

Click here to order your copies of Black Success Stories now.

See also: Do You Think Like a Success?

Click here for more about our panel of experts.

Here's to your success!

Africans in Colonial New York: Educators' Workshop

This workshop is being held today at the Schomburg Center in New York.

Teachers are invited to join Schomburg scholars and park rangers from the New York African Burial Ground National Monument for this workshop about the history and cultural contributions of New York City's early African population.

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a research unit of The New York Public Library, is recognized as one of the leading institutions of its kind in the world.

For details of this and other events at the Schomburg, including The Sacred in the Secular Classroom: A Panel Discussion for Educators, see Black History International.

Honouring Your Deepest Values

What is the most important thing in your life?

Is it your relationships?

Having genuine heart connections with people?

Spending time with those you love?

Fun and excitement?

Having a healthy, fit body?

Creative expression?

Education and learning?

The opportunity to learn and grow spiritually?

Whatever you most value, make sure you structure your life around it, rather than trying to fit it into your life.

To read more, see 12 Ways to Be Successful.

Click here for my free 3-Step Success Formula.

Here's to your success!

Reminder: Education - What U Need to Know Tomorrow (Saturday)

As September means back to school for many people, we are looking at education. What can Black parents do to ensure their children get the best from the education system? And what kinds of educational resources are available?

This show is presented by two sistas across the Atlantic - my colleague, Joan E. Gosier of HBCU Kidz, author of Cotton Pickin' Paycheck, and myself.

Click here to listen.

Click here for more details and to listen to recordings of previous shows.

To join us, phone 001 (347) 637-1099 or login to the chatroom.

Click here for my Amazon Author Profile.

Education: What U Need to Know

Click here to listen to What U Need to Know Saturday 4th September 2:00 p.m. EDT.

As September means back to school for many people, we are looking at education. What can Black parents do to ensure their children get the best from the education system? And what kinds of educational resources are available?

This show is presented by two sistas across the Atlantic - my colleague, Joan E. Gosier of HBCU Kidz, author of Cotton Pickin' Paycheck, and myself.

Please phone in at 001 (347) 637 1099 or join us in the chatroom to share your views on education.

You may know that Google is now offering free phonecalls from the UK and the U.S.A.

If you miss the broadcast, you can still listen to the recording here.

Listening to the President

I saw this excellent blog post today, A Different Type of Double Standard.

Do people even listen to what the President is saying? Or do they just see a Black face and turn off (literally turn off their TVs)?

I mean, first of all, they accused him of having a "political agenda". How do you get to the White House without having a "political agenda"?

I read so much nonsense about President Obama these days. I am at a loss sometimes about what to say - there is so much stupidity about.

People seem to be coming from fear, prejudice (pre-judging) and ignorance, without even listening to what the man says.

Pay attention, people. He is talking about values, things we all care about, things that can help us all to improve our lives and give them meaning. Things like education, taking responsibility, contributing to the common good. Pay attention. But if you are reading this blog, I assume you already do.