Everyone has a story to tell. You’ll be surprise how many have the same.

It has been on the radio, it has flashed across our screens, it has even been water cooler chatter amongst peers. The Trayvon Martin story, a scenario that has become all too common. Young black man shot, and no one is responsible. Or is it gun control….what exactly qualifies someone as responsible, or mentally fit to carry such a dangerous weapon? I am not sure what is the bigger issue, or if race was actually involved but there is no reason why a 17 year old boy, wearing a hoodie and armed with nothing other than an iced tea and skittles should have lost his life. Is that just? Is that what we call self defense? This all makes us question our neighbors, co workers, and even strangers in the street. If I look like him, will I also be shot? We stand in support of Trayvon Martin’s family. Some of our members joined in and took pictures in their hoodies.

I believe sometimes, in life we feel as though there is no one going thru the same thing we have. Never feel like you are alone! On a recent vacation I was blessed to meet my table mate. Malika Wick’s. I shared with her my aspirations of starting an organization that will help increase the graduation rate in the city of Camden, NJ where less than half of the senior class graduates, and even less go onto college. I remember how I felt my senior year, after my guidance counselor told me I wouldn’t be anything more than a truck driver. If it was not for my sister, I would have never went away to Delaware State University. Malika shared with me her testimony…..

Growing up in the poverty-stricken City of Newark, NJ, I’ve witnessed issues of sex, drug and alcohol abuse of every kind; however my ambition to pursue my education and career goals were always my number one priority. Thanks to my maternal aunt – Emma N. Jackson for being my “Ram in the Bush”, I was raised with God-fearing morals and values and learned that serving others can benefit both my strengths and weaknesses. At the age of 21, the death of my aunt forced me to grow up and become the head of household, making decisions for my then 6-month old twin sons, two brothers, nephew, and niece on a daily basis.
In spite of the many experiences life had brought my way over the years, I committed myself to reforming the leverage of my family and others in a positive and valuing way. My passion to help others and gain a brighter future kept me accountable and challenged me to stay on the right path that lead me to become an excellent mother, sister, aunt, soror, friend, and leader.
Learning how to repair the instability of communication and balance daily tasks within my household and society, I found a passion to discuss my thoughts, feelings and insights through mentoring and educating younger people. Putting ALL my trust in God and using the abilities He gave me to maintain a strong mind and free of wrongful doing, I knew that someday I would beat the odds. Today, I live in New Jersey with my four beautiful children and plan to graduate this spring from Fairleigh Dickinson University with my Executive MBA. As a child, I always knew in my heart that I would one day be successful in my academic, personal, and professional life, but I also wanted to make sure others had the same opportunity. Being an inner city child was hard for me and the long journey of seeing my way out of poverty was even harder; nonetheless, I was once given an opportunity to make a positive contribution so I took hold it and promised myself to never let it go.
By the Grace of God, the early guidance of my late aunt, and the current support of my children, family, friends, new sisters/sorors of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., and the academic staff and cohort scholars at FDU, I’ve learned to enhance my ability to impact the lives of several underprivileged youth and demonstrate both personal and professional humility; as well as, handle the different models of behavior in order to create and maintain a dynamic niche for serving others and completing goals resulting in positive outcomes. I’ve also learned to be more effective with my conversations, asking inquiring questions, making commitments to others and even integrating ideas to build mutuality and sustained relationships whether academic, personal or professional. These life lessons taught me the difference between being an “achiever” versus a “strategist.” An “achiever” is a person who has a great deal of stamina, works hard, and takes great satisfaction from being busy and productive; while a “strategist” is a person who recognizes the importance of a principle; enjoys playing a variety of roles within a team environment and weaves short-term goals with long-term development processes. While I’m definitely an “achiever” now I can honestly say “I’m ready to become a “strategist” and fulfill my passion through my not-for-profit organization.
My vision is to open a transitional home and resource center for young men and women ages 11-21 and create an environment they can call “home” and simultaneously learn the different skills needed to survive in life. My top line objectives are to assist young people with learning and development concepts and strategies to demonstrate their knowledge of different actions and their consequences on a regular basis, and to provide literacy-based programs such as math, reading, science, writing, and parental and self-awareness classes. These programs will assist them with improving their desired perceptions of life, educate them, and prepare the next generation on the importance of learning and working hard. Overall, it’s my belief that if I share my life’s testimony and educate these young people on the willingness to learn and work hard using the different concepts and leadership strategies, my passion for a strong, literate-based community will flourish into many other segments of the world and all of my hard work as a new found “strategist” will definitely pay off in the end!

This post was taken from the Huffington Post. It is entitled Arizona is America. What are your thoughts? Speak Out Struggles Corp Readers. Please feel free to use this as a point of discussion amongst your peers.

Arizona is America
By Kevin Powell

I say this because Arizona is not the problem. We the people are the problem.

That is, we Americans who think it is cool to engage in rhetoric, political or otherwise, that encourages division, ugliness, hatred, and violence, directly or indirectly.

Over the past several years, we’ve witnessed this madness via certain television networks, tv and radio talk shows, the internet, and various rallies and protests: a climate of hatred and, yes, violence, which has been boiling, with a quickness, in our America.

This is not about left versus right political philosophies, nor Democrats versus Republicans, or progressives versus Tea Party followers, or about the wackness of Arizona, a state that once, aided by one of its senators, John McCain, refused to celebrate the Dr. King holiday after it was made a federal law (to be fair, Mr. McCain eventually backed away from that position).

Not per se.

But it is about any of us who are so politically, emotionally, and spiritually immature that the only way we know how to participate in dialogue on any issue is to scream, curse, or otherwise threaten and dehumanize each other. Or move to murder each other. Quite literally.

Add to this cruel reality show the new world order our technological revolution has birthed in the form of the social networks, and you suddenly have these spaces where an angry and misguided individual or groups of angry and misguided people can post the most anti-social pronouncements imaginable, grow an audience, and prepare, right in front of our very eyes, to unleash their rage on unsuspecting and innocent persons.

So, yes, it pains me that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head at point-blank range by 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner in Arizona. Painful, too, that 19 others were wounded and 6 are dead, including John M. Roll, the chief judge for the United States District Court for Arizona, and a 9-year-old girl named Christina Green.

According to Christina’s mother Roxanna Green, mother and daughter were there at that Tucson, Arizona area Safeway parking lot because her daughter was interested in government and wanted to learn how to give back to the community. A little girl full of life’s possibilities blown away by a young man mentally unstable enough to believe he could change the course of history, with a gun I am sure he was able to purchase rather easily.

As a result there will be no giving back for little Christina ever again because no one can give that child another breath. But what we can do is heed the words of Clarence Dupnik, the Pima County sheriff at a press conference:

“The anger, the hatred, the, uh, bigotry that goes on in this country, is getting to be outrageous. And, unfortunately, Arizona has sort of become the capital. We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry.”

Well, yes, indeed, when you review, say, the horrible anti-immigration sentiments there. Plus the fact that the late Judge Roll had to accept protection from the Federal Marshals Service in 2009. This was in response to his allowing to proceed a civil rights lawsuit by a group of Mexicans against an Arizona rancher who thought it his right to stop people at gunpoint as they crossed his land, then turn them over to the Border Patrol.

Regardless of where you may fall on the issue of immigration, pointing guns at other human beings, or outright shooting them (which has occurred often in those parts), is simply not the way. Nor is threatening the life of a federal judge because you do not agree with his decision. Says that we are not quite the fair and egalitarian civilization we claim to be, at best. Says some of us are barbaric, at worst.

Beyond Arizona, nor is it acceptable for the flames of anger and venom to be blown, mightily, at those Summer 2009 townhall meetings on the pending healthcare legislation.

Nor has it been acceptable the barely masked threats against President Barack Obama, a constant stream of verbal aggression so nasty that you wonder if someone wants to do total harm to his presidency, just because—

Nor is it acceptable for Sarah Palin’s website to not merely list 20 vulnerable Democrats to target in 2010, but to have the picture of a gun crosshair displayed for each of the 20, including Congresswoman Giffords.

Nor is it acceptable for The Tea Party to condemn the Tucson shooting (while scrambling fast to state Jared Lee Loughner is not one of them) but still not have the moral courage, nor outrage, to condemn, once and for all, its own oratory, these many months of its movement, that dance right at the doorstep of political anarchy and, yes, violence.

For when we use the words and images of violence, be we on the left or those of us on the right, we invite violence right into our lives, even if it is a moderate Congressional member simply hosting an outdoor gathering to meet her voters on a weekend trip back to her district. Because once you’ve fostered, egged on, and actually kick-started a violent atmosphere and a violent mindset, there is no sacred ground in our America, and you will not be free from violence and tragedies, be it in the ghettos or in the suburbs.

And as long as there is an incredible addiction to violence in America—ranging from averting our eyes from the regular practice of domestic violence against women to our acquiescence in unnecessary wars overseas, to our love affair with violent blockbuster films and video games, to this twisted need to define our culture (especially we men and boys) through the barrel of a gun, you come to the clear-eyed conclusion that violence, as one 1960s activist put it matter of factly, is as American as apple pie.

But it does not have to be. But only if we Americans are collectively willing to be morally responsible enough, and mature enough, to engage in conversations that do not seek to hurt or destroy others, just because you may not like them or their views. In our American journey we’ve witnessed violence against Native Americans, Blacks, poor and ethnic Whites, women and girls, the handicapped and the disabled, gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals, Latino and Asian immigrants, Arabs and Muslims, Jews (it is not lost on me that Representative Giffords is the first Jewish Congressional member from the state of Arizona), and more members of the human family than we could list in this blog.

It is seemingly the preferred way, to resort to violence when we believe everything else has failed, when we feel alienated, angry, and confused, as evidenced by Jared Lee Loughner’s internet postings (as was the case with the Columbine shooters in Colorado back in the day). Or when we feel our way of life, our way of viewing the world, is threatened.

For example, when I hear some Americans say they want their country back, that they want things the way they once were, I as an African American often wonder, Want your country back for whom? And, The way things once were for whom? If we followed that logic I would be, say, my long-dead grandfather: not able to look White males or females in the eyes for fear of violent punishment; having to jump off the curb if a White person were walking in my direction; and my life reduced to work in someone else’s cotton or tobacco field, or as a source of cheap, service-oriented labor, and my life permanently imprisoned by poverty and no hope whatsoever. If that or any other brand of social injustice is not a form of violence, then I do not know what it is.

So part of this unraveling of violence in our society, too, has to do with all of us, of every race and culture and gender and faith and class and sexual orientation, having the chutzpah to talk shop about our country, mountaintops of mistakes included, both past and present. In other words, in order for us to have a future not completely defined by violence, anger, and finger-pointing, I am essentially calling for a very necessary kind of soul-searching that America needs to do before what happened to Congresswoman Giffords becomes as routine as the too-many-to-count assassinations and assassination attempts we witnessed in the 1960s and 1970s.

In our America—

Kevin Powell is an activist, writer, and public speaker. He is the author or editor of 10 books, including Open Letters to America (Soft Skull). He is based in Brooklyn, New York, and can be emailed at kevin@kevinpowell.net

Have you ever wondered what natural herbs and spices can save your life? Well ladies and gents, you can now add cloves to the list. Check out this article on how cloves saved this 29 year olds life.

I Make The Stroke Unit Sexy

On behalf of the members of Struggles Corp, we would like to wish you a Happy Holiday Season and a Prosperious New Year.

We would also like to thank all of our members and supporters for coming together in the name of the Struggle.

We are looking ahead to 2011 and have wonderful events ahead of us! S

Stay Tuned

Hello Struggles Family & Friends,

On Wednesday December 8th, Struggles Corp., Frantzie Bazile & Sendy Chancy will be joining forces for the holiday season and collecting toys for the children in Haiti. Below is a short, cut and pasted version of the invite (including location and details for the event). If you are in town and can come out to support, this would be a lovely chance to get together again in the spirit of giving.

Host’s
Message:
Christmas is a huge holiday in Haiti. With tents lining up roads, it’s going to be difficult to observe the holiday. So, The Colline Foundation is seeking to bring the spirit of Christmas to the students of the Colline Academie in Leogane this season. Frantzie’s travel with the Colline Foundation and meeting the students of the Colline Academie, majority living in tents now, was an eye-opener, jaw-dropper for her, and reminder of how good we’ve got it.

How Can You Help?
Play Santa to a kid in Haiti! We are trying to come up with bags of toys that the volunteers are going to personally bring down to Haiti. We’re asking for a new, unwrapped toy (the equivalent of $10) or $10 donation towards the purchase of a toy to help their cause. (Tip: You can visit your dollar store and get 10 toys, even better.) The kids range from the ages of 2-15 years old. Meet us at the Blue Owl Lounge on Wednesday, December 8. What better excuse to get together, get merry, drunk and give at the same time! -

Where: The Blue Owl Lounge
196 Second Ave (and 12th Street)
New York, NY
*Specialty $6 cocktails until 10PM
*DJ Myles spinning at 10PM
When: December 8th, 2010, 8pm

PS:
Here is a link for the official invite: http://www.pingg.com/rsvp/it6re8jzvgf273×2x and feel free to forward.

This Sunday spread the word and come out to celebrate the life of MJ
BBQ in the Park. The Nethermead Field - Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Sunday 12pm -6pm
A SPIKE LEE joint
You thought last year was crazy. This year more folks and songs never heard before !!!!!!
STRUGGLES Corp will be there to Represent and share some MJ love .

Mr. Idris Elba

Hey Ladies. It sure has been a while. Even though we have been out of touch, that does not mean we are not working on things We have a tasty treat coming up for the ladies on Friday August 27th featuring the one any only Idris Elba. Taking place at BAM theater located on Brooklyn. Grab you friends, grab your girls, and grab your husbands. This is likely to be an interesting film.

“The women that I date, they don’t wear scarves to bed. … You look like Aunt Jemima in a candy store.”

T.O.

I don’t think that some men understand how much pride women take in their hair. We don’t just take care of it for our well being, but to look good for our man/woman as well. Some even do it to attract other men/women. It irks me when men talk about how they don’t like when women wear scarves on their head to bed. I have one thing in response to that: ARE YOU CRAZY?! There is nothing scarier than an angry woman pissed because something has affected her way of looking good. When one thing goes wrong with the way we look, than EVERYTHING is wrong.

I did my own personal experiment by not wearing a scarf to bed… it wasn’t a good look in the morning. If you’re a black woman like me, that has hair that doesn’t curl up when it gets wet, but gets nappy instead, and can’t stay straight without some control to it, then you feel where I’m coming from. There is a HUGE process to a black woman’s hair. Let me explain it to you:

1. Shampoo hair 3-4 times.

2. Put conditioner in the hair and let it sit for 15-30 minutes. If you have a head dryer then you can sit under that to get more of a bouncy and healthy effect on your hair.

3. Wash the conditioner out.

4. Blow dry hair.

5. Press hair with a flat iron.

6. Curl hair if a specific style is wanted.

7. Spray hair with any type of sheen.

This process can take up to two hours. If we just went to sleep and woke up the next morning do you think that our hair would even look the same as it did the day before? NO! It’s not.

I’m not denying that some women can go to bed without a scarf and have their hair be fine in the morning, but not every woman has the same type of hair. Not every black woman has the same type of hair. I look at my mother and wonder why she doesn’t wear a scarf to bed, but I then realize, her hair is tamed and she sleeps on a satin/silk pillow cover. Even for her towards the end of the week her hair needs a little help.

“What bothers me is when she wears it outside the house. Besides, I’m a hair person so whatever it takes for her to keep the hair lookin’ right.” (Anonymous) Name Withheld

If you feel like the quote above, then I perfectly understand you. I don’t think that a woman should walk out the house with a scarf on. It’s not an appropriate thing. It goes back to what my mother has taught me, “You represent your family and your boyfriend/husband when you go out the house, but most importantly you represent YOU. So you never know who you will see when you go out the house. Most importantly, you will never know who will see you.” There is a time and a place for everything… the scarf is for HOME at ALL times. I also believe that this issue goes for both ways. I couldn’t stand when my boyfriends at the time would walk out the house with a “wave cap” aka scarf on as well, especially when it was time for them to meet my parents.

Even if you do not like when your girl wears a scarf to bed, it doesn’t change her as a person. She’s with you, right? When you go to sleep it’s her next to you and when you wake up its still her next to you. Also, even though she may put her scarf on does not mean she will not get down to the “business” with you.

P.S.

Dear T.O.,

I’ve seen your daughter’s hair… She will be wearing a scarf as well soon.

Check out the 2010 Mother’s Day Contest Details Here!!

To Enter:
All contestants must be Nominated by someone other then them self. Please start with giving us some information about yourself. Enter your name and your relationship to the nominee: Next, provide us with all of the information we will need that will help us choose your nominee above the rest. Enter your nominees’ name, age, city and state of current residence, and how many children she has. In 100 words or less, please describe your nominee’s “Struggle”’ and why you believe she deserves to be one of the 3 winners of the 2010 “A Gift for Her” Contest. Each winner will receive a special day of pampering at a spa!!! Please be as specific as possible. Thank you. All entries can be sent to info@strugglescorp.org and make sure the subject line is “A Gift for Her”.

Contest starts Monday April 12th, 2010 and ends Sunday May 2nd, 2010
United States Residents ONLY

Check out our site at www.Strugglescorp.org

Facebook Struggles corp

Twitter @strugglescorp

Also Check out
www.nevaehjeans.com
www.boomnproductionz.com

Deadline for entries is Sunday May 2nd, 2010 to info@strugglescorp.org