Best of 2011 - "The Medium is the Message?"

This has been a year of wins and lost but this week we focus on the Best of 2011.  Here we feature the best efforts and intentions that inspired us to bring forth our A game.


“Anything can be beautiful when you look at it with love”  What a wonderful message for the new year.  Thanks to the Gibbs sisters of Adopted by Aliens who discovered this gem of a mural created by German graffiti artists, Herakut and Case on the corner of 42nd and Vermont, in the heart of South Central Los Angeles.  “The beauty and message of the mural beckoned us to round the corner and lavish it with photographs.” 

Best of 2011- SULE AND THE CASE OF THE TINY SPARKS (U.S.)

This has been a year of wins and lost but this week we focus on the Best of 2011.  Here we feature the best efforts and intentions that inspired us to bring forth our A game.

Congratulations to the Gibbs sisters, Shawnee and Shawnelle for winning the Best Animated Short Film in 2011 at the Montreal International Black Film Festival for SULE AND THE CASE OF THE TINY SPARKS (U.S.).  Sule is based on a proverb with a humanitarian message inspired by Nelson Mandela.  In the opinion of the jury: “The story of this film is as magnificent as it is inspiring. Proof that a small short can depict huge and beautiful moments.” Earlier the sisters created a mini series called Adopted by Aliens, see their blog.  Now they are working on a graphic novel for young girls. So planning on seeing more of them in 2112.

Ashley Smith Tackles the Stigma of Mental Illness in Black Families

For many African American families discussing mental illness is a hush hush subject, which can compound the problem of people suffering with of mental illness.  If you can't talk about it, research it,  or understand the effects that illness has on the family, there is no way to solve the problem.   Young people like Ashley Smith who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia at the age of 20 are trying to dispel this stigma.

Ashley was unaware of her illness until she stole a military truck and went on a high-speed chase with the police. She was jailed and later hospitalized for that crime. Later she learned about the mental illness that ran in her family.  Now she is in recovery with the support of family, treatment teams, peers and her faith.  To help other families and young people, she started Embracing My Mind, Inc.   "I want to help reduce stigma, change perceptions, and encourage an open conversation about mental illness."  Her story is being featured on CNN.  Learn more about her work at https://embracingmymind.org/Home.html.

For more stories of success and support visit http://blacksnob.com/ or read Black Pain by Terrie M. Williams. For referrals and help try www.lifenet.org. 

Glamour Magazine's Top 10 College Women: The Social Entrepreneur

Amber Koonce has been named one of Glamour Magazine's Top 10 College Women and dubbed The Social Entrepreneur.

Two years ago, Koonce, a public policy and African and Afro-American studies double major, volunteered in Ghana. “I’d been excited to go to a place where my natural hair and features would be embraced,” she says. But there she found women who were unhappy with their looks: “One told me that she aspired to marry a white man so her kids wouldn’t look like her.” Koonce had a theory why. “Ghanaian girls had blond-haired, blue-eyed dolls that didn’t resemble them at all,” she says. So when she returned to the States, Koonce founded BeautyGap, which ships black dolls to Ghana and Kenya to show children a new beauty ideal.   By providing dolls of color for these young girls to adore, Beauty Gap seeks to promote self - love among girls of color in a world dominated by the Western standard of beauty.

She’s also supporting young people in another way—by working in juvenile detention centers as far away as Ghana and Scotland and as close to home as Durham, North Carolina, where she spends Saturday afternoons helping young offenders envision a future without crime.

Halloween at the White House

Trick and Treating at the White House will be a special memory for these children. 

Last night, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama welcome area students and the children of military families to the White House for trick-or-treating. 

The President and First Lady handed out cookies, White House M&M's and dried fruit mix to trick-or-treaters with the presidential seal at the North Portico of the White House.

The White House and the surrounding grounds are decorated in celebration of Halloween. As the trick-or-treaters made their way across the North Lawn to the North Portico they were entertained by the Marine Band playing Halloween music and spooked by in-costume actors from Washington-area theatres, brought together by theatreWashington.

The White House provided the following Halloween recipes.

The White House Sweet Dough Butter Cookie Recipe

1 lb Sugar                           1 tsp Vanilla


2 lbs Butter                         1 tsp Salt


3 Eggs                                 3 lbs All Purpose Flour   
                                                                       


Mix the butter and sugar till soft and well beaten. Then add eggs, vanilla, salt and half the flour. Beat on slow speed till mixed, then add the rest of the flour and mix until incorporated.

Push flat onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate overnight. Roll out to one quarter inch thick and cut out cookie shapes with cookie cutter.

Bake at 350F for 14 minutes and then allow to cool. 

Make Your Own Dried Fruit Mix

Dried Apples                                           Dried Pineapple


Dried Apricots                                        Dried Papayas


Dried Pears                                             Dried Cherries


Dried Blueberries                                    Banana Chips

Combine ingredients and serve.

Global Mamas Celebrates Fair Trade Month in October

                  Shakina wearing Global Mamas at the Langston Hughes Library

My nieces, Shakina and Yonina and I love the color and designs of African print clothing for children.  I am always looking for unique colors and patterns for them to wear. This weekend Global Mamas is celebrating Fair Trade Month with a 20% discount at their retail site www.tradeforchange.com  Check out their clothing line designed  and crafted by mothers in Ghana. And also read their story.

In order to take advantage of the discount use the code “FairTrade” and follow these directions.

1) Log-in to your account before shopping and make sure that applying the 

    coupon code is the last thing you do before you check-out.

2) If you have logged-in after you started shopping you will need to return to your

    shopping cart, reapply the "Fair Trade" coupon code and start the check-out

    process again.

They love their dresses from Global Mamas and I know you will enjoy their wonderful clothing line.

A Moment of Quiet in the McGhee household...

I love this picture of Mia and Rozonno McGhee plus six. The Ohio couple has a house full of babies after delivering sextuplets. Mia and Rozonno McGhee had their four boys and two girls named Isaac, Josiah, Elijah, Rozonno, Madison and Olivia on June 9th at the Osu Medical Center. Thankfully, their church family members are pitching in to help them. Gives meaning to the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.”