Episodes Archives - Shades of Strong

    How do you deal with LIFE when life happens?   Here’s an even better question  OR the one more frequently asked…   Where is God when life happens?    How many times have you questioned this very thing when when life turns your world upside down?  I can’t even count the number of times  I’ve questioned why God allowed this horrible thing to happe...

      There’s so much freedom in finding yourself, owning your voice and standing in your truth. Tune in as Shades of Strong co-host, Natty shares her story of healing from an emotionally unhealthy,interracial marriage and how she developed a contingency plan to help her deal with trauma in a healthy and productive way.   And when you’re finished, we’d love to...

      I’ve been seeing this meme floating around  on social media saying, “stop telling people how to heal from stuff you’ve never been through”….   Well, here’s a suggestion for ya… Stop telling people how to heal their [emotional] pain PERIOD!   ヅ Recently, while standing in the middle of the aisle at Walgreens looking for Dove’...

    … ♪♪ all the time they want to take your place ♪♪   We’ve seen a lot of the crab in the bucket mentality among African American females, and I’m not saying it doesn’t exist in other communities — I know it does, but like with all things that negatively impact us, the spotlight is often directed towards us more than others.   Take for instance Nicki...

    The art of being a parent is to guide your children through life and to look out for their best interest; but contrary to what most believe, there is no parent-child relationship without some level of friendship. With that said, you MUST be your child’s friend in order for your relationship with them to work.   However, in the African American culture, the overall consensu...

Rob brought the MEAT to the cookout in this episode. I’m telling you, he gets ALL THE WAY NAKED about strong black women and the black men who love them. He delves deep into why there’s such a huge disconnect in male and female relationships and how we can remedy that by mastering the art of communication. Baabbyy!!!! He is serving up all kinds of goodness — ribs, chicken, hamburgers,...

      Rape Culture Within The Culture | The Silent Cries of Strong Black Girls   Disclaimer:  This episode is about sexual violence and may be a trigger for some.  Please proceed with caution . Rape culture is not a group of people who are actively or openly promoting rape — that’s not to imply that that kind of thing doesn’t happen, but what we’re...

      Can we PLEASE stop apologizing for our blackness?   It’s no secret that black women have been called every label under the sun — bitter, angry, too emotional, not emotional enough… …and the list goes on. Well, Natty and I are no longer ashamed to say that we have been AND sometimes still are ALL THE THINGS they call us and we’re not apologizi...

  Photo Credit: Clarke Sanders on Unsplash   Feeling stuck is scary and uncomfortable…   It often comes when we’re fighting against what we feel we’ve been born to do or when we’re fighting desperately to play a role that has been forced upon us. In this episode Natty and I talk about some of the habits that keep black women feeling stuck using the Le’Andria...

  Photo Credit: Not sure. If you know, please tag them   We Love Our Black Men — Sometimes to Our Own Detriment When we’re newly coupled up, everything looks like pink tulips and butterflies —  we spend our days daydreaming about him and the relationship through a pair of proverbial rose-colored glasses.  But as soon as the newness wears off, ish gets real and everythin...

  Photo Cred: Alvin Balemesa on Unsplash   Black Girl Magic – the phrase coined to celebrate the beauty, power and resilience that is the Black Woman As much as I love the Black Girl Magic that is me and every other Strong Black Woman who graces the earth with her presence, I can honestly say that I don’t always honor and respect her; and I’m sure there are many others walking arou...

  Photo Credit:  Ricaldo Donaldson from Pexels “Black women ain’t out here angry for nothing!” Ife Madzimoyo hit the nail on head with this one.  As a matter of fact (in my honest opinion), no truer words have ever been spoken. So, Natty and I invited the Queen of emotional wellness [for black women] to join us at the table to see if together we could shed some light on why...

Here’s a short poem written and recited by Natalyn Bradshaw reaffirming and validating you. Download it and click play whenever you need reassurance of how just magical you are.

  Photo Credit:  Clarke Sanders on Unsplash   Being a Strong Black Woman often means giving up your right to just be (whomever you are) because… They tell you to take risks – take lots of them. Then question you when you do. They imply that you need to be everything to everybody. They tell you not to settle for mediocrity – fight for the life you want. But no one tells you how to d...

Welcome to season two of Shades of Strong FKA Get Naked LIVE!  Please join me in welcoming our co-host Natalyn Bradshaw.  Natalyn is beyond amazing.  She brings a unique energy to the show and I know you will adore her just as much as I do.  So, tune in now to get to know her before EPISODE 001 of SEASON TWO drops on March 11th where we’ll be talking about what it’s like to be Strong, Black and Wo...

After receiving a number of messages from men “seeking naked black women”, major changes are being made.  Tune in NOW for the details.

  WHITE PRIVILEGE DOES EXIST IN AMERICA! Dear oppressors of the STRONG BLACK WOMAN: Don’t tell me to be myself, but in the same breath say, “Girl!!! Not like that”. Don’t tell me how to feel. How to respond. How to live. Don’t tell me what to say. What to wear. How to pray. Let me be me. Let me do me. Let me live free … in all of my vulnerability without you sitting in the corner judging me!...

  People often look at me and think that I have it all together — mostly because that’s what I’ve led them to believe. I haven’t always been this big bundle of AWESOMENESS you see out here in these internet streets, and in the words of Langston Hughes, “LIFE FOR ME AIN’T BEEN NO CRYSTAL STAIR”. It’s been filled with lots of tragedy, trauma, heartache and he...

… and we’re back!! Well not quite, but after a three week hiatus we’ll be back MONDAY with a brand new episode and I’m head over heals excited about it!   As you already know, I’ve had several guests come on to share their stories about getting naked, defining strength on their own terms and learning to LOVE LIFE UNMASKED! Well, guys…it’s my turn!!!  That&...

Hey, y’all!!! Get Naked LIVE has made it half way through season one. We’ve had several dynamic guests come on to share their stories, and there’s more greatness on the horizon. So this is not good-bye — it’s see you later. We’ll be back September 10th with more GREAT content and AMAZING guests. In the meantime, please go back and check out some of the previous...

  Episode 012 of Get Naked LIVE™ features Kaila Boulware, President of the Baldie Movement.   Kaila has been struggling with alopecia for ten years and there were days when she was afraid to leave her room without something covering her head; but FED UP with hiding, she looked at herself in the mirror about two years ago, and declared, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Today, SHE’S BALD! SHE’S NA...

  Episode 011 of Get Naked LIVE™ features Nicole K. Jones, Domestic Violence Advocate. In this episode Nicole shares her story of sexual and physical abuse and how she was finally able to begin the healing and forgiveness process. Nicole gets really transparent about her experience — how long she stayed, why she stayed, how she thought her love for him was enough to fix him and the straw that...

  Episode 010 of Get Naked LIVE™ features Juanita Foster, Leadership & Team Development Expert, Speaker, Trainer, and Consultant.   In this episode Juanita shares her story of experiencing teen dating violence while being a mother at the age of fifteen.  She recounts the first time she was hit by the father of her child, how she hid it from her family and friends while still attending sch...

  Episode 009 of Get Naked LIVE™ features Adelai Brown, Heart Coach, Speaker and Mentor.   In this episode Adelai paints a very vivid picture of how ditching the mask and coming out of hiding saved her life.  She speaks candidly about how she had to overcome the pressure to be impenetrable and secretive about her life. She takes a deep dive into how black women unknowingly nurture humanity wi...