Are You an Angry Black Woman?

It seems that tired black men are fed up with angry black women. Black women were typically described as "having an attitude" now in some circles she is described as angry. Upset because of her daddy issues, momma drama, boyfriend blues, and everything else, so she is easily irritated when someone cuts her off while driving, she curses the sales representatives when they don't treat her well, and demands to see the manager when her order isn't right. A tired black man who doesn't have the energy to deal with her fussing and cussing supposedly abandons his race of women to find other women who are less angry. This has been the recent dog and pony show on documentaries like "Diary of a Tired Black Man" and the Tyler Perry movie, "Diary of a Mad Black Woman." We have also seen this story line played out on The Game and in the past we saw it on Girlfriends.

What is really going on with you and me? Are we really angry black women or are we just like all the other women in the world that are tired of men who lie, cheat, steal, abuse, and misuse. Shouldn't we be angry? According to the "nice" brothas, they claim that these angry black women are taking it out on the wrong ones! They didn't hurt us and they shouldn't have to pay for what another man did to them. I agree and that is why, for me, I give men a chance to show and prove BEFORE I become the angry black woman. But if I find that he is full of sh*t, then I have no choice but to go from the pretty little flower to the thorny weed. Now some sistas won't give a man no wiggle room for fear they will be played and rather than just be thorny, she is plucking him with her thorns. Now these type of angry women are the ones who will swing at a brotha first and then expect him not to hit her. I have a problem with that, no human should be anyone's punching bag, but I digress.

So are you an angry black woman with unresolved issues or are you a beautiful black queen just trying to protect herself? If you find that you have to fight on the job, at home, and anywhere else on a daily basis or every other day then, you will need to have a heart to heart talk with yourself and seek the help you need whether it is in a prescription pill prescribed to you by your doctor, lying on a couch speaking with a therapist or sitting down with your partner in front of the pastor.

Are These Celebrities African American?

After conducting a search online about the kinds of things people look for regarding African Americans, I was surprised to learn that there are searches being conducted to find out if certain celebrities are African American. Some of the popular searches was for names like Terri Seymore (made famous for dating Simon Cowell, American Idol Judge,) Christina Milian, (R&B Singer,) Nicole Richie (Reality TV Star,) and Paula Abdul (Singer and American Idol Judge.) I can tell you from my own research online such as visiting sites like Wikipedia and watching talk shows, these women are NOT African American although Nicole Richie did admit on the Tyra Banks show that she considers herself black since her father Lionel Richie raised her.

For information on celebrities with multi-racial backgrounds, that include being African American, visit http://www.blackflix.com/articles/multiracial.html. You will get your answers there and you may be quite surprised!

Looking for Popular Black History Sites?

1. All-Day "Diversity Seminar" Program -- Click Here
2. "Diversity Day" Presentation or Keynote Address -- Click Here
3. "Black History" Presentation -- Click Here
4. Dr. Freeman's African American History Collection -- Click Here
5. Preview Online Diversity Course -- Click HereFlash Player needed to Preview Courses -- Download Flash
6. Critical Incident Debriefing -- Click Here
7. Symbols that Address Cultural Awareness -- Click Here
8. Employee Assistant Seminars in DC Region -- Click Here

These can all be found as well on one site http://www.freemaninstitute.com/AfAmSites.htm

Looking for ways to wear your hair naturally?

One day while surfing the Internet, I came across a wonder ful site that celebrates being natural -- that is for African Americans who desire to wear their hair naturally. Basically, to those reading this that don't know what I'm talking about, it means being able to style the hair without chemical processes, weaves, extensions, and other ways that damage African American hair or hide the true curly texture of the hair. The following is a link to the site:

http://www.nappturality.com/

Is African American Mothers to Blame for Out of Control Men?

She did the best she could to raise her son without his father. You see, his dad and most of the young boys in the community, grew up without a father. When you spend some time interviewing mothers like her, she will tell you that her child's father was no good! He would cheat on her, sell drugs, drink too much, run with his friends, etc. You may feel for our sister and tell her how great she was for raising this child, but there is something you may not have thought about...why would she select a man like that anyway? Oh she may tell you, "He wasn't like that when we first started dating." He may not have been as bad, but certainly there were some signs to suggest she would eventually have a real problem on her hand. Now if she chose to ignore the signs, she not only put herself at risk to be hurt emotionally and/or physically, but her child was put at risk before he even got here!

So now this innocent child who came from a seed who didn't want him, or wanted him but chose not to raise him, is suceptible to all sorts of problems as a man and when he gets in trouble no one wants to take responsibility (noticed I didn't say "take the blame.") The truth of the matter is once the damage is done, the blame game does nothing more than name a person, it doesn't put his mother in prison, it doesn't make her pay monetarily, and it doesn't heal anyone. So can you blame her? Some will say, "Blame the daddy, he wasn't there!" His absence may have impacted or increased the chances for his child to do wrong, but when it all comes down to it, the child/man is responsible!

It's so easy to blame the mother for her out of control son, the woman for the mate she chose, the girl for being abused and misused, the ignorant for not getting a good education, the family for everything that is wrong with America! But when will society wake up and realize that pointing the finger is not going to make an out of control boy or man, become better! Tearing down a family, a career, and a life is not going to help matters!

Lazy, critical, racist, and foolish people will say that "if it wasn't for...they all are alike...that's why we can't get...that's why they won't..." and other statements like these, because they aren't intelligent enough to come up with a solution. So what is the answer when a young man becomes out of control? Where does he get help? What do we look for in childhood, to not only determine which category he should be placed in, but what should he and us be doing to help him while he is still young, and where do we get the money to pay for the top of the line care? See, there are plenty of resources, but money ultimately determines who gets the best care. So if you don't have the income, nor can you travel to the best resources, you are stuck with whatever the free program around the corner can give you!

You see, there is a lot of talk in the African American community about the almighty butt whippin', but what isn't being said is "what do I do when the butt whippin is ineffective?" It may have worked for you, but there is a new generation of children that isn't even a little bit fazed by the mighty butt whippin'. Some children are retarded, hyperactive, disabled, and other similar things, how does a butt whippin' get through to a child who goes from one mood swing to the next? It may work temporarily on him or it may never work! Now you have a bitter, angry, and resentful young man who can't wait to hold a gun in his hands! It's unfortunate, but many parents from the ghetto in New Orleans to the mansion in Beverly Hills, don't know how to balance punishment with love! Lots of hitting and sassy talking, but not enough hand holding and walking!

So I close with this, it's time that society get it right! Put a halt on passing judgment on these young boys and men who entertain us, work for us, help us, and love us! It isn't just about his momma, wife, or girlfriend, when he gets in trouble! It's about the choices he chose to make (good, bad or otherwise) and when he makes the wrong choice, which one of us will step up to the plate, not talk about him, give a brotha a hand, not slap him!


Written by Nicholl McGuire
http://nichollmcguire.blogspot.com

Celebrating Black History Month

To celebrate Black History Month, learn about these African-American inventors and their inventions. Activities are included.

What do Sarah Boone, Alexander Miles, Garrett Morgan, Robert F. Flemmings, and John Standard all have in common? They were all African-American inventors! As part of Black History Month, have your children learn about them and their inventions. African-American Inventors and Their Inventions

1.Sarah Boone - ironing board

2.Alexander Miles - elevator

3.Garrett Morgan - traffic signal

4.Robert F. Flemmings - guitar

5.John Standard - refrigerator

6.George T. Sampson - clothes drier

7.D. Johnson - lawn mower

8.Bessie Blount - a device that allows amputees to feed themselves

9.Otis Boykin - a variable resistor used in guided missile parts

10.George Grant - world's first patent for a golf tee

11.John Lee Love - pencil sharpener rotated by hand

12.Richard Spikes - automobile directional signals

13.William Purvis - self-inking hand stamp

14.Kevin Woolfolk - hamster workout wheel

15.Patricia Bath - first African-American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical invention, a method for removing cataract lenses using a laser device

16.W. A. Martin - lock

17.G. W. Murray - planter

18.F. M. Jones - air conditioning unit

19.A. C. Richardson - bottle

20.E. R. Robinson - electric railway trolley

21.J. R. Winters - fire escape ladder

22.B. H. Taylor - rotary engine

23.Donald Cotton - propellants for nuclear reactors

24.Norbert Rillieux - a method for refining sugar

25.Emmett W. Chappelle - techniques for the detection of bacteria in urine, blood, drinking water, and foods

26.J. W. Smith - lawn sprinkler

27.W. U. Moody - game board design

28.A. L. Cradle - ice cream mold

Activities

1.Research other inventions by African Americans.

2.Find the dates of these inventions and make a timeline of them.

3.Discuss how life would be very different without these inventions.

4.Discuss the process of inventing something and have your students come up with their own inventions. They should give their inventions a name and write a description.

5.Classify these inventions into such categories as Things Around the House and Things for Safety.

6.Alphabetize the inventors' names.

7.Have some children cut out pictures of the inventions and paste them on the left side of index cards. Have other children use sticky labels to write or type the invention and paste them on the right side of the index cards to match the pictures. Make puzzles by cutting down the center of these cards using different patterns. You can also use craft scissors which come in a variety of patterns.

8.Create a criss-cross puzzle or a word-find puzzle with these inventors' last names.

I hope these ideas are useful and have inspired your own creative thinking!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Freda J. Glatt, MS, is a retired K-6 teacher. Helping others reinforce reading comprehension through FUNdamental Reading Activities, including games and worksheets, is her new educational goal. Visit her site at http://www.sandralreading.com.

What Can We All Learn From the Chris Brown & Rihanna Situation?

African Americans in volatile relationships isn't nothing new under the sun. I'm not suggesting all African American couples, because that wouldn't be the truth. But if some of us aren't in crazy relationships at this very moment, at some point in our lives we either will be or already been there and done that when we thought we were in love, when in fact we were really in lust!

You see, I am angry at both of them, the parents, their business team, the paparazzi, the people around them and anyone else connected to all the Chris Brown and Rihanna madness! The main reason I'm upset is because no one can claim, "I didn't know." There were Internet reports from various media outlets describing the relationship as being volatile. There were also stories about Chris Brown growing up in an abusive atmosphere. And finally, there were photos taken of him losing his cool at a club in Germany (mind you they weren't serving nonalcoholic beverages either.)

Now let's just use a little common sense and say, that Chris is an underage drinker (might be an alcoholic)a victim of an abusive past with a proven temperament -- put it altogether and see what you got?

Now on to Rihanna, there have been Internet reports circulating about a particular love interest that she had been involved with before she met Chris, does anyone know why they broke up? It may play a part as to what type of girlfriend she can be, did anyone bother to seek out any past boyfriends or girlfriends of either Chris or Rihanna? Some sites report that Rihanna's friends actually talked about how she can't be anywhere without Chris and she has been known to keep the fans (girls) from seeing him backstage. Words like "obsessed" were used to describe her side of the relationship, hmmm?! Not only that a source told the Chicago Sun Times that Rihanna hired a private investigator and an additional "mole" to be a part of Chris' team. This was to be sure Chris was behaving himself during his European tour back in January. Smells like obsession to me!

Now I don't know about you, but I haven't been around enough Caribbean women to call them "hot heads" or "hot bloods," but some online sources say she has another side to her (well don't we all?) There are also online photos of Rihanna holding up a champagne glass the night of the incident, before the altercation, which also tells me that she too is a drinker (mind you before the legal age as well.) Lastly, she has a history of herpes and well in some photos you can clearly see Chris isn't happy. Check out Mediatakeout.com. One photo taken looks as if he is looking at her mouth with a "don't kiss me" look.

Now let's just put it altogether and see what we got, Rihanna a jealous girlfriend with a temper, known to drink alcohol with a health ailment that tends to make one become very moody?

Now throw in their young ages (19 and soon to be 21 years) into the mix, money, fans, no family support system nearby...tension is building, hormones are raging, and one day someone is going to snap!!!!

The lessons to be learned from their situation go like this:

+Relationships are not for people who are just starting to peak in their careers.

+Alcohol is not for people who don't know how to drink it responsibly let alone aren't of legal age!

+Men and women who are loved by a large following of people need not get into relationships with one another, because feeling secure in a relationship of Chris and Rihanna's kind of magnitude is beyond challenging -- it is a downright assault on one's emotions. One man commented in a forum discussing the Chris and Rihanna situation, he said "I know how it can be Chris with so many men wanting your lady...that thing is powerful...it will make a man go crazy...hang in there Chris."

+Ladies (and gentlemen): avoid dating temperamental people (especially those who haven't had any counseling after growing up in abusive households.)

+Men: Don't ignore signs of a jealous, insecure woman such as: "I need you...I can't live without you...who is that?...What does she want?" statements just about every other day!

+Finally, think real hard whether you want to take a chance with your health dating someone with an STD.

Feel free to conduct your own research using keywords like: Rihanna boyfriend, Rihanna herpes, Chris Brown domestic violence, Chris Brown fight...

Written by Nicholl McGuire

The Importance of Modern African American Art

Whether you’re interested in adding modern African American art to your home collection or are just looking to integrate this art style into your décor, it’s imperative that you learn more about the background and history. While many of us know the basic ideas of where modern African American art was inspired, the more we know, the better we can include this art into our homes as well as our hearts.

It’s interesting to note that modern African American art began long before the idea of ‘modern art’ was conceived. As early back as slavery, African Americans were crafting iron pieces, pottery, quilts, baskets, cabinets, and silver. While many of these tasks were relegated to them, the utmost craftsmanship was required and thus the African American population became quite skilled in these crafts. What’s even more compelling about this situation is that the African Americans were generally allowed to sell any work they did in their ‘off time’ for profits they could keep, thus enabling them to purchase their freedom from their masters.

But while most of these early examples of modern African American art were for practical purposes, other African Americans began to create portraits as artistic pieces. Artists like Robert M. Douglas Jr. and Joshua Johnson were taught the basics of painting and composition on their own or through private tutoring, as deemed by their owners or by abolitionists that wanted the slaves to be able to save up to buy their freedom.

Once the Civil War ended and slavery was declared illegal, there was a resurgence in the time’s modern African American art movement. Pieces of these artists’ work were displayed more prominently in museums and private homes. And while these works tended to include simple nature scenes as well as portraits, they still found some struggle in getting shown in public areas in the United States. In Europe, however, African Americans were much more successful in garnering praise as well as showing of their work. Across the ocean, African Americans were able to try new styles of painting and art as they were generally accepted.

Moving into the modern African American art phase, these African American artists were bolstered by the Harlem Renaissance movement. More artists than ever were getting recognition for their work, thus paving the away for African American art to not only be accepted, but also celebrated in artistic circles. Even Roosevelt helped the African American art movement with the passing of his Works Progress Administration.

By seeing the struggles that the African American artists went through to come into this age of modern African American art, it’s easy to see how valuable these pieces are. When you bring a piece of African American art into your home, you not only celebrate the artists of this time, but all of the generations that came before. You celebrate the history of a people that have never given up on their talents, no matter how far others may have tried to push them down.

Mr. Moyo Ogundipe has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.