Peace of Mind: A Social Issue Blog

My first blog post was about Black on Black love. So many times you hear the opposite, such as the constant focus in the media of Black on Black crime and how Black people should not worry about police brutality because they do not care about the brutality they inflict on each other. I can see that point and why one would think that. Especially, when it is spoon fed to us.  But the fact is, every single race has crimes that are committed by and to people of the same race, religion, sexual orientation etc. The Black race is no different than other other group or sect. Some of us just believe it to be because of what the media shows us. Maybe you did not grow up around many Black people and or you do not live in a place where there are many in the population. What you may associate with being Black, whether that is behavior, attitude, clothing, etc is going to be very different from person to person. As free thinking people, obviously we all know this but we are influenced heavily by wha

I posted this meme earlier today on Facebook and a friend of mine asked the question, "What tax revenue? Isn't the US already $18 trillion in debt now? It is a good question. I thought about it and decided to blog.  Tax revenue? Yes, we have it. Here is what I believe the problem to be. First of all, we do allocate tax dollars. The problem is what we allocate it to, secondary to the problem of spending without a plan. In the business world, at least with a successful business, your budget is usually flat. What does that mean? It means that there is not enough to do everything that you want to do. You have to pick and choose but also you look for ways to get things done. For example, waste. There are several types of waste and by reducing these types of waste it can be a huge cost savings, especially over time. That cost savings can they be used to build infrastructure, upgrade facilities, or update computer systems for example. Our government, as most of us know, virtu

Last Friday, I went to an event at my sons high school. He was working the sound board for the Black history performances put on by their Black Leadership Council. I was amazed and at several points during the program I cried. These young adults performed original poetry that was simply amazing. I always find it fascinating to hear about how social issues affect our youth. They are scared, they are looking for guidance but they are ready to lead and are hungry for opportunities to do so. It made me feel good about what I already do to connect youth with strong mentors but it also made me think about what more I can be doing to start those partnerships and really make an impact where it matters. I was also moved by the steppers, and various dance performances. They were all very unique and had a powerful message. I love that our Somali brothers and sisters shared their heritage through dance with us as well. Black and Africans need to do more to break down the invisible wall and make c

This is a hot topic and can easily be spun. I did not always work for a Fortune 500 company. I have needed medical, cash aid, daycare assistance and food assistance. I am not ashamed to say it. I was a young mother, just out of college and needed help. I have been working since the day I turned 16. Nothing to be ashamed about. These programs exist because people need them. It is not a cake walk. First of all, at least for me anyway, there was pride. I certainly did not want to walk into that office. I felt like a loser. Just being honest. Of course I am older now and do not feel the same way but at the time I was embarrassed and it caused me an extreme amount of anxiety. You go in and tell the person at the desk what you need. You fill out a stack of forms. You need last pay stub, a stop work form filled out by your employer, SS card, birth certificate, basically everything but your 1st born. If you need cash services, you will be scheduled to watch an out of date movie. It explains w

There has been a lot of talk lately about institutions that assist black people such as NAACP, various award shows and channels, etc. I can completely understand the concept of why someone would say that these things further segregate us. However, just because that is what people are saying does not make it true. They do not understand the history behind these types of shows and institutions. Just because main stream media Black History Month for example is about the preservation of culture and making sure that the accomplishments of Black males and females are not forgotten. Black history is and should be part of American History but it is not. Proof of this is in high school. Children have to take a class like this as an elective. These contributions are not taught as part of the whole. They are taught segregated and I believe that is what leads to animosity, "white guilt", and other social issues. It is not a separate history. No matter what color your skin is, your ethn

Like it or not, even with reform, the police are not going anywhere. While I do think reform needs to be on a Federal level. There is also work that needs to be done at the local and city level as well in conjunction with that reform. Each community is different, faces a variety of distance challenges and so it requires a different lens from place to place. This is not an attack on police officers. Of course there are the ones who do their job with integrity and uphold the law and citizens they swore to protect. But we are not talking about them. We are talking about the other officers. The ones who use muscle memory as an excuse to shoot someone, the ones who show up and start shooting and asking questions later, the ones who profile. On the topic of reform and integration police need to be properly integrated into the community that they serve. If I sat here long enough, I could think of a laundry list of things, but at the most basic and human level of things, reform needs to inc

Today’s topic starts with another inappropriate apology. We all know the present crisis of contaminated water and lead poisoning among Flint residents. But let’s peel back the onion a bit here. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder   gave a   State of the State address   Tuesday night, following remarks he made a day earlier on how he's made mistakes in handling the   Flint, Mich., water crisis. "I'm sorry and I will fix it," Snyder said near the opening of his speech, directly addressing the residents of Flint. "Government failed you at the federal, state and local level." And…pause. First of all a mistake is an understatement. Secondly, it was local officials who made the decision to change the water source so why add higher government into the mix as far as failures? By his own admittance, he never called a state of emergency to ask for Federal help. This issue really came to a head and received national attention from local residents speaking out, filin

I had to post pone my original blog post to address black love. What is black love? Well I know what I would like it to be. It deeply saddens me to see people like Raven Symone, Stacey Dash and Lark Voorhies denounce who they are. On the one hand you can say that they are thinking ahead of their time, to a time where the color of our skin does not matter. That is fine and they are entitled to that opinion. We all have traveled our own twisting and dark roads and we are all at different points in that journey. It is not just high profile celebrities. The lack of black love and self hate can be seen everywhere. Memes degrading our black men, painting them to be womanizing, no good hucksters who only show up to claim their children for the tax money. Black women painting each other as whores, gold diggers, food stamp selling, neglecting their kids for weaves/wigs, big bootied baffoons. I see husbands and wives that cannot even hold each other up and be happy for one another. It is sad.

There are so many things wrong with this. The Mayor of St. Paul was correct that an apology was in order. However, A lot of things go into an apology. Some off the hip forced gesture is certainly not going to pacify anyone and I for one do not consider it an apology. The community is not going to heal overnight. They need to process what happened and true healing cannot begin until an open and honest statement is made. I personally would feel better if he would have just admitted that his comments were inappropriate and asked for forgiveness.  That forgiveness asking is what was missing here. He also should have asked local community leaders to help him work to repair the damage by performing community outreach and engaging in dialogue with that community.   But, he did not do any of that. He made excuses and made and gave an explanation that made no sense. He is not sorry for his insensitive comments and for trying to incite a killing spree.  He is sorry that he was outed, embarras