Black History Film: Freedom Riders

Bombed Freedom Rides Bus

Click here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2016.  

Have you ever gone into McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC or indeed, any fast food place to buy and eat a meal? I am sure at some point we have all patronised some such establishment, or a café or diner.

Have you ever reflected on the fact that there was a time we were not allowed to enter such places?

The documentary Freedom Riders covers a period in 1961 when people – both Black and white – challenged the laws and customs that forbade Black and white people from mixing or co-mingling. The film contains archive footage as well as interviews with some of the original Freedom Riders.

Freedom Riders, a hard-hitting documentary, depicts when members of CORE – the Commission on Racial Equality – embarked on a journey to test a recent ruling by the Supreme Court which had declared segragation on interstate buses to be unconstitutional. They set out to test whether Federal law was being enforced.

The journey began in Washington, D.C. The Freedom Riders boarded buses to Atlanta, GA, where they met with Martin Luther King. They were excited to meet with him and hoped he would join them. But he cautioned them not to continue their quest, and to use methods that were less confrontational.

At this point, I admit to being confused. While applauding their courage, I do not understand why these young people chose to put themselves in extreme danger rather than finding another, less violent way to address the issue.

The Freedom Riders continued on their way, heading towards Birmingham, AL. One group rode a Greyhound bus (coach), the other used Trailways. The Greyhound never made it to its destination - it was firebombed by a racist mob. The Trailways bus arrived in Birmingham to be greeted by another racist mob. Bull Connor, Birmingham's Chief of Police, had made a deal with the Ku Klux Klan to allow the mob to assault the Freedom Riders for 15 minutes before the police arrived.

Because they were confronted by such extreme force, the Freedom Riders resolved to continue on their journey. They refused to be intimidated into giving up. This much I do understand and, again, applaud.

The Freedom Riders were then joined by fresh troops from Fisk University in Nashville, TN. Each had signed his or her last will and testament before joining the Freedom Rides. As time went on, more and more people joined them.

The film documents the dirty deals that were done, such as the one in Birmingham I mentioned above. At one point, the riders were holed up in the First Baptist Church with MLK, who was on the phone to the then Attorney General Bobby Kennedy. The Kennedies had not taken much notice of the need to enforce Federal law forbidding segregation up until then, and as Julian Bond says, civil rights were “an afterthought” to them. But MLK insisted they take action, and the Freedom Riders captured their attention and that of the nation. The leaders got behind the Freedom Riders and their efforts were reported internationally, shaming America and the values our nation was meant to represent. 

 

The actions of the Freedom Riders, and the support of MLK and other prominent leaders such as the Reverend Ralph Abernathy, led to the Riders securing a high level of protection for part of their journey. This demonstrated that the State and Federal governments could have afforded them that protection from the start. This takes me back to my original question. Why did the Riders not insist on getting government protection before they started out? Or why diid they not use less violent strategies?

Unfortunately, the story did not end there. The Riders suffered more brutal racist violence. In Jackson, Miss, they were sentenced to hard labour at the notorious Parchman State Prison. Again, this was intended to discourage them but had the opposite effect. The prison became one of the stops on the Freedom Rides and over 300 of the riders served time there – under a law that had been declared unconstitutional.

I have to admire the Riders' ingenuity. Nothing and no one was going to stop them. They turned every adversity into an advantage. They even composed a song about the Parchman prison. 

For more about Parchman Prison, see Worse than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice.  

The Freedom Riders' quest was a foolhardy one – in terms of the methods they used - and led to a great deal of suffering which, to my mind, was preventable. However, the courage and determination of these young people spurred the Federal Government to take action and, in the end, led President Kennedy to call for an end to all segregation.

The film draws some very uplifting and inspiring conclusions. People from all over the United States, from different races and religions, and different backgrounds, came together and put their lives on the line to put an end to racial injustice.

I definitely recommend you see this film.

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

87-Year-Old Venus Green Locks Police Officer in Her Basement ...

This is the kind of news story I like to see.  87-Year-Old Venus Green Locks Police Officer in Her Basement ... and wins a $95,000 settement! 

How's that for some news you can use?

Seems the police officer forced his way into her home on a pretence and sarted pushig her around.  Meanwhile, her grandson, Tallie, had been shot in a convenience store and the police officer was preventing the medics from helping him.

Rather than stand by and allow Tallie to become another statistic, Venus took matters into her own hands and locked the officer in the basement!

This story just keeps getting better.  Green then sued the City of Baltimore and won - they paid her $95,000 compensation . Go Venus!

We MUST put an end to this police violence and intimidation.  Support the Week of Nonviolence and the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2016.

Click here to read the article on Urban Intellectuals.  .

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

Black Lives Matter: Finding Peace with the Higher Self

Protestors in Brixton following U.S.police killings

Listen below for this post.

I am posting this in the aftermath of a week that saw two African American men killed by the police, and a number of police officers in Dallas killed by snipers.

Here in Britain, where 590 Black people have been killed by the police, the perpetrators are not even arrested, charged or brought to trial.




We need to find solutions that are going to work for ourselves, for our families and for our communities.

Protesters in Brixton following the U.S. police killings

We want to live in peace.  We want our children to live in peace and we want to prosper.  Violence is not a solution.

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




Black Women Sue Johnson & Johnson over Ovarian Cancer 

For more about the Higher Self, see:

How to Get Clear, Precise Answers

Your Inner Wisdom 

We Need Solutions That Work 

Go here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence and interviews with NVC authors.

Remembering the Somme

African American soldiers in WWI

Today marks the centenary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Growing up in the States, I didn’t know much about the First World War. I had never heard the names of the great battles such as Verdun, Gallipoli, Passchendaele and, of course, The Somme. I learned a lot of detailed information when I moved to the UK.

This information was not taught when I was in school in the States, probably because we did not enter the war until 1917. So we missed out on The Somme, although our men experienced the final two years of the conflict.

Black nurses at Camp Grant WWI

World War I is remembered for the senseless slaughter of the combatants. The battle of The Somme went on for 141 days and saw the deaths of a million soldiers on all sides of the conflict. Young men were sent to their deaths by generals who either were incompetent or just did not care about the lives being squandered – or possibly both.

World War I was a new kind of war, relying on trench warfare and heavy artillery. The doctors and nurses who treated the wounded saw types of wounds they had never witnessed before. And the killing was on a scale that had never occurred before.

It is important that we remember The Somme and the men and women who gave their lives during the war. Many of them came from Africa, the Caribbean and India.

I was not aware of the horrendous conditions in which Black soldiers who served in the British Army lived. For example, in France, the African Caribbean soldiers in the British Army slept in unheated tents, while captured German enemy soldiers were given heated accommodation in barracks. For more about this, see Black People in the First World War. Many men joined up in the naive belief that serving in the army, and "proving themselves" would lead to them experiencing less racism and racial discrimination at home.  

World War One was meant to be the war to end wars, but if we look at the conflicts in places such as Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and northern Nigeria today, it is clear that war is still alive and well.

Much of the fighting took place on the African continent, and some of the conflicts taking place in Africa over the past two decades have their origins in the First World War. So is much of the poverty and deprivation still being suffered by people in Africa today. For more about this, see Black People in the First World War.

I was aware that the First World War ushered in a period of great change for many African Americans. Many of the men who had served in the war and experienced being treated as equals – for example, being allowed to sit and drink in cafés in France, something we all take for granted today – returned home to the States expecting and demanding equal treatment. This was one factor that contributed to the epidemic of lynchings in the South that began in 1919 and, of course, led to many African Americans migrating North. So the First World War had a huge impact on the lives of Black people all over the world.

I have a lifelong commitment to nonviolence. We must end violence and put an end to these conflicts that are still destroying the lives of millions today. 

The images above were taken from World War I and the African American experience.   

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. 

Muhammad Ali -The Greatest

Muhammad Ali - The Greatest

Click here for my ebook, The Power of Affirmations. 

Did you know that, long before he became the greatest, Muhammad Ali called himself “The Greatest”?  

Obviously, it took many hours of hard work, over the course of many years, for him to become – and remain – World Heavyweight Champion. But his success began in his mind. This shows us the power of words, the power of thought, the power of the human mind – i.e., your mind.

Click here for my ebook, The Power of Affirmations, to learn how you can maximise the power of your mind. 

This blog contains loads of Black history posts.  I recommend you search for them and share them with your networks.  You may want to start with this one: Invasion 1897.  It links to several of my African history posts.   

Black Unemployment Rate Twice That of the White Population

Dr. Boyce Watkins

In The Five Things I Hate about Being a Black Entrepreneur, Dr. Boyce Watkins has outlined some of the challenges Black entrepreneurs face.  One of them is that the Black unemployment rate in the United States is typically twice as high as that of white people.  In other words, we have half the amount of disposable income white people have to invest in our own, and each other's, businesses.

If you are ready to start using more effective ways to find the job you want, check out my blog post, Black Success:  Finding the Job You Want.  It links to my free job search consultations.

Please share this with your networks and anyone who can benefit from it.  Thanks. 

Black History Presentation: The Black Image

St. Maurice of Germany

It is crucial for Black parents and teachers to learn about, and share, our history with the next generation. For more about this, see below.

I recently attended the  presentation on "The Black image" by Tony Warner of London Black History Walks. I think it was the third time I've seen it.

One thing I enjoy about Brother Tony's presentations is that he always adds some new information. Thus, I enjoy watching them over and over again.

At one time, Black people were depicted in European artworks as regal and magnificent, often dressed in finery.   But in the modern day - starting with Transatlantic slavery and continuing to this day - the Black image has been distorted and degraded.  Films often depict situations in which a small band of white – British or American – fighters are up against hordes of Black enemy soldiers. The white soldiers are represented as brave and heroic, fighting off massive numbers of Black people.

Old films such as Zulu follow this pattern, and it continues with modern-day films such as Black Hawk Down. Similar patterns also appear in video games.

These kinds of images reinforced the British idea of empire: that they had gone into Africa and other places and stood up against huge numbers of hostile locals or, as they would have called them, “natives”. These attitudes continue to be reinforced in the British and American psyches today, through the use of these powerful images. And they affect the way we see ourselves and our history.

Perhaps the most important point Brother Tony made is that we must create our own images. We must record our own history and share it. As a griot, this is my job. It it is the responsibility of all of us - particularly that of parents and teachers. It is useful and important for us to understand the prevailing mainstream images of Black people and Black history, but we must create our own.

There are loads more Black history and African history posts on this blog, so please read them and share them with your networks.  Please leave your comments below.

The Violet Flame

The Violet Flame

If you have read Achieving Success, you know that overcoming blocks and obstacles is the first part of my 3-Step Success Formula.

In order to move towards success, and move towards achieving our goals, we first need to start removing some of our blocks – removing some of what is getting in our way.

I recently completed a Reiki Master training with Suzanne Zacharia. Suzanne is a great trainer, whom I trust. I have been working with her for many years as she is also an EFT practitioner.

As part of Reiki Master training, Suzanne gave me a violet flame attunement. I didn't know anything about the violet flame – this is all new to me.

Since then, I have been reading about the violet flame. The best book I have found is called Transform Your Life with the Violet Flame.

The violet flame helps us to transmute negative energy into positive energy – which is Step One in my 3-Step Success Formula!

Transform Your Life with the Violet Flame explains how we can connect with the violet flame and use it to eliminate negativity, to transform difficult situations into more positive ones. We can use the violet flame in work situations, with relationships, and to clear spaces. There are many more ways to use the violet flame. I strongly recommend this book, it can help you in many different areas of your life.

Transform Your Life with the Violet Flame is very easy to read, understand and apply. It is very practical, which is one of the reasons why I like it.

It is available from Amazon.co.uk here.

Or from Amazon.com here.

Click here to contact me for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Here's to your success!

Black Success: How to Get the Results You Want

Listen below for How to Get the Results You Want.  

How much do you want your life to improve? How much do you really want it? Want more money? Want more customers? Want to build your business? More time? More freedom?

How much do you really want it? Do you really want to bring about positive change in your life? If so, contact me for a FREE consultation with no obligation.

Click here for Success Strategies for Black People.

Click here for more Black Success audios with Zhana.

Kwanzaa 2015 Celebrations

It's that tme of year again!  I am listing Kwanzaa celebrations on my site.  These include Kwanzaa events across the United States and in Canada, Britain and Johannesburg, South Africa. 

I also have background information on the origins and meaning of Kwanzaa.  Enjoy! 

Please share this with your networks. 

Happy Kwanzaa! 

The Real “Ferguson Effect”

Laquan McDonald

As we know, institutional racism is still a problem in many police forces across Britain and the U.S.A.  

Many young Black people believe they will die before they reach the age of 21.  

We need to equip our young people - and adults - with the skills to be able to transform violent situations.  NVC (Nonviolent Communication) is transformative.  We need to be focusing on solutions.  

For more about NVC, click here for my interview with Ike Lasater, author of From Conflict to Connection.  

And this article about NVC. 


Plus click here for books about NVC.  

Check out the original article: This is the real “Ferguson effect”: Black death, white “safety” & the growing hopelessness among young people of color.  

The Argument-Free Marriage

Greetings, all.  I just saw this great article, The Argument-Free Marriage.  It links to the above video with Fawn Weaver. 

What she is saying is very similar to what we do with NVC, but in NVC we would say, first connect with your own feelings and needs, then connect with the other person's and only then express your feelings and needs. 

If you connect with the other person's feelings and needs, they are much more likely to be open to yours.  This works in all different kinds of relationships, not just marriages. 

Anyway, this is a great video. Enjoy! 

Please share this with your networks and please leave a comment below.

Click here for more about NVC. 

African History: Invasion 1897

My blog post, a review of the film Invasion 1897, was published on Africa on the Blog some time ago.  Click here to read it.   

You have probably heard of the Benin bronzes - artefacts which were stolen from Africa and added to collections around the world.  Some of the Benin bronzes are on display in the British Museum.   

The Benin bronzes contain the record of a people and its history and culture.  

Invasion 1897 portrays the invasion and colonisation of Benin in West Africa in 1897.  Benin was known for being a very advanced civilisation with its own unique culture.  It is now part of Nigeria.  

Click here to read my blog post.  Please leave a comment on my blog, and please share this with your networks.  Thanks.  

For more about the devastating long-term effects of European colonisation on African countries, see: Black People in the First World War.

8 Ways To Get POSITIVE Results

Derrick Hayes

 By Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes

This blog post is part of the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2015.  

With all the negativity that is surrounding us each day, we need more positive outlets to plug into. Through the word POSITIVE I give you 8 Ways To Get POSITIVE Results.

(P) is for Pause. When you see something that is not right or in your best interests, stop before you proceed. Take a break and collect your thoughts so you can take the right actions. Always remember to pause for the cause.

(O) is for Own. When you own your own business. As an entrepreneur, it gives you more of an incentive to go to work. As an employee, you get taxed without having the benefits of being a sole proprietor where you can receive takes breaks .As a homeowner,  you get takes breaks that you don’t get as a renter.

(S) is for Stay. One way to stay positive is to stay who you are. If you are already positive, remember to stay humble. Stay alert so that you will stay out of trouble.

(I) is for Include. When you plan an activity, invite other positive people to be a part of your event. The group can feed off each other. When one is in doubt another can help them out.

(T) is for Think. Keep grinning and winning by thinking like a winner and not a beginner. When situations come up again, think about how you made it through the last time.

(I) is for Improve. Analyze your life before others do. Take a class or even ask someone how you can get better. Seeing growth is a great way to look forward to a bright future.

(V) is for View. When others look for the worst in others, look for the best things that they bring to the table. See how you can turn negative into positive instead of keeping negative situations negative.

(E) is for Expect. Expect things to be positive in your life. When you hope for the best, things work out better for you. Keep expecting and protecting your dream to come true.

Each day, strive to be POSITIVE where you Pause, Own, Stay, Include, Think, Improve, View and Expect great results.

For more about Derrick, see:  DerrickHayes.com. 

One Heart, One Cry

By Skywalker Payne

This blog post is part of the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.

Do not cry out for vengeance or justice.
Neither exist in this world of appearance.

Listen and understand
we are all nothing and everything
we are all one pulsing breathing heart.

Our blood flows like rivers to a
sea of violence we’ve created
with our thoughts, words
and actions strike like
axes destroying ancient trees.

Do not think yours is the only heart broken.
Do not think yours are the only eyes
blinded by tears that cannot stop
watching the life light fade from your child’s body.

No monopoly on grief exists.
No black privilege on pain
or Gazan Syrian or Israeli.

Who wrote a poem for the Nigerian girls
kidnapped and forced to be suicide bombers
for a shadow entity
given free reign by African and Western
governments.

I hear the sound of oil rigs and blasting of mines
Africa continues to be raped
and Gazans remain expendable pawns in
the ongoing power struggle between the West and
the Arabs who failed to achieve unity
an English man named Lawrence
fought for 100 years ago.

And here in the USA have we forgotten
the history of the police, always the servants
of the wealthy status quo?

Remember, police beat the heads of white
union organizers and imprison white people
seeking equality, justice, and peace.
Even theatre was called Communist when
ignorant elected “public servants” so decreed.

Police violence is inflicted with
hateful malice on black, brown,
red, and yellow people.

Know your history to create a new path.
We have an obligation to transform the world.
Time to create new stories.

We must unite with everyone’s
heart broken by grief from violence.

Our hearts are huge enough to forgive and to comfort.

Our minds vast potential holds solutions
to end bigotry, hatred, envy, greed,
pride, and ignorance.

This is a 21st century non-violent battle cry.

Let it begin now with our light
of courageous, caring consciousness.

 

Copyright © 2015 Skywalker Payne 

Please share this with your networks.  Thanks.   

For more poetry by Skywalker, see: http://skywalkerstorytellerworks.com 

For more about her work, see:  http://skywalkerpayne.com

8 Books about NVC

As you may know, Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is one of the methods I feature in my book Success Strategies for Black People.

For more about Success Strategies, check out my Black Success audios.

See also:  War on the Black Community?

Click here for more books about NVC.  Many of these are featured in the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.

If you have not read these, you need to add them to your reading list.  Learn how you can connect with your own feelings and needs - and those of others - to bring about positive change. 

Enjoy!

Please share this post with your networks.

Black Lives Matter - Is There an Age Gap?

Rev. Barbara Reynolds

I had the pleasure of speaking with veteran Civil Rights activist Rev. Barbara Reynolds, and Latara Jones of Black Women for Positive Change.  Listen below.

This blog is part of the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2015.  

As I am sure you know, the Black Lives Matter Movement was born as a response to the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner and other Black people for whose deaths no one has been convicted. Some older African Americans, such as Rev. Barbara Reynolds, question their methods.  Latara Jones talks about the need for us to communicate across generations, and respect each other's experience and wisdom.

How can older and younger activists work together?  How can we take responsibiity for the violence in our homes and families?  Listen below.

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



Click here for practical ways to move from conflict to connection.

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

Conversation with Karen Carrington and Reverend Sauls

Pastor Kelvin Sauls

Listen below for my conversation with Karen Carrington and Rev. Sauls. 

Can nonviolence offer us real solutions?  

I recently spoke with Karen Carrington of Black Women for Positive Change, and Rev. Kelvin Sauls, Pastor of Holman United Methodist Church, Los Angeles, CA about the Week for Nonviolence 2015.  You can hear our conversation below. 

Rev. Sauls is originally from South Africa, where he experienced life under apartheid.  

The Week for Nonviolence 2015 will be held October 17th-23rd.  Please join us to help  change the culture of violence worldwide.  

Click here to listen to it.   

Click here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence. 

War on the Black Community?

Militarised Police - Does This Reassure You? 

Listen below to this blog post.  Please also check out the links below.

I believe the Black community, and Black communities around the world, are under attack and have been for many years. That is my opinion. And I want to know what you think. So please add your comments below after you have listened to this post. 

When our Black communities are thriving and prospering, every community will thrive and prosper.  Everyone will benefit.  Listen below for more.  Please leave your comments below and please share this with your networks. 

We need to use PRACTICAL solutions to bring about positive change and transformation.  

Check Out Books Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Zhana21 on BlogTalkRadio

Success Strategies for Black People 

What They Don't Want Us to Know 

More about What They Don't Want Us to Know

Why We Need to Heal 

590 Black Deaths in Police Custody 

Cancer Journals  

The Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence  

Anonymous Says Sandra Bland Was Murdered. 

 

The Sowetan – Jumping the Border for Water

The Sowetan - Jumping the Border for Water

The Sowetan newspaper reports Botswanan women routinely jump the border with South Africa in order to collect water for their families.  You may be able to access it here at The Sowetan e-edition: http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx

This is an artificial border first erected in 1933, which divided a community called Mabule in Botswana .  Now half of Mabule is in South Africa, but the other half is still in Botswana. And they need water. They cross the barbed wire border every day to get it. 

I don't remember hearing about this in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.   

As you may know, during the European colonisation of Africa, many artificial borders were set up and they often divided communities. There are people in Mabule in Botswana who are now living in a different country from their relatives – all because of an artificial border.

Similar things have happened all over Africa. And this is still affecting people to this day.

Think about the devastation that is being wrought by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria and reflect on how much of this can be traced to the fact that areas which are now banded together nationally as Nigeria were once separate territories, with their own poitical and economic systems. These existing systems were either eroded or destroyed in order to facilitiate the agendas of the European colonisers. For more about this, check out my blog post:  Invasion 1897.  

For more about the devastating long-term effects of the European colonisation of Africa, see: Black People in the First World War. 

Please share this with your networks.  Thanks.   

Global Networking for Black Business Owners

This is a re-purposing of this blog post. 

Click here to download More Black Success Volume 10, which includes interviews and articles by Black entrepreneurs and business experts on both sides of the pond including Melinda Emerson, Twitter's SmallBizLady.  .  

I am an African American woman based in London, and I meet people from all over the world. Many of us are facing similar difficulties and challenges. We have a shared history as African people and we have a great deal we can learn from each other.  

In my More Black Success free ebooks and the What U Need to Know radio show which I used to  co-present, our emphasis is on networking internationally as people of African heritage. 

Click here for some of my Black Success audios, to help you build your business. 

Historically, Black people have been taught to hate and mistrust each other as a way of controlling us. We need to overcome these barriers. We are all African people.

We are much stronger and more effective when we work together, for our common interests as African people.  

Click here for a great way to grow your business globally.

Click here to listen to a short audio recap on African Networking.

Harriet: A Choreopoem

 Check out this the short film based on an excerpt from my choreopoem, "Harriet", which depicts an imaginary meeting between Harriet Jacobs and Harriet Tubman.  You can watch it above. 

Plus "Harriet" is now available from the British Library.  This is the audio recording of the full-length choreopoem; above is a video directed by Keely Augustus, based on a short clip. 

Plus check out Soul Survivors:  Slave Narratives by Women.  

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

Cancer Journals Part 2

Gratitude - Cancer Journals

In case you missed them, here are my most recent Cancer Journals.  And just to be clear, my healing meditation is on its way.  See below for the previous Cancer Journals. 

Cancer Journal 6:  What Are Angels? - I've been doing a lot of work with angels and I am finding this highly beneficial - even though I'm not sure what angels even are. 

Cancer Journal 7:  EFT for Releasing Fear - In addition to anger, I've been experiencing a lot of fear.  Enormous, overwhelming fear.  I am sure this is natural under the circumstances. And I have effective ways of dealing with it.  

Cancer Journal 8:  A Healing Process - I am an Angry Black Woman.  What effect does this have on my health? 

Cancer Journal 9:  Managing the Pain - Or Not - I had a complete hysterectomy at the end of May.  I just could not believe the amount of pain I was in afterwards. 

Cancer Journal 10:  Gratitude, Our Healing - Gratitude can be an incredibly strong experience. 

Click here for more Cancer Journals.  

 

 

 

590 Black Deaths in Police Custody

Marcia Rigg Protest about the Death of Sean Rigg, London

Check out my previous blog posts:  Protecting Our Communities

We Need Solutions That Work. 

According to this article, 590 Black people in the UK have died in police custody.

This article fails to mention that some of the 500 people killed by the police, with impunity, were women. Some were disabled. Some were probably both. 

Call their names:  Cynthia Jarrett, Joy Gardner.   

Also, Cherry Groce was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life after being shot by the police in London.

This post appears to be pitting disadvantaged groups against each other. We need to stand together. I am Black, a woman and disabled. I have a problem with the way this site has posed the question, “If it was 590 women or 590 wheelchair users, would there be a national outcry?”.

All deaths in police custody need to be highlighted, awareness needs to be raised, but racism is something that affects Black people in every area of our lives, whether or not we are women or disabled. We need to keep highlighting this. 

These are just some of the many reasons why I am hosting the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2015.   

Plus check out this blog from Naturally Moi:  The Woman Who Filmed the Eric Garner Killing Is Suing the NYPD.   

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

Protecting Our Communities

Injustice Film on Deaths in Police Custody

Click here for a review of What They Don't Want Us to Know.
Listen below to my blog on Protecting Our Communities. 
One of the challenges we are facing at present is the killing of Black people by the police and the authorities.
This is just one of the reasons why I wrote What They Don't Want Us to Know along with some of my other books. We need to find effective methods to address these problems.  

Protecting Our Communities 



See also:  We Need Solutions that Work.  

Check Out Books Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Zhana21 on BlogTalkRadio

Click here to download Why We Need to Heal. 

Check out The Root on deaths in police custody: Ronald Singleton

Your Silence Will Not Protect You

Alice Walker

This lady said it:  "No person is your friend who demands your silence or denies your right to grow".  

And remember what Audre Lorde said:  "Your silence will not protect you.  My silence will not protect me".  

Our stories have been buried, distorted and misrepresented for too long.  We need to know our history and we need to share it.  It's time to tell the truth. 

If you haven't done so yet, click here to download Why We Need to Heal now.  Make sure your share this with your networks.  And please leave your comments below.