Michelle Obama released her book Becoming on November 13, 2018 and sold 3 million copies within a month!! She’s started her book tour and it’s been very successful. GO AUNTIE MICHELLE!!
Amazon.comElle.com
WOMEN’S MONTH ISN’T OVER!!
Today’s Women’s month appreciation post goes to the FIRST Black First Lady of the United States—MICHELLE OBAMA!
You want to know why she’s so amazingly dope? I’ll tell ya.
Michelle graduated from one of the top 10 ivy league schools in 1985—Princeton University. She graduated from another ivy league school with her law degree in 1988–Harvard Law. She met the love of her life, Mr. Prez Barack Obama in 1989 and they married in 1992.
credit: chron.com credit: time.com
After her hubby became the First Black President in America, she she started getting involved in the community as soon as Barack was inaugurated. She started volunteering at homeless shelters and soup kitchens in 2009. She created three initiatives: one being Let’s Move movement in 2010, that helped reduce obesity in kids and strive for healthier foods in school and at home. Another initiate was the Joining Forces movement she started in 2010, that helps support services members, veterans and their families. The third initiative being the Reach Highermovement. This mission was to help young people continue their education past high school and helping them understand the importance of higher education and helping the kids with resources.
Michelle has done more of her fair share of work as a first lady, as well as being a wife, a mother of two now teenagers and a leader throughout the world. She’s shown us that Black is Beautiful, Stay Healthy, Stay Educated, Be Determined, Focused and Hopeful; and more importantly “You don’t have to be somebody different to be important. You’re important in your own right.”
Today’s Women Month fact goes to Oprah Winfrey. EVERYONE knows who Oprah is, BUT if you don’t, here’s some of her history.
She started her news career in 1976 in Maryland Baltimore when she hosted a talk show chat and eventually moved on to the morning show. After working for the station for 8 years, she was recruited to Chicago, Illinois to host her own morning show, A.M Chicago. Her show wasn’t the typical women topics but instead controversial and debatable topics. Her high ratings and popularity got her the role in the movie The Color Purple.
After filming the movie, her show A.M Chicago was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1985. By 1986, Oprah’s show was nationally syndicated. Her award-winning show became the go-to show to watch, no matter what your age is. Oprah got more into the business aspect of entertainment when she co-founded the Oxygen network in 1998 and then starting her O Magazine In 2008, Oprah partnered with the Discover Health Channel and eventually the name was switched to OWN, Oprah Winfrey Network in 2011. In that same year of the name change, Oprah ended her show the Oprah Winfrey Show and focused primarily on OWN.
Oprah has made many contributions, including opening a $40 million school for disadvantaged girls in South Africa and she’s produced several shows on her network including Greenleaf. In 2013, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama.
More recently, she received the Cecil B DeMille at the 2018 Golden Globes this year. EVEN MORE RECENT, her film A Wrinkle In Time, debuted this past Friday March 9th.
credit: usatoday.com
Oprah was named the richest woman of the 20th century and has be an influential woman to everyone! She’s done it all from acting, producing and creating and her hard work, dedication and determination has shown through her work. She will forever be THE ONE that people want to be like or, at least, close to it. Her grind doesn’t start.
She is considered to be a mogul, leader and most importantly, a Queen. We love you Oprah!
The first Women’s Month appreciation fact goes to the late Maya Angelou. She was most known for being a poet, writing her New York Best Seller memoir I Know Why The Caged Bird Sing. That book stayed on the Best Seller’s list for two years, and which is the longest run in history. She became the first Black Woman to write a nonfiction book that stayed on the list that long!
Before Maya was an author, she was the first black woman to drive a cable car conductor, also known as a modern day trolley, in San Francisco ,California. During the 1950’s she starred in Broadway and off-Broadway productions, perfecting her craft in acting. She won a Tony for one of her roles in 1973 and an Emmy for a role she played in the self-proclaimed series Roots in 1977.
Maya spent some time in Africa, specifically Egypt and Ghana. While on her journey there, she got involved with pan-African-ism and when she came back to America, she teamed up with human rights activist Malcolm X and helped him an organization. She also became close friends with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr up until his death in 1968, which took a toll on since he was killed on her birthday.
Maya read a poem at Clinton’s Inauguration in 1993 titled On The Pulse of Morning, which she won a Grammy for, for best spoken word album. Other famous work by her are Woman Work, Still I Rise, Touched By An Angel and many more.
She will forever be recognized for her poetic words , being a author, actress, activist and a PHENOMENAL Woman.
I know it’s been a while since I’ve wrote on this story but there has been some new information about this case.
On Wednesday January 6, 2016, The Texas Trooper who arrested Sandra Bland, Trooper Encinia, was indicted on a perjury charge. Perjury meaning, telling something that isn’t truth, in a court under oath. So pretty much, he lied and he is suppose to be a with a Class A Misdemeanor. With that charge, he may only be subject to spend one year in jail and have a $4,000 fine. With that small of a penalty, I don’t think he will spend that time in jail. With everything that is going on in the world, justice will never fully be served for black people.
But anyhow, just giving y’all an update. Feel free to leave ya comments below!
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UPDATE AS OF JULY 28, 2015
The Waller County Police Department has released video footage of Sandra Bland at police station. They released the video to clear up a few rumors and set some things straight.
The video showed Sandra coming in to get book, then eventually changing into the jail uniform. It also shows her taking her mug shot photo, as well as going into the cell.
Even though some of the rumors are some what cleared, social media still has their doubts. ME, I say the proof is in the pudding. YES it shows she was alive in her photo and YES it shows she wasn’t on the ground. But it does not show her actually in the cell, from the different camera angles. I think a few more things need to be cleared up like:
Why was she arrested for a traffic ticket?
Why was the officer acting aggressive with her? Did he consider her a threat, and if so..why?
Was she targeted for the reason being, she spoke out about police brutality?
I feel that a few rumors are cleared up but there are still some things that need to be discussed
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July 26, 2015
So by now everyone knows about the Sandra Bland case but if you don’t, here’s an intro about it.
Sandra Bland was a 28 year old activist who talked about police brutality against black people. She was driving in Waller County, Texas heading to her first day at work when she was pulled over for failing to use her signal. The police officer gave her a ticket, then told her to put out her cigarette, when she didn’t the officer told her to get out the car then he used excessive force to get her out He told her to get on the ground, she did so and he again acted aggressive while she was on the ground, that portion of the incident was recorded by a bystander. She was arrested and taken to jail. Three days later on July 13 she was found dead in her jail from an alleged suicide.
So there are questions circulating: WHY was she arrested? WHY was her mug shot photo taken with her in the jail jump suit instead of her original clothing? WHY would she kill herself if she was starting a new job? WHY was there a plastic bag in her cell, when there isn’t suppose to be any items in the inmates cell? So many questions and not enough answers.
photo credit: theatlantic.com
WHAT THE NEWS IS REPORTING:
So allegedly Sandra hung herself from with a trash bag in her jail cell. The news is also reporting that she was suicidal according to the jail intake screening that all inmates have to do. They are saying she admitted to attempting suicide last year but there was an inconsistency on the report so we aren’t sure how true that is.
Also at the Waller County Jail, there was a phone in each cell, and they give you a pin number and someone has to put money on that pin number in order to talk to the inmates. She was having trouble reaching family and friends from her phone in the cell. The officers let her use the front desk phone, and that is when Sandra was able to contact a friend by voicemail leaving a message saying she saw a judge, her bond was set to $5000 and for her friend to call her back.
photo credit: chicagotribune.com
Officials are also reporting that Sandra had “high levels of marijuana in her system and as many as 30 cut marks on her wrist.” They are also saying her autopsy report didn’t show any signs of a violent struggle” meaning it doesn’t show she was trying to fight back if she was being attacked or assaulted.
WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED:
Bland’s family is saying she wasn’t suicidal at all and she would never kill herself. So there are assumptions that the police killed her while she was in their custody and made it look like a suicide. Here’s what’s sketchy about it all and why this could be possible:
WHY would she get arrested just for a traffic ticket?
She was smoking a cigarette while she got pulled over, the officer told her to put it out and she didn’t and that’s what started the whole situation, but it ISN’T a law that says you have to put your cigarette out, but it does show a sign of disrespect.
Police officers are required to do routine checks on their inmates, why weren’t they watching her?
Why was there a garbage bag found in her cell? How did she get it in her cell without an officer noticing?
How is it that she was an activist on black crime and police brutality and she somehow ends up dead in police custody?
How is it that in her mug shot, she is in the jail jump suit, when photos show that you are typical suppose to be in your regular street clothes?
Also, her mug shot photo looks like she laying down on the ground because of photos showing the color of the ground in her cell, her hair is pushed back and not toward the front like it would normally look if she was standing up.
Also the background of the mug shot looks like the floor of her cell, meaning she would have been laying down on the ground when her photo was taken.
Why would she be on the ground in her photo, with her hair sitting back, and her face slouched back (gravity)?? Because she was probably dead when the photo was taken.
So many question not enough answers. So a theory on what could have happened is it: She goes to jail, tries to call family and friends; she’s getting no answer, she’s getting frustrated and asking to keep using the phone. After she reached one friend, she probably wanted to reach a family member, after a while they probably told her no. Then she probably gets upset, and starts speaking her mind and they plot to kill her. HOW? Going in her cell while she was sleeping, and covering up her mouth, then suffocating her with the trash bag.
photo ticket: cnn.com
Another black life gone too soon.
The police are ruling her death as a suicide but there is an ongoing investigation of the case going on.
Danii Gold 