Nurah Speaks

This episode of Nurah Speaks is a deeply personal reflection on love, loss and what I've learned from grief. In Episode 260, “Losing Ellen,” I chronicle the story of losing my grandmother, Ellen, and walk listeners through my experience before and after her passing along with what grief has revealed to me along the way. Losing my grandmother was an excruciating loss—filled with agony and heart...

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Episode 259 features an excerpt of Dr. King’s Sermon ‘Unfulfilled Dreams’.  While Dr. King is most commonly known as a leader within the Civil Rights Movement, it is important to remember that Dr. King was a pastor and concerned with the moral fiber of his people.   In ‘Unfulfilled Dreams’ King speaks on the substance of our hearts, our character and inclina...

In this episode, I reflect on my experience running for elected office and share key lessons learned from the journey. While the outcome wasn’t a win at the ballot box, the experience reinforced that the work of service never stops. Before running for office, there are important questions that must be clearly defined and questions I confronted prior to running: Why – Why are you running, and what...

Well, I am elated to be back at the microphone hosting Nurah Speaks.  I know it has been a while so I take this episode ‘Back From Loss’ to catch everyone up with the events of the past several months and what is new with the podcast. I want to thank everyone who has continued to support me and this project.  Welcome to Episode 257! If you would like to engage with the podcast, submit your listene...

I am elated to be back at the microphone hosting Nurah Speaks.  I know it has been a while so I take this episode ‘Back From Loss’ to catch everyone up with the events of the past several months and what is new with the podcast. I want to thank everyone who has continued to support me and this project.  Welcome to Episode 257! If you would like to engage with the podcast, submit your listener ques...

Black History Month 2025 comes at a time in this nation wherein we need love amongst ourselves more now than ever.  But we must advance the notion of Black Love beyond affection and recognize that love is a verb.  Love is doing good and bringing no harm.  Love is elevating each other, teaching and encouraging and even correcting each other.   Black Love is more than a slogan or rhetoric on tees an...

This episode revisits a discussion about neutrality and our tendency to be noncommittal despite real challenges impacting our communities. We cannot be on the fence forever being neither this nor that, never having made a commitment or obligating ourselves to one direction or another.  Indecisiveness is obstructive to our personal development.  It is time now to be accountable and this comes with...

After the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States, it seems that every liberal leaning media outlet is sounding an alarm of fear and terror with what has occurred and what is to come in the current presidential administration. However I propose that the panic, fear and terror for what is to come for us is long overdue.  We have already been existing with certain vulnerabilities in...

At various points in our lives we are confronted with the decision to choose the exhausting path for truth and justice or the easy path of agreement and compromise.  It is at those times we should reflect on what our choices will declare about our character.   In revisiting Dr. King’s ‘But If Not’ sermon featured in the last episode, I am encouraged on my own path for truth and justice, no matter...

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a poignant example of a man standing on faith and principles, regardless of the risks, discomfort and persecution. In his work of pressing the United States government for civil rights of the nation’s ex-slaves and in his anti-war stance on Vietnam, he made an enemy of the FBI and the U.S. President. Even his companions in the Civil Rights Movement deserted him.  He...

We must be knowledgeable about the threat to our wellbeing from the Ultra Processed Big Food industry. In Episode 253 I share five key takeaways important for listeners in summation of the series about food, food products and our health.  Additionally I provide resources to help us make better decisions to safeguard our health, the health of our families and communities. You can find those below....

There is a public health crises in this nation and our people are experiencing the brunt of it.  Grocery stores are stocked with 73% of ultra processed food and this could be around 95-99% of stores in urban communities.   The standard American diet is now 60-90% of ultra processed food which is now being more widely recognized as contributing to chronic disease.  Learning to make different choice...

Improving the health of Black Americans can start with what we put on our forks.  In Episode 251 I share five foods that we should eat less. 1. PORK- a homotoxin (human poison) that should not be eaten by any of us at any time EVER!   2. SUGAR -naturally occurring sugar in our fruit and plants are healthy however the ‘added granulated, processed sugar’ and high fructose corn syrup contribute to sp...

There are a multitude of ingredients that are added to our food that we should avoid without question.   In Episode 250 I share five of those food additives, how they are used and the deleterious effects they have on our bodies and health. 1. Red Food Dye:   Red 40, Alura Red, Red 40 Lake-food coloring containing a cancer causing substance and contributes to behavioral issues in children 2. Yellow...

Ultra Processed foods are linked to increased risk for: Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular and Heart Disease, Dementia, Alzheimers, Depression, Anxiety and a host of other conditions. These ‘food products’ pose serious health risks and have long-term health implications for consumers. But do we know the difference between real food and food products when we browse the store aisles?  Real Food (Whole...

There is no biblical commandment directing us to SPEND-SPEND-SPEND to honor the birth of sweet baby Jesus. However, year after year, the season has become less religious and more commercial. Clever advertisers know the perfect strategies to persuade us to buy.  So then what should we do in this season of spending?  This episode I share tips that will benefit your wallet and your community. If you...

Did you know that more hair care products containing toxic ingredients are sold to Black women and in low income communities? Did you know that 50 percent of products advertised to Black women contain chemicals health hazards compared to only 7 percent of products advertised to white women? Did you know that Black women develop the most aggressive breast cancers and have the highest breast cancer...

When we are out of touch with nature or misunderstanding the inherent qualities of what makes us who we are, our decisions and behaviors will be misguided.  Black women have been trained to perceive reality through a lens that falsely colors truth and gives us permission to act based on what we ‘want’ truth to be, rather than what truth actually is. This has been the cause of many errors and misca...

This election showed what others are prioritizing as their interests…it is time that Black Women do the same as we are long overdue.  Let us re-center our attention and energy on self, which includes our men and our communities.  Truly it is a shame that it comes on the heels of a political disappointment but perhaps this is the wakeup that we have been needing. We must: 1. Reassess our collective...

My belief demands that I think five times before speaking.  This principle is a marvelous tool when under a barrage of hateful written and verbal attacks.  It commands one to pause and perform an assessment of the worthiness of one’s antagonist and the substance of the attack. It also serves as a prompt for one to be critical and self aware of one’s own language, behavior and reactions.  And ultim...

I am pleased to welcome Councilwoman Cindy McCoy to Nurah Speaks.  Councilwoman McCoy is on a noble mission to end hunger in her community and she is working on that via her non profit ‘McCoys Stop the Hunger Food and Mobile Pantry’. McCoy's Stop the Hunger is a 501(c)(3) organization functioning as a food and mobile pantry that works with the community to address food insecurity and provide nutri...

In the absence of unity, we have no control or ability to establish a direction for our community.  Rather than directing ourselves, we are directed by those who do employ unity to materialize their goals and agendas.  And they return to us every few years using our persistent challenges as their platform to petition for our votes and endorsements.  But since we are not self determining in any sub...

This 2024 election season, one thing is guaranteed and that is the flood of propaganda penetrating via television ads, punditry and social media.  Not unlike that which occurred during the 2016 and 2020 campaigns, the information reaching us will be, in large part, manufactured deception to sway our ideas and leanings.  In this time, it is important for us to stay anchored to what we know is the t...

This is the concluding episode in the series: Unity, Faith & Leadership.  I have heard more than now than ever, conversations by our people, rejecting the need for leadership.  As social beings co-existing in the world, not only must we work cooperatively, but we should also recognize there is a natural requirement for leadership. The observation of nature demonstrates just how ordinary it is...

Of our greatest handicaps are our lack of unity and faith in ourselves that we can effectively tackle the most significant needs of our people.  Confidence and the fervent belief that we can change the conditions of our people for the better is a must if we are going to take a serious look at improving the lived experiences of our families and communities.   Without faith in ourselves, we are hope...