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Dance is a Weapon, a Womb, and a Journey Back to Ourselves
They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds. And we dance where they tried to end us.”
Across time and across oceans, African peoples have danced through grief, joy, resistance, and survival. For us, dance has n [...]

Your Usefulness is Something You Give. Your Worth is Something YOU Have.
Sometimes people, even high-profile people push their fans and admirers away because THEY realize that they were performing and trying to earn love. They realize that the person that others loved wasn't the "real" them.
No, [...]
Survivor Affirmations: Solidarity is Reciprocal
Where did people get this bizarre idea that solidarity doesn't require respect and reciprocity...at a minimum?
If you are able, you definitely want to avoid allowing people to recruit you for battles and wars AND TH [...]

Sugar Ray Leonard Knew How to Fight. That Did Not Mean He Held the Power
Sugar Ray Leonard knew how to fight. By his early twenties, the quiet kid from Palmer Park, Maryland, had become an Olympic gold medalist, and professional boxing would make his hands famous around the world. He would defeat men [...]

Greg Louganis Was One of the Strongest Athletes in the World. That Didn’t Make Him Safe.
Greg Louganis knew what it meant to command his body.
At the height of his career, he could climb ten meters above a pool, launch himself into open air, rotate with astonishing precision and enter the water with barely a dist [...]
Cathy Hughes and The Quiet Storm: Healing on the Airwaves
“Good evening, sweetheart…”Those few words, whispered through radios across America, weren’t just an introduction—they were an invitation. An invitation to breathe, to feel, to remember that you mattered. Behind that quiet rev [...]

Survivor Affirmations: I Am Allowed to Be More than My Worst Decision
Maybe we don't have more talented female singers in mainstream markets these days because we never learned how to treat them?Â
There was something about Chrisette Michele’s voice that could sit inside feelings Black women do [...]
Nell Carter: A Voice That Refused to Break
When I was a child, Nell Carter was one of my favorite entertainers. She still is. I had to share her with millions of other people though.
Some lives shine because of talent.
Others shine because of courage.
Nell [...]

Survivor Affirmations: I Have the Courage to Expand and Not Shrink
There is a particular kind of courage nobody talks about enough.
It is the courage to remain recognizable to yourself.
Most of us learn very early that belonging has rules. Children figure out which parts of themselves mak [...]

Survivor Affirmation: I Love and Approve of Myself No Matter What
🌟 Affirmation
I love and approve of myself, no matter what.
I am a valuable person and make worthwhile contributions to the world.
Each day, in big and small ways, I remind myself of this.
In any circumstance, I know that [...]

Survivor Affirmations: I Love My Uniqueness
I love myself for my uniqueness.I value myself because I am different.
I am exactly as I am meant to be.
Only I can make my own unique contributions to the world.
When I think about this, I feel pride.
Therefor [...]

They Loved the Style, Not the Black Woman: Esther Jones and the Betty Boop Lesson
Exploitation is a hand that smiles while taking.
It praises your light, then sells your flame.
It calls it “help,” but leaves you colder.
Â
These days when people are pretty casual and complacent about women's [...]

10 Lessons the African Drongo Bird Teaches Us About Manipulation
Most of us have the capacity to manipulate at times. We may exaggerate, avoid difficult conversations, or try to influence outcomes in our favor.
But some people make manipulation a way of life.
They study peop [...]
Survivor Affirmations: Lessons From the Female Elephant on Survival
There is a question women are asked to answer that we were never really equipped to answer.
How do you know which men are good and which men are dangerous?
Women are expected to somehow know. After harm happens, people may [...]

Across the Water: We Were Never Surviving Alone
There is a way of telling Black history that can accidentally leave Black Americans standing alone.
We learn about the courage it took to survive slavery and Jim Crow, build schools and businesses, organize churches and mutua [...]
SurvivorAffirmations: You Do Not Have to Become a Tragedy Before We See You
Sometimes a woman does not need another person telling her to be strong.
She has been strong all morning.
She got somebody dressed. Found the missing shoe. Answered the message. Remembered the appointment. Made something to ea [...]
The Scar Is Not the Whole Story: What Miss World Uganda’s Extraordinary Gown Asked Us to See
There are dresses designed to make us look.
Then there are dresses designed to make us understand.
When Miss World Uganda Muhoza Trivia Elle appeared in a remarkable gown called Layers of Life, she was certainly beautiful. The [...]
The Day the Women Came Together: The Nigerian Women’s War of 1929
It began with a question at a woman’s home.
Not a battlefield. Not a government building. Not a grand speech delivered before thousands of people.
A question.
In 1929, in southeastern Nigeria, an Igbo woman named Nw [...]
Naomi Osaka: They Mocked Her When She Was Hurting. Now They Mock Her for Shining
I can't. Some of the loudest fashion critics of Naomi Osaka are at work right now dressed like they came to help somebody move.
There is a particular kind of woman who gets dressed for work.
Not merely dressed enough to ar [...]
I Don’t 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: the rooms you lived in, the things you loved, the first private discoveries [...]
AFFIRMATIONS AND SELF LOVE
Survivor Affirmations: You Were Never Wrong for Wanting Safety
One of the quietest forms of manipulation is convincing someone that their need for safety is the real problem.
T [...]
HEALING JOURNEY
Seeking Care Safely After Harm: Language for Survivors and Providers
Many Survivors have told me some version of this:
"I knew something felt wrong. I just didn't know what to call it."
That is more co [...]
Hidden Black Film Herstory: Stompin at the Savoy | Directed by Debbie Allen
Sometimes Black women’s films are praised for being “nice,” “nostalgic,” or “beloved,” while the craft gets undercounted. Stompin’ at the Savoy was no [...]
The Winter 2025 Strength and Abuse Issue
Of course, it is possible to be strong and depressed at the same time. Be gentle with yourself.
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The Healing Hum: A Sound Our Bodies Remember
Before we had language for healing…Before we knew the words nervous system or self-regulation…Many of us grew up in homes where someone hummed us th [...]
From History to Present: Self-Care Through Yoga in the Black Community
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CONFIDENCE/POWER/RESILIENCE

What I Survived Speaks Louder Than What They Say
✨ Affirmation ✨
What they say is fleeting—rumors, whispers, labels.But what I survived is eternal—it beats like a drum in my spirit.My scars sing lou [...]
đź’” When They Still Protect the Person Who Hurt You
There’s a heartbreak that goes beyond the original harm.
It’s the silence.The excuses.The polite smiles at family gatherings.The messages from mutual [...]
đź’– You Deserve to Feel Safe
Affirmations for Survivors Learning to Trust Peace Again
There is a kind of safety that isn’t just physical.
It’s emotional.Spiritual.Energetic.
It [...]

Survivor Affirmation: I Love and Approve of Myself No Matter What
🌟 Affirmation
I love and approve of myself, no matter what.
I am a valuable person and make worthwhile contributions to the world.
Each day, in b [...]
HEALTHING JOURNEY
When They Twist the Truth, Stay Rooted: Survivor Affirmations for Discernment and Power
These days, some of us feel dizzy from all the ways people try to twist the truth.
They sell us distortion as progress.They call confusion “compassio [...]
When Reality Is Contested: How Survivors Protect Their Truth in Controlled Narratives
It’s about trust in what is real.It’s about who gets to define truth.It’s about whether change is organic or imposed.And it’s about whether people are [...]
Yoga for Emotional Release | 20 Minute Practice with Black Yogi Nico Marie
From the Black Women's Health Imperative website: "Health Equality for All Black Women & Girls: We target the most pressing heal [...]
An Affirmation for Growing Beyond the Outer Markers
I am growing beyond symbols.
Beyond badges, titles, memberships, and borrowed names.
What once helped me find my footing no longer defines my [...]
Survivor Affirmations: History Remembers What is Rooted in Truth, Love, and Dignity.
American fashion icon Dapper Dan shares the history of the Adinkra symbol 'Sankofa' in Harlem, New York (& other places around the United St [...]
She Is AMAZING
Big Mama Thornton: I Stand Up for Myself As Long As I Can
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🌤️ Clarity After Chaos, Grief, and Rain
There comes a moment — after the thunder, after the tears — when the air feels different.
It’s quieter.
Cleaner.
You can finally see what was [...]
Playing by Heart: Alberta Hunter and the Power of Soul Wisdom
Alberta Hunter’s life was a testament to the power of the "unpolished" authentic soul. She was a woman who conquered the world's stages, walked away t [...]
Survivor Affirmation: For Patti LaBelle, the Beautiful Assertion
Before the world knew her as Patti LaBelle, she was Patricia Louise Holte, a girl from Philadelphia with a voice that could rise from the church floor [...]
Survivor Affirmations: Musical Empowerment for Women
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ART HEALS
Inspired by Survivor Viola Davis: You Don’t Need Perfect Weather to Bloom
Some flowers wait for sunshine.Others learn how to grow toward the light
even while clouds remain overhead.
Gratitude to a shining star....Viola Da [...]
Before the Dress Code Debate: 8 Gentle Questions to Ask Yourself If You Never Feel Like Getting Ready
Some conversations become so loud that we forget to ask the quieter questions.
Recently, there has been discussion surrounding Tuskegee U [...]
BLACK TEENAGE GIRLS HAVE AMAZING STORIES 📺
Before Moesha was writing in her journal, other Black teenage girls had been growing up on our television screens, because Black girls have amazing st [...]
Your Voice Is a Lighthouse: Keep Shining Through the Noise (Featuring Amazing Animated Story by BigBoi)
I woke up and encountered this story by BigBoi. Made my morning.
Your story has the power to do that too. Keep living. Keep crafting your storytel [...]
JOURNALING/WRITING IN A HEALTHIER WORLD
WE Survive Abuse Podcast












