I do not have the answers but I have some advice.

I wish I had the answer to this whole dialogue on how to prevent domestic violence. Every since the allegations about Chris Brown hitting Rihanna it seems that it is all everyone wants to talk about.
I do know one thing this “cause of the month “will be swept under the rug until the next celebrity fiasco. However those who are going thru domestic violence right now do not have the advantage of sweeping it under the rug and as sure as I write this blog someone right now is frightened for his or her life because a lover/ wife/husband/friend is on their way home. I am a survivor of domestic abuse I was never hit but I was verbally abused. Things were said to me that still hurt me to this day, but I thank God and I got thur it and i got our of it , everyone is not so lucky.

Recently I was on a panel about emotional abuse and was asked if I could give young women five pieces of advice before entering into a relationship with someone what would it be. Here goes:


1) Be secure in yourself-Of course not all of us are 100% sure all of time. But it is important to know who you and who you belong to. God entrusted your heart to you take care of it, it is important to do so. Proverbs 4:23Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

2) When people tell you who they are BELIEVE THEM –Maya Angelou. When I went out with my ex on the second date he told me and I quote “ I have a whole dark side and you don’t bring that out in me.” HMMMMMM! I should have gotten out of the car and walked home even thourgh I was in Atlantic City. So often folks tell on themselves, and they are usually telling the truth.

3) If he or she talks bad about every person they have ever been with take that as a hint. The only common denominator In all of those relationships is them. Hence the problem

4) If that person goes around telling you how great they are all the time and have to put other folks down to do so run. If they are so great their actions will dictate that.

5) If that person shows any side of anger to ther kids, thier family, co-workers etc… take that as a sign that you are next. Behavior all behavior is consistent.

Those are my rules I tell young sisters and brothers all the time And believe me it is not just what I preach it is what practice.

The High expectations of Low expectations

Yesterday I made a pledge that I would not watch any politico shows for a while because, well I needed a break, and I almost kept my promise. I found a great movie called Night and Day with my favorite actor Carey Grant. Before I found the movie I briefly stopped by Fox News (don’t ask) and saw Carly Fiorina being interview about Barack Obama’s presidency thus far. For those who don’t know, Ms. Fiorina is the former Chairman of the Board at Hewlett Packard and a former economic advisor to John McCain’s campaign. During the interview Ms. Fiorina stated and I quote “ President Obama’s biggest problem is that there are such high expectations of him.” After that statement I quickly turned back to my dream man Mr. Grant.

But I got to thinking when did having high expectations become a bad thing? Perhaps it became a bad thing when weak intelligence was used to engage in a war that we had no business starting. Or perhaps it was during Katrina when Mr. Brown was told he was doing a” heck of a job” while hundreds of people were begging for basic food and water at the convention center. I could go on but think that is enough I mean why revive an old nightmare?

The truth is President Obama knows all about high expectations because he has had them most of his life . So Ms. Fiorina don’t worry about President Obama and high expectations he has been having them and meeting them most of his life.

Yes we have high expectations of the President but here is what we expect. We want and need a President who is going to listen when we need to be heard, think when an action is tough and act honorably when faced with a crisis. That is not just high expectations it is called doing the job.

I am not listening!!!!!

I am going to make a confession; I have not read the details about the stimulus package. Unfortunately I made the mistake of allowing the media to tell me about it and trusted that the President and Congress would have the intelligence to pass a bill that would help the everyday American, do what is best for the country and get us out of this mess as quickly and realistically as possible. But I have to admit I am a bit miffed with what is going on. All I hear is political pundits putting down the bill, then I hear Republicans and Democrats going back and forth about political ideology and who said what to whom and how this person is not listening blah blah blah. Are these people crazy? Do you they watch the news? People need help like YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!.

ENOUGH!!!!!!!!! Is it really too much to ask the President and Congress to sit down and work on a plan TOGETHER to get folks working and banks lending? I mean is it really that difficult? Tell you what I am going to take a break from listening until you guys & gals get it together because nobody is making sense.

I love this country but if all of you can’t do something about what we are going thru and fix this mess then do not come looking for my vote when it is your turn to bere- elected because then I will not be listening.

A Full Circle Moment for Me

When my brother and I were younger we attended a school that at the time was about 95% white. St Paul Lutheran was a private school, and my parents sacrificed a great deal to send us there. Although the school offered many benefits; there was one major problem, the small number of us who were black and attended there were incorrectly taught our history. One day my brother came home and told my Mom that his teacher told him that our ancestors were from Europe.

The next day my Mom went out and purchased the book Great Negros Past and Present. From that day on my brother and I would write book reports on black history both for school and home just using that book. My parents began to make sure that our home was a place where we learned about our history. We spent many Saturdays at the DuSable Museum, Chicago’s African American History Museum. We attended the Kuumba Theater and saw plays like The Jonestown Massacre by Charles Fuller and The Amen Corner by James Baldwin . Black art showcased our home and Sundays was of course church where we met prominent people like, the late Mayor Harold Washington, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan and the list goes on and on.

Recently my job hosted a Martin Luther King Jr. celebration and the speaker was Dr. Russell Adams. Jr. When I found out he was the speaker I noticed that his name sounded familiar to me. As I looked at his biography I noticed he wrote the aforementioned book on black history. When I had the opportunity to speak to Dr. Russell I wanted to tell him what his book meant to me and how it influenced my home life. When we did speak I thanked him for all he did in the name of history and for me it was a full circle moment

Check me out on NPR today: News and Notes today.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99868650

New findings suggest President Obama is positively influencing black students' performance on standardized tests.
Plus, the first lady says she thinks two new dolls named after her daughters, Sasha and Malia, are "inappropriate."
And what chances do this year's black Oscar nominees have of winning? Tony Cox speaks with Ron Scott of the Detroit News; Kimberly Coleman of Sista Girl Speaks Up; and Chris Rabb of Afro-Netizen

Interviews I conducted during Inaguration week.

The first one is with Congresswoman Laura Richardson from California



www.progressiveblendradio.com/interviews/rep_laura_richardson.mp3



this one is with the President of the NAACP, Mr. Ben Jelous.
http://www.progressiveblendradio.com/interviews/Ben_Jealous_NAACP.mp3

Mission Accomplished!

My Inauguration weekend did not turn out the way I wanted it to. The first sign came in the way of a bad cold which forced me to stay inside both Friday and Saturday and after that it was down hill or so I thought. My invitation to an exclusive ball fell thru and so did my ticket to the Inauguration. After all of this happened I thought about staying in my home and just watching CNN for the weekend, but I made a promise to work on Radio Row and interview policy makers in the new administration.

When I got off of the train in Union Station it was truly a remarkable experience to walk amongst the crowd, to see all of the people speak in different tongues was a spiritual experience. I saw people of every size and every hue wearing Obama gear of every kind; it was an amazing a sight and I will never forget the electricity that filled the air!!

I got a chance to interview members of Congress and other policy makers but the most moving experience was interviewing a group called Rednecks For Obama. This is a group started by citizens from Union, MO self proclaimed "Rednecks" in support of President Obama. I wish words could capture this interview but they cannot and their support of the new President was the most sincere that I have ever heard.

When I asked one of the members if some of their friends gave them a hard time because the color of the new President one of them said "Yeah, but so what I don' t care what color he is I just want the best man for the job." I cried during this entire interview because it really is a sign of how far we have really come.

I will let historians put this day in history, but for me I will take this little nugget with me because I know that my ancestors, and the ancestors of those "Rednecks for Obama" are looking down, smiling and saying " Mission Accomplished"