Nurah Speaks

Although racism is a terrible and cruel thing, it is not the most pressing of our present challenges. Our greatest and gravest issues since Emancipation and Jim Crow have been a destructive and self deprecating mindset that inhibits our desire to meets the needs of our people. Our tee-shirts and caps claim “Black and Proud,” however a great measure of our political and social activism does not dem...

I am joined this week by Sister Aquila Ali.  Aquila is a member of the Coalition for Remembrance of Elijah Muhammad (CROE) and is an integral part of their media production team.  Unfortunately for black women in media, the bar has been set very low in terms of image and content.  However Aquila continues to endure as an example of character and integrity In this conversation, Aquil...

On this MLK Day of Service be reminded of the fullness of Dr. King’s movement.  We cannot let him be another figure we memorialize in distortion.  He was more than his passive resistance.  He was a fierce opponent of injustice, standing in full defiance to racism, poverty and unjust war. On this 26th MLK Day of Service, 53 years after his tragic assassination, be reminded that the j...

In an era popular with youth task forces and social programs serving ‘at risk’ youth, we must ask what we can do to head off delinquent behaviors in our young people. In this episode, I suggest that ‘Family Is The Best Social Program’ and I have research that I share to support this assertion.  The research indicates that, “Children born to unmarried mothers generally receive lower human capi...

In this week’s episode we hear from Dr. Sandra West.  Dr. West is an optometrist having over 27 years of practice. She also happens to be my own personal physician. I met Dr. West several years ago when I scheduled a routine vision exam and to my surprise and pure delight the doctor was a Black woman.  Interestingly enough, when I attended a business conference in New Orleans several mon...

Some may wonder why I close each show with the words ‘Stay in peace!’    As peace is literally my religion and my way of life, it is also my message. And in such a trying time as this-it is more important than ever that we focus on efforts to increase or maintain our peace by focusing on self care. So - as we close out 2020 with Episode 146, I share ways in which we can attend to our own...

When the world settles into its new normal, Nurah Speaks will still be here!   Therefore, I am actively preparing for the 2021 season of the podcast.    I have several goals for the upcoming year including:  featuring 13 insightful guests, refining the podcast, increasing listener engagement, and more. If you have ideas, show topics, or guests you'd like featured, ple...

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 make a choice. If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to info@NurahSpeaks.com .  Listeners can also learn more abo...

Real ‘Juvenile Justice’ is having a culture that promotes stability and wellness for our most vulnerable population, our children.  The injustice is that the modern norms of our culture promote dysfunction that we expect social workers, clinicians, judges and juvenile justice staff to repair. Studies show that most children within the juvenile justice systems have experienced adversity in the...

Do not let your guard down with COVID-19. Although we are nearing a year with this pandemic, it is no less severe an illness. We should continue employing the preventative measures to maintain our protection from the virus. •Wear a mask •Maintain physical distancing •Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water •Avoid crowds and confined spaces. To learn more about COVID 19 visit https://www.cdc.gov/...

Today marks the third anniversary of Nurah Speaks!   I am extremely humbled and grateful to have been blessed with such a special opportunity for the last three years. Although my studio has had some changes, my equipment has changed, the goal of this production has not. Love is still the foundation and the goal remains to tug on the soul and consciousness of the Black Community. In these qui...

What a clever, clever trick it was to convince the dominant that the dominant is recessive and that the recessive is dominant!  And as a result, we witness the dominant having with a recessive mindset and functioning with recessive behaviors. What is the evidence of our recessive mindset?  Low Self Esteem.   Insecurity.   Dependency.   Apathy.   Se...

Now that we have decided who is going to Washington D.C., let’s get to the business of solving problems closer to home.   What is our agenda?  What plans are we making for our own communities?   Have we given this any thought? In whatever plans we make, I believe we should begin with these four steps: Love One Another: We need to discharge of ego and self hatred and return to B...

Gossip is toxic and impacts the growth potential of your organization and its members.  If you want your organization, company or group to flourish, you must root out gossip.  In this episode, I share four reasons why people gossip.  Understanding a gossip's motivation can help leaders target the character building a member needs to become an essential agent rather than a source of...

Some say, “I am not my ancestors!”  Often this suggests weakness or complicity in our ancestors in their own suffering.   However, I say, you are right -  you are not your ancestors because in fact some of us are our ancestors’ worst fears come true. In projecting their thoughts to the future, surely they’d never have imagined the complacency some of us have in our condition, o...

It obstructive thinking to assume that someone whose success you admire could not relate to your own struggles.  Do not let the polish that someone has, likely from years of refinement and training, put you off from opportunities to learn and grow into who you wish to become. Do seek help from those who are where you want to be. Their talent and their polish is the testament that qualifies yo...

Megan Thee Stallion and other Black entertainers give mixed messages when pushing for social justice and protection of Black women while singing lyrics and showcasing behaviors that promote the exact opposite.  These are conversations we must have.  We must call out these dichotomies because them saying one thing but promoting and profiting from the other is disingenuous and misleading....

Gentrification is a frequent topic of social justice conversations among academics, urban planners and social activists.  In short, gentrification is the upgrading of dilapidated property and deteriorated neighborhoods which often results in the displacement of lower income residents. Often, it is white and affluent suburbanites returning to cities after the white flight of the 60’s and 70’s...

None more than black folk use the phrase, “I’m just doing me.” However there are limits to individualism.   Individualism restricts growth and minimizes progress.   While group activity is a necessary part of life, it is essential for the function of society.  Group activity and associations can enhance our communication skills, broaden our perspectives, improve character...

Is urban media representing a culture that values the worth of black women?   Is it time yet in our 'cancel culture' that we pull the plug on the degradation of our women?  Or will we continue to go along to get along supporting entertainers who imprint degenerate standards in the minds of our youth? If we do not put in the work to counter the barbaric narratives targeting our young...

“Let every Leader be Swift to hear, Slow to speak.”   Our community needs our leaders to be wise and guided by truth and not their (or others’) emotions.  When the People want our immediate reactions, Leaders must always be discerning and responsible-swift to hear and slow to speak. If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to info@NurahSpe...

Organizing is incremental and organizing with any group of people has its challenges.  However organizing Black people has its very specific and unique challenges due in large part to the trauma of the Black American experience. If we do not understand the psychology of our people, we are easily frustrated, overly critical and very quickly burned out.  If one is not willing to lead with...

There is so much we can do to make our communities great and decent places to live. BUT decent communities do not only require accountability of the mayor or city council.   It also requires that we be good neighbors to each other! If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to info@NurahSpeaks.com .  Listeners can also learn more about...

EVERYONE COUNTS! Every 10 years the U.S. Census Bureau counts the population in the United States and five U.S. territories. The results of this count will impact school breakfast programs, highway planning, special education grants, low income home energy assistance programs, SNAP (supplemental nutrition assistance program), Head Start and so much more. You Count. Complete and return your census...

This is not an “either or” scenario.  We can and must address community violence and police brutality at the same time as both are issues of great importance. We should not be persuaded that we have to quiet down about police brutality because we have an ongoing issue with so-called 'Black on Black' crime.  The presence of one issue does not disqualify us addressing the severity of the o...