Black Women For Wellness

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Janelle Monáe - Q.U.E.E.N. feat. Erykah Badu - Directed By ALAN FERGUSON "The Electric Lady" on iTunes http://smarturl.it/theelectriclady Deluxe Double Disc ...

Lunchtime Medley of the Day: When you realize there may be misconceptions, misunderstandings and people tossing unnecessary shade which causes you to question who you are ... just got to remember this song and be proud of who you be.

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Get Smart B4U Get Sexy Conference September 23, 2014

It's Friday ‪#‎TGIF‬ How are you going to Get Smart B4U Get Sexy this weekend?

  We asking our community to share their thoughts to this question. All submissions are anonymous and only the first name is shared (or a code name of your choice). Email [email protected] if you want to submit an answer. Lets start the conversation together on how we can start having honest, inclusive conversations where fear, shaming and judgment is eliminated in order to support healthy decisio...n-making and sharing of accurate information that is not tainted with bias and judgment.

‪#‎GSB4UGS‬ Get Smart B4U Get Sexy is a campaign that will be launched at our September 23, 2014 conference in Los Angeles at the The California Endowment   where we will explore the complexities of sex & relationships in an open, honest manner which contains accurate information which prepares individuals to confidently make healthy decisions to navigate their space within this world.

  Black women and girls carry a heavy burden of reproductive health disparities. In California, Black women face a maternal death rate 3X that of white women; comparable to those seen in developing countries. Black women and girls carry the heaviest burden of sexual transmitted infections (STI), where almost 1 out of 2 Black teens are expected to contract a STI. Infant mortality is staggering and new HIV infections impact Black women more than any other group of women/girls.

  However, even in the face of large health inequalities, Black women have been quietly changing the political landscape through civic engagement. Black Women For Wellness is continuing to build a cadre of civically engaged Black Women where power in number and voices can shift many landscapes, cultural norms, policies and attitudes toward reproductive freedom and justice.   Register for our conference at Eventbrite and get your ticket before prices jump up on August 31st.

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-women-for-wellness-annual-conference-get-smart-before-you-get-sexy-tickets-12020897829?aff=es2&rank=1

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Join the conversation: How do you get Smart B4U Get Sexy? #GSB4UGS bwwla

All submissions are anonymous and we only include a first name, hometown and age.  We want to create a catalog of responses from our community so that we can start the conversation from where we all are at.  Get Smart B4U Get Sexy is an inclusive space to create a cultural shift into a sex positive world where at the end of the day we all feel comfortable, safe, smart and sexy in our own skins.  E-mail Krissy at [email protected] for more details and to submit your answer.

Join us on September 23, 2014 for the Get Smart B4U Get Sexy conference hosted by Black Women for Wellness at the California Endowment in Los Angeles, CA.  

Black Women for Wellness (BWW) is holding our 13th annual conference, Get Smart B4U Get Sexy- making sex smart and smart sexy, Tuesday Sept 23, 2014 at the Center for Healthy Families (The California Endowment). Get Smart will highlight how media, self esteem, access to health care, the criminal justice system, educational institutions and politics all combine to influence and impact the reproductive health status of Black women & girls.  Get Smart B4U Get Sexy conference invites elected officials, grassroots leadership, opinion influencers, community members, health providers, educators, students and advocates to participate with an interactive conversation on eliminating reproductive health disparities facing Black women and girls.

Register at Eventbrite: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-women-for-wellness-annual-conference-get-smart-before-you-get-sexy-tickets-12020897829?aff=eac2

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Four "solution-focused" siblings are launching Five-O, an app to share and rate experiences with law enforcement. 

Life is a rollercoaster ride where oftentimes we don't have enough time to catch our breathe, get rid of the queasy feeling of our stomach dropping and we may just try to sink into our seat closing our eyes and praying that the ride will either slow down or we will fade into oblivion.  However, when we can look at the person next to us on the ride and share our emotions either a cry, a roaring scream or a laugh then something positive can happen and maybe that is gaining new perspective on how to see this ride of life and how to gain control when all seems lost. 

This last week has been more than a rollercoaster ride it has been an unfortunate display of the violent reality of how Black Americans are hunted by law enforcement and  continually viewed in America as animals; less than human. 6 bullets jolted the body of #MikeBrown leaving him dead in broad daylight in his neighborhood among friends and family.  It has been 9 days and no arrest or charges have gone against the police officer who murdered Mike Brown.  #Blacklivesmatter and the unnecessary delay of charging a police officer with a murder clearly shows otherwise; as has happened before.  We have collectively gathered in different public spaces either in the streets of #Ferguson, public parks, family dinner tables or salons to try to catch our breathe.  We have collectively witnessed the cry of generations coming together to state #nomore.  We are all trying to figure out what needs to happen next to end these atrocities and the terrorism that is breed by the militarization of law enforcement.  Sometimes these ideas can be small innovations such as the Christian family's app idea Five-O. Lets continue talking, acting and sharing our feelings and thinking of how to create structural change - small ideas can often lead to great impact and change. 

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Become Like Water, My Friend

Sexuality is water; it has no shape, no form, it maintains a seamless interaction with its surroundings while still remaining to be a silent powerful force.  It is water’s natural ability to move within a combination of calm, collected strength and power that allows people to respect its force.   Bruce Lee has a famous quote that challenges us to become like water:

“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.”

Water is open to whatever happens - from a slow lazy ride to a fast flow that moves the ground beneath it to a full force of crashing waves on a beach.  Sexuality is much the same - we don’t always know how we will be moved with a sexual attraction or experience but with each engagement we want to feel warm, to feel chills electrifying our bodies, some want wet, warm pleasure while some may favor pain with their pleasure.

At the end of the day we all want to move freely and engage with the fluidity of water as long as our minds and our bodies are respected.  For water to flow so easily it builds trust with its surroundings.  With barriers water can not move and becomes stagnant, unhealthy and produces infection.  For us to engage openly in our sexuality we must be able to freely navigate this world without hesitation to ask a question that could protect our range of motion.  

When we become water we not only can move more freely but we can become the navigators of our travels, our experience.  When we become water we do not become passive but we move in a way that sparks awareness to our path and those who join us for the ride.  To be able to move like water we have to be open with ourselves:  What gives me pleasure?  What shuts me down mentally and physically?  Is my body and mind respected?  What is my status and yours for health?  When we can ask partners questions and discuss sex and our health openly then people can create sexual experiences with the ease and fluidity of water that allows for the full range of water’s movements and ensuring its safe travel.  

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Join us on September 23rd at our Get Smart B4U Get Sexy Conference to discuss topics such as new innovations in the medical field.

Did you know: Australia recently approved the mass production of condoms with a special ingredient in the lubricant called Viva-Gel which kills germs that can lead to sexually transmitted infections.

Register at Eventbrite: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-women-for-wellness-annual-conference-get-smart-before-you-get-sexy-tickets-12020897829

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For information regarding this breakthrough condom development in Australia check out the article at our Get Smart B4U Get Sexy Facebook page.

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#5WLove

Love is….how many times have we typed these words either after dealing with a break-up and trying to find our sanity after heart-break or in terms of describing what a healthy relationship looks/feels like.  Love isn’t always romantic or revolves around one person; it is a feeling that connects us to people, places, communities, ideas, revolutions, peace.  Love is the ability to connect with your senses and engage within the world.  It is finding peace with oneself and within the shared world.  Love is generosity; it is not selfish.  Love is beyond the physical.  It is chemistry; interactions, reactions.  With the idea of what, when, where, why, who of love we want to examine what are the driving forces of love, how do we interact with it on a daily basis and how can being aware of our love affect how we view and move within this world of intersections.  Join the conversation with text or photos at #5WLove

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#5WLove

Get Smart B4U Get Sexy is a social campaign around shifting the sex culture from one based on shaming & fear to one that revolves around inclusivity, diversity, being smart and sexy and shifting to a culture that is sex positive. We are a program within the non-profit Black Women for Wellness and we want Get Smart B4U Get Sexy to be a space where people feel comfortable having open, honest conversations around sex, sexuality and reproductive health. We are a group that will be shifting the culture through conversations, creating new educational materials to be shared within our communities and media that is empowering, culturally appropriate and inclusive. If you are an educator, writer, work within the health world or just interested in sharing your voice then join our group. One of the first projects we will be working on is the #5WLove campaign which is a promotional campaign for our Get Smart B4U Get Sexy conference on September 23rd (register at eventbrite) that looks at the 5 W Questions around love - what, when, where, who, why, how.  Love is the question humans have been struggling to answer from the start of time.  Love is a diversity of emotions and sometimes love can bring pain.  In understanding love and the shared vision we may share in its roots we want to come to understand how we can learn to love in a way that supports the positive growth of personal and community relationships.  From what is love to how does pain affect your ability to love...we want to dive into these questions through our social media campaign.  If you are interested in being interviewed or sharing your answers to our 5WQuestions please contact us. We look forward to receiving a diverse array of answers.  Lets start with the first W "What" - What is Love?

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"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style."

~ Maya Angelou

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Females Know Your Power / Know your V Power: 7 Fun Facts

Va-gi-NA  - when’s the last time you took a peak? We cannot love ourselves if we do not know ourselves.

The Vagina is very special and a central part to our womanly selves and being so lets start taking more than a peak, exploring ourselves and knowing our power.  

Let the Fun Facts Begin...

1. Clitoris = Greek for “divine and goddess like”  The clitoris is only in female mammals.  The clitoris is the most sensitive part of the female genitals and the only organ in the body that exists solely for sexual pleasure. The clitoris has more nerve endings than anywhere else on the body and more nerve endings than the penis.  The clitoris can become erect oftentimes looking bigger and feeling hard.

2. Your vagina actually expands during sex a.k.a vaginal tenting.  Vaginal tenting is when the inner two-thirds of your vagina increase in length and width when you’re aroused.

3. The Vagina is the queen of self-sufficiency and takes good care to clean itself.  Your vagina does not need any special vaginal products nor washes and in fact those washes can actually do more harm than good often times causing yeast and/or bacterial infections.  Let your vagina breathe and just use water.  No douching is necessary! Also choose tampons without deodorant since these too can affect your vagina’s climate.

“Like the eye, the vagina is a self-cleaning organ. During a normal menstrual cycle, a woman’s vagina will spew forth a total of two to six tablespoons of blood. During ovulation, her punani will burp up one or two teaspoons of liquid discharge in order to clear the cervix of dead cells. The rest of the month, her cooter will spit forth only a half-teaspoon of fluid per day.”

- Thought Catalog, Fun Facts About the Vagina

4. The vagina is not an opening to the abdominal cavity.  The cervix located at the top of the vagina lies between the vagina and uterus.  If you feel for your cervix it feels like the tip of your nose.  In the middle of the cervix is a small round opening called the os which leads to the uterus.  The opening of the cervix is tiny and opens more during the menstrual cycle but don’t worry it is so small that only microscopic sperm can travel through.  Both tampons and condoms can not fit through your os, so it is impossible to lose anything in your vagina!    

5. Vaginal discharge is normal; there are changes to our discharge that occur before and after both the ovulation and menstruation cycles.  Discharge can be clear and sticky like egg whites during ovulation and thicker and whiter later on in your cycle.  

6.  The back ⅔ of the vagina has essentially no sensitivity, which is why sometimes someone can put a tampon in and hours later, realize they completely forgot about it.  The lower ⅓ of the vagina and the vaginal opening are quite sensitive, though: the outer one-third of the vagina contains nearly 90 percent of the vaginal nerve endings.

- Scareleteen, With Pleasure: A View of Whole Sexual Anatomy for Every Body

7. Orgasms relieve stress and cramping.  During orgasms the brain releases oxytocin which produces feelings of warmth and relaxation.

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We Stand With Essence's Article "What We Stand to Lose"

Maya Rhodan of Essence Magazine recently wrote the article “What We Stand to Lose.” The article examines the increase in laws that restrict the access and availability of abortion services for women. Any article about abortion is bound to get negative attention. The posting of this article on Essence’s website led to a scandalous slew of responses that are well intentioned but include false, erroneous information. Black Women for Wellness greatly supports the people on the response page who understand that access to abortion is a reproductive right and protects women’s human rights of self-determination: to know when and when not to have a child and to parent their children in safe and healthy environments. Historically, Black women have not always had control over their bodies. Forced copulation and rape during times of slavery resulted in many pregnancies that were created without the consent of women. Abortion was an option that was used during that time by some women and provided an option that allowed women to have control over their bodies. Black women need safe access to the full range of reproductive health services - including access to safe abortions- and the freedom to make their own decisions for their body just as much as any racial group. An abortion is a safe medical procedure that does not affect a woman’s ability to become pregnant in the future and have a safe pregnancy. An abortion is also a common experience across women from all walks of life. The Guttmacher Institute states that currently one in three American women will have had an abortion by the time she reaches 45. Guttmacher examines that number more thoroughly to highlight the diversity of women who will experience abortions. Guttmacher concludes that 58% of women having abortions are in their 20s; 61% have one or more children; 85% are unmarried; 69% are economically disadvantaged; and 73% report a religious affiliation. In their research Guttmacher also concludes that no racial or ethnic group makes up a majority: 36%of women obtaining abortions are white non-Hispanic, 30% are black non-Hispanic, 25% are Hispanic and 9% are of other racial backgrounds.* For every pregnancy there are always three options: (1) to continue the pregnancy to parent, (2) to continue the pregnancy for adoption or (3) to end the pregnancy through abortion. In respecting women’s autonomy over their own bodies it is important to acknowledge that every woman knows their own life, body and has the capability to select what option they want when pregnant. It is the basic right for all women to make decisions for their own bodies. At the end of the day, no woman wants to have an abortion. It is a hard decision and harder to make when society judges women for their choices. Unwanted pregnancies happen and sometimes having a pregnancy can create hardships whether economically, socially or continuing a pregnancy could put a women’s life in danger or the pregnancy could be nonviable. Abortion is a safe alternative and choice for women who know that now is not the right time to continue with a pregnancy. To reduce abortions the key is not to outlaw it but think of how to avoid unwanted pregnancies. Investing in family planning services including women being offered the full scope of contraception is an important step for giving women control over their reproductive health. If we increase access to family planning services the Guttmacher Institute states that worldwide the rate of unintended pregnancy and abortions would decrease dramatically. The rates of unintended pregnancies would drop from 80 million to 26 million each year annually meaning 26 million fewer abortions each year.** Outlawing abortion does not stop it from happening but pushes abortion services underground, which is an unsafe, dangerous world for women’s health to live. When women do not have access to abortion they will seek it in other ways including performing the abortion themselves. When abortion services are pushed underground this puts many women’s lives at risk because they may have an unsafe, unsanitary abortion done by an inexperienced provider, which can have serious health consequences such as infection or death. Lets protect our rights to comprehensive health services that provide the full scope of reproductive health services including abortion. All women deserve access to resources that support their health and also future generations. Resources: *Guttmacher Institute “State Facts About Abortion: California” http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/sfaa/california.html **Gutmacher Institute “Worldwide Abortion: Legality, Incidence and Safety” http://www.guttmacher.org/media/presskits/abortion-WW/index.html

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Hattie McDaniel June 10, 1895 - Oct 29, 1952 Best known for her oscar winning performance as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, McDaniel broke several barriers in the entertainment world. In 1925, McDaniel was the first African American woman on radio. and was such a hit, she became known as Hi-Hat Hattie.  In 1931, McDaniel scored her first small role in a Hollywood musical. She would go on to star in dozens of films but she was only credit for several. In 1939, Hattie McDaniel was the first African American to win an Oscar for best supporting actress. McDaniel has two hollywood stars, one for her work in film and the other for her work on radio. In 1975, she was inducted in the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.

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Nichelle Nichols Dec 28, 1932 - To most of the world Nichelle Nichols is known as Lt. Nyota Uhura  off the original Star Trek show. However, in her role both onscreen and off, she worked to break barriers. Nichols portrayed a recurring role as a communication officer, which help break down stereotypes of what roles black women can take both on television and film but also in the fields of science. Her role was so pivotal, that Dr. Martin Luther King asked her personally to stay on the show when Nichols contemplated leaving saying; “ Once that door is opened by someone, no one else can close it again.” Mae Jameson ( first black woman in space) mentioned Nichols as the reason she wanted to be in an astronaut.

After Star Trek, Nichols worked for NASA helping to recruit minorities and women into the the space program. Some of her recruits include, Colonel Guion Bluford, the first African American astronaut and Dr. Sally Ride the first  American woman astronaut. Nichols also became a real space explorer herself,  flying on NASA’s C-141 Astronomy Observatory, which analyzed the atmospheres of Mars and Saturn on an eight-hour, high-altitude mission.

On screen, Nichols had the first interracial kiss on US television with fellow actor William Shartner (James T. Kirk). For the famous scene check out

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Dorothy Heights (March 24, 1912 – April 20, 2010) educator and activist, Height was best known for leading the National Council of Negro Women for over forty years (just as a note, the NCNW  has the only black owned/female owned building on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington D.C). Height was a vocal activist against lynching and organized around a host of issues impacting African Americans including voting rights AIDS, and poverty.

In 1971, Height, help founded the National Women’s Political Caucus with Gloria Steinman, Shirley Chisholm and Betty Friedan. Height was a pioneer in women’s rights as she worked for both gender and racial equality making the connection that you can not separate the two in the work for equality for all. In 1990, Height, along with 15 other African American women and men, formed the African-American Women for Reproductive Freedom.

Because of Height unflinching commitment to her work and respected place within the community, two different presidents and First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt sought her council during the height of the civil rights movement.

Ms. Height received three dozen honorary doctorates, from institutions including Tuskegee, Harvard and Princeton Universities and countless awards for her work. But there was one academic honor — the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree — that resonated more strongly than all the rest. In 2004, 75 years after turning her away, Barnard College designated Ms. Height an honorary graduate. Height often was the quiet storm behind many of the national civil rights actions/movements and pillar in history for both the civil rights movement and the women’s right movement.

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Daisy Bates, known as the first lady of Little Rock, was an activist and publisher within the civil rights movement.

Bates was best known for guiding and advising the nine students, known as the Little Rock Nine, when they enrolled into  Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The Little Rock Nine was a group of Black students who were bused into Little Rock Central High School, after it was publicly noted they were not in compliance with the recently passed brown v. board of education (May 17, 1954), the groundbreaking desegregation Supreme Court Case.

In addition Bates, alongside her husband, ran the Arkansas State Press. An all black newspapers. The newspaper was founded in 1941, where it focused on covering civil rights issues through the state.

Bates was also known for her work with the NAACP,  and was elected president of the Arkansas Conference of NAACP branches in 1952. In 1986, Arkansas opened a school in her honor called the Daisy Bates Elementary School and made the third Monday in February “George Washington’s Birthday and Daisy Gatson Bates Day” an official state holiday. To learn more about this incredible woman (for free), check out the PBS special  Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock released in Feb 2012.

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Known as the queen mother of the civil rights movement, Clark was an educator, activist and community organizer within the Black community. Clark was most known for her citizenship schools; where she set up a system to teach African Americans how to read and write in the deep south. Many of these schools were set up in the backrooms of shops and homes to escape persecution of white southerners.  Clark also organized with NAACP, helping to establish the first Black principal in Charleston.  In addition she organized with Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) where she became the director of education and teaching. U.S. President Jimmy Carter awarded Clark the Living Legacy Award in 1979.