What is the Kingdom of God? 4 Should the Church Abandon Secular? 5 Cultural Integrity Crisis 6 Mental Illness & Black Men 8 Intellectial Property for Writers 10 I Am Woman 12 New Beginning, Unexpected Challenges 14
Nia Jovan Andrews, Publisher & Editor
Cover: Jlasan Photography Chanelj Make-up Bee Creative Graphics Contributors: Tiffany Davis Santucee bell Teen contributors: (Black women in American history) Jaunetta McClary Daniel S. williams jr Jones publishing & Enterprises, llc www.jpandellc.com nandrews@jpandellc.com 708.414.6843
One Purpose Magazine is published online by Jones Publishing & Enterprises, LLC. at no charge to the reader and no subscription fees. Copyright Jones Publishing & Enterprises, LLC. All rights are reserved. All views expressed are those of the publisher and its contributors. Reproduction in whole or in part without the publisher’s consent is prohibited.
Hope Against All Hope Hope is what I decided to focus this issue on for many different reasons ~ some personal and some very apparent considering the climate of our society. Regardless of who you elected November 2016, now in 2017, we are living with the fact that a reality show celebrity and real estate mogul is our sitting president. There are two sides to this: there’s the uh-oh what have we done then there’s the wait-a-minute if this guy can become president anything is possible. This is why I believe this is the time to hope for more. There is a lot of fear from the political rhetoric, but if you can replace that fear with a hope you may be able to change the trajectory of the outcome of the very things that we fear. To do that we cannot sit back and be a spectator. We must walk in our authority. That means we must call truth to power, we must hold our brothers and sisters accountable, we must have compassion and empathy and we must study to show thyself approved as the bible says. To use faith we must start with hope, hope is a decision of the heart. Then faith follows and we have all, maybe not all, but most sat through enough bible study classes or sermons to know that faith without works is dead. I am a believer that to have faith it takes the ability to hope. Many people, I feel, have lost hope because of the things that they set out to accomplish are not moving. But, that is what progress feels like. Sometimes it’s moving so fast you cannot keep-up, but other times it moves so slow it feels stagnant, and it seems in those stagnant times is when life hits. People act-up, traumatics circumstances that you cannot control occurs, your finances are out of whack and you feel pressed on every side and with all that hope dwindles and “forget it all” feels right, but it’s not right. The assignment is yours whatever it is regardless of what you are going through. And, you have in you exactly what it takes to make it happen. You thought it, you have the talent and the gifts to bring it to fruition, but you have to see past all the stuff to make it happen and it all starts with hope. Grab hold of your hope, stir-up your faith and walk in your authority and against all hope make it happen!
Nia
What is the Kingdom of God? By: Staff
Bible Study ~ Examining the Text
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The Kingdom of God is the spiritual domain over which God is sovereign (supreme authority). Stong Concordance definition of Kingdom: kingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, especially of God, both in the world, and in the hearts of men; hence: kingdom, in the concrete sense.
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Paul said to the Romans in Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Matthew wrote in his contribution to the sypnotic gospels of Christ in Matthew 16:19, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” What does this mean for the believer: In Christ on earth you have power if you believe that, speak that and operate in your authority. In Christ you are directly connected to a sovereign God, so if you take what Paul said to the Romans and what Matthew wrote in the gospels, if you trust the Holy Spirit to guide you, and use the keys that are given to you; the blood of Jesus and the power of prayer, which connects you to Heaven, you too can have power here on earth to make the impossible things possible.
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Secular Artists & God By: Staff
When church-folks hear secular artists talk about God, you can almost see them cringe. In their eyes, God is their’s and who are secular artists to talk about someone who belongs to them? When Beyonce said, “When Jesus says yes nobody can say no,” on Michelle Williams single “Say Yes” it seemed church folks could not handle it. Heck, church folks could not really handle Michelle being a solo gospel artist after the secular group she was in, Destiny’s Child, began their solo projects. Here we are in 2017, and the church is not blemished free. After prosperity preaching has been criticized, the church has not been very effective in transforming underprivileged and low-income communities and we have often seen the leader in the church being exposed for their hidden sins, you would think that they’ll be in a place where they realize church or unchurched everyone needs God. Secular, unchurched artists probably more. Most church folks operate within the walls of the church. Much of their service happen in their communities through their church. Knowing that it seems that they would see it as a great opportunity to minister to people who actually touch the people. Let’s be honest, most Gospel artist minister to believers, but who is ministering to the non-believers. I get it, the point of secular is to have no religion or spiritual basis, it’s worldly, but that is not always the message in the artist’s personal story.
From food-stamps to more ice than Gretzky I don’t gotta talk the Lord defends me I watch them all fall for going against me ‘Cause me and all my angels shot the devil up While you was trying to pull me down I levelled up I levelled up twice, I levelled up three times He tapped ‘em and told ‘em “she’s mine” So even when I cried I knew I’d be fine Prepare for a miracle blessing in these times Now praise Him, raise Him, name it, claim it Every tongue that rises up against me, shame it I breathe success in and out my lungs I got the power of life and death coming out of my tongue” The truth is it has a lot of worldly prosperity, very similar to that prosperity gospel the church is criticized for, but there is one line that should shut all the criticism down, “She’s Mine.” No one can argue with that. We all belong to Elohim, the Creator. John Gray, an Associate Pastor at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, said in an intervieww with Jubilee Magazine, “Church folks are a good judge of other people’s sin, but a lawyer of their own.”
Tasha Cobbs best known for her 2012 single “Break Every Chain” released a new single this year with Hip Hop artists Nicki Minaj, as secular as they come, and the church went in on her. For the point of this article I want to share the lyrics to Nicki’s verse:
He also gave the example from the bible with Jesus hanged at his crucifixion with two criminals. The Bible says in Luke 23:39-43, One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
“Yo, aye yo, beach house vibes maneuver the jetski ‘Cause-’cause I serve the God that parted the red sea Multi-million dollars commercials for Pepsi
None of us have the right to say who has the authority to worship God. Psalm 150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
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By: Staff
Cultural Int
When hurricane Katrina hit the coastline of New Orleans and broke the levees destroying everything in its path, I think we all were just in awe. Most had not in their lifetime witnessed such a natural disaster. Many Americans wanted nothing more than to help. I was a student at the time. My major was journalism at Columbia College Chicago, but I had begun taking general education courses at a community college because it was cheaper. I was still applying the knowledge I had began to learn as an undergrad through staying on-top of news topics and blogging on MySpace. That year, 2005, I was learning more about the things that I was passionate about and how we treat one another was beginning to become more and more important to me.
wrapped around my true love, journalism, I was wide-eyed watching the reporters ask questions, recording footage and discussing what their days were like since the hurricane in the news room. As they were talking one reporter said, “Does anyone know when the refugees will be arriving?” I remember it like it was just whispered in my ear this very moment. No one reacted. Surely, I thought with such intelligent people that someone would correct the young reporter, but none of the other media members said a thing. It dawned on me that he was so comfortable using the term because that was what all of the media were considering the people displaced from New Orleans. Then, I saw how they bombarded them when they arrived asking questions without allowing them to get comfortable nor settled into understanding where they were or what their next steps would be - he news outlets just wanted a direct quote from these “refugees.”
Love Thy So, when I found out there was going to be people who were displaced from their hometown in Louisiana to Chicago because of the hurricane immediately I wanted to help. I heard the news and I got up and went to Super K-Mart to buy some of the requested goods for the facility they were going to be staying at. When I got there, there were many volunteers and people bringing food, clothes, shoes and many various items that would make them feel as welcomed and comfortable as we could. Among the people were the media. Of course by my mind still being
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I was disappointed, let-down, disgusted and charged to become the change I wanted to see in that moment. Years later, I will not say that I felt convicted as I sat in the pew on a Sunday morning as the first lady at my church preached a sermon she titled “Integrity Crisis”, but surely I felt esteemed.
egrity Crisis Finally, someone uttered the words buried inside of me. Like rain to a garden, what was buried began to come to life. Suddenly, my frustrations had words, they had an agreement, they were called out and confronted with ancient historical facts looming from the New Testament of the Bible traveling through the civil rights movement addressing my right now. It is not confusion this current generation faces, nor greed like we pin or pen many of America’s issues to; it is integrity at the root. As a nation, we lack integrity.
economic boundaries. Mentioning, at some point we all have to face these boundaries and we have to maximize the edge once we cross. The example used was the Florida’s Trayvon Martin case, where a young black male was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch man and was acquitted of murder because of the “Stand Your Ground” law in Florida. At this point, a few years now since the Trayvon Martin case, we have seen two very highly discussed cases dealing with race matters. Michael Brown who was an unarmed black male killed by a police officer, then there’s Integrity is defined as the quality of being Eric Garner, a black male, who died from honest and having strong moral principles; being placed in a chokehold by an officer. We moral uprightness or the state of being whole currently have a fustrated sportsman Colin and undivided. Some words that are synKapernick. who took action for this kind of onymous with integrity are honesty, ethics, mistreatment and he’s being ostrocized for moral, righteousness, virtue, decency, fairness, standing against inequalities, I would call truthfulness. that a crisis.
Neighbor Now, of course, there’s no way a nation can be built and established unblemished, simply because we are imperfect people, you can take the finest of America’s best and find an area where you can call their integrity into question.Take a look at some of our most effective leaders Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s extramarital affair allegations to the current allegations against Bill Cosby. We’ve all fought battles that have called our integrity into question. This particular sermon began by pointing-out “crossing boundaries” like social, racial and
With all these examples over the years, we have been leading up to a Donald Trump presidency a person who lacks integrity because as a society that is who we are. It should not take natural disasters like hurricane Katrina or now, Harvey in Texas to bring us together. If a child is shot and killed for no reason everyone should be outraged. If confederacy memorabilia reminds a portion of this society of when laws considered them less than human, we should change it, because that is what a healthy portion of integrity convicts one to do.
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By: Staff
Mental Illness
I love you ~ we love you, black women do. We utter it, mutter it, speak it, write it and post it. But, we’re not sure that you hear it whether we tell you or you read it, it seems to go unnoticed. There’s a theory that can be applied that will imply that it falls on to deaf ears because of a harden heart. Here are three reasons why we think that our sentiment is hard to hear:
We do not need you we value you: Black women are strong. We’ve fought through things that no one should have to fight through in this American culture. So when you see that we do not need you, you take it as an offense. You as a black man cannot save us. That is okay, we do not need to be rescued, we need you to appreciate our strength and allow us to stand beside you. We do not want to use our intelligence, experience or strength to degrade or emasculate you, we want to build with you. We value you if you can still hope beyond what you have been told is acceptable in this world. The world says it’s okay to practice bad behaviors to avoid your responsibilities and many fall for it and strong women will not be with you if you accept that, but if you overcome those selfish desires we can accept you.
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System’s break you: These American systems are not made for the black man; we as black women understand that. It starts with the school system. No one is attacked like the black man. There school systems that run like this. A black boy’s attention span is short because he’s not picking-up on the material being taught, so he becomes disruptive. With those disruptions, the teaching staff labels him as a behavioral problem. This label lands him in a class with students who are ostracized for their behavioral disorder. If that behavior progresses they are sent to a school with heavier disciplines for behavioral issues and lower standards for education. Does that sound like a pipeline to jail/incarceration? This method does many things, but mentally it impacts a young boy’s selfworth. Breaking the value of a young black male starts young, especially in an environment that he’s supposed to be protected. It’s a small thing, but overlooking small things can impact or has impacted entire generations. Trauma has shaped you: Many black men suffer in silence. They are depressed, stressed and suffering and we never know, but we do. An angry black man is typically a man who is suffering internally. We may overlook it because a black man is taught never to let them see you sweat, but if you have been in a relationship with a black man you have seen how the systems are against them and society do not value them and this weighs on them, their women, and their children. As a black man, you cannot drive to and from work without the burden of if he will get pulled over by the police and make it home or not. There is a lot of psychological
& Black Men trauma in this society. If a black man was under-educated as a youth he is probably too embarrassed to seek the education that will give him the confidence to pursue or press further in life. There is also the family emotional trauma that has to be considered if as a male he did not receive nurturing from his mother that gives him compassion and a level of sensitivity and understanding; or, if he was not properly taught by his father the importance of responsibility, discipline and self-respect as a man, lacking these things can land him in situations that eat away at the little self-worth he has leaving him without much to build from. These may sound like excuses to many, but post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is real. We may want men to be responsible and accountable but those are disciplines that are taught starting at a young age. If a person never had anyone to teach them these things or they got by without learning paralleled with the society we live in today chances are with the systems set-up to break them, we have lost a black man. These examples are one perspective. There are many examples that these issues can produce.
According to a study conducted in Ward, E. C., Wiltshire, J. C., Detry, M. A., & Brown, R. L. (2013). African American men and women’s attitude toward mental illness, perceptions of stigma, and preferred coping behaviors. Nursing Research, 62(3), 185-194.: Black/African Americans hold beliefs related to stigma, psychological openness, and help-seeking, which in turn affects their coping behaviors. Generally speaking, the participants in this study were not very open to acknowledging psychological problems, but they were somewhat open to seek mental health services. Thirty percent of participants reported having a mental illness or receiving treatment for a mental illness Black/African Americans men are particularly concerned about stigma. Cohort effects, exposure to mental illness, and increased knowledge of mental illness are factors which could potentially change beliefs about symptoms of mental illness. Participants appeared apprehensive about seeking professional help for mental health issues, which is consistent with previous research. However, participants were willing to seek out some form of help.
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By: Staff
Building Y
Intellectual Prope
Intellectual Property is the copyrights, trademarks, patents and trade secrets that an individual or business hold. In managing these assets, someone has to assure that they’re registered with the proper office and monitor the potentially lengthy process of them being registered within that office.
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acquiring a patent is probably the most difficult of all the other IP’s.
Along with that, there are other components that come with owning either of the assets. You have use, protection and licensing of them. Either people use your assets with your permission or without your permission and with either one it’s better that someone is on top of them being managed than not.
Trade Secret, according to the Illinois Trade Secrets Act is information including but not limited to, technical or non-technical data, a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique drawing, process, financial data or a list of actual or potential customers or suppliers that is sufficiently secret to derive economic value, actual of potential, from being generally known to other person who can obtain economic value or use; and is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstance to maintain its secrecy or confidentiality.
A copyright is the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same. A trademark is a symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product. Patented inventions have a value based on their uniqueness and utility. With utility being functional for a machine, process or product it may be difficult to align a functionality with content, especially automation or digitizing it. But,
The forefront of intellectual property management is due diligence. IP due diligence is essentially an audit to assess the quantity and the quality of intellectual property assets owned by, or licensed to, a company, business or individual. Copyrights are essential to content ownership. Many of us overlook it and produce written works without thinking about ownership. I often say that we have to begin thinking like owners if you do not already. A dreadful thought for many writers, I know. We typically just want to produce content and hand-it-off for
Your Brand
erty for Writers someone else to use and market our work, just simply give us credit and keep it moving. So for writers here are a couple essentials for copyrights: First let’s make what copyrights are plain and simple: it is the original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression. So for example, you generate a blog that is a resource for people that house written material that is created by you and is original work. You should have ownership of the title of that public medium so that you have ownership of every item published on it. So, your website’s name should be published through the U.S. Copyrights office as a website or publication in order to protect your original works. Liking and sharing is how we get our works out for the masses. It’s a wonderful opportunity for the artists to be able to showcase works before people/the public without having to travel or leave our home. However, with that we should implement wisdom and understand that distribution of our works mean that it can be ac-
cessed by people who need content in order to bring attention to their websites and we would need to make sure that people are not misusing our work and claiming it as their own, and if they are or we find that they are they should be held accountable for misrepresentation, according to the laws. But, if your work is unregistered holding them accountable will be impossible. Granted, since in use, you can still be considered its owner according to the law, but you limit yourself as the owner when your work isn’t registered, as far as who uses your work and how it is used. There is no doubt that we should want exclusive rights to our ordinary works. Registration is a prerequisite for filing a law suit for infringement. Second, you will not lose copyrights if you do not add your copyrights notice on published works, although it helps if you add it. Copyright notice should be: Copyright plus name of copyright owner, Year of 1st publication ex. Copyright (or copyright symbol) John Doe 2015. A copyright notice should be added to the footer of a website’s homepage as soon as it goes live.
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I Am Wom
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Danielle Terry - Wife. Mother. Mentor
By: Tiffany Davis Danielle Terry was patiently waiting for me to arrive in the back of a local Panera Bread with coffee and a sugar cookie. She was dressed in leggings and a comfortable shirt with her natural curls pulled up in a ponytail. We sat at a small round table and spoke as music played in the background and the busy lunch rush commenced. Excited to interview, she voiced that being recognized is fuel to keep her going. Danielle,34, has been married for 13 years to her husband Antoine. They have two children, Antoine Jr.,13 and Mya 10. Declaring her family as her first ministry, her mornings include her swiftly moving around preparing breakfast, getting the children ready for school, ironing clothes then getting herself ready. After the children are off to school, Danielle then prepares for her own class. Yes, I said class! Danielle is enrolled as a junior at Governors State University studying English Literature and pursuing a certificate in Secondary Education. She is employed with the university working with students transitioning to the academic setting and works as a tutor in the Trio program at Prairie State College. Danielle is grateful for this new road of opportunity, which has opened her heart to a new path of leading through mentoring and has inspired her to teach and reach youth. This road to educational pursuit wasn’t an easy one for Danielle considering she had her first child and was married by the time she was 21 years old. She was enrolled at Harold Wash-
ington College and found herself having to drop out in order to operate in her new ministry of motherhood and wife. With education being a dream of Danielle’s since her youth, this was the new reality that would test her faith and her idea of purpose. Year after year as her children got older and her marriage progressed, Danielle realized she was missing something. Danielle describes the 12 years she was not pursuing her educational goals as depressing. She says, “It was like a seed that wasn’t being watered, no growth.” She said feelings of unhappiness and resentment began to affect her family and she no longer wanted her family to suffer because of her unhappiness. She realized after 12 years that no one else can make her happy, she says “You must create your own happiness and work it out for yourself.” Danielle grew tired of letting the gifts that God gave her to sit idle. She was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice of re enrolling in school, which translates to making her family uncomfortable, participating in extensive planning and coordination and countless late nights in order to ultimately reach the end of her destination as a woman predestined for a purpose. Danielle said the Holy Spirit spoke to her and said: “Hey what about school?” It was then that she put away all excuses and all past failed attempts in order to “go for the gusto,” “stretch myself,” and “push myself.” Her vow to God was, “I will do anything in my power to make it better for everyone if you just help me along the way.” She said, God proved himself to be everything and more to her. She describes it as “divine perfection.” She has received scholarships, has been recognized as an honor student and every schedule has aligned itself with
the schedule of her family. She did have her doubts anticipating being the oldest student in the college classroom but later found this to be untrue. Danielle’s personal pursuit does not trump her commitment to her family. Danielle is a woman who understands she can be fully woman with an individual purpose in addition to the purpose she has a wife and a mother. Danielle mentors college students as well as teach drama and dance in the summer. She is committed to young adults as she wants them to see her life as an example of overcoming obstacles and pursuing personal development at all cost. Her desire is for people to understand that pursuing education is nonnegotiable and that each person should aim to become a well rounded, purposeful and intentional individual. Danielle says God created her to be a helper and to be kind. “I am a helper. I feel like I’m strong and I can take someone leaning on me.” Her dreams to infiltrate the academic setting as a future professor will allow her to be that person that helps others maximize their potential. She admits that she feels disappointment sometimes reflecting on the time she missed in her youth to explore, travel and grow. She knows she has to push because her victory will impact so many other lives making it well worth the struggle. Danielle recognizes she can get to her destination with God as her anchor, her children counting on her and her husband as her biggest supporter. He tells her “You can do it, Cum Laude.”
New Beginnings, Un
By: Santucee Bell I remember the day as if it was yesterday. September 1, 2014, the day that I left the Lou to move to the Windy City for new beginnings in my life and in my career. It was the 9 o’clock hour when I loaded my final item into the U-Haul, shut the door, and forcefully secured the latch that connected my car to the U-Haul as if I was securing the destiny that lies ahead of me. Around 9:05 A.M., I looked back at my current situation one more time before I hit the road to begin my new journey. I reached my destination about five hours later.
Reminiscing, I felt a sense of relief and excitement yet nervousness as I entered the city, which was signified by a sudden congestion of everything that now surrounded me. The high-security buildings and aggressive demeanors everywhere made it apparent that the lifestyle that I was so comfortably accustomed to was about to change. I’ve always had the heart of a hustler. However, my welcome to the city had already shown me that achieving everything that I had set out to achieve was going to require a whole different level of hustle. I was up for the challenge. I came to Chicago with one main objective—to jump start my career in social enterprise (i.e. using business as the engine for social change). My efforts began with AmeriCorps and New Sector Alliance’s residency in social enterprise (RISE) fellowship. The purpose of the fellowship is to “bring together cohorts of highly-motivated, skilled early career professionals to pursue their commitment to careers in social impact” (New Sector Alliance, 2017). This is accomplished through hands-on work experience, training, coaching, and mentoring activities. Through this fellowship, I had the privilege of working with the Social Enterprise Alliance (SEA), which is a membership organization that is designed to support the success of individuals in the field of social enterprise/entrepreneurship. As a fellow, I was primarily responsible for coordinating multiple projects for SEA’s five operat-
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Achieving goals in unfamiliar ter
ing committees. My role also required a significant amount of relationship management to ensure that SEA members had access to the resources that they needed to thrive. Things seemed to be on the rise. The time that I had spent in Chicago so far had me feeling like my career was headed in a steady, linear direction. The work that I was engaging in with SEA had me very optimistic about future career opportunities. Post the fellowship, my plan was to leverage the experience, exposure, and network that I had developed to secure a full-time, regular job in social enterprise or in the city’s entrepreneurial community. Little did I know that I was in for a rude awakening. I thought that I did everything right during my first year in Chicago to make certain that future years would be as fulfilling and successful. I not only brought my “A” game to the table with my AmeriCorps/New Sector Alliance fellowship but also made sure to attend career-oriented events that extended beyond my existing network at least twice a week. I did this to the point of exhaustion. There were times when all my professional engagements would cause me to have 12-hour days with no breaks. With all the hard work that I put in my everyday career moves, I thought that life post my fellowship would be every-
nexpected Challenges
rritory and the troubles it brings
thing that I desired and more. I thought that my job search would take the average six months or less to find what I was looking for. Yet, my reality ended up being the exact opposite of my expectations. It has been a little over a year since I started my job search. I’ve probably experienced every obstacle in the job market that you can think of. I was overqualified in some cases, while in other cases I was under-qualified and/or unqualified. There have been times when nepotism clearly blocked opportunities. Other times, “great” opportunities were brought to my attention, but to pursue those opportunities meant low balling myself in terms of salary. Of course, racism and sexism are also playing into the equation. You would think that these challenges would cause me to be discouraged—NOT I. Remember that “whole new level of hustle” that I mentioned earlier? The challenges of Chicago’s job market caused my hustle to go into full effect. While dealing with all of this, I still have a roof to keep over my head. I’ve maintained my home in the city by being a “jack of all trades”. I even shocked myself with the different things that I did to make money this past year. You name it, I probably did it. Mainly, I press on in my job search while juggling multiple regular and contracted gigs. I’ve Participated in research studies and focus groups to
generate funds. I’m also in the resale business via eBay. It is having to engage in activities like these that act as my main motivator to do all that I can to get back to engaging in the type of work that I love. Moving forward, I see making it as my only option. I’m taking everything one day at a time. I’m embracing my journey even when I don’t fully understand it. Though a bit blurry, I do see the rainbow that appears after every storm. One day this rainbow will shine so bright that nothing will stand in the way of my success. Until then, I will continue to goal set and work on achieving them daily. I will continue to walk by faith and not by sight. I will continue to acknowledge God’s grace and mercy. I will continue to celebrate the little wins. Endurability, when all seems hopeless, don’t give up. Fight harder. Know that your blessing is right around the corner. It is a blessing that will be better than anything that you could have ever conceptualized on your own. Better days ARE coming.
Bio: Santucee Bell is a native of North Carolina with a deep passion for using business as a force for good. She can be contact for career opportunities in social enterprise and in mission-driven business at santucee_bell@yahoo.com or at www.linkedin.com/in/santuceebell.
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Black Women in Ameri
Zora Neal Hurston (January 2, 1891- January 28, 1960)
Mary Eliza Mahoney (May 7, 1845 – January 4, 1926) The first African-American to study and work as a professional trained nurse Her professionalism helped raise the status and standards of all nurses Her reputation spread and so received private duty nursing and all states She cofounded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) in 1908 She was the first woman in Boston to register to vote in 1920 By her outstanding example to nurses of all races that in a NACGN established the Mary Mahoney award in 1936
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She was an African-American novelist, short story writer, and folklorist In 1934 she established a school of dramatic arts based on pure negro expression Her most famous workbook was, “The Eyes Were Watching God” in 1937 Her work touched on the African-American experience and her struggles as an African-American woman Hurston’s work received Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in Race Relations, Howard University’s Distinguished Alumni Award, Bethune-Cookman College Award for Education and Human Relations
ican History Facts
Toni Morrison February 18, 1931 (age 86)
Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1895 – October 26, 1952)
She is an American novelist, editor, teacher, and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University
She was a radio performer and television actress
She is the recipient of the prestige Nobel Prize in Literature and Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
She was the first African-American woman to perform on radio
In 2012, she recieved the presidential Medal of Freedom
Her first film was “Judge Priest” in 1934
Her novels usually contain detailed African-American characters and thier stories
In 1940, she became the first African American to win an Academy Award for Best Actress in Supporting Role in the film, “Gone in the Wind” where she perfomed, Mammy
Some of her most famous novels are: A Mercy, Love, Jazz, Beloved (turned into a film), Song of Solomon, Sula, and The Bluest Eye
She was in over 300 films
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