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Healing For The Nation

Much is being said today about bullying. There are so many tragedies that are being reported today, due to the bullying of schoolmates. Some abusive husbands bully their wives. There seems to be an epidemic of spousal abuse. Young teen-aged girls are being abused and bullied by their boyfriends. As a society, we need to ask ourselves, what are we doing wrong, that we are producing bullies on such a large-scale.  Bullying also goes on in the home. We call it sibling rivalry, but many times, it is an older, and often much bigger child, who is bullying, and controlling this so-called rivalry. Many times, the younger child is an innocent victim of a sibling, who is nothing more than a bully. These same children who bully their siblings, are bullying other children at school, and in the neighborhood. There is a very thin line between sibling rivalry and bullying. Sibling rivalry is nothing new. It has some parents at their wit’s end…

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A Message From The Creator

A Message From The Creator

A Message From The Creator

One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.
-Tony Robbins

 

Inspirational Woman Of The Day

Inspirational Woman Of The Day

Inspirational Woman Of The Day

Debbie Allen

As a child Debbie, her older brother Andrew (called Tex) and older sister Phylicia lived in Mexico to escape US racism. Their mother Vivian Ayers decided to live there to give the Allen children a brief experience of not having to endure the chronic racism and segregation that was typical of Texas during the 1950s. From this, Debbie and Phylicia are fluent in Spanish.

Debbie graduated from Jack Yates Senior High School in Houston, TX in 1967. She graduated cum laude from Howard University in 1971 with a BFA in Classical Greek Literature, Speech, and Theater from Howard University. She used her experiences from attending Historically Black College Howard to inform her production and direction of the TV show “A Different World” (1987).

Although her parents divorced, Debbie remained extremely close to her father Arthur Allen, until his death. With Phylicia she has production company “D.A.D.” which stood for “Doctor Allen’s Daughters”. Her Pulitzer-nominated poet mother Vivian is, the artistic and free spirit that has influenced and encouraged the remarkable creativity that so marks Allen as a performer.

Daughter of dentist Arthur Allen and Pulitzer-prize nominated Vivan Ayers ( artist, poet, playwright, and publisher). Older siblings are jazz musician Tex (Andrew Arthur Allen Jr, born 1945) and actress Phylicia Ayers-Allen (Phylicia Rashad, born 1948), and brother Hugh Allen (real estate banker in North Carolina).

Her husband, Norman Nixon, is a former NBA player with the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.

Received an Honorary doctorate from The North Carolina School of the Arts, the same institution that denied her admittance to its dance department when she was sixteen years old; she was told then that she had the wrong type of body for dance.

Has an Honorary doctorate from her alma mater Howard University.

Won 1992 & 1995 Essence Awards.

Won the first Lena Horne Award for Career Achievement at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards.

Has twice been nominated for Tony Awards: in 1980, as Best Actress (Featured Role -Musical) for a revival of “West Side Story,” and in 1986, as Best Actress (Musical) for playing the title character in a revival of Bob Fosse‘s “Sweet Charity.”

Received a Drama Desk Award in 1979.

Her most notable role to date, that of “Lydia Grant” on the TV Series “Fame” (1982), earned her three Emmy Nominations and one Golden Globe.

Founder of the Debbie Allen Dance Institute in Culver City, CA in 2000.

Choreographed five Academy Award shows.

Her father passed away ten days after he accompanied her to the Emmy Awards Ceremony in which she won for Best Choreography for “Fame”(1982).

Authored children’s books entitled, “Brothers of the Knight” and “Dancing in the Wings”.

Ex-sister-in-law of Victor Willis and Ahmad Rashad.

Her daughter, Vivian Nixon, is in the lead role of the Broadway musical “Hot Feet”. Vivian was classically trained at Washington D.C.’s Kirov Academy of Ballet and at The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Daughter Vivian Nixon followed in Debbie’s footsteps by playing Debbie’s “Anita” role in a 2006 revival of the musical The Making of ‘West Side Story’ (1985) (TV). Debbie returned to her hometown of Houston to see her daughter perform.

Her mother Dr Vivian Elizabeth Ayers attended Brainerd Institute, Barber Scotia College and Bennett College. Vivian was the first poet in the state of Texas to receive the Pulitzer Prize Award nomination in 1952. Vivian was often called the “Poet Laureate of Texas.” In the late 50’s, her poetry, “Hawk,” attracted the attention of NASA and for twenty years was the only poetry celebrated by NASA. She worked as an apprentice librarian at the Fondren Library of Rice University and was accorded faculty status in 1965, becoming the first African American to be so qualified. During her years at Rice, she organized and published The Adept Quarterly, an important contribution to the small publications movement of the time.

In 1972, her mom Vivian’s work, “Workshops in Open Fields,” was hailed and recommended to the nation as a “prototype of grass roots programming” by the director of NEA. Vivian established the Adept New American Museum–a museum for art and history of the American Southwest; which features “Juneteenth” Black Cowboys, American Indian Sand Painting, seminars on the Emancipation Proclamation and Mayan studies– in Mt Vernon NY. She is known as a leader in the arts community in New York area.

Mother of Norman Nixon Jr. (born 1987) and Vivian Nixon (born 1984).

Has arthritis in her right shoulder and right ankle.

Is one of three people (Gene Anthony Ray, and Lee Curreri) to appear in both Fame the Movie (1980) and the TV series.

She studied drama at the HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.

It’s the only person who appears in Fame the movie (1980), Fame (TV series) and Fama (1990).

Personal Quotes

[on working with rapper Malicious Jynx (2005)] There is just something about him, he is so talented and so gifted, so flamboyant and so charismatic. He doesn’t deserve the harsh criticism he receives. Anyone who listens to his albums with their hearts and their ears will see his love, and his warmth. He is such a lovely young man and I love him for that. He gets negative publicity but people need to know the real person that’s inside of him.

 

Inspiration Of Motherhood

Inspiration Of Motherhood

Inspiration Of Motherhood

Jeanne Faulkner

Chairperson for advocacy, CARE;nurse, columnist, author

The State of the World’s Soccer Moms

There are only a handful of people who should call me by my most prized, most hard won title — Mama. If you’re not my child, don’t go there. If you’re a teacher, doctor, or coach and can’t remember my name, that’s cool, just ask, but don’t call me Mom. And that goes double for anyone in public office, political pundits and media commentators. Don’t call me a stay-at-home Mom, working Mom, stepmom or single Mom and please, please, don’t call me soccer Mom. In fact, unless you sprang from my loins, don’t call me Mom at all. I’m an American woman, but I’m not your mother and my reproductive status is none of your business.

 “Soccer Mom” and its sister-labels (see above) have become diminutive terms like “little woman,” “desperate housewife,” or “lady doctor,” defining women solely by their relationship to children. This dilutes their adult identities and negates their independent opinions, occupations and lives. It places them in a nurturing, care taking role and while those are certainly excellent attributes, they’re only part of women’s identities. 

 It’s not that I’m not delighted to be a mother. I am. Parenting is a significant part of my life, but it’s not the sum total of my being and not something that’s part of most adult relationships outside my home. When someone asks who I am, I rarely answer, “Mom.” Instead I describe other parts of my life, for example, my work as a journalist and nurse. Who are the millions of other women raising children? Doctor, lawyer, dance Mom? How about men working in similar roles? Their breeding status doesn’t get anywhere near the same level of attention and adults rarely call men “Daddy.” 

I became aware of the demoting power of motherhood when a pediatrician patted me on the head and said, “you’re a good mommy” instead of answering a straightforward question about how to prevent my baby’s recurring thrush infection. He seemed to think being a mother counteracted my medical training and overrode my ability to understand advanced concepts. I got the Mom treatment and a healthy dose of condescension instead. 

 Maybe this “mommy thing” is just a last bastion hold out from thousands of years of patriarchy. Women’s rights have come so far after all; surely we’re evolving beyond that. But lately, I have to wonder, especially considering the time-warped arguments being waged over women’s reproductive rights. 

 Last week, while reviewing the State of The World’s Mothers (SOTWM) report I had an ‘a-ha’ moment about the correlation between women’s representation in government and women’s status in society. The data is clear: the more women in government, the better life is for all women whether they’re mothers or not.

 In Niger, for example, ranked the worst place on earth to be a mother, only 13 percent of government representatives are women. In Afghanistan, second worst, only 28 percent. In Yemen — third worst, only 1 percent. In these countries mothers regularly die in childbirth, and women have severely limited freedom and access to healthcare, transportation, money, education and other elements of power that make lives safe, healthy and happy. It’s what we’ve come to expect from undeveloped countries where women aren’t respected or employed. So, what’s America’s excuse?

 American women are educated, employed and independent. American mothers are supposedly respected, even revered. They have their own money and make their own decisions. They aren’t controlled by religious and patriarchal strongmen like women in Niger, Afghanistan and Yemen. Or are they?

The US ranks 25th out of 41 industrialized countries in the SOTWM report. We’re the 16th worst industrialized country in which to be a mother. Not coincidentally, only 17 percent of our government representatives are women. Contrast that with Norway, (the No. 1 spot for mothers) whose government is 40 percent female. While Norwegian women have universal healthcare, paid maternity leave and decent (though not equal) wage equity, American women earn far less than their male counterparts, receive no pay during maternity leave, and have limited access to outrageously expensive health care. Is it any wonder America sucks for mothers considering our rights are represented and controlled by an 83 percent male government?

 Here in the most powerful country on earth, women’s legislative and voting influence is marginalized. We make up 50 percent of the population, but are still treated like a special interest group. That’s how the term “soccer Mom” started. Coined during the 1996 presidential election, “soccer Mom” was a popular catchphrase used to corral and court key swing voters. It quickly morphed, however, from being a potentially empowering phrase to a denigrating one. In fact, in the 16 years since “soccer Mom” became a media darling, women’s roles in politics and some of our basic rights have taken a turn for the worse.

 Is there a deliberate strategy at play here? Could it be that for the boys to stay in power, they need to keep the girls under control and preferably huddled with the powerless children? Maybe that’s why certain religions and politicians have trouble thinking about women as competent adults, capable of making our own decisions when it comes to our bodies. 

 Why so few American women in government? I wonder if in part, it’s because, no matter how strong her platform and resume, a female candidate’s motherhood will be magnified and scrutinized. She’ll be identified as a hockey Mom, working mom, or stay-at-home mom. When a man runs? Not so much.

Women aren’t helping each other out on this either. When Sarah Palin jokes: What’s the difference between a pit bull and a hockey Mom; isn’t she knocking herself down a few pegs? Since she’s comparing women to dogs with particularly bad reputations, wouldn’t the word “bitch” do just as well? What would campaign season look like if men’s fatherhood were magnified? Oh wait. John Edwards. Oops.

 Until we balance gender equity on Capitol Hill and move away from gender-based prejudice, the status of American women will remain low. Regardless of whether we have children or not, want to someday or don’t, women have their own identities, opinions and values. Quit clumping us together. Quit treating us differently than men. Quit giving us the mom-treatment. Let’s put the battle over reproductive rights to rest. Let’s shift the political dialogue to issues that support all women, men and children. Let’s elect more women to high-level political positions. And please, please… If you aren’t our children, lets quit calling women, “Mom.”

 

Women In The News

Women In The News

Women In The News

By Jessica Cumberbatch Anderson

Maya Angelou Opens Women’s Health And Wellness Center, Calls Disparities ‘Embarrassing’

Wisdom comes with age, and at 84 years old, Maya Angelou has lots of wisdom. But she says she picked up her most valuable piece of wisdom early on. “I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side, be an advocate for myself and others like me,” she said. In that spirit, Angelou has taken up the cause of women’s health.

“If I do that well enough, then I’ll be able to look after someone else — the children or the husband or the elderly. But I have to look after myself first,” she says. “I know that some people think that’s being selfish, I think that’s being self-full.”

That philosophy is at the center of her latest effort, a partnership with Novant Health, a not-for-profit integrated system of 13 hospitals that is set to unveil theMaya Angelou Center for Women’s Health and Wellness in her hometown of Winston-Salem, N.C.

The newest facility is the second with which Angelou has been involved. In 2002 she helped open the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity at Wake Forest University, which is focused on closing the gap in health and healthcare disparities among minorities.

Like the work being done there, Angelou says her women’s health center — which offers an array of clinical programs affecting women’s health, including heart, wellness, cancer and surgical services, as well as maternity, emergency, bone andjoint health and behavioral care — will focus not only on treatment but on prevention, a critical step in closing the gap that she says is too often hindered by denial.

“The disparities are embarrassing,” she says. “What they hope to do at the center is to coordinate all the aspects of women’s health and wellness … encouraging women to look after themselves. In that way, they can almost be sure to count on some prevention.”

Last year, the CDC released its first periodic report addressing health disparities and inequalities in the U.S., which they say highlights the considerable and persistent gaps between the healthiest and the least healthy people in the country. Their research revealed striking differences in the uninsured rates for Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks; research also indicates that black women have the highest rate of death from coronary heart disease of any group, and an infant mortality rate 2.4 times higher than that of non-Hispanic whites.

At the forefront of the center’s prevention challenge is breast cancer screening and increasing women’s awareness about their risk for heart disease. As for the AIDS epidemic and the particular crisis it represents for women of color, Angelou says prevention is even more critical but warns that it extends well beyond the confines of any one facility.

“The time has passed when a women can act like everybody is as innocent as she is. So you don’t have to ask a man to use protection. That’s ridiculous. It’s [about] being aware,” she says. “That’s the biggest gift I can give anybody: ‘Wake up, be aware of who you are, what you’re doing and what you can do to prevent yourself from becoming ill.'”

To mark its opening, the Maya Angelou Center for Women’s Health and Wellness is kicking off a national competition titled “Health Inspirations,” which encourages women to share how they have been inspired to practice a new health behavior, change a negative health behavior or improve their overall health and well-being.

Women can enter the Health Inspirations contest by visiting,facebook.com/MayaAngelouCenter.