Have You Ever Asked A Youth Why they Will Not Go Home?
This Washington Post article may give you some answers-Sasha Bruce confronts the dark, painful reasons some kids run away from home
All posts by Ashley Strange
Bring the New Year in with the right mind
Let 2017 be a year of learning. Many will go into the New Year believing that Blacks and other minorities are not oppressed. Many will believe that Blacks and other minorities can be racist. Let me bring you in the right way. Blacks and minorities are oppressed. It’s as clear as day. It shows in the jobs we can get, it shows in what store we can afford to shop at, most importantly, it shows through genocide. The oppressed, minorities, can’t be racist, but we can be prejudice (there is a difference).
Racist show power over minorities. They control what jobs we get and or how much we are paid, therefore they also control what foods we can afford (mostly unhealthy), and they even control our population (genocide). With most of the networks and stations being owned by the majority, they control what we see.This is what I think, this is how I feel, and this is what I learned. And, it didn’t take a Howard education to find out either.
(IT’S NOT UP FOR DEBATE)
Inmate Rejects Offer of Clemency From President Obama — TIME
A prisoner carrying out a drug trafficking sentence has made history by becoming the first inmate to refuse enrolling in a residential drug treatment program in exchange for early release under President Obama’s clemency program. Arnold Ray Jones, who was granted a presidential commutation—a pardon which would have allowed him to be absolved of his…
via Inmate Rejects Offer of Clemency From President Obama — TIME
12/14/1980 – Elston Howard: dies
The smear campaign on BLM — violetwisp
My pastor’s views are still developing (which is not the same undeveloped) on all the related issues, but yesterday he explicitly denounced “Black Lives Matter” as an ungodly secular movement whose objectives are at mortal odds with the biblical mission of the church and exhorted his congregation to stay away. He also rejects critical race […]
Watch Live: President Obama Hosts the White House Hanukkah Reception — TIME
President Obama is hosting his final Hanukkah reception at the White House on Wednesday afternoon. For the final candle-lighting of his presidency to mark the Jewish holiday, Obama will use a menorah that belonged to the family of the late Israeli president Shimon Peres, Haaretz reports. Peres’ son Chemi Peres and granddaughter Mika Almog have…
via Watch Live: President Obama Hosts the White House Hanukkah Reception — TIME
Shared from WordPress
The Posts That Moved Us in 2016: Current Events – http://wp.me/p3Ca1O-5hZ
UNDER MAINTENANCE
My Christmas Family Tradition
Earlier this semester I was given a speech assignment telling the class of my family’s tradition. Over and over I thought, what could I say? We never had enough money to celebrate like other families.
Some comments were made in a bragging tone about how a certain someone does not give to the homeless. These comments were made with no regard to students who may have or currently experiencing homelessness. Because of what my family and I went through, I took the statements hard and cried. I didn’t want to go to that class anymore. I spoke with many people about this issue. I was told to fire back with my pain and experience; I was encouraged to use what happened to me in my speech. This is my response to those comments:
“Good Evening everyone. Tonight I will be talking about my family’s Christmas tradition. According to the United States Census Bureau, in 1994, the year I was born, there were 8,053 families below the poverty line. In 2000, at the age of 6, there were 6,400 families below the poverty line. And finally, in 2004 at the age of 10, the number of families living below the poverty line was 7,835. This is important because among the many families who were below the poverty line in these years, was my own.
Many of you may be asking how this relates to my family tradition, and to answer the many silent questions, it relates because many poor families spend their Christmases without gifts, a tree, and even the basics like food. Despite all of this, my mother still managed to make sure we had the best Christmas we possibly could.
On Christmas day, many families exchange gifts, and the children, who are sometimes unappreciative, open gift after gift. We didn’t always have what other children had, such as the name brand clothes, high-tech toys…etc. But mama always made a way out of no way. My mother was very creative. Using her yarn kit, she made dolls, and even the clothes they had on. They were so pretty, and many kids wanted one. She made one for us every year. It’s something I will never forget.
Sometimes we couldn’t even afford a Christmas tree. It was between buying food and a tree; of course, the food won. However, with my mother’s creativity, she managed to create the sense of a tree for her children. She gathered sheets of paper, taped them to the wall, and drew a tree on it., She bought these shiny stickers from the dollar store and stuck them on like Christmas balls. It was so pretty, and it glowed in the dark. We didn’t have a real tree, but it was the best tree around. I strongly feel, in a good way, that no one celebrated Christmas like my family did.
What is a tradition? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a tradition as the stories, beliefs, and I want to add the activities that have been part of a culture for a long time. My family’s tradition involved my mother using her creativity to put a smile on her children’s faces.
Thank you.” -Ashley Strange | Public Speaking Class
I just thought I should share this since Christmas is near. Even when we had no money, no food, ,and little clothes, because of my mother’s creativity, we never felt like we lacked anything. As we got older, reality hit us. But, we appreciated whatever we could get. I would give anything to have those days back with my mother.
Merry Christmas!
Historical Poverty Tables: People and Families – 1959 to 2015 2016. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-people.html
Tradition | Definition of Tradition by Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tradition
Trump Tower security is costing nearby businesses — New York’s PIX11 / WPIX-TV
Eighty percent of businesses near Trump Tower are losing business because of decreased foot traffic. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images) NEW YORK — Small businesses in Manhattan are paying the price for tight security at Trump Tower. The city surveyed 50 businesses in the shadow of the president-elect’s home and found that 80 percent are losing business…
via Trump Tower security is costing nearby businesses — New York’s PIX11 / WPIX-TV
Ashley Strange 