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

Black Success: Stop Causing Yourself Pain

Stop Causing Yourself Pain

Black people are very good at blaming. We blame white people. We blame the government. We blame the politicians. We blame men. We blame women. Most importantly, and most tragically, we blame ourselves and each other.  We need to GET OUT OF OUR OWN WAY. 

Listen below for more about how we can heal ourselves and stop causing ourselves pain.  I am sharing practical methods of healing ourselves.  

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

 

Go here for Success Strategies for Black People.  

Go here for more Black Success audios with Zhana.

Go here for more blog posts about NVC.

Go here for more about NVC and nonviolence.

Charlotte Sophia, Invisible Queen

Queen Charlotte Sophia

As you may know, Queen 
Charlotte Sophia, consort of George III, was a Black woman - a woman of African ancestry.  

Dr. Stephanie Myers from Black Women for Positive Change has recently produced a book, Invisible Queen, about Queen Charlotte Sophia.  You can listen to it below. 

Go here for more Black history links.  

Books to Help You Prosper

Do you want to have more money in the new year?   Better finances?  Better career prospects? If so, what is stopping you?   What is getting in your way?

I can offer you highly effective methods to help you achieve your goals and experience greater prosperity in the coming year – through working just a few minutes every day. Starting NOW. 

For more information, click here to download my ebook Achieving Success.

See also: Have More Money in the New Year.

Are you willing to learn methods that can help you to make major positive changes in your life? If so, download my ebook Achieving Success now. PLUS I have reviewed these books which can help you:

Feel Free to Prosper   Buy it in the U.S.A.   Buy it in the UK 

Go here to read my review.

Switchwords   Buy it in the U.S.A.   Buy it in the UK

Go here to read my review.

Your Quantum Breakthrough Code   Buy it in the U.S.A.  Buy it in the UK. 

Go here to read my review.   

Quantum Success  Buy it in the U.S.A. Buy it in the UK

Review coming soon.  

I highly recommend these titles.  But in the end, it's about taking responsibility.  You are responsible for your own success.  So it's up to you!  

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

Here's to your success! 

Have More Money in the New Year

We need to build our Black-owned businesses and our Black comunities economically and in every other way - I am sure you are aware of this. 

Positive change begins with self - with the individual.  And when we work together, we are so much stronger.  

I can help you make major positive changes in your life. The time to start is now, today. You can start to change your results now, in this very moment. Take action for just a few minutes every day and you can start to improve your results in any area of your life. 

For more about this, click here to download my FREE ebook, Achieving Success.  It contains my 3-Step Success Formula. 

Also check out this review of What They Don't Want Us to Know. 

Here's to your success in 2018!  

The Week of Nonviolence 2017

Dr, Stephanie Myers

Listen below to find out: 

What is the background to the Week of Nonviolence?  How did it first come about?  

What are the goals of the Week of Nonviolence?  

What events are being planned for the Week of Nonviolence?  How to get involved?  

How does violence affect Black communities and other communities all over the world?  And what can we do to transform the culture of violence?  

I was joined by Dr. Stephanie Myers, Co-Chair of Black Women for Positive Change. 

The Week of Nonviolence was founded by Black Women for Positive Change in 2014 and is in its fourth year. 

Go here for more about the Week of Nonviolence 2017. 

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

Rashan Charles's Death

Another Black man, Rashan Charles, has died in suspicious circumstances involving the police  I wish I could say I am even a little surprised.  I really do.  

There was a mostly peaceful protest in Hackney, East London, last night, near where Rashan's death occurred.  But the local community are understandably angry. 

We MUST change this narrative.  And we can.  

What will you share with the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2017? 

See also:  How Violence Affects the Black Community.  

See also:  590 Deaths in Police Custody.  
 

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.  

Dr. Boyce Watkins: Millennials Will Die in Debt

Dr. Boyce Watkins

If you are a millennial, or the parent of a millennial, and you want to avoid building up a mountain of student debt, you need to read my ebook Shaking the Money Tree.

According to Dr. Boyce Watkins, millennials will be the first generation of people to die in debt.

There have always been people who have died in debt.  People used to die in debtors' prisons.  Sharecroppers routinely died in debt to their landlords.

What he is really focusing on is student debt.  I think what he means is that there is a whole generation of people who will die still trying to pay off their student debts, and bequeathing those debts to those who inherit their estates.

This is a terrible shame.  However, there are lots of ways to avoid this fate.

Shaking the Money Tree shows  you proven, effective methods for raising funding for your education.  It takes you through the process step by step.

OR download my free report, Avoid Student Debt.  

PLUS, Want to know the 10 easiest student businesses to start?  Go here to download my free report now. 


Like Dr. Watkins, I am committed to empowering the Black community.  I do agree with Dr. Watkins when he says that Black people simply do not have the same opportunities white people do.  Even if we have a quality education, we cannot count on having the same earning power.

But I think EVERYONE has the right to an education.  If you choose to attend university and get a degree, you should be able to do so without building up a mountain of debt.

Here's to your success!