Miley Cyrus We Can't Stop Parody and Willow Smith's Summer Fling

Something is happening with our young celebrity girlies today and I have not a clue what it is. The media is sexualizing them too quickly and these are the results. Willow Smith, daughter of Will and Jada Smith just came out with a music video called Summer Fling, which is obviously making reference to a sexual experience. Many critics say that the video is too mature for her age. She is shown in a blonde wig, flirting with boys who are obviously much older than her and running around in some shots with no bra. And get this, she's only 12!
Miley Cyrus, released a summer music video also called We Can't Stop, which is also provocative...making inappropriate references to sex and drugs as well. However, the parody of her video has me cracking up (the girl looks just like her!). Why do you think that these young female celebrities are being allowed to be so sexual and inappropriate? If not the media, why not the producers, if not the producers, why not the parents? Why is no one putting their foot down, you think? We know that sex sells sure, but it's another issue when you are openly exploiting underage girls on national tv for other young girls to see. Surely they are not writing their own lyrics and coming up with all of the visuals.

ScholarCHIPS 2nd Annual Awards Ceremony

If you don't know, ScholarCHIPS is my brainchild; a non-profit I founded in Washington, DC in 2010 that provides scholarships and mentoring to high school graduating seniors going to college. Below is the video from our 2nd Annual Awards Ceremony. Thanks for all of those who came out June 27, 2013 and for those who couldn't make it, we certainly hope to see you next year, June 2014 at George Washington University!

My Latest Radio Interview: Raven's Closet

Hey everyone! Please check out my latest radio interview, which was last Thursday, July 18, 2013 on Raven's Closet. Click this link (hot topics) and scroll down to my name and bio and the audio link will be there (it's green) :) I have an interview with Debbi Dachinger of Dare to Dream radio this Tuesday, July 23, 2013. She's in Los Angeles, California!

http://ravensclosettalkshow.com/hot-topics-thursday/

House of Cards

Looking back on President Obama's Correspondent's Dinner 2013, it TOTALLY reminds me of the Netflix series House of Cards rhetoric and mind game (not necessarily a bad thing). Politics is all a game. You have to have seen House of Cards to understand what I mean. Just the sneakiness and manipulation. The President's slick jokes, just triggered in my mind House of Cards, lol.

Random thought: I wonder if any ex-White House employees helped to write the script. The scenarios are too real, to all be fake and non-symbolic. If that's how they play it, I'd rather not go that route.

DEEP TRUTH

Music is a powerful tool.

President Obama Speaks on Trayvon Martin and My Thoughts

First of all, I appreciate the president's honesty. On Fox news, a group of analysts criticized Rev. Al Sharpton and President Obama for being "bad leaders" in cases like these involving race. They both were simply being honest, and in their honesty told the truth. In my definition a good leader is one WHO CAN AND DOES tell the truth. President Obama on Trayvon Martin

President Obama said that there are not many black men in this country who haven't experienced being followed around in a store (for someone's fear that they will rob) or walking past a car and hearing the doors lock. That's a horrible, degrading feeling. He IS RIGHT, when he says "Trayvon Martin could've been my son. It could've been me." Who truly knows who Travyon Martin could have turned out to be or vice versa about the president. Many analysts have said that these black leaders ought not to "pick old scabs" or "dwell on the past" but yet they do not consider the circumstances surrounding the case. What they're calling "the past" is virtually STILL the present.

A young, black teenage boy was being followed because he was suspected as being dangerous and was shot, even when Zimmerman was told to cease following him. The person who shot him was immediately released from police afterwards, yet so many other times a black person shoots someone of another race and is given heavy sentence...often times many years, or life without parol...double life. Isn't it also strange that Zimmerman changed his argument from "self-defense"?...Right, because he knows that's a load of it! Crazy. Unfortunately, I have realized that our justice system will never be 100% "fair" or completely "just," because it's all run by imperfect people. There will always be an underdog and there will always be a terminator or dominator.

2) Analysts have made claims that Rev. Al Sharpton "yearns for the times of the Civil Rights Movement," and is sparking rage within the black community and "dividing the nation" however, I argue that he's one of the few true, visible black activists from that era we have left and his is a significant leader in our community. He is not "dividing" a nation, but uniting and comforting a people who are still hurting. This is exactly what President Obama was trying to explain to people who have the slightest idea and that is that, blacks look at this case from a perspective of years and years of abuse, neglect, and hurt. This case screams to blacks "It's ok to shoot a black person simply because you claim he was looking suspicious, or that he did a criminal act and you shot and killed him. It's ok to then say that you were merely defending yourself, when the other person did not originally approach you in intent of attack. It's also ok for policeman to release a suspect because they can determine themselves what is truth. It's also ok to get the defendant off by saying that they are not guilty because there is no hard-core evidence, when there were only two people on the scene, of whom only one is alive." There is something truly wrong here.

3) Who is to say that this was a truly fair trial? Who was the jury made up of? What did releasing pictures of Trayvon Martin have to do with who killed him? If a defense can release photos of someone and make a claim that that person is prone to violence and therefore shooting him is justified, then what we're saying is it's ok to base a case/claim off of irrelevant, outside [non]evidence to the actual event. That also is saying that a defense lawyer can change around an entire case by creating a false scenario and present it as truth (ex: this persons' pictures show that he was a thug/violent and therefore it's safe for my client to have murdered them for walking down the street. They're justified.) My conclusion: police and defense lawyers have too much power!

4) Many are hollering if we cared or got enraged enough about black on black crime then things wouldn't be as bad. My response to that is, this is a legit argument, however, it's a separate issue and it takes away from the urgency in this case (though the verdict has already been made). And many people are angry and doing something about black on black crime. There are LOTS of organization out there trying to educate communities and end violence...but YOU WOULDN'T KNOW ABOUT THEM, because the News NEVER highlights them.

Everyone needs to take their blinders off. You can't sit around at your kitchen table calling black people "Good for nothing N*****s and thinking the worst of them (they're all lazy. they're all dumb. they're all thugs.) and then come out on tv and say "Well, they [black people] need to stop picking old scabs. We must have faith in our justice system." It's a double standard. Why would anybody trust a system, or person at that who has burned them time and time again? Everyone, can relate to that on an individual level. Come on, would you trust someone who kept burning you or deceiving you multiple times? For many of us, it only takes one good time and we dismiss that person out of our lives...we block them on Facebook. Block them on our phones or change our number. Change the locks to the house...

I know I am still venting, because like so many others I am still hurt, saddened, disappointed and confused. All I know for sure is that, for me, there is only ONE who is completely just in judgement and that is Jesus Christ. So for everyone who thinks they "got away" with crimes here on Earth, will pay ultimately when Judgment time comes. Second, is that I am black and I am female and that I must do my best to continue to educate myself and stay on top of my game as always, because if I do not, I will easily give someone the excuse to judge me, to disrespect me (like the prosecution did to Rachel Jeantel), and/or walk all over me. And that AIN'T Happening! And...Yes, I said AINT! We must educate our children and show them love. We must tell them to pull up their pants and stop looking like thugs, so people can't use that as a excuse to abuse them. One of the quotes my grandmother always told me is that "It's not always what it is, but what it looks like."

Lastly, I will say I know without a doubt that people will disagree with me, because they still have blinders on or truly cannot understand. But if you comment, please do so respectfully without profanity or degrading statements and if you do...I can always DELETE! LOL

Rachel Jeantel on the Witness Stand

I was watching Rachel answer questions from the prosecution and saw Anderson Cooper's interview with one of the jurors after the trial, who by the way chose not to identify herself and I feel some kind of way about the whole thing. I think the best thing for me to do is list all of the things that bothered me and explain why.

1) I was disappointed in her presentation. I understand that she was sad and under stress but, I think she understood that the defense had it out for her, so she should have spoken "clearly and loudly"--as the judge had to annoyingly ask her to do WAY too many times. However, I can empathize because Rachel has a speech impediment (as she explained in her interview with Piers Morgan), she was of course frustrated and she grew up in an environment where all she really spoke was slang. ...Someone should've told Rachel not to keep shaking on the stand and sit up straight. This gave the prosecution an excuse to be disrespectful.
2) I was agitated with the way in which the prosecution treated Rachel. They treated her as though she was dumb. This was obvious because of the tone in which the questions were asked, and often re-asked and/or rephrased.
3) I do not like what the juror who was interviewed by Anderson Cooper said. She said that "I didn't think it was very credible. I felt sorry for her...I think she felt inadequate toward everyone...because of her education and her communication skills." So my question is, if she was THE LAST person Trayvon was speaking with on the phone, why was her testimony not credible? Americans have a problem with superiority and thinking that people of a certain status, background and/or demeanor are better than others.
4) Did the prosecution really have to keep repeating what he knew he heard Rachel say? He was focusing on and emphasizing what he thought to be racial slurs. What does this really have to do with Trayvon Martin's death and who shot him? Come on now! I really need to be a lawyer...I would tear nonsense people a part.
Rachel Jeantel's Piers Morgan Interview

Whew...ok. I just had to vent.

My Summer Reading List

I made a commitment to myself to read more for leisure, which means I MUST make time out of what is usually a crazy, hectic schedule to read. Most of the time in college, I don't have time to read much else than the required readings because there's so much to read, re-read, take notes on and then study! I realize that some of the most articulate, creative inventors and thinkers were and are also readers. I know that probably goes without saying, but I realize if I want to get to where I need to be in life, then I must read...read for study, read to be informed and also, read for leisure. All to often in the black community, you may ask a child or young person what's their favorite book or what's the latest novel they've read...and if it's not school related, most cannot answer this question with ease and sometimes honestly. I do not want to just single out the black community, as today with social media and technology at the forefront I feel confident to say that most young people and people as a whole do not read anymore, if it's not a post on Yahoo or TMZ. I used to think..."While they're reading, I'm writing what they will one day read. While that may be true, I must read still to make my writing and speech all the better...all the more articulate and creative. This is also why many youth cannot write in proper grammatical form, because they are used to cellphone text writing and without the proper training and guidance, they think this [text slang] is how they should write. If you can't write well, or read well, it's hard to speak well.

We need to do better as parents and teachers, on enforcing reading and good reading habits in our children. Based on a summary by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, millions of children make it to the fourth grade without learning to read proficiently. "On the 2009 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) reading test more than 67 percent of all US fourth graders scored "below proficient," meaning they are not reading at grade level."--Studentsfirst.org While American kids in grade schools have made some improvements in reading levels, there is still much to be desired.

So these are the five books on my summer reading list (Please feel free to suggest others) As you'll see, I'm not so much into science fiction. I'm all for the real, hard core stuff, lol. I was serious when I said I want to educate myself (#NeverStopLearning):

• A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard (I'm halfway done reading this book. It's really sad and hard to read, just imagining all this young lady had to go through having been abducted and detained for over 18 years!)
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander (talks about the prison industrial complex and the War on Drugs)
• 101 Secrets For Your Twenties by Paul Agone 
• The Divine Nine: The History of black Sororities and Fraternities 
• The Inclusion Paradox by Andres Topia 

I'd also love to know what you're reading this summer! Do so by commenting below. 

Feature #3: Deborah Bailey

Deborah “Deb” Bailey was born in Kankakee, Illinois, a small town outside of Chicago. Her parents divorced when she was 11.  Her biological father was abusive to her mother and an alcoholic, while Deb never got along well with her mother. She and her little sister grew up in the taverns—“When our mother wasn’t home, our dad would take us to the bars. Sometimes we would even sleep on the pool tables,” Deb said. 

Deborah’s saving grace was always her grandmother, like so many young girls, even for myself. She started running away from home when she was 14 years old and whenever there was tension between her and her mother she would find refuge with her grandmother or run away. When Deb graduated high school, she wanted to go to college and ended up going to Barber College (hair school), which she paid for with loans. For most of the time Deb could not afford an apartment, so she slept in her car, behind the school, often with a crowbar between her legs for protection.

Desperate to get out of the cycles of poverty and uncertainly, she married “the first person who came along.” She was to find out that the man she had married was a drug dealer. She moved to Florida hoping that things would get better, but they only got worse. One day the police ransacked her house and the Florida FBI told her she had the option to either go to jail or move away and never look back. So Deb chose the later, packed her bags and in March of 1998 moved to Arkansas and she’s been there ever since.

Deb’s trouble still wasn’t over. July 22, 1998 Deb went on a blind date with the man who would eventually become the father of her children, but unfortunately the first 15 years were filled with physical abuse, stress, marriage counseling, and anger management counseling. During this time, Deb was also the manager of a women’s shelter called, The Harbor House, a place she and her two children would often find refuge.

“A lot of times I would cry out to God and ask him where was He? I thought I was a decent person who deserved better! And God would always say, “I’m right here,” Deb said.

In 2000 her grandmother died, who had previously had breast cancer and lost her breast. When she passed away, Deb had a nervous breakdown.  It took Deb a while to get back on her feet and part of that process was dependent on self-encouragement. “I would get up everyday and say to myself, “You’re loved, you’re beautiful and you have to go on!”

In August 2005 she began her own medical staffing agency, which provided very lucrative for Deb. It was a nice liberating change, from working bar jobs and living from paycheck to paycheck; but in 2008 one of her business partners stole her business from her and along with the business, went the money and Deb’s ticket to independence. Deb felt like she was back to square one and fell into a great depression for four months. While she was sitting on the side of the bed her son said to her one day, “This is not where God needs you. He has bigger plans for you!” This got Deb to thinking.

Deb recalled that she used to do HR in the past. Because she cannot stand for long periods of time due to the fact that one side of her body is longer than the other, Deb has always had to come up with creative ways to make money. So in November of 2008 she began her radio show, PowerWomen Radio Show, in which she interviews influential women with powerful stories. She did it because she loved it, not sure who or if anyone was listening. Eventually she began getting celebrity clients on her show provided by one of her followers, such as Kim Wayans, Billy Graham’s daughter Ruth Graham, Tracy Gould from Growing Pains the television show, just to name a few and it was miraculous to Deb.

Presently, PowerWomen Magazine is on radio and television. The television show is called Women of Power Next Door. Deb has also won several awards for her work. In August 2011 and February 2012, Power Women Magazine won the Women’s Choice Award for Most Outstanding and Informative magazine. Deb was also nominated for an international radio show host award February 2012. February 2013, she was honored yet again as an International Women’s Leadership Coach.

Not only this, but Deb is an ordained minister and an all around powerhouse! She even conducted a prison “pen pal” ministry for a while and would send packages to soldiers in Iraq every year. Now Deb’s focus is empowering women with the tools they need to push them forward. “I’ve always believed that women should be the ones to help and uplift other women,” Deb said, and surely her life defines that very statement.

PowerWomen’s logo is a set of wings—the reason: One of her best friend’s children asked their mother, “With everything that happened to Ms. Deb, how come nothing’s ever happened to her?” Deb’s friend’s response was, “She’s an angel in disguise! You can’t see it, but she has wings!” Deb has shown and continues to show women everywhere that, “No matter where you begin, your ending can be grand!”

To find out more about Deborah Bailey and her work, please visit: http://powerwomenmag.com/

Written by Yasmine Arrington

Prayers Out to the Martin Family

Why am I not surprised at the final verdict of the Trayvon Martin Case? All I have to say is WE ARE DEFINITELY IN THE END DAYS...Must stay prayed up!!! If it's black or brown, they don't care. But I know a GOD who does care, who can and will protect. I am still smiling because Trayvon is no longer in pain, crying or suffering, that's where I aim to be! 

Feature #2: Starcia Ague

This amazing young lady has quite a story.  When one goes through all that she has gone through, and is still eventually able to, as some Americans love to say, “pull herself up by the bootstraps,” and not only that, but make a difference in the world, you’ve got a premium jewel on your hands! Her name is Starcia Ague. She was born in Fort Lewis, Washington (State). Her mother had her when she was 15. When you ask Starcia to describe her childhood she will honestly tell you rape, abuse, neglect, and abandonment characterized her young life. Her father produced meth and her mother became addicted to the drug.

Starcia and her mother would always move—sometimes it would be a friend or family member’s house and other times it would be a homeless shelter. By the time Starcia was 11, her mother kicked her out of the house and Starcia moved in with her dad.

Though it was a complex living situation, for a brief period of time Starcia was able to feel a sense of stability. Her father had the money to buy her clothes for school and school supplies, and therefore Starcia was able to go to school on a regular basis. One day, her father’s house was raided. She was taken to the emergency room as the property was deemed hazardous and her father was arrested. Bail was set for $20,000 cash only. Her father skipped bail and told her he would be back for her, but he never did come back.

Form that point on Starcia’s young life was filled with numerous foster homes and crime. At age of 15 she spent 214 days in detention with six pending Class A felonies. She took plea for three and got sentenced to “juvenile life.” From ages 15-21 she spent in jail.

The turning point in Starcia’s life takes place here—at Naselle Youth Camp (one of the three prisons in Washington for juveniles). Starcia describes it as, “…An amazing beautiful African-American woman came to the jail to give her testimony.” Her mother was in an asylum, and she had also endured a life of rape and abuse. Starcia was so amazed with her story that that day, she decided to accept God into her life at 17 years old.

Knowing that education would be a way out for her, she inquired about taking college classes but the prison administrators laughed at her. Starcia did some research of her own and discovered that, “for every kid who doesn’t graduate the prison gets funding for, so they didn’t want you to graduate in prison.” Starcia being the intelligent young lady that she is, made a deal with the institution—“I’ll graduate a year later if you let me take college classes.” When she was released on her 21^st birthday, July 23, 2008, she was five credits away from earning her AA. Immediately she transferred to Washington State University and got her degree in Criminal Justice in 2010.

Starcia is the only juvenile in state of Washington to get a pardon from the governor, which she received on February 17, 2011. She is also a recipient of the 2009 Spirit of Youth Award, which gave her $1,000 towards school.

Today she is the Program Coordinator at The Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy at the University of Washington. There, she is in engaged in the selection process of mental health training materials for juvenile justice applications in connection with the MacArthur Foundation “Models for Change” project. Starcia also was their 2012 “Champion for Change” recipient. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QD5qHtML2E

In addition, Starcia is working on passing a bill in the state of Washington, so that young juveniles’ records will not have their adjudications available to anyone via electronic dissemination. The state of Washington often sells these records to corporations and individual proprietors, making it one of only three states in the entire nation that make income off of prison records and Starcia is driven to put a stop to it. Otherwise, once juveniles are released, this makes it nearly impossible for them to get a job anywhere, which leads them inevitably right back into the prison system.

It’s worthy to note that Harvard Educational Review Journal published some of Starcia’s work about system reform and being resilient. Starcia would like to go to Harvard to study in the near future. Based on the amazing things she’s done already, I believe without a doubt that she will get to Harvard! To read more about Starcia, please visit www.starciaague.org.

Written by Yasmine Arrington, Elon University '15

Feature #1: Min. Travis Ellis

I met Min. Ellis at a Gospel Benefit Concert for my non-profit ScholarCHIPS. He told me is story and I transcribed it. To hear his story in real life in his own words is amazing, and also to read it is amazing, so I wanted to share! 

Min. Travis Kevin “P.T” Ellis was born January 9, 1989 in Southeast Washington, DC.  Min. Ellis is a youth advocate, life-skills and juvenile rehabilitation coach, entrepreneur and Christian Hip-Hop artist. What is even more amazing about this young man than his many talents and service activities is his personal story that led him to where he is today.       

Growing up in the inner city, being raised by a single-mother, Ellis found himself as a troubled youth quickly immersing himself into a life of drugs and crime. By the age of 17, Ellis was diagnosed with a persistent vegetative state (PVS) in which the human brain suffers severe damage to the point of wakeful unconsciousness. He was then referred to a psychiatric ward. Ellis remained in the psychiatric ward for over a year and that is where he met Bishop Dwayne E. Stewart Sr., of The Gospel Truth Life Changing Ministries, who began to minister the Gospel to Ellis in his brain-dead state. Miraculously, when Ellis decided to give his life to Christ, his consciousness returned and from that point on, he never looked back. 

Ellis knew he had a unique story and a responsibility to give back and uplift the youth within his community. Ellis received his ministerial license April 21, 2008 under Bishop Stewart. Min. Ellis specializes in urban outreach, teaching Sunday school classes and Youth and Young Adult Ministry classes. In addition, Min. Ellis teaches classes as an instructor for the non-profit Living Classrooms, an organization founded in 1895 that provides at-risk youth in DC, Maryland and Virginia with hands-on education and job training. 

He also serves as the student development coordinator for the Fresh Start Program, a sub-program under Living Classrooms, that targets youth ages 14-17 who have been involved in the juvenile justice system, providing them with individualized vocational, life-skills, leadership and self-esteem development training.  Ellis is also founder of two robotics teams called Fresh T.E.C.H (stands for Technology, Engineering Carpentry, and Higher-Learning) at Living Classrooms for young men ages 16-19 and is a mentor for the Renaissance Boys Program at Septima Clark Public Charter School in Southeast DC.

 Ellis coaches basketball via the DeLoren Foundation and coaches at numerous recreational centers throughout the DMV area. He is a co-founder of The Hood Proud Foundation, with Franklin Dent and Nicole Rudd, which also provides life coaching, tutoring and mentoring for at-risk inner-city minorities of all ages. Most notably, Min. Ellis is founder of the record label and entertainment company Team G.U.C.C.I. (God Uses Chosen Children as Instruments) Entertainment LLC (2013), a mission he began in 2008 to spread the Gospel through various forms of entertainment (i.e. stageplays, liturgical/hip-hop dance, and Christian rap).  G.U.C.C.I. Ent. LLC travels to various churches and community venues all over the country in states such as Philadelphia, New York, Delaware, North Carolina, Atlanta, Florida, California and Texas. Ellis received his Bachelor of Science from WestWood College in 2010. Ellis is married to India Shonté Ellis and they are the parents of a three-year-old son named Josiah Travis Ellis.

AMAZING RIGHT?