Speak Woman Magazine Summer 2020 Issue

WOMAN

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Summer 2020 Issue Volume 6 -Issue 2

Mama

Her Story of Lifelong Activism

Empowered

Protecting Black Business Spotlight Spotlighting the strength, diversity, and uniqueness of this journey called womanhood

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Recently the pain and disparities of Black people, have been center stage. The affects of battling two pandemics have been deadly for Black people. Both Covid 19 and Racism are having a devastating affect on black people.

Founder & Editor-At-Large

The history of systemic racism and the murder of Black bodies runs deep in the veins of America. We must remember that change is near only if we remain focused!

What’s In This Issue?

Speak Woman Magazine is a platform to promote positivity! With this goal in mind we have compiled men and women who exemplify Black Excellence in all areas of life! This issues shows the excellence that is possible when Black men and women come together to shine!!!

I am so grateful to have connected with each of you and look forward to watching you to continue to shine bright! This issue will highlight all aspects of !!!

Speak Woman A publication & marketing company created with a simply mission;

to spotlight the positivity in EVERY woman!

Trademark Property of Speak Woman Magazine, LLC

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Women To Watch

A. Slate Pg. 7

Empowered

Black Man

Kelcey Kwynn Townsend Riley Pg. 8

Joann Smith Pg. 7

McDonald Pg. 7

Black Business

Spotlight

Soulace Janel Lanae Pg. 7

Why We Celebrate In 1863, during the American Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, which declared more than three Enhancing For Better Mental Health millionSpace slaves living in the Confederate states to be free.

Pg. 20 Over two years would pass, however, before the news reached African Protecting Black Americans Women living in Texas. It was not until Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, Pg. 22 1865, that the state’s residents finally learned that slavery had been abolished.Mama The former slaves immediately began to celebrate with prayer, feasting, song, and dance.

Pg. 13 Photography By Drama Digital

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What Is

Black Excellence

“Someone that is black and portrays great qualities and abilities that make the black community proud.� _________________________________

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What Is

Black Excellence “To be cognizant of the greatness within.

To be driven by the urge to exceed even your own expectations. To work without any thought of failure because mistakes are opportunities for improvement.

Black excellence is pressing forward despite what you have been told. It is the ability to carry your past to the sea of forgetfulness and leave it there because destiny is full of tomorrow's. It is the humbling process of asking and allowing the Most High God to order your steps, while giving thanks for the flight pattern you've been allowed to soar. It is giving glory to God with every letter, paint stroke, musical note, plate of food, head of hair you style, child you rear, interview.... anything that we do... Do it unapologetically well... Excel...in God, gracefully.”

A. Slate is a poet, spoken word artist, author, actress, and mother of Grace. A. Slate. She has performed at multiple high profile events and has won countless awards. Slate is the Founder of ‘The WRITElife Village’ which provides local students with a safe platform to express themselves freely and creatively without bias, fear, or judgment.

A. Slate is owner of Slatehouse Ink Publishing and has recently published her first collection of poetry.

A. Slate is indeed an instrument that brings the written word to life with each purposed new idea and creation, as gifted to her by The Most High God. Residing in the light of Poet Laureate Paul Laurence Dunbar (who wrote his first words on a slate) thrives on her Daytonian roots to leave a legacy that empowers, uplift and inspires. “Life is a poem, that everyone is writing. I am just a slate.”

Facebook: A.SlatePoet Instagram: @a_slate Twitter: @ASlate_Poet YouTube: @TheASlatePoet

What Is

Black Excellence “Black Excellence is the character forever inscribed within. Excellence frames your thoughts and flows through actions and speech. Black Excellence is being fully aware of what you present and continuing to learn and rely on the realm of a Higher calling”

Joann Smith is a wife (James Smith), mother of five, Kingdom builder, and a MaryKay Independent Consultant in Texas. She is also a mentor to many striving to bring out their true identity.

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Kwynn Townsend Riley “Kwynology” is a poet, speaker, and blogger from the Southside of Chicago. She has been on the front lines of change for Chicago. She has been writing for as long as she could remember, first performed on the mic in high school and has been in love ever since. Her writing helps others heal while healing herself.

As a black womyn, she has experienced many trials that have inspired her poems on racism, racialized violence, womanism, gentrification and womanhood. She has performed across the world, from Germany to California. She has toured universities throughout the Midwest and in Chicago. She has performed for SoFar Chicago, the #LetUsBreatheCollective and many more.

Kwynn is an author of two books “And She Wrote” and “and She Will”.

www.kwynology.com

www.convictionaudiovisual.com

Empowered Black Men

MEET

Kelcey Kelcey McDonald, a native of East St. Louis, Illinois, relocated to Dayton, Ohio in 2017 via USAF Band of Flight at Wright-Patterson, Air Force Base where he serves as an audio engineer. Kelcey is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. He is active in Blacks In Government and American Legion Post 776.

Kelcey is popularly known as “DJ Conviction”. He founded his company Conviction Audio Visual, LLC in 2018 which provides lighting and musical entertainment throughout the Mid-West.

Tyler Dulaney-Brown, Brandon White, & Kelcey McDonald

I was approach by Brandon White to organize a Suits in Solidarity Dayton, Oh. Brandon heard that this event was done in Cincinnati and it should be brought to Dayton. I agreed. His vision was to make it more of an empowerment rally versus an angry march.

He wanted it to be a celebration of men, so music had to be a big part of it. I booked Tyler Dulaney-Brown as a vocalist and created a “male bonding” playlist for the duration of the march. I secured a Boombox Bluetooth radio to supply the soundtrack for the march. Everything else was organic.

Black men are often painted in a negative light; called destructive, unprofessional, angry, lazy, selfish, etc.

What this march showed is that we can unite for positivity, look good, and have fun all while uplifting one another and standing for change. Attending that onehour march on a hot, sunny day in a full suite showed our collective dedication.

Every participant left feeling good about themselves and empowered! Having a sense of accomplishment goes a long way.

The best way to support me is to utilize my services for your upcoming events. I provide event management support specializing in lighting and sound. If you are having an event, there is some way that I can assist to make your vision a reality. I want to be

involved in some way for every event in the “937.� Give me an opportunity to serve you.

I felt incredibly good about the turnout! We really did not expect as many that showed up. This was just a start. I wanted all of Dayton to be there because there is a lot of work to be done and it will take every man and boy in our communities to take back our neighborhoods.

I heard so many great stories and words of encouragement exchanged. I only pray that it is infectious and long lasting. There has to be a change and it start with each individual.

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Mama Her Story of Lifelong Activism

Mama Nozipo Glenn is well known and loved in the city of Dayton, Ohio.

She has spent her life educating and empowering black people about our rich history which is not taught in American school systems. She is seen at countless events fighting for her community. She is a pillar in the community and her beautiful photos are displayed throughout the city from billboards to busses. She is lovingly known as Mama Nozipo because of her genuine mother’s love that she has for everyone in her community and around the world.

The discussion on Black Excellence would be incomplete without us gleaning wisdom from our elders. With this in mind, I called Mama Nozipo to request an interview and without hesitation she immediately agreed. We met on a sunny afternoon. We walked and talked throughout the park and I must say that I left our meeting empowered and with an increased sense of pride as a black woman.

Here is just a small portion of the endless wisdom that she has to share.

Tell us about yourself and how you became because the Indian ocean has a warm current called the Mozambique Current and the the staple in the community that you are Well, I thank you for the last part, but I was born on August 22, 1944 towards the end of the war. It was not quite ended yet. I always remember that because I had relatives that had been soldiers in the war. I had quite a few grandpas that came back from the war and there was no mistaking where they came from because you could tell. They had lost their limbs, legs, arms, a hand, a leg. In many instances they had to use a wooden leg. Those days they did not have the prosthesis that they have now, and if they did since we were African in South Africa, they still would give them a wooden leg. That would have been the thanks for them sacrificing their lives for a war that had nothing to do with Africans. My grandfathers ended up being in the second World War, in fact, I even had some who were in the 1st World War. I remember very clearly that there were even rations when I was coming up. We had to go and get a ration of sugar, it had to be brown sugar because white sugar was very expensive. We used to get something called mili rice which was really corn ground to make it look like rice because that was the cheapest thing you could get. You could never get butter, it was margarine because it was cheapest. This was all after the War.

Atlantic ocean has a cold current called the Benguela Current, so the two, hot and cold, this is where they clash and that is where I am from Cape Town.

Everything that we are going through is not new to you . Tell us about your experience.

Oh no. I’ll be 76 years old on August 22 this year! It is PTSD, deja vu. You know in times of demonstrations and uprisings; this is just a part of my life. As soon as I was able to walk, run, and scream I was already in the struggle because when we were little the kids were the ones who had to be the lookout for the police. Which means even when we were just playing a simple game we were still at work because when we were playing, we had to always look around to see if we see the police. If we see the police, we would run as if we were still playing so they didn’t understand that we were running home to go tell. We would scream ‘It is red’ and when we say that the elders and adults would know that it is time to hide. Especially the men because the police would just come and rage. We didn’t have to go out and demonstrate. They would come and just raid African homes just because they could. They would beat up our brothers, uncles, nephews, our fathers, and grandfathers.

Imagine as a child, your big brother, uncle, father, grandfather, your pillar, provider, someTell us more about your hometown. one you look up to as the leader of the home.

I am from Cape Town, South Africa.

Imagine as a child the person who protects The very end of the continent, you can’t go no you, you have to watch them running for their further. I tell people that it is the big toe of lives. You have to watch them being beat up.

Africa. That’s where Africa, my hometown You have to watch them begging for their stands. In fact, Cape Town is very important lives. A grown man crying. Your protector because it is at the tip and that is where the crying. Imagine what that does to you as a Indian ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean and so child. That is what we had to put up with, so there is a union, but also a division. This is even as a child I was on the front line.

People say, how does it feel to be an activist?

My main thing is talk to your elders.

Well, I don’t even know how to spell activist. I I’m always hurt when I hear people talking about a divide between the age groups. was born active. I had no choice. I had to.

It hurts me because I know exactly how If you were an African, you could be what they called the good African and do noth- that happened. See, when I was coming up, ing, say nothing, and you still got beat up. You and this was the African way. There was no ‘nuclear family; mother, father, sister, dog, and still got chased down. You still got chased by the cat. No! In our culture, family meant you the police for being black. There was no sign live with your mom, dad, grandma, auntie, on your forehead saying I’m one of the good great grandma, everybody lived together and ones. So, what was the point of being a good the enemies of African Culture; those who one. It didn’t make any sense to just be quiet don’t want to understand and those who do understand made sure that this was broken. because being quiet was not going to save your life. So, it was worth it to die for a cause, You couldn’t go down the street and act up without miss so and so telling your mom, or to open your mouth because even if you did your teacher or preacher telling your mom. sacrifice your life maybe somebody else’s life That was deliberately broken. That way of was saved by your life. We were always living came from Africa. It was deliberately hoping that things would change from opening broken by building the projects where you’re your mouth. So, a lot of people sacrificed their not even allowed to have your boyfriend living lives in that way, so for me I can’t sit down with you, let alone your husband. That’s because a lot of people have died on my deliberate because what that did is what we behalf. A lot of people have sacrificed on my have now. The separation of age groups. behalf and they did not do that in vein. It Every night before we went to bed we would be criminal, actually, for me to sit down would sit around our elders and they would and relax. My great grandmother was 110 tell stories and stories and stories. I always tell years old. I always talk about her. She always people, my first history lessons, and political science lessons were not in college they were told us we, black people, we don’t have the luxury to take off. We don’t have the luxury to at home with my grandma, grandpa because every night they told stories. The stories could relax, go on vacation, to take naps. We don’t have been about the birds, the bees, the fox, have that luxury. Other people do, but we lion, elephant, but the always intertwined with don’t because not just your life is in danger their lives. They always talked about their from taking that nap, but your community’s realities. So that is how I learned my African life is in danger. We have seen people right history not from school, in fact when I was here in Dayton taking a nap in their car and little, I used to get in trouble with the teacher end up being killed by the police. So, my great because I would say; oh no my great grandma grandmother knew what she was talking about told me that’s not true and this is what my grandma told me. This was because the history and that was in the 50’s when she was alive. that we were learning in school was “his” What do say to younger generations that story not my story. Not what my grand parents were telling me at home. may be living this for the first time?

I always tell young people don’t be afraid of old people and I tell old people don’t have distain for young people. You know, when we get old we say in our day we didn’t do stuff like that. Well we did do some stuff, but we won’t tell what it is. That’s what we are saying inside. I hear old people say they won’t go downtown because there are too many kids down there. You won’t go downtown because there are kids? How does that even come out of your mouth. These are our children. You are scared of your own children? How can you be? The children that you had in your body for 9 months and now you are afraid of them. Talk to them. You’ll be shocked. I go downtown all the time. I talk to everybody. I talk to the kids with their pants sagging with three layers of underwear. I talk to them about their underwear and they say oh my goodness. Now when they see me they pull them up and smile. I don’t talk about them bad. I talk to them and with them.

If you don’t have any older relatives, that’s another thing. When I talk about people that have passed away alone and the mailman found them days later. They would say where were there relatives. I would say well, they say they don’t have any. African minds cannot comprehend that because we are all related.

The village is your family. I have thousands of relatives because our way of family is not individualistic. It is not capitalistic. It doesn’t choose and pick it is just family. When you go to college and they teach about family, which is hilarious for them to teach you about your family, they say the African’s have an extended family system. Extend, to me, sounds strenuous. You know, you’re pulling something, no. That’s just family period. Having everybody living together is not a strain or a hard thing to do. It is family period. It’s just that simple. I tell people, if you don’t have family go next door and talk to the old lady or the old man down the street. If you can’t find

an older person because many of you get education and move to the suburb, but if you cannot find an elder read ‘The Miseducation of The Negro’. It talks about how when we get all of this ‘education’ from somebody else we leave our homesteads and move to the suburbs. We go somewhere far away from the rest of the family. You may have to go to the nursing home or talk to the old ladies at church. Old people, we love to talk. We love it when a young person shows interest because when you get older your world starts shrinking. You can’t move around like you used to and meet up with friends. Your friends get older and they die, so when a young person says Mama Nozipo I want to talk to you its like YES! Thank you somebody’s going to talk to me today. Just find each other and talk to one another.

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Lanae Black Business Spotlight

Janel Lanae is a multitalented, award winning Social Worker, who has allowed her passion and dedication for mental health to evolve the lives of others in everything that she does. She endured years of family abuse, and soon became a teen mother in the foster care system. The experiences that she faced throughout her life sparked a desire to help others who could have experienced the feelings of depression and anxiety. This pushed her into the Social Work field at The Ohio State University. While in college, Janel Lanae started her first business, “Head to Toe Beauty & Co.”. Head to Toe is a full service beauty business that blends therapeutic sessions with the administration of services for a modern approach to mental wellness.

After operating Head to Toe Beauty & Co for 9 years, Janel noticed how the environmental spaces that someone is in has just as much of an influence on their lives as their mental space. Janel found a new vessel for mental health services that would allow her to influence audiences that she was not previously connected to from her time in the beauty industry.

She began her new business, “Soulace”,the harmonious blend of soul and solace to address the issues in their environments.

Soulace is an interior designing business that incorporates many therapeutic aspects. These benefits come from the energetic enhancement of a space through organization, color, plant life, and art.

Janel Lanae is excited to, not only introduce the world to a new way of curating their spaces, but to truly evolve the state of their minds, body, and soul through her unique approach.

Soulace Experience Enhancing Space For Better Mental Health

Janel Lanae

At a time when everyone seems to be forced to stay inside, it is particularly important to carve out functional spaces to help keep yourselves sane.

Many of us are now working from home, and we have recognized the need to truly embrace our surrounding environments and find opportunities to improve our productivity. With kids, partners, and even pets finding every way to distract us, we can easily become anxious, impatient, and overwhelmed.

I personally almost lost my mind when my once quiet home became a boisterous disorganized mess that I no longer recognized. On my plight to peace and silence, I decided it was time to freshen up our place in a way that would work well for everyone. In repurposing our home, I discovered tons of easy, low -cost solutions to improve our space. In doing this, I noticed an improvement in our physical environment and in our daily interactions.

Working from home has gone from an exciting, highly coveted opportunity, to a dreaded day with an endless office list of to do’s, and a few home tasks that you cannot seem to complete.

Here are a few things that I incorporated into my work area that made a huge difference!

1.Sunlight Is Important Position your desk in direct sunlight in front of a large window in your home. Increased natural light will boost your serotonin levels.

Take your laptop to the porch or patio and enjoy the outdoors.

2. Scenery Use Bright Colors. Stark whites, sky blues, mixed yellows, and earthy greens can bring feelings of clarity, calmness, joy, and being grounded.

3. Affirmations Hang quotes and words that inspire and motivate you to be the best version of yourself.

4. Plants Placing one or two low maintenance indoor plants around you will help you breathe a bit easier and feel more connected.

Protecting Written By: Shanda Campbell

To be a black woman in America is both beautiful and painful. It means to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders 24/7. It is to manage a daily battle with white supremacy, sexism, and many other ‘isms’ while having an obligation to care about the enormously horrific challenges of black men. To have our husbands, sons, and brothers, hunted as prey with no accountability. To have our daughters raped, murdered and simply disappear with no help from those who’s job it is to help is devastating. To live with the scars of our ancestors who were routinely raped, murdered, and experimented on as if they were less than animals. This is the historic pain that we deal with daily.

Why is it difficult to see the pain of black women?

I believe the invisibility of black women is a direct derivative of slavery. Black enslaved women were brutalized for centuries with no ability to show emotion. Their babies were torn from their arms and sold into slavery. They were used for ‘breeding’, ‘wet-nurses’, and ‘bed warmers’.

The so called ‘father of gynecology’ performed horrific surgeries and experiments on black enslaved women with no anesthesia; setting the precedent that black women don’t feel pain. This mindset is still active today.

How Can You Protect Black Women?

Become Informed- learn about the history of systemic violence against black women. Educate yourself and children on the language that you unknowingly use when speaking about these horrific issues. Don’t be so quick to compare scars. May times when black women voice pain they are overshadowed by other saying ‘yeah, but..’ then discounting her pain and refocusing on the pain of others.

Become and Advocate- educate yourself on those in elected offices and the attention and resources they provide for black women.

Become A Support- when black women are hurting talk to them. Offer resources if possible to create a positive support system. Celebrate the past, current, and future accomplishments of black women.

Dedicated To: Lillian Regina Campbell

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