Diary of a Content Black Woman

For more details, visit 3 Brothers & a Sister.

About 20 days ago, I shared my intended efforts to embark upon a 21-day journey of no complaining and negative speak. I'll admit, I was not perfect at it, however, I am satisfied that I did give it my best effort.

With tomorrow serving as the 21st day, does this mean I will be complaining as much as I can? Of course not. Yet, I do see the value of living a complaint-free life. It's interesting how I've been kept; not just these past 21-days, but for over the last five years. They truly have been rough. Yet, I am still here. I see life as something clearly to celebrate.

Tomorrow also represents the day my daughter returns from "Down Under" where she spent 15 days with youth from all around the world in celebration of World Youth Day. I am very excited about seeing her.

Today and everyday represents being one day closer to the fulfillment of my hopes and dreams. To celebrate, I will give particularly more emphasis to being in gratitude for my life.

To move forward in the spirit of joy, peace and the feeling of being empowered represents the Christ consciousness that lets us know that everyday is a day of new hope and new opportunities. I pray for those who are less fortunate, yet I am convinced that their circumstances can begin to change with the way they think about themselves and their lives.

The climb to the pinnacle of joy and success can represent many things to many people for many reasons. However, the main emphasis should be placed on the value of perseverance, determination and a stick-to-it-ness that communicates that we should only stop the pursuit of our calling only when we can go no further.

The kingdom of heaven is at hand. We can have joy, peace, love and abundance now. It all starts with our "yes" to being fully in the moment for one more day.

I have been a fan of Dr. Roland Fryer, a tenured Economics professor at Harvard University, for some time now. I like this photo of him best because the one at his Harvard site looks like a mug shot.

I love his story and how he grew up in Texas straddling the fence between scholar athlete and gangster:

At 13, he forged his birth certificate to get a job at McDonald's. When he could, he told me, he stole from the cash register. He sold counterfeit Dooney & Burke purses out of the trunk of his car -- a tricked-out 1984 Monte Carlo that he wasn't nearly old enough to drive legally. With a friend, he recounted, he would go into Dallas, buy a pound of marijuana for $700 and sell it back in Lewisville for $1,400. He carried a .357 Magnum and one night, in a fight outside a Citgo station, almost used it on a white man. ''I didn't care if I lived or died,'' he said now as we idled in the parking lot of that same Citgo station. ''I always think I'm supposed to be dead, not alive, much less at Harvard.''

Now, Fryer has moved on to much bigger, better and controversial things. At New York City's Department of Education, he will serve as the Chief Equality Officer (CEO) where he'll monitor the pilot program to pay fourth- and seventh-grade students as much as $500 for doing well on a series of standardized tests. That program will begin in 40 schools this fall. He hopes to find other ways to motivate students.

While his method is controversial, Fryer is a man determined to not allow another generation of African American children be left behind on his watch.

Tonight, he was featured on CNN's Black in America: Reclaiming the Dream special moderated by Soledad O'Brien. There is a whole Black in America series being featured all this week with special emphasis being placed on Thursday through Saturday of the upcoming week.

There are those who are not happy about it. I personally don't have a problem with it because it will be an opportunity for those in - America in particular who are not Black - to gain some real insight, context and understanding as it pertains to African Americans. This will be particularly helpful in easing concerns of those seriously considering voting for the nation's first Black president.

While it may not be easy and bit uncomfortable, I believe it to be necessary and I welcome it (presuming it will be done right).

In the meantime, check out the efforts of 3BAAS Media as we work with this year's Farmers Insurance Group's Angel City Classic taking place at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday, September 27th in this community-based effort to promote the value of a college education especially as accessed through Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU):

So, I saw this clip on The View and the only thing I could think of was, "Here we go again." Then before I knew it, Elisabeth Hasselback had a Hillary Clinton moment and was brought to tears. Was she actually crying because she couldn't use the "N-word" when she wanted without being labeled a racist? As if some great power of privilege had been taken from her as a white woman?

I do not think that.

However, I must admit, I did feel the pain of her frustration as just a person trying to do the right thing. Multiply that same type of frustration by most Black people of this country since its inception by a million and then one can begin to get a glimpse of what it is like to be Black in America.

Long ago, here on this blog I said the sins of this country's forefathers as it relates to slavery and the history of the mistreatment of Black people haunts not only Black people, but white people as well. Yesterday's discussion on The View proved me right. It also demonstrated the value of having a balanced panel to include Black people like most shows had not done up until now when discussing issues as they pertain to Black people.

Bravo ABC and Barbara Walters for getting it (and let's not forget, Barbara did once knock boots with a Black man.)

Despite some of the arguments by whites like - "I didn't enslave anyone. Why should I take the blame or feel guilty for something I didn't do?" It is because, by virtue of the fact that you were born as a white person in America, you serve as the beneficiaries to the privileges of being born white in America. Even if you are white and born poor, if you get access to some nice clean clothes and were trained in speaking in a sophisticated way, as a white person, your upwardly mobile status in life would never be questioned whereas Blacks who genuinely have achieved such a status in this country have been regularly questioned, although I would dare say not so much so now.

With that, there are African Americans who feel that with whites collectively having greater access to wealth, Blacks should at least have access use a word pertaining to them the way they want. It is controversial. No doubt.

Welcome to the complex realm of being an American.

I won't lie. Like Whoopi and Sherri, there are times I think usage of the word in the context of comedy or entertainment involving interaction between African Americans can serve as a guilty pleasure. It can bring emphasis to convey a certain message or term of endearment or frustration to get a point across. However, when it comes to the usage of the N-word by those other than Black people, whites are just not allowed.

It is what it is.

Believe me, this is a controversy I lose no sleep over. And if it is something some whites do lose sleep over - than they really need to check themselves.

For me personally, this is a word I do not use in my daily way of communicating. I don't find it necessary. I did use it once in an argument with my daughter's father at the height of frustration. Believe me, I am well aware of many relationships where Black couple use it often in arguments or as terms of endearment with one another. For me, this I find odd, but it is not for me to judge.

As for Jesse Jackson, he just needs to go sit down somewhere. He gives those Black men with Rev. in front of their name a bad rap. This coupled with the Rev. Wright controversy perpetuates and fosters a new brand of stereotype that we as Black people always seem to be in a battle against.

Beware people. All of this is just another form of distraction. Let's keep our eyes on the prize when it comes to dealing with issues of the economy, quality education and access to quality health care to preserve the overall health of our nation.

To demonstrate in context a familiar use of the N-word, I've provided couple of examples:

LOGAN, W.Va. (AP) — Another defendant has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the suspected torture of a young woman held captive in West Virginia last summer.

Bobby Brewster, 25, pleaded guilty in Logan County Circuit Court on Tuesday to second-degree sexual assault, malicious assault and conspiracy to commit kidnapping or holding hostage. He was sentenced to at least 13 and as many as 40 years in prison, said Logan County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Ilderton.

In exchange for the plea, charges of kidnapping and assault during the commission of a felony were dismissed, Ilderton said.

Brewster was arrested in September along with five others. A seventh person was charged later.

Authorities say Charleston resident Megan Williams was held for days in a trailer where she was forced to eat animal feces, sexually assaulted and stabbed. She was rescued Sept. 8 after an anonymous caller alerted authorities.

All the other defendants have pleaded guilty to various charges except Danny Combs, whose trial is scheduled to begin in early September. Brewster agreed to testify against Combs as part of this week's plea agreement, which was offered only after consulting with Williams and her family, Ilderton said.

For the remainder of this story, visit the Associated Press.

The delicate dance between anticipation and anxiousness never ceases to amaze me. Being a person who sets goals based on deep-seated ambitions, I've learned the invaluable lessons of patience.

A watched pot never boils like a watched rose bud never sprouts. With age and maturity we all must surrender to the pace of time.

This post represents my 700th since I began blogging regularly over a year ago. In many ways, this is exciting. To give voice to a message through such a great platform as blogging leaves me grateful and has led to some interesting potential opportunities.

Today, I am scheduled to receive good news based on my work. To work fully as a communicator has been a great goal of mine and I have been forced to hold on to this dream like a child holds on to her security blanket. I know the truth for my future because with every effort I have made to give up the dream, it manages to continue block my path in heading toward a life of mediocrity and a meager existence.

All in all, throughout this process, I have been kept while learning new lessons in trust, faith and patience. I've learned to love me and my life with a new kind of love. I have come to cherish my assuredness in knowing what is for me, is for me and nothing can stop it unless it is not intended.

So, while I anticipate a future of relative comfort mounted by creativity, I embrace and have peace now. This means I continue my great efforts to wait without fear otherwise known as not being anxious.

I know self and spiritual confidence now. I believe in the value of my gifts and talents now minus the need for approval from those outside of me who possess little to no desire to know me. This with the trusting that all things will continue to unfold for my greater good and the good of those whom I seek to serve by delivering a message based in encouragement and spiritual self-empowerment.

Life has value and meaning now. Everything hereafter is just a cherry and whip cream on top.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict praised the Australian government on Thursday for apologizing for past injustices to Aborigines, saying it was a courageous move to repair race relations and offered hope to the rest of the world.

Pope Benedict, in Sydney for World Youth Day celebrations from July 15-20, made his comments at a welcoming ceremony with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Thursday.

The Pope said the ancient heritage of Aborigines, who have been in Australia for some 40,000 years, formed "an essential part of the cultural landscape of modern Australia".

"Thanks to the Australian government's courageous decision to acknowledge the injustices committed against the indigenous peoples in the past, concrete steps are now being taken to achieve reconciliation based on mutual respect," he said.

"This example of reconciliation offers hope to peoples all over the world who long to see their rights affirmed and their contribution to society acknowledged and promoted."

Rudd officially apologized to Aborigines in February.

Love sometimes means you have to say you are sorry. It will be nice when the United States decides to get a clue and mirror such an action of courage.

For the remainder of this story, visit Reuters.

What if Senator John McCain was shown in the form of a "political cartoon" turning his back and smirking on his first wife as a cripple after she suffered a car accident while reaching for a bombshell Cindy McCain? Or what if Cindy McCain was shown drunk while popping pills as she hung from the rafters of her Budweiser distributorship as an angry John McCain looked on shouting expletives for her to get down. Something tells me there would be a backlash of hell to pay - as well there should be.

The cover of the New Yorker this week is highly tasteless and unnecessary - unless one is trying to contribute to the downfall of a candidate in an election.

It is my understanding that the New Yorker is typically a liberal magazine.

Whatever.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Obama campaign for president is a metaphor for life. One could easily argue that most presidential campaigns are.

However, I must ask the question: If anyone - who is not Black chose to run for president - would they like to do it as a Black man?

I am - as many Blacks are - no stranger to this level of insensitivity of those in power in mainstream media who clearly don't use their head, or maybe they do. For when was the last time you heard the New Yorker be mentioned as much as it is in the news today. Remember the noose image on the cover of Golf Magazine?

It is, what it is. Call it a kitchen sink strategy. Who's strategy? I have no clue and frankly I don't think it is important.

People are going to be who they are. And when Senator Obama and his family emerges triumphant in this presidential election despite all the ugliness that politics will bring, we will all have had a new lesson in strength and fortitude that only America can give us.