
Bob Mackie Set Beauty Free: Remembering a Designer Who Knew How to……
Before Bob Mackie dressed Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Cher, Dolly Parton and some of the most famous women in entertainment, Black women were already d-r-e-s-s-e-d.
Look at photographs of Black Americans from the 1920s, ’30s and [...]

Why Does He Get Angry When You’re Happy? When Your Joy Becomes a Problem in a Controlling Relationship
Inspired by.......
Why women’s laughter has long been treated as a threat | Psyche Ideas
Posted by Amy Diehl, Ph.D on X.com
There is a scene television loves to give us before a man becomes violent with a [...]

Florida A&M Marching 100: They Gave Dolly Parton Her Flowers Like Black HBCU Bands Do
A great Black marching band performance is not casual praise. It is labor as praise.
Somebody had to arrange “9 to 5” for that instrumentation. Musicians had to learn their individual parts. Sections had to rehearse until they [...]

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?
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.
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 [...]
AFFIRMATIONS AND SELF LOVE
Affirmations for Cutting Through the “Devil” Dodge
Here is a set of affirmations designed to cut through the "smoke and mirrors" of redirected blame. These are meant to ground you w [...]
HEALING JOURNEY
Why You Can’t Just ‘Get Over’ Trauma: The Science Behind Healing with Dr. Tracey Marks
elink.io | See Original
[...]
🖤 Survivor Affirmations: “I Am the First Safe Place I’ve Ever Known”
These affirmations are for the Survivor who has had to become her own safety, her own sanctuary, her own rescue.
These words are not about pret [...]
Do Not Mistake a Blackout for a Lack of Black American Talent
Is "Woke" Just the Newest Word for an Old Fear? A History. - WE Survive Abuse
One unfortunate reality of anti-Black American racism specifically is [...]
You Didn’t Ask to Be the Mirror
✦ [SurvivorAffirmations.com] ✦
Dear Survivor,
You didn’t ask to be the mirror.But here you are—living, healing, choosing joy.And without even tryi [...]
When Being Yourself Is Labeled “Political”: Why some people are punished simply for showing up
Nat King Cole really was attacked on stage during a concert in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1956.
While performing at the Municipal Auditorium in Birmingh [...]
Survivor Affirmations: I’m a master of messing up, and a ninja of new beginnings!
I'm a master of messing up, and a ninja of new beginnings!
You may never get an apology....
You may never get justice.....
But you must, forg [...]
CONFIDENCE/POWER/RESILIENCE

🖤 Deep Affirmations That Speak to Fear
🔥 I will not lie to myself about fear
I am afraid sometimes — and still, I move.
Fear is not weakness. Fear means I’m standing at the ed [...]
Oh, We Been the Fire
Look at us.
Not surviving — shining.
That kind of laughter that breaks every chain still trying to hold on.
That joy they said was too loud f [...]
Affirmations for Black Women on a Personal Journey with Our Hair Inspired by ShesASolarBeing
Affirmations for Black Women on a Personal Journey with Our Hair
From the roots to the rhythm, this is sacred.
🌿 I honor the truth that my hair is n [...]
HEALTHING JOURNEY
An Affirmation for Choosing How You Live
Anyone who danced the way Prince danced—with that level of athleticism, speed, torque, elevation, repetition,and especially in heels—understood early [...]
Small Shifts, Big Relief: Real-World Ways to Defuse Everyday Stress
Stress isn’t loud. It creeps in quietly. A clenched jaw, missed sleep, a flinch at a harmless notification. Left unchecked, it coils tighter. But [...]
Survivors Matter, You Are Not to Be Dismissed (audio)
Throwing it back to wisdom from Zora Neale Hurston, on refusing to be dismissed.
Here are 20 phrases people use to dismiss feelings. (2021)
[...]
Why Harriet Tubman Gave the Gift the Freedom on Christmas Eve
Harriet Tubman helped her brothers escape at Christmas. Their master intended to sell them after Christmas but was delayed by the holi [...]
🌸 Groovy Affirmations: My Hair, My Glory, My Groove
My curls, coils, kinks, and waves are a love letter from God.
The texture of my hair tells stories my ancestors whispered into my roots.
[...]
She Is AMAZING
Affirmations for Black Women on a Personal Journey with Our Hair Inspired by ShesASolarBeing
Affirmations for Black Women on a Personal Journey with Our Hair
From the roots to the rhythm, this is sacred.
🌿 I honor the truth that my hair is n [...]
Finding Freedom Through Movement: How Dance Becomes a Healing Journey from Abuse 💃✨
So, the fabulous Eartha Kitt was a triple threat. Dancer, singer, and actor. She was also a Survivor.
By every reasonable understanding of the word, [...]
9 Quotes from Maya Angelou to Nourish the Survivor’s Soul (Part 2)
Updated for 2025
🌟 Resilience & Strength
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced [...]
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 appeare [...]
Women Are the Source, Not the Punchline
“It is not inclusive to sit silent while people mock the beauty and humanity of women. That is not progress—it is plain old misogyny. The same misogyn [...]
ART HEALS
🎶 Choose Love, Joy, Hope (w/video)
🎶 Choose Love, Joy, Hope
Hate makes little ditties —short, sharp, and forgettable.But joy?Joy makes songs that reach the bones.Songs that bring p [...]
You Belong Here, Here, and There too; Even If Others Reject You.
🎷 Green Book Affirmations 🎷
Just like the Green Book guided travelers through danger, I trust my instincts to guide me to safety, dignity, an [...]
Why Does He Get Angry When You’re Happy? When Your Joy Becomes a Problem in a Controlling Relationship
Inspired by.......
Why women’s laughter has long been treated as a threat | Psyche Ideas
Posted by Amy Diehl, Ph.D on X.com
Th [...]
Afro Harpists: Pioneers in Spiritual Jazz and Healing (w/affirmations)
Black harpists have carved out a profound and unique space within the world of meditation and sound healing. While the harp is often associated with E [...]
JOURNALING/WRITING IN A HEALTHIER WORLD
WE Survive Abuse Podcast




















