45000on

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 [...]
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: I Am Honoring Myself Now
You are not here to shrink.You are not here to twist, bend, or break yourselfjust to be accepted by people or places that can't ho [...]
HEALING JOURNEY
She Traveled Deep Within: A Spiritual Portrait of Alice Coltrane
✍🏽 For SurvivorAffirmations.com
There are people whose healing path takes them outward—
into movements, microphones, and moments of bold declarati [...]
The Bold Choice to Live AND Thrive
Tyka said I could, so I did. -Prince (Tyka Nelson was Prince's sister who recently passed away)
Notice how people speak about sacrifices made for art [...]
Survivor Affirmation: My “No” is a Whole Sentence
✨ Affirmations:
My voice is enough.
I owe no explanation.
No is protection, not rejection.
I honor m [...]
🌹 Affirmation Post: “My Survival Was Never a Sin”
A sacred reminder for the ones who dared to keep breathing.
My survival was never a sin.It may have looked messy. Loud. Unpretty.But it was [...]
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 [...]
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 ear [...]
CONFIDENCE/POWER/RESILIENCE

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 [...]
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 invita [...]
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 [...]
✨ Knowing My Body Is My Birthright. ✨
Knowing about my body and how it functions is not shameful.It is not taboo.It is not “too much.”
It is my right.As a woman.As a human being.As someon [...]
HEALTHING JOURNEY
7 Ways Listening to Sad Music Can Relieve Sadness (podcast recording)
Podcast Episode Link
[...]
Affirmations for Patients Who Are Afraid They Will Not Be Heard at the Doctor’s Office
There is a particular kind of tired that comes from knowing something is happening in your body, then having to gather your strength to explain it to [...]
🎵 Tennessee: A Prayer for the Weary Soul
I miss the days when there was prayer in hip hop. Vulnerability in hip hop. And baring of the weary sick and tired soul in hip-hop.
“ [...]
10 Uplifting Quotes to Inspire and Empower Survivors on Their Healing Journey
"Your story is not just what happened to you—it’s what you dared to do next." – WeSurviveAbuse.com
"Every step you take toward peace is a [...]
8 Lessons for Survivors from the Film Mi Familia
I first saw this film back when walking down the aisles of Blockbuster on Friday nights was hot.
I picked up the case, saw a lot of my favorite acto [...]
Reclaim Your Confidence: 7 Quick Tips (audio)
Sometimes we lose our confidence in ourselves and others. This podcast episode will give you 7 tips to help you recover quickly. R [...]
She Is AMAZING
Survivor Affirmations Inspired by The Joy Luck Club (with audio book)
There’s something sacred about The Joy Luck Club.Not just the story—but the witnessing. The layering. The quiet truths that refuse to stay buried.
Le [...]
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 peop [...]
Affirming Television Moments: When the Women Tore Down the Wall
First, giving gratitude to Oprah because this type of programming was very uncommon back in 1989. When you wanted to see television films like this, y [...]
Sometimes Your Haters Are Your Unpaid Strength Coaches
Angel went straight to the source at the end of the game 😭
I smiled when I saw Angel Reese acknowledge people who had been heckling her from th [...]
PBS Newshour: A Brief But Spectacular take on appreciating what we have
“Joy multiplies when I choose to love.” 💫
“I find joy not just in myself, but in celebrating others.”
“Love is the soil—joy is the [...]
Gratitude to the Humanity of Lynn Jones: When “Professionalism” Is Used as a Shield
Now why are you all (journalists) behaving like toddlers?
We had a toddler visit us and I forgot what it was like.
I accidently sat on Mickey (t [...]
ART HEALS
The Phenomenal Phyllis Hyman, Institutional Betrayal, and Affirmations for Your Own Battles
Sometimes it isn't 'imposter syndrome.' Sometimes institutions just want you to be something that you are not because it is easier for them. B [...]
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 [...]
Survivor Affirmation: I Appreciate Me for Being Me (featuring poet Steven Willis w Youtube video link)
Affirmation: I speak to myself in the tone I once searched for in others—
gentle, unhurried, faithful to my becoming.
Oh how I love, adore, and a [...]
🌸 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.
[...]
JOURNALING/WRITING IN A HEALTHIER WORLD
WE Survive Abuse Podcast











