Nurah Speaks

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...

In the rise of entrepreneurship within the Black community, we have neglected the most important businesses that makes communities successful. •Family •Education •Remembrance of God (Church, Mosque, Temple) We cannot be about the business of business while neglecting that which anchors our community most. If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to...

Our language and choice of words matters a great deal when discussing the history of this nation.   This week’s episode is an examination of common language usage and how our words influence that on which we focus. Episode 125 gives the listener a grammar lesson reminiscent of that which we received in elementary school.  For example:  “Teachers teach.” Here you are presented w...

They removed the statues.  They’ve rename the streets. Even NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “Black Lives Matter.” So now what? How do these symbolic gestures measure up in the absence of broad reaching meaningful change? Do not count your chickens before they hatch Brothers and Sisters! And do not make more of these gestures than the real consequential changes that must be made. If you w...

It is no secret that Black fathers and Black men, in general, are undervalued and unappreciated in this country.  Because of that, and in celebration of Father's Day, I am sharing excerpts from previous interviews with Haidar and Qahhar Muhammad, my own sons.   In this episode, not only do they share lessons they've learned from their father, but also the value that fathers play in the l...

We have their attention, now what? What are we asking for? Whatever the ask, our demands should be Actionable, Measurable and Permanent. We have been assuaged for too long with sentiments and empty platitudes that do not create substantive change. This go round we should be smarter and more sophisticated. We must no longer accept temporary measures when what is needed most is indelible and fundame...

Dissatisfaction produces change. The greater the dissatisfaction, the greater the change. The people have spoken and they are dissatisfied with the unjust killing of Black people by law enforcement.  George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, John Crawford, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Atatiana Jefferson are among those who have been killed during interactions with po...

In many ways, I don't need to record another podcast episode to talk about what's happened in Minneapolis.  You can go to the Nurah Speaks archives.  The last episode, ‘Action Is The Defining Measure Of Revolution’ talks about what's happened to our brother and to too many other brothers and too many sisters and too many families and communities across this nation. We need guidance, we n...