May Our Lives Honor Your Sacrifice

To the victims of September 11, 2001:  because your lives were changed on that day, our lives were changed and are continuously changing.  We will endeavor every day to live lives that honor the tremendous sacrifice that each one of you and your families made. God Bless your memory...*

9/11/01 Victims
Never Forget!!

*Reposted from Motivational Moments, (daily motivation to inspire you)

Happy National Grandparents Day!!

Surely, two of the most satisfying experiences in life must be those of being a grandchild or a grandparent. 

--Donald A. Norberg

Today is National Grandparents Day! Are your grandparents special. Tell us in a blog or brief video why they are special to you and you could win FREE breakfast for them. See details below. 

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NOW! How Far Have We Really Come? | 50th Anniversary of the March On Washington

Part II of II

http://50thanniversarymarchonwashington.com

          We have come a great distance in this country in the 50 years, but we still have
          a great distance to go before we fulfill the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr.

          --Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), August 28, 2013

Yesterday and this past Saturday, some 50 years after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legendary “I Have A Dream” speech, two of his children that he referred to in the speech, together with other civil rights organizations and tens of thousands of individuals celebrated moments in history that helped America to come to grips with words from its 1776 Declaration of Independence,

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”[1]

On Saturday, August 24th, Martin King III and his sister, Rev. Bernice King, along with Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network and co-convener of the 50th Anniversary of the 1963 March On Washington, and a host of other civil rights organizations marched from the Lincoln Memorial to the newly erected Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial to remember and honor what happen on August 28, 1963. (See pictures from the 8/24/13 March On Washington)


Fifty years to the day of the actual 1963 March On Washington, many of the “march veterans” and foot soldiers who had participated in the original march locked arms with college students, and led thousands down the original path to the Lincoln Memorial to hear President Barack Obama, John Lewis and others speak about this watershed moment in the history of the Civil Rights movement. President Barack Obama told...


To read more, click here.

Reflections...30-25-Now! | The March On Washington

Part I of II

Reflections...30 years ago this summer I had just finished my freshman year at Howard University in Washington, D.C. I made the decision to stay for graduation after finishing my classes and finals instead of flying home right away to California and that was one of the best decisions I ever made. Witnessing graduation and celebrating the few upperclassmen (Stephen J., Pam L., and Kim U.) I knew who were graduating was inspiring and helped me to know that I could really do this too. Howard University's graduation was the first college graduation I had ever attended. Even though I had attended classes and spent time at U.C. Berkeley, seeing people I knew graduate from college helped me picture myself in a cap and gown getting my degree. Their example influenced me.

Once I got home to California, I got a chance to intern in the Legal Department of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan in Oakland. The prior summer I had worked in Nuclear Medicine in the Medical Records department of Kaiser Hospital in Oakland. There I learned that I did not want to go into Medicine after almost fainting while I observed a catheterization
procedure on a 13 or 14 year old child. Too much blood! But, I digress.

The summer of 1983 afforded me the opportunity to observe the commanding presence of two pioneering black women lawyers who were apart of Kaiser’s legal staff. One of those ladies was Sandra Hicks Cox, sister of the Rev. Dr. Beecher Hicks, pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. I was in awe of them and their presence and interaction with me helped me to see what was possible. Jim Vohs was the CEO of Kaiser at the time and thanks to his personal outreach to my high school and my high school career teacher/counselor, Mr. Charles L. Franklin, I had a job waiting for me when I got home from college. Now, some 30 years later, Bernard J. Tyson, an African American and the oldest son of a Vallejo, California Pentecostal minister whom my mother worked with in their regional church organization, is now the Chief Executive Officer and the first African American to lead the organization.

After the summer ended, I returned to D.C. to start my sophomore year without a dorm room, which was my usual M.O. (I never got a dorm room or at least got in the dorm where I wanted to stay in the dorm lottery.) After showing up day after day at the Office of Residence Life and begging, pleading, and looking like a castaway to the then formidable Dean of Residence Life, Edna Calhoun, I finally got a room in Howard University's Lucy Diggs Slowe Hall. The highlight of the beginning of my sophomore year was attending the 20th Anniversary of the historic 1963 March On Washington. A few of us Howard students bought "March" T-Shirts and showed up on the National Mall to listen to the speeches on a hot and muggy Saturday as a way of showing our support and thanks for the Civil Rights movement.

20th Anniversary of the 1963 March On Washington
National Mall, 1983

In 1988, just five years after my first attendance at the 1983 March On Washington, I would have the opportunity to more tangibly demonstrate my support and gratitude for the countless men and women who had sacrificed so greatly by giving of their time and resources to the Civil Rights movement. By now I was a graduate of Howard University’s School of Business and was working for AT&T Federal Systems in Silver Spring, Maryland. When I heard that there were meetings taking place to plan the 25th Anniversary of the March On Washington, I quickly volunteered and became a member of the D.C. Planning Committee. This was my way of paying tribute to those who had given so much. I wanted to honor those who had given their lives to break down the walls of racism and inequality in this country. So during the day, I worked my full-time job, but my evenings belong to the March On Washington planning activities for well over eight months. 

What a privilege it was to work in the presence of Civil Rights royalty like Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy and the late Ofield Dukes. Along with my fellow alums Jill Patrick and Toya Watts, we got a chance to learn from "old" pros, like A.C. Byrd, about how to organize, plan local meetings, post flyers, and recruit volunteers. We met and partnered with other young leaders like Norman Nixon and Kemry Hughes, native Washingtonians and friends with my fellow New Bethel Church of God In Christ church member, John Daniels.  The guys were working for then Mayor, Marion S. Barry, and making a difference in the lives of Washington, D.C. youth.

 
During this time, I was inspired to write a song to honor the impact that Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. had had on my life. Although he was assassinated when I was only three years old, his speeches and leadership example are timeless. "Lord, Help This Generation To Dream" was written both as a tribute to the man that King was and a Call To Action to this generation to dare to have a big, powerful, world-changing dream. King gave his all to change the world and its view of people of color. Our lives should honor his sacrifice. My friends and I were fortunate to be able to perform the song a few times during the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) that was held the week before the March and at a multi-ethnic rally that took place at a local church the night before 1988 March. At the end of the song, the whole audience stood hand-in-hand and joined us in singing, “Don’t you give up, you can’t stop. Keep on dreaming!” I could tell they were just as inspired as we were. It was amazing! The memories will last a lifetime.

25th Anniversary of the 1963 March On Washington,
Lincoln Memorial, 1988

The State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman | Personal Thoughts and President Barack Obama's Comments

One week ago, George Zimmerman was found 'not guilty' of manslaughter or 2nd degree murder for the shooting death of 17 year old Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012 in Sanford Florida. For a lot of people the verdict was unbelievable and a painful dart in the heart.  Trayvon's death reminded a lot of people of the history of injustice toward African Americans and especially young African American men and boys. The date of this tragedy is significant for me because February 26 is my birthday.

This week I personally reflected on the lives of my nephew, who is in his early twenties, and my two teenage God sons thinking about how I would have advised them to react if a BIG burly-looking guy (of any race) was following them on a dark rainy night in an unfamiliar neighborhood.  I would tell them run. But if the man confronts you, you have to defend yourself with all of your might.  

In fact, I did have a similar talk with my nephew a few years ago when he had gotten into a serious fight at school that resulted in an arrest.  I told him, some people don't have anything to lose.  They don't have a future that they are looking forward to.  I let him know that he was gifted, talented and loved and that he had a future.   And because of these things, he needed to walk away from fools. 

Believe it or not, at forty-something, I had to do the same thing a few weeks ago.  A lady (she looked like she was a recovering addict) intentionally bumped into me more than once as I walked down the street in broad daylight in Washington, D.C. near Capitol Hill. It appeared to me that she was trying to initiate a confrontation. It did not help that it was as hot as Hades outside and I was not having the best day.  Right then, a few scenes containing potential outcomes of what could happen if I engaged this woman based on how I was feeling flashed before my eyes.  Those brief flashes helped me, a forty-something adult, understand that my response could change my life as well as the life of this lady forever. I stopped, spoke to her in a stern tone telling her to not touch me again, and then I walked away and lived to write this blog.  Sometimes you have to walk away because you have a future and your future is too important to miss.  

Just some random thoughts.  

I leave you with President Barack Obama's relevant comments from 7/19 on the George Zimmerman verdict.

--Nona

There Is No Way (Cover), Song by Milton Brunson and the Tommies

Just sat down one day and started singing and playing a verse and chorus one of my favorite choir songs, "There Is No Way" by Milton Brunson and the Tommies.  I'm sharing it here with some of my photos from over the years.  Hope you enjoy!

Leadership Tuesdays: It's Okay To Just Say Thank You...Raina Anderson

My mother always told me that when someone pays you a compliment it is exactly the same as if they had given you a gift. The appropriate response when someone gives you a gift is “Thank you.” So why, when most of us have been taught to be kind and gracious, cannot we not accept compliments or positive feedback on results we produce? 

--Raina Anderson, "How to Take Credit for Your Accomplishments", The Way Women Work

Every other Tuesday, WOMEN AT LIBERTY presents Leadership Tuesdays, a platform for a variety of voices and resources to develop, encourage, and strengthen women leaders.

Do you ever have trouble talking about your accomplishments to your manager, senior leaders, or during an interview? Raina Anderson offers some great advice on how to "How to Take Credit for Your Accomplishments" In this The Way Women Work article, Raina shares actual phrases that we can use to begin a dialogue about our successes. To check out today's article, click here to read the article.

To see other articles in the Leadership Tuesdays' archive, click here.