
Behind the Wall by Tracy Chapman: When a Woman’s Cries for Help Are Heard, but Help Never Comes
Some songs stay with us because they are beautiful. Others stay with us because they tell a truth that society has spent generations trying not to hear.
In 1988, Tracy Chapman released a song called âBehind the Wallâ on her s [...]

Before âI Am Womanâ Became an Anthem, Women Were Fighting to Be Heard: The Story Behind Helen Reddy’s Song
The history behind Helen Reddy's 1972 anthem, the rights women were fighting for, and what her story can teach Survivors about independence, solidarity, and finding their voices.
In 1972, Australian singer Helen Reddy release [...]
Who Did You Have to Become to Survive? A Gentle Introduction to Jungian Self-Reflection for Survivors
Exploring the parts of ourselves we learned to hide, the roles we learned to play, and the freedom to discover who we are today.
Sometimes we become so accustomed to being a certain kind of person that we forget we had other [...]
đ Black Sitcom Halloween Episodes: The Ultimate Watchlist for a Cozy Night In or a Watch Party With Friends
From Martin and Living Single to Girlfriends, Family Matters, Abbott Elementary, and more.
There is something special about revisiting the television shows that made us laugh growing up. The familiar theme songs, the characte [...]

Because They Refused Jim Crow, We Walk Through Different Doors
October 7, 1955: Ella Fitzgerald Arrested After Performing Before an Integrated Audience in Houston
We live inside freedoms that somebody else had to be brave enough to imagine. I am grateful for the people who challenged Jim C [...]

10 Surprising Lessons for Survivors from Gloria Gaynorâs I Will Survive
When most of us hear Gloria Gaynor sing âI Will Survive,â we hear certainty.
We hear a woman who has figured something out. She sounds like she knows where the door is, knows she deserves better and knows she can live without [...]

10 Lessons from The Forever Tree for Black Women, Girls, and Survivors Who Have Learned to Play Small
There is something quietly radical about The Forever Tree.
Tawny Bennett, played by Olivia Washington, is a young Black woman living during the Harlem Renaissance. She is intelligent, knowledgeable and working as an antiquari [...]
10 Lessons for Survivors from Sandy âPepaâ Dentonâs Letâs Talk About Pep
Sandy âPepaâ Denton is known to millions as one of the women who helped change hip-hop. But Letâs Talk About Pep tells another story underneath the records, performances, fame, laughter, relationships and celebrity encounters. D [...]

Tammi Terrell’s Story Reminds Us That Survival Is More Than Staying Alive
When people speak about Tammi Terrell, they often begin with how young she was when she died.
Twenty-four.
They talk about the brain tumor. The interrupted career. The songs she never got to record. The future that was cut sho [...]

7 Reasons Survivors May Want to Read Taraji P. Hensonâs Around the Way Girl
Sometimes the books that stay with Survivors aren't the ones written specifically about surviving.
Sometimes they are simply somebody telling the truth about her life.
Taraji P. Henson's memoir, Around the Way Girl, was pu [...]

Angie Stone, Roberta Flack & Gwen McCrae: The Power of Their Musical Legacy
Angie Stoneâs Music Pulled Us ThroughâAnd Now, Sheâs Gone.
Angie Stone has passed, and somehow, it still doesnât feel real.
During one of my lowest valleys, her music became my guide, my comfort, my reassurance that I [...]

The Wishing Tree With Alfre Woodard: A Beautiful Movie About Finding Your Way Home + Full Movie
Sometimes you want a movie that doesn't demand everything from you.
Something you can put on while folding clothes, answering emails, working on a project, cooking dinner, or finally dealing with that pile of papers that has [...]

How Singing is Surprisingly Good for Your Health
There's a vocal teacher on Youtube that I love, and I wanted to share her with you. Kristel Cherelle's approach reminds me of our choir teachers back in school who had faith in our ability to sing if only we understood technique [...]

10 Lessons Women Can Take From Star Jones, Al Reynolds, and Everybody Who Had Something to Say
There was a time when Star Jones and Al Reynolds seemed to be everywhere.
The proposal came at the 2004 NBA All-Star Game. Then came the enormous wedding, the vendors, the publicity, the photographs, the commentary and eventu [...]

7 Survival Lessons From Eve: Your Life Is Allowed to Have More Than One Act
Some chapters prove you can survive. Others remind you that survival was never supposed to be the whole story.
I love Eve's music.
Let me get that out of the way because, obviously. Tambourine. Love Is Blind. Let Me Blow Y [...]

Vanessa Williams Refused to Become the Worst Thing People Said About Her
Deal with yourself as a individual, worthy of respect, and make everyone else deal with you the same way. -Nikki Giovanni
It was 1984, and Vanessa Williams was surrounded.
Only months earlier, she had made history as the f [...]

Some People Don’t Wait for Affirmation. They Give It to Themselves.
They did not wait for the world to settle the question of their worth. They kept something sacred for themselves: the authority to know who they were.
There is an old story about Diana Ross. "Call her Miss Ross."
[...]

There Are No Children Here: When Survival Makes a Child Grow Up Too Soon
In 1993, Oprah Winfrey starred in a television movie called There Are No Children Here. She played LaJoe Rivers, a Black mother raising her children in Chicagoâs Henry Horner Homes, a public housing development where violence, p [...]

Survivor Affirmations: You Are Not Too Late for Your Own Life
Maybe the life you imagined for yourself was supposed to happen by now.
That is the part we don't always say out loud.
You thought you would have written the book by now. Started the business. Finished school. Traveled. Ma [...]
Steve Harvey Survived the Closed Door Because It Wasn’t His Only Door
There is something Steve Harvey has been saying lately that I think is worth hearing beyond the celebrity story.
Harvey has spoken about conflict he experienced with a powerful television executive and what he believes ha [...]
AFFIRMATIONS AND SELF LOVE
âš Your Safety Is Sacred. Your Wellness Is Non-Negotiable. âš
You are allowed to ignore every voice, every post, every pressure that tries to convince you to center the comfort of people who [...]
HEALING JOURNEY
I Deserve Safety. Not Spectacle.
SurvivorAffirmations.com | Inspired by WeSurviveAbuse.com
Youâre not here to entertain their curiosity.Youâre not here to be picked apart by strang [...]
Survivor Affirmations: The Beauty of Sharing Joy
https://www.tiktok.com/@showdemmovement/video/7583544318443523383?
is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=74812796269856210 [...]
Keep the Faith for Better Dayz: Healing Affirmations for the Weary Heart (video by Kirby)
Affirmations for Better Dayz inspired by the insanely beautiful and talented Kirby!
I am walking past the haze of yesterday and stepping into t [...]
10 Lessons for Survivors from Sandy âPepaâ Dentonâs Letâs Talk About Pep
Sandy âPepaâ Denton is known to millions as one of the women who helped change hip-hop. But Letâs Talk About Pep tells another story underneath the re [...]
đč They Fear the Day You Finally See Yourself Clearly
They donât fear your mistakes.
They donât fear your pain.They donât even fear your anger.
What they fear â is your clarity.
Because the momen [...]
The Story of Kemba Smith Pradia
May we continue to be reminded and never forget that women in prison (most of whom have survived painful abuse and violence) are indeed human beings.& [...]
CONFIDENCE/POWER/RESILIENCE

Bridget Mason From Slave To Richest Landowning Los Angeles Resident
âLike Biddy Mason, I rise from chains to choices.â
âI build wealth not just for myself, but as a legacy for generations.â
âMy past [...]

How to Protect Your Energy Around People
The social brain shows how deeply human connection shapes resilience. Supportive relationships regulate stress, strengthen emotional balance, and prot [...]
đ Dear Woman with PTSD
You are not broken.
I know that sometimes it feels like you are.When your heart races for no reason.When you're exhausted from hypervigilance.When yo [...]
HEALTHING JOURNEY
Honoring Spiritual Strength
Honoring Our Ancestors and Spiritual Strength
Our ancestors were warriors, survivors, and visionaries. Whether you connect with them through prayer [...]
The Real Flex is Being Optimistic Despite How Much Darkness You’ve Endured
I seen sunlight learn to dance through the stormâs language.......
Thereâs a rhythm in the rubble that donât need approval,joy in the smoke when th [...]
đż Swaying Is Sacred: A Nervous System Reset Rooted in Our Bodies and Our Histories
âEven in stillness, I can move.
Even in pain, I can sway. My body remembers peace.â
Somewhere along the way, many of us were taught to sit still. [...]
She Is AMAZING
She Traveled Deep Within: A Spiritual Portrait of Alice Coltrane
âđœ For SurvivorAffirmations.com
There are people whose healing path takes them outwardâ
into movements, microphones, and moments of bold declarati [...]
BLACK GIRL, YOUR CREATIVITY HAS TRAVELED THE WORLD đđ€
Look around.
Hair.
Fashion.
Dance.
Music.
Language.
Beauty.
Humor.
Style.
So much of what Black communities h [...]
The Power of Music: Candi Staton’s Anthem
This is one of my favorite songs from girlhood. I LOVE the tone in her voice and listen to her song catalog regularly. She is soulful.&nbs [...]
Mama I Love You: Women Are Amazing, Unique, and Special!
Tyron Woodleyâs mother congratulates Kamaru Usman at UFC 235
Â
"It's all good, baby. It's all good. It's your turn. It [...]
Lessons from Pam Grier’s Memoir for Survivors
updated from December 2024
I love it when women tell our own stories in our own words!
When Pam Grier's memoir came out...I [...]
Hajia Gambo Sawaba: She Did Not Wait to Be Allowed
(You should see how elated I am! This series is going to give me those laugh lines we are supposed to hate.)
There are women who were toldto stay sma [...]
ART HEALS
Sometimes Integrity Gets You Removed: And That Doesnât Mean You Were Wrong
đ€ Dusty Springfield was a British singer known for her soulful voice and hit songs in the 1960s. Wikipedia
đ
 1964: During a tour of South Africa, sh [...]
Sometimes Your Haters Are Your Unpaid Strength Coaches
Angel went straight to the source at the end of the game đ
I smiled when I saw Angel Reese acknowledge people who had been heckling her from th [...]
I Donât Remember a World Before Dolly Parton
I think some artists enter your life so early that you cannot remember becoming a person without them. Their voices get mixed up with childhood itself [...]
Tammi Terrell’s Story Reminds Us That Survival Is More Than Staying Alive
When people speak about Tammi Terrell, they often begin with how young she was when she died.
Twenty-four.
They talk about the brain tumor. The inte [...]
JOURNALING/WRITING IN A HEALTHIER WORLD
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