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Motivation Mondays: International Women’s Day – #IWD2019 #BalanceforBetter #InnovateForChange
““Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change” puts innovation at the centre of efforts to reflect the needs and viewpoints of women and girls and to resolve barriers to public services and opportunities.” Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women
Motivation Mondays: International Women’s Day – #IWD2019 #BalanceforBetter #InnovateForChange
This #WomensDay, we’re innovating for change
The essence of Isirika is to make it clear to everybody that you are your sister’s keeper. Musimbi Kanyoro
The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of your chromosomes. Bella Abzug
The history of all times and of today especially, teaches that women will be forgotten if they forget to think about themselves. Louise Otto
Remember the dignity of your womanhood. Do not appeal, do not beg, do not grovel. Take courage, join hands, stand beside us, fight with us. Christabel Pankhurst
Whatever glory belongs to the race for a development unprecedented in history for the given length of time, a full share belongs to the womanhood of the race. Mary Mcleod Bethune
The UN theme for International Women’s Day 2019 is “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change.” This is very important because it puts innovation by women and girls, for women and girls, at the center of the endless efforts made, over the years, to achieve gender equality. Before you jump to ask why we are focusing attention on the role and place of girls and women in the fields of innovation, consider the current impact gender inequity has on economic and social structures. When only 25% of women have access to STEM posts because of discriminatory practices that stereotype women’s roles and place in the job market, we have a problem with that. Why? Because limiting access to either gender means limiting the chance of innovation and creativity to fully express itself in society.
One fundamental way to to innovate for change globally is to create smart and viable solutions that include women. If only 30% of the world’s researchers are women, we need to bridge that gender gap and train more girls to move into the field and make a difference. Thinking equal means we must be intentional at including girls and women in discussions about innovation and change. We must make access to technical training and skills development available to women. We must delve deep and eliminate all barriers that deter girls/women from pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
READ: Motivation Mondays: International Women’s Day #BeBoldForChange
Motivation Mondays: International Women’s Day #TimeisNow
Motivation Mondays: Women’s History Month
Photo Challenge: Wish For International Women’s Day #IWD2017
Time to Remember the Forgotten Women Scientists of History
“When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” Audre Lorde
Motivation Mondays: International Women’s Day – #IWD2019 #BalanceforBetter #InnovateForChange
100 Years Until We Reach Gender Parity?
Motivation Mondays: International #WomensDay – Innovate For Change
This International Women’s Day, UN Women is sharing the unheard stories of incredible women. We invite you to listen and share the stories that inspire you at unheardwomen.org
Here’s to strong women. May we know them, may we be them, may we raise them. Unknown
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission. Eleanor Roosevelt
I am grateful to be a woman. I must have done something great in another life. Maya Angelou
Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world. Hillary Rodham Clinton
If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman. Margaret Thatcher
Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more so that we may fear less. Marie Curie
Women have always been courageous… They are always fearless when protecting their children and in the last century they have been fearless in the fight for their rights.” Isabel Allende
This International Women’s Day, another important and complimentary theme organized by the IWD site is #BalanceforBetter – which is a call to action to push for gender equity globally. It is interpreted as this: A balanced world is a better world. How can you help forge a more gender-balanced world? Celebrate women’s achievement. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality. Get everything you need to run a successful International Women’s Day right here. When we organize ourselves to not only become innovators and creators in the marketplace, we must open the door to learn how to create gender balance in our lives that is better and empowering. Seeking equity for women doesn’t mean we are negating opportunities for men or diminishing the impact of both genders on societal progress and development. On the contrary, the call for gender equity is a call to those who support fair and equitable treatment for all.
Why is IWD’s call for gender equity/innovation for change important? Men and boys enjoy greater opportunities for success in the workplace, benefit from the gender gap in the field of innovation and creativity, stand a greater chance to be educated in poor countries, and rise up the leadership ladder faster than their female colleagues. Competent and qualified women are often overlooked for key positions/promotions, directed to less career advancing positions, and face the glass ceiling far more frequently than their male colleagues. While we have made some progress in the workforce, there is room for more. We cannot continue to fall back on the few women at the top as examples of our collective progress and achievement. Yes, the are to be admired but, there ought to be room for more women in the C-Suite.
READ: Motivation Mondays: International Women’s Day #IWD2016
International Women’s Day: Join #Kiva.org/Dreams & #WomensLives
Across Women’s Lives: Major Issues Facing Females Globally
Motivation Mondays: Women’s Equality Day #Quotes
Women of Natural History: trailblazers
Women of Natural History
For More: Women’s Lives & Issues
The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for FEB – MAR 2019 are:
01/03 – 04 World Cancer Day, 05 Chinese New Year
01/10 – 10 Grammy Awards, 14 Valentine’s Day
01/17 – 18 Presidents Day, 14 Image Awards,
01/24 – 24 Academy Awards,
01/03 – 08 International Women’s Day
01/10 – 10 iHeart Awards, 14 Pi Day
01/17 – 17 St Patrick’s Day, 20 Start of Spring/International Day of Happiness
01/24 – 30 Earth Hour
01/31 – 31 Day of Visibility
Are You Looking for Ways to Stay Creative in 2019?
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Motivation Mondays: Black History Month
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” Harriet Tubman
Motivation Mondays: Black History Month
Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations. Dr. Mae Jemison
For I am my mother’s daughter, and the drums of Africa still beat in my heart. Mary McLeod Bethune
No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow. Alice Walker
Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe that you must become its soul. Coretta Scott King
I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free. Rosa Parks
Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi. Oprah Winfrey
I do not know if these hands will become Malcolm’s—raised and fisted or Martin’s—open and asking or James’s—curled around a pen. I do not know if these hands will be Rosa’s or Ruby’s gently gloved and fiercely folded calmly in a lap, on a desk, around a book, ready to change the world . . .” Jacqueline Woodson
Of course I’m a black writer … I’m not just a black writer, but categories like black writer, woman writer, Latin American writer aren’t marginal anymore. We have to acknowledge that the thing we call “literature” is more pluralistic now, just as society ought to be. The melting pot never worked. We ought to be able to accept on equal terms everybody from the Hassidim to Walter Lippmann, from the Rastafarians to Ralph Bunche.” Toni Morrison
Black History Month (BHM): Every February, we join forces to celebrate the history, culture, and rich heritage of this great community and people of diverse backgrounds; we are here, we are in the diaspora and global. This year, I’d like to celebrate our mothers and fathers who have kept the threads that connect us together very strong and lasting… some against all odds. I’d like to honor the many souls, some unsung, who have inspired us over the years and those who inspire us daily, and I’d like to share a few quotes from some of our great icons/voices who have inspired me and many others in the African American community. Some of the quotes shared are from activists, writers and leaders of the Civil Rights movement. The power of quotes is that they tend to capture the essence of a key point being made and give us food for thought. They also shed light on the thinking and discourse of the period in question. Read them.
We live in a divisive world where racial tensions and petty hatreds continue to impact communities globally. We claim we are all equal while ignoring the anguish and suffering of the voiceless and oppressed in our midst. Some like to claim they don’t see color which is a ridiculous statement if I’ve ever heard one. I want you to see me, see my color, and still treat me with the same level of dignity and humanity you desire for yourself and loved ones. Even the colorblind see the fundamental uniqueness of our diverse backgrounds, features, and global distinctions. Let’s acknowledge and respect our differences. Sameness is not possible in a world where even nature and the animal world are rich and varied. We can be the face of change but it has to start with each of us. It has to start in our homes and in our hearts. Without critical self-analysis and honest reflection, we will continue to pay lip-service to calls for equality in an unequal world. What do you know about BHM? Share your story!
READ: Motivation Mondays: Heart & History Matter
Black History Month: Eunique Jones Divine Transformations – Kids As Historic Icons
Won’t you celebrate with me by Lucille Clifton
won’t you celebrate with me
what i have shaped into
a kind of life? i had no model.
born in babylon
both nonwhite and woman
what did i see to be except myself?
i made it up
here on this bridge between
starshine and clay,
my one hand holding tight
my other hand; come celebrate
with me that everyday
something has tried to kill me
and has failed. via poets.org
“One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us as complex human beings.” Franklin Thomas
Motivation Mondays: Black History Month
Origins of Black History Month: In 1926, in the United States, historian, Carter G. Woodson, and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February to be “Negro History Week” In February 1969, black educators and the Black United Students at Kent State University proposed a Black History Month. The first celebration of Black History Month took place at Kent State one year later, from January 2, 1970 – February 28, 1970.
Six years later (1976), Black History Month was being celebrated all across the country in educational institutions, centers of Black culture and community centers, both great and small, when President Gerald Ford recognized Black History Month, during the celebration of the United States Bicentennial. He urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history”.
Since then, each American president has issued African American History Month proclamations. And the association—now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)—continues to promote the study of Black history all year. Sources: AfricanAmericanHistoryMonth, Wikipedia
Black History Month: By now, you all know that Green Book won the Academy Award for Best Picture last night. It is named after The Negro Motorist Green Book which was an invaluable travel reference guide for African Americans during the Jim Crow era. Because of the discriminatory, racist and even violent experiences black people suffered during that period, a postal worker from New York, Victor H. Green, created a green guide to help them find welcoming places to eat, shop, stay and visit while traveling around the USA. Some of the sharpest criticism the film received came from reviewers who felt the film was pandering to a form of revisionist history. They also noted that the film focused on the sanitized, even reinvented, perspective of the hired chauffeur. Granted, the story is told through the lens, perhaps selective memory, of the white chauffeur, Tony Vallelonga’s son, but he chooses to sweep some glaring facts under the table. Apparently, Dr. Donald Shirley’s family also objected to the way he was portrayed in the film.
Does Green Book have some missteps? Yes, the film misses an opportunity to delve deeply and honestly into a period when traveling while black in a “sundown town” could cost you your life. The film is supposed to be about the personal challenges a brilliant African American jazz pianist faces as he travels through the South with his white chauffeur, yet it veers left re-framing the focus on the latter. The main characters, played by Viggo Mortensen, as Tony Vallelonga, and Mahershala Ali, as Dr. Donald Shirley, develop a friendship that brings them together as allies against the spewing, simmering racial hatreds of the time. We get to see them travel through the south including through some of those scary “sundown towns.” But the real terror of that period is not captured, it is downplayed and that is what most find offensive and egregious. Even the movie’s concluding scene offers a seemingly fairy-tale ending that some dismiss as implausible. It is interesting that Green Book beat out stiff competition from some truly excellent movies. Here are the Academy Award nominees for Best Picture: Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Favourite, Green Book, Roma, A Star Is Born, and Vice. Which movie would you have chosen?
READ: Oscars 2019: ‘Green Book’ is the worst best picture winner since ‘Crash’
Motivation Mondays: Black Panther Movie Review – Lessons On Leadership
Coherence in Consequence by Claudia Rankine
Imagine them in black, the morning heat losing within this day that floats. And always there is the being, and the not-seeing on their way to—
The days they approach and their sharpest aches will wrap experience until knowledge is translucent, the frost on which they find themselves slipping. Never mind the loose mindless grip of their forms reflected in the eye-watering hues of the surface, these two will survive in their capacity to meet, to hold the other beneath the plummeting, in the depths below each step full of avoidance. What they create will be held up, will resume: the appetite is bigger than joy. indestructible. for never was it independent from who they are. who will be.
Were we ever to arrive at knowing the other as the same pulsing compassion would break the most orthodox heart. via poets.org
I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Motivation Mondays: Black History Month
Freedom is never given; it is won. A. Philip Randolph
Black history is American history. Morgan Freeman
If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Frederick Douglass
The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression. W.E.B. Du Bois
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela
My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. Desmond Tutu
In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute. Thurgood Marshall
In all my life, I have never been free. I have never been able to do anything with freedom, except in the field of my writing. Langston Hughes
I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually. James Baldwin
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed. Booker T. Washington
Black History Month: Green Book Observations – A few months ago, before the movie, Green Book, hit the theaters, I got an early invite to preview it at my local cinema. I was curious. Why? Because it was a movie about a period of national, cultural, and historical significance and little had been shared about it. Many folks did not know of the Green Book and I can attest to the fact that it wasn’t taught in schools either so my curiosity was piqued. The theater was not packed and the attendees were mostly senior citizens who might have been cognizant of the shameful practices of that era. While the subject matter was fascinating and equally disturbing, and the acting chops of the lead characters well placed, I also found the movie wanting/lacking and whitewashing/glossing over the frightening tensions of that period in American history. Yet, I believe stories like this, even when flawed, need to be told because they give us an opportunity to have a dialogue, to educate, and to rebut or revisit such stories through the lens and eyes of other historians and filmmakers.
The Smithsonian Channel Documentary – The Green Book: Guide to Freedom that premieres today Monday, Feb 25, offers a perspective shared through the eyes of people of color who lived through that period. It is highly recommended. What do you know about BH? Were you aware of the Green Book and its historical significance to the black experience while traveling? Were you aware that it spurred a rise in black entrepreneurial efforts to offer motels, rest stops, shops and other solutions to the problem? Even though I didn’t grow up in the USA, I learned a lot about this great nation in school, at home, and through a wide range of multimedia offerings. Some of my earliest memories are of the rich, creative, and cultural contributions made by black people to the world of music, literature, science and the global movement for change. Watching the Smithsonian documentary gave me pause and was a powerful reminder of how indomitable the human spirit can be. It is a reminder of how people can rise to combat oppression through solutions that benefit and raise the spirits of a maligned group. Share your story!
READ: The Documentary Highlighting the Real Green Book
Revisiting a Jim Crow-Era Guide for Traveling While Black
On Being Brought from Africa to America by Phillis Wheatley
‘Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too:
Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
“Their colour is a diabolic die.”
Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain,
May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train. via poets.org
The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for JAN – FEB 2019 are:
01/01 – 01 New Year’s Day, 05 National Bird Day
01/06 – 06 Golden Globe Awards, 07 Orthodox Christmas, 11 Human Trafficking Awareness Day,
01/13 – 13 Critics Choice Awards, 14 Image Awards, 16 Religious Freedom Day
01/20 – 21 Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 26 Nat’l. Spouses Day
01/27 – 27 Commemoration Victims of the Holocaust, SAG Awards
01/03 – 04 World Cancer Day, 05 Chinese New Year
01/10 – 10 Grammy Awards, 14 Valentine’s Day
01/17 – 18 Presidents Day, 14 Image Awards,
01/24 – 24 Academy Awards,
Are You Looking for Ways to Stay Creative in 2019?
- Join Our Blog Support & Engagement Group
- Check out the Daily Post for Inspiration. Resources. Idea
- Checkout Your Daily Word Prompts
- Check out SheKnows for SheKnows Living
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“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Abraham Lincoln
Motivation Mondays: 45 Inspiring Quotes from U.S. Presidents #PresidentsDay
Happy Presidents’ Day! The office of the President of the United States of America (POTUS) is a very powerful position globally. As leader of the most powerful, and, some might add, only remaining superpower, the authority invested in the position requires wisdom and a measured tone. If you are wondering about the origins of this special federal holiday and why it is called Presidents Day, I’m here to help you with a brief history. First of all, it was a special day to honor the birthday of our first president – George Washington Over time, it evolved to become a celebration in honor of two of America’s greatest Presidents; George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. In 1968, the 90th Congress voted to shift three federal holidays, including George Washington’s Birthday to the 3rd Monday of February. This move led to the creation of a new holiday – Presidents’ Day. There was resistance and many objections were raised but eventually it became law in 1971. The correct way to write it is Presidents’ Day NOT President’s Day because we honor more than one former leader of these United States on this special day. Got it?
1. George Washington (1789–1797)
“Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.”
2. John Adams (1797–1801)
“Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order.”
3. Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809)
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
4. James Madison (1809–1817)
“The circulation of confidence is better than the circulation of money.”
5. James Monroe (1817–1825)
“A little flattery will support a man through great fatigue.”
6. John Quincy Adams (1825–1829)
“Gratitude, warm, sincere, intense, when it takes possession of the bosom, fills the soul to overflowing and scarce leaves room for any other sentiment or thought.”
7. Andrew Jackson (1829–1837)
“Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.”
8. Martin Van Buren (1837–1841)
“Those who have wrought great changes in the world never succeeded by gaining over chiefs; but always by exciting the multitude. The first is the resource of intrigue and produces only secondary results, the second is the resort of genius and transforms the universe.”
9. William Henry Harrison (1841)
“I contend that the strongest of all governments is that which is most free.”
10. John Tyler (1841–1845)
“The applause of his native land is the richest reward to which the patriot ever aspires. It is this for which ‘he bears to live or dares to die.’ It is the high incentive to those achievements which illustrate the page of history and give to poetry its brightest charm.”
11. James K. Polk (1845–1849)
“No president who performs his duties faithfully and conscientiously can have any leisure.”
12. Zachary Taylor (1849–1850)
“Never judge a stranger by his clothes.”
READ: Motivation Mondays: Honoring Presidents’ Day
Motivation Mondays: Black Panther Movie Review – Lessons On Leadership
“Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for ’tis better to be alone than in bad company.” George Washington
Motivation Mondays: 45 Inspiring Quotes from U.S. Presidents
Every year, I think of a way to honor the leaders of this nation and to help readers learn a bit more about their legacy. This year, for my post on the great leaders, I curated 45 quotes to represent our 45 Presidents to date. Whether we choose to celebrate it or not, we can learn something from the wisdom shared in the quotes. I’ve included at least one inspiring quote from all 45 presidents of the USA; check them out above and below. I’ve included links to their Wiki pages and also the length of time they served in the presidency. Please read them and let me know which one is your favorite from the bunch. I have a few that I love too but, I’d wait to hear your response.
13. Millard Fillmore (1850–1853)
“Nations, like individuals in a state of nature, are equal and independent, possessing certain rights and owing certain duties to each other.”
14. Franklin Pierce (1853–1857)
“While men inhabiting different parts of this vast continent cannot be expected to hold the same opinions, they can unite in a common objective and sustain common principles.”
15. James Buchanan (1857–1861)
“What is right and what is practicable are two different things.”
16. Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865)
“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
17. Andrew Johnson (1865–1869)
“Legislation can neither be wise nor just which seeks the welfare of a single interest at the expense and to the injury of many and varied interests.”
18. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877)
“The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity.”
19. Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881)
“Conscience is the authentic voice of God to you.”
20. James A. Garfield (1881)
“If wrinkles must be written on our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old.”
21. Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885)
“Be fit for more than the thing you are now doing. Let everyone know that you have a reserve in yourself; that you have more power than you are now using. If you are not too large for the place you occupy, you are too small for it.”
22. Grover Cleveland (1885–1889)
A government for the people must depend for its success on the intelligence, the morality, the justice, and the interest of the people themselves.”
23. Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893)
“The bud of victory is always in the truth.”
24. Grover Cleveland (1893–1897)
“Unswerving loyalty to duty, constant devotion to truth, and a clear conscience will overcome every discouragement and surely lead the way to usefulness and high achievement.”
READ: Motivation Mondays: Presidents’ Day
Motivation Mondays: MORAL COMPASS
The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for JAN – FEB 2019 are:
01/01 – 01 New Year’s Day, 05 National Bird Day
01/06 – 06 Golden Globe Awards, 07 Orthodox Christmas, 11 Human Trafficking Awareness Day,
01/13 – 13 Critics Choice Awards, 14 Image Awards, 16 Religious Freedom Day
01/20 – 21 Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 26 Nat’l. Spouses Day
01/27 – 27 Commemoration Victims of the Holocaust, SAG Awards
01/03 – 04 World Cancer Day, 05 Chinese New Year
01/10 – 10 Grammy Awards, 14 Valentine’s Day
01/17 – 18 Presidents Day, 14 Image Awards,
01/24 – 24 Academy Awards,
Are You Looking for Ways to Stay Creative in 2019?
- Join Our Blog Support & Engagement Group
- Check out the Daily Post for Inspiration. Resources. Idea
- Checkout Your Daily Word Prompts
- Check out SheKnows for SheKnows Living
More Below Read more…
