HOME WORKOUT WITHOUT

HOME WORKOUT WITHOUT WEIGHTS

Join CODE M’s four part series on getting into mental and physical shape. As 2023 approaches, Black men need to be on their A game if they are going to dominate life next year. by Garratt Waller

A

ttention Men! How men feel is largely based on how good their physical and mental is. There is not better time to begin the journey of creating a better you. That journey begins with exercise. Exercise build a better body and a better mind because it impacts everything. Blood flow, sleep, immflamation, mood, and stress level are all impacted when you get enough exercise. This four part series on working out comes with no excuses. CODE M has put together a workout regime that you can use with no weights. You only need your motivation and time to begin this routine. CODE M wants readers from all around the country to join in and get fit together.

Knee high run

Glute bridge march 2 Overhead squat

Glute bridge march

THE CODE: START STRONG, FINISH STRONGER

How you finish one chapter is how you will start the next. The best way to cultivate a transformative 2023 is to make a mental switch at the end of this year. You don't need a complex training plan to get or maintain better health and looks during the holiday season. All you need is your body weight, seven moves, and your will power. The first workout bolsters your strength, the second channels cardio - neither will keep you from the holiday mix.

DECEMBER PROGRAM

Tackle one of these workouts 6 days a week. Start each workout with 1 minute of the

warmup move. Rest at least 1 day each week.

Warmup

Do the Warmup for 1 minute then begin the Strength or Cardio workout. 1. Good Morning

Workout

Do each move in the circuit for 60 seconds. Complete 2 rounds then take a 60 second rest before starting the next round. Do up to 5 rounds.

Strength

1. OH Squat 2. Elbow Plank + Knee Crunch

Down dog toe reach

3. Glute Bridge March

Cardio

1. High Knee Run 2. V Up Knee Grab 3. Down Dog Toe Reach

Elbow plank + knee crunch Good Morning stretch

BLACK WOMEN’S HAIR UNDER ATTACK

For over a century, Black women straightened their hair to gain social acceptance. Cancer-causing agents found in relaxers are killing Black women and forcing them to rethink their hairstyles.

Written by DR. TAMEKA ELLINGTON

Dr. Tameka Ellington, the Black Beauty Activist, has been conducting scholarly work about Black hair since 2002. She is co-curator of the internationally acclaimed exhibition, TEXTURES: the history and art of Black hair. And her upcoming book, Black Hair in a White World, will be released in summer of 2023 by Kent State University Press.

AAmerican popular culture has always been driven by Black influence. But for Black women, hairstyles seemed to be dominated by white culture. For over 200 years, Black women have been straightening their hair in order to fit in, get jobs, and be accepted among dominant beauty standards. But with recent studies, Black women are dying from the chemicals used to straighten their hair, forcing them to develop alternatives.

A 2007 article by researchers at the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University and the Howard University Cancer

Center was one of the first to publish work regarding a threat that hair relaxers might be connected with breast cancer.

Oxford Academic published research in 2012 regarding Black women being at risk of uterine leiomyomata (fibroids) due to hair relaxer use.

The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology published research in 2017 that detailed, “African American women experience more hair-related anxiety and are twice as likely than white women to experience social pressure at work to straighten their hair,” and exposure to these toxic chemicals during pregnancy can trigger adverse health issues.

In 2021, further research about hair relaxers and breast cancer surfaced in Boston University's Black Women’s Health Study, which followed 59,000 Black women over a 25-year period and found that hair relaxers put women at a higher risk for breast cancer.

Recent media uproar came when research results were released in October 2022 by the National Institutes of Health from a study conducted with 33,497 Black women participants. They found that women who reported frequent use of hair straightening products, defined as more than four times in a year, were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer compared to those who did not. These findings have companies such as L'Oréal under the knife and in the courtroom.

Black people’s hair has been under attack since the beginning of chattel slavery in 1619. Black people were conditioned through physical and verbal abuse to see their bodies, facial features, and hair as othered — as animalized. According to the Harvard Library’s article entitled “Scientific Racism,” one of the most effective tactics used to rationalize the mistreatment of Black bodies was the comparison of Black bodies to animals through scientific research called polygenism, which

suggested human races were of different origins and claiming the European race as the superior race.

As time went on, Black people were constantly bombarded with messages that led to brainwashing and selfdegradation. After the abolishment of slavery, Black people had to become employable and were forced into assimilation and acculturation by way of lightening their skin and straightening their hair. The topic of straightening Black hair has been controversial since the early 1900s when Jamaicanborn Black nationalist and leader of the Pan-Africanism movement, Marcus Garvey, warned Black people, “Do not remove the kinks from your hair — remove them from your brain.”

Today, Black people have more choices than their ancestors did; however about 60 percent of Black women continue to straighten their hair according to market research institute Mintel; and since the fall of the natural hair movement in recent years, that number may be increasing. TikTok has 72.6 million views on the topic, “relaxers are back.” Pop Culture has pushed the idea about the need for Black women to relax their hair in order to be considered beautiful. For example, rapper Nicki Minaj, who refers to herself as Barbie references “nappy-headed hoes” in her song, “Did it On ‘Em.” The social conditioning from dominant Westernized beauty ideas, as well as from the African American community itself, pressures many Black women to chemically relax their hair, which according to the research, is putting them at risk or in other words under attack. One recent case that demonstrates Black women wanting their hair to behave in unrealistic ways is with Tessica Brown and her Gorilla Glue incident. Another example involves the rise of the “melt,” where Black women use a technique to make wigs appear as their “real” scalp and hair. The process calls for gluing the wig to the skin of the hairline and using a hair dryer to “melt” the netted lace front of the wig to the hairline; followed by short strands of hair, a.k.a. “baby hair,” which are then gelled at the edges to further hide the netting of the wig. These hairstyles are almost always paired with relaxer straightened hair. And thus, many Black women are voluntarily attacking their hair to fit within the dominant ideas of beauty. However, Black women are not fully to blame: centuries of brainwashing is most certainly the reasoning. This article is meant to shed some light on the hard-to-hear truths that Black women continue to follow along with dominant beauty ideas at the risk of their own health. The dominant Westernized beauty standards uphold that women who are white with straight hair, light eyes, and skinny (nowadays slim-thick) are the most beautiful, leaving all other women who don’t fit into this category going to great lengths to try to obtain the unobtainable.

Articles have been recently published regarding some hair professionals' thoughts that the relaxer research is propaganda to scare Black women, leaving the need for further investigation on behalf of Black women themselves. Many hair care professionals’ propaganda ideas may be tied to their wallets. Forbes published a recent article that stated, “Sales of chemical hair relaxers to salons and other professionals have been declining for at least a decade, according to market research firm Kline & Co., from about $71 million in 2011 to $30 million in 2021.” If Black women listened to and acted on the results of research, relaxer production and application profits would take a major dive. The indoctrination that Black women have endured throughout history regarding being the lesser beauty makes it difficult to see the true reality. A new way of thinking about Black beauty OUTSIDE the dominant idea would require an entire shift in mindset. It would require a response to the issues that many just are not ready to respond to. And that’s understandable — hundreds of years of brainwashing will take another hundred to undo.

Black women, the choice is yours to take control over your hair, bodies, and overall well-being instead of allowing society to dictate who you are, how you should look, and which chemicals you allow near your body. ●

The goal of turning your passion into profit is always the goal of anyone looking to start a business. They say, if you are fortunate enough to be able to do both, you will never work a day in your life. Antwone Ford slightly agrees with the phrase adding one small change. Ford is working very hard to grow his company, Enlightened: Beyond Expectation, an IT Security Tech Firm, and at the same time building a thriving mentorship program for underserved communities. Enlightened works in cybersecurity, management consulting and software development integration. Based outside of Washington D.C., it has been in business for over 20 years, has over 250 employees and last year did over $23 million in revenue. But when you speak with Ford, he is only interested in trying to figure out who to help next.

“I have been passionate all my life about giving back. I was very fortunate to be raised by loving parents, so its always been my goal to give people a chance who might not have had the same upbringing as me,” Ford said.

Ford’s success allows him the ability to reach back and provide tremendous support for those looking to get an education in the cyber security field. “We became a DOD (Department of Defense) and SBA (Small Business Administration) Mentor,” Ford continued. “There are kids out there that want to be more than an influencer, but they need the space and time, and mentorship to get what they need to be successful.”

PAYING IT FORWARD AS A

PASSION

When Antwone Ford started his business, Enlightened: Beyond

Expectation, he merged his passion for IT security and mentorship into one concept. It turns out that this combo is perfect for his bottom line and his heart. by Bolling Smith

Ford provides mentorship by partnering with the DOD. The Mentor Protege Program creates meaningful programs that companies can offer to help other smalls businesses get fund-

ing, leadership, and guidance by other companies. In 2017 Ford, and his company, got an award for mentoring small businesses. Ford’s company helps smaller companies navigate the complicated waters of understanding the requirements and rules of getting government contracts. Ford purposely put his new office building in Ward 8 just so the community could see that success is possible. “We try to have between 6 to 10 people intern with us every year.” Ford said. Ford is hoping to open a non-profit, named after his late moth-

er and father, in the early part of 2023. Serving as the Vice Chair of the board of the US Black Chambers, Inc. Ford wants to have a larger impact on Black business in general. The new non -profit would allow Ford to mentor minority businesses, no matter what field they work in. Ford understands that not everyone will be able to advantage of the programs that he non-profit will offer. “Business is not for everyone. We tell people that all the time. If you are not going to work hard, come in and listen and learn, this is not for you,” Ford commented. The work might be more intense for self-employed people, but the work they do seems to be more enjoyable. Ford wants his mentees to understand that they are going to have to grind and work hard if they expect to make it in business.

Ford knows that over 30% of business fail to make it to year two of being open. So he tries to set the right tone for the small business owners that he mentors so they can expect the same thing from them“I would take some people up to one of our balconies where we could see people enjoying happy hour,” Ford said. “I would show them all the fun that the people were having and how they were done working by a certain time.” What Ford wanted them to understand is that the competition might still be at their desk working. The competition might still be working to make a change to a proposal that might win them the government contract that those having a drink might now win.

Ford did not get to where he is by resting or shutting it down early. Ford’s work ethic glows off his personality. So there is no question that his company will reach his goal of becoming a 100 million dollar company in the future.

“Business is not for everyone. We tell people that all the time. If you are not going to work hard, come in and listen and learn, this is not for you,” Ford commented.

“We have huge expectations here at Enlightened. We know what we have to do to grow and I think we can get to 1000 employees and help small businesses all over the US realize their dreams of becoming success businesses,” Ford said. The decision to marry his purpose and his passion is paying off for Ford. Everyone should be so lucky to have a career like that. ●