"The DNA of what we do will NOT change!" - Coach Dub

This weekend was an intriguing social experiment along the journey of coaching the lives of young men through basketball.  I'm not going to relive every upset associated with going 0-8 collectively, the events and decisions that brought us to that moment, and that we are soft as butter only pretending to be tough guys.  What's actually interesting to notice is how many times young men who lack confidence will use an excuse in order to never be required to fix what's really wrong - a slightly scary understanding considering that they believe basketball is part of their futures.  I liken it to what happens when there is a part of our body that stops functioning at full capacity.  We will create ways around it that provide the illusion we ARE functioning at 100% instead of the smarter step of seeing a doctor to find a cure versus just a fix.

This year's group of players has a huge case of that disease and their source of suffering lies in the gap (the gap that is created between where you think you are and where you actually are).  In practices during the week, they go through the training with similar struggle.  When they get in a game that translates into the experience of discomfort the comes from knowing how much better you could/should be but you're not.  Here's an example of what got me immediately present to the crazy this creates:

"Sir, why are you carrying your shoes in your hands when you have an almost empty bag to put them in?"  Answer: "I prefer to carry them in my hand because then they won't get lost."
WTF are you telling me?  Even when I said you're a rassoul and put them in your bag, he continued to assert his flawed logic and argument when it was met with another option.  He even may have had supporters for his flawed position who didn't possess the courage to back him up in the moment once they observed my freak out.  They would be, in that moment, choosing, like in the body example, to function at a lesser capacity then to be more efficient.

His was seemingly unable to even acknowledge the ridiculous of what he was doing as it was being pointed out.  This is just the tip of the iceberg for this group and generation of player.  There are always going to be moments given by life to test where you are at along your journey toward your own ideas / concepts of success.

DUMBNESIA - inability to acknowledge/ remember / recognize that what you did or said was dumb! (Source - #AfuaDictionary)

This was the word I created right after that child told me his dumbness.  It was the answer from the universe I had been requested in order to language what I have been experiencing from this group/generation of players.  His ridiculous was the inspiration but the experience of the whole team this year can be credited for the inspiration of the word.  He was just that moment's lesson.

Choosing.....

Scared over Courage
Failure over Success
Safety over Risk
Old over New
Bullshit over Sense
Not Try over Try
Easy over Hard
Self over Team
Bravado over Confidence
Fake over Real
Deception over Honesty
Lies over Truth
Take over Give

Somehow the consequences of Dumbnesia have supported the illusions that allow this team to be stuck in a place, faking a belief they are where they want to be OR they are going to get what they say the want OR they are going to get where they want to go.

The true sadness of a case of Dumbnesia is that many of these young men WILL get some of the things they say they want while never realizing how much they have missed because they were unwilling to challenge themselves beyond the pain caused by staying the same as they've always known.

If the fear of being NEW and BETTER is greater than the pain of staying the same as you've always known, then you will never get ALL of what is possible.  I actually know that.  Like KNOW it.....I think even a greedy person can see the logic of that so what would really be going on with a group of over 25 young men who seem unable or unwilling to see the bigger picture for their lives?  Why would I choose Mediocre over Greatness when Greatness is available?  Because it's HARD!

Well here's the NEWs FLASH - Important things are at stake here and we will not suffer a fool lightly.  "The DNA of what we do will not change." I AM Phoenix and I can say that because I WANT to be Great!  We are Phoenix.  We always RISE from the ASHES!

"I cry for Me!"

Yesterday, after anticipating it for most of this year every time he was required to enter the hospital, NELSON MANDELA Made his transition after 95 years of life in this form. 

"I cry for myself. The struggles we faced before today in a world that included you makes me scared for a world without you. Can I be as strong as you? Can I be as fearless and clear in my goals? Can I face the crazy with even an ounce of your humility? Can I face down hate with LOVE like you? I cry for Me and I SING that you are free!"

It was 5 pm and I was in deep sleep during my afternoon nap. My spirit woke me out of sleeping unconsciousness so I could get conscious to President Obama giving his remarks. I have to say it was quite awesome to watch the 1st Black President of the United States eulogize the 1st Black President of South Africa (representing two things I said would never happen in my lifetime). He said something about him being a figure for the ages. Perfection!  

After that I remember being overwhelmed by sadness. If the world filled with Racism and Hate, White Supremacy and White Privilege was like that with him, what are we going to do without him?  Will he become like the long list of other 'iconic' figures - MLK Jr, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, Toussaint L'Ouverture, Viola Desmond, Matthew Decosta etc - that history depicts as sanitized versions of themselves, trotted out as examples by the white elite for why the status quo should continue to be accepted. Examples used to fool us into thinking "racism is over", so why can't the rest of you get your act together?  For me that flies in the face of why they are 'iconic' figures in the first place. And at the same time, I'm clear that HISTORIC AMNESIA should have a pill that can fix it.  

A great example for why my fear existed in that moment was triggered by a 'slave auction' being used as an activity to engage students in something I can't figure out. Not sure how that would be fun or funny. 

Even as people who were opposed to Mandela originally, express today their sorrow for his passing, I'm challenged at finding and seeing the 'forgiveness' I know people say he would have given them. Not sure even if sitting in a jail cell for 27yrs could allow me to find it. I'm clear about what kind of work I would need to do in order to transform that trigger such that I can be my vision fulfilled. 

Standing in the shadow of what IS Nelson Mandela's legacy and contribution to the world, I add my voice and commit to being in action. Inequity, Injustice, Prejudice, Stop and Frisk, Racial Profiling, Inequity in Education are feed by Racism and a conscious and unconscious desire to maintain a privilege and supremacy that is ending ---> The Storm Is BEFORE the CALM. I can imagine the feelings of others throughout history who also experienced the death of an important individual who would later become 'iconic'. Will the legacy of their work continue to inspire? Do we need to idolize an individual in order for it to continue? Those of us who have been empowwred and inspired, can we put together what we need to move forward and with courage, speak truth to power? 

I cry for ME!

I SING YOU ARE FREE!

I SING TO FREE ME!

"Difficulties break some men but make others"

Standing in that knowledge for myself, I know there is HOPE, even for me....

"I came to accept that I have no right whatsoever to judge others in terms of my own customs."

"Great anger and violence can never bold a nation. We are striving to proceed in a manner and towards a result, which will ensure that ALL our people, both black and white, emerge as victors." 

NELSON MANDELA 

Sent with Love from my Crackberry10 device!

#BeMoreCommUNITY

TM...I

I came outside and the evening is still,
like nothing is different,
like the world has not been dramatically changed.
Just another day!

I want someone to acknowledge my pain
after all,
it's written all over my face. Maybe the chocolate covering
hides it too deep.

History has shown
I've had this feeling before more times than I care to mention.
Sometimes I acted. Sometimes I didn't.
Each a choice of preservation.

I want my psychology to be free too
AND
what's done does not change the path or direction I'm headed in
a Proactive overstanding.

Maybe others will see the value that comes from
never waiting for terrible to arrive
BUT to celebrate the urgency of NOW!

I can not tweet my way to freedom
BUT I can be my vision fulfilled.
I can #BeMoreCommUnity
Sent with Love from my Crackberry!

Class of 2013

MSG to my Graduating Students:

Sitting in the solitary quiet of my backyard womancave, on a beautiful evening and the first with no marking, I'm reflecting on the semester we've had together, the school year in general and all that is possible for your futures. It has truly been a pleasure teaching you this semester. Growing up in front of students is a joy! Keep seeking the questions you need answered from this world. Continue to be brave about wanting a better world. Stand strong in the overstanding of fairness and justice for ALL. Be a commitment to BE More!

Be more passionate to do.

Be more empowered to act.

Be more inspired to see.

Be more willing to transform.

Be more committed to support.

Be more open to accept.

Be more free to give.

Be more ready to receive.

Be more resourceful to achieve.

Be the stand to Be More…

Community groups getting their own shade of Blues!

It started simply like many opportunities we've been blessed with - a phone call asking to meet at the Bridgehead down the street. Although I had seen his name before, I couldn't quite figure out how his road lead to me until he told me he was married to a former student. Got it. He mapped out his vision for how he could provide community organizations with an opportunity to make some much needed money. I was immediately game. He's the superhero in this story along with his wife and all of the wonderful people over the years that I've met as a result of this power couple. They know how to organize a community.
The Broad Communities Program of the, at the time, Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest provided community organizations with tickets, on consignment, and sponsorship of the World Gospel Jam, the 1st or 2nd Saturday of the two-week long festival. The ticket sold was a 'day-pass' and we would sell the ticket at a discount and keep $10-$15 (depending on the year) of each ticket sold. Additionally, we had vending space the day of the show. From the stage, our group names were mentioned before every act, to give us some interest and attention from the audience. It was beautiful. As an organization that supports youth endeavours, it didn't hurt that in the early years, the artist on the main stage was a major R&B or Hip Hop artist. There would have been no way to support the youth we supported in 2007 to go to the Summit in New Orleans if the main stage that year didn't have Kanye West. For young people selling tickets, they were rock stars with their friends because they had the hot ticket at a great price. The more we sold. The more we made. It was awesome.....
Hmm..Not quite as awesome as you would think. Downside of working with youth - sometimes, they would lose tickets. Sometimes I would lose track of tickets. I remember the year that Aliai first went to South Sudan and I was away too and we couldn't account for like 40 tickets. Heart attack city! I think I might have had the count right once since 2006. When I'm wrong, cuts into the profits...You only hurt yourself. But we'd established a routine about it. We'd come to expect it. The community came to expect us to have the hot ticket. We were even able to start an informal competition with GPM. In the past 3yrs, things have changed dramatically giving the feeling pus must have as it is forced out of a zit.
The best year for the program was, no lie, 2011 when Kirk Franklin came. I'd never seen him perform live and even though I can't tell what he actually does (he don't rap, he don't sing, he don't direct a choir) this brother is a performer. Erykah Badu was on the main stage but it didn't seem to impact his crowd or show. When she was finished, the crowd from there came over to the gospel stage. All stages were finished and Kirk Franklin still had a packed audience. I stood there as if in a trance. I've never been a fan of gospel but each of those Saturdays over the years, I've stood out there with those communities and I got it. Praise through music is powerful. That night with Kirk Franklin I too caught the musical spirit and couldn't resist dancing with reckless abandon. A full surrender to the power of the praise. It was actually wonderful. I left the park that day anxious to see what they would do to top that for the next year!
Well, this is the part of the story where things start to get a little murky and downright ugly to straight up rassery!
For some reason that I'm still looking for, last year, we were given an impossible task when in the wisdom of the Bluesfest committee, someone decided to put an all white Christian Contemporary artist lineup (not hating) - the new direction - which was a challenge to sell to the communities we have influence in. Also, the main stage had Metallica. Go ahead, knock me for pointing out the stereotype. Not my issue. Music is music. Someone else created genres. But please show me directly to that extra special niche of black people who are Metallica fans and I would have been happy to sell them a ticket. Shoot, forget that, I couldn't sell gospel to people who like gospel. It was tragic as I sat here in my backyard, a week away from the event and I'd only sold 4 tickets.
The other kick in the crotch was our partnership with One Match, the Bone Marrow Registry. We are committed then and now to promoting the message of need for people of African descent to get on the registry. You can imagine the meeting we had months before where we told them about the droves of black people who come out to the park that day which is why they should partner with us to do a huge Swab Event - to identify people for the registry.
Well oh my sugars! Day of the show, not a black person. I said: "oh, it's still early!". Even had student volunteers. And there we stood. And we waited. And waited. And waited. As no one came! Although we were able to peak the interests of many people, the target audience that we had watched fill the park since 2006, didn't come!
Whatever created the madness, I was convinced after THAT HOT MESS, they would come to some economic sense about WT* bees goin' on!
Alas, my cynical nature got the better of me in the moment and always. A flashback of every night club in this city that made their reputation on the backs of black patrons to only dash dem wah when the club got hype. Or a radio station claiming an urban format but has to stop using 'urban' because it can't get any major sponsors. Or a Republican party who, in the words of my friend Peri would cut off ears and noses if Obama proposed legislation about glasses. You know, that kinda stuff! The stuff that makes go Hmmm?!??! Why would this be what you do after a successful year, guaranteeing failure? Unless, you intend to use the failure of last year as the reasoning for why your not doing it this year!
Nah, that can't be the answer....After all, that would be kind of predictable. Too easy to do without anyone noticing. It's not like we ever received a thank you for what we did right and well or even some guidance for what we did wrong. But each year since 2006, we hyped up communities about what was going down for the World Gospel Jam. I got to support in my capacity as Executive Opportunities Broker for 3Dreads and a Baldhead while also being able to interview some of the world's best gospel artists as a cost-host of Black on Black. I guess in the end, I'm sad that not even the effort I give to live the double consciousness of being invisible in this city, not even that will be enough to be seen. "The wall is not going to move" - Coach Cee, Ottawa Phoenix Basketball. The wall may not be willing or able to move but I am. Progress IS a MUST and not even some foolishness like will stop any of us. We are working hard to #BeMoreCommUnity. Is ya comin' or is ya aint?


Sent with Love from the Crackberry of a Solutionary!
#BeMoreCommUnity

These smiles were brought to you by Noticing and Oprah?

My Sheroes
Rochelle and Tshanda

It was an ordinary day that had me roaming the halls looking for a purpose for my extra time.  Clearly, there was something that I was suppose to be doing but wasn't.  I ran into a colleague who shared what some elementary teachers call a "Sunshine Story" that too rarely in high school, we don't get to exchange.  I listened to a story of how a young woman was working really hard and she was finally experiencing the 'fruits of her labour'.  At that point, it was just information.  I walked back upstairs to check emails. I noticed one with the subject line: "Know any Oprah fans?"  Well I think it took me about 1.8 seconds to figure out what was going on.  That email was coming from a long time friend who works at our local newspaper.  She's either doing a story or ......When I read the email, she was looking for what comes after or.....

"I've been given two tickets to see Oprah at Scotiabank Place on Wednesday evening. I'd like to take someone who is going to be very excited to see Oprah in person, and who perhaps couldn't afford a ticket on her own. Maybe it's a young woman who sees Oprah as a role model, or an older woman who admires her shows."

For anyone who is an Executive Opportunities Broker of a community organization, this is like volleyball.  Someone served it up so I just have to spike.  I'm SURE I can think of someone!  Back and forth we went until the next morning - day of the show - when I woke up to an email that said, "Ticket acquired and I'm looking to see if I can get another one!"  By noon, two.  Well there was a student sitting in front of me when I got the news so I asked her: "Hay, you wanna see Oprah tonight?"  Response, "Ya not serious Miss. Who just sits there and asks someone that?" Ha!  I do!  And then I left the room to set up a surprise for the original person I was thinking of.  

If you have ever been in a HS school at lunch hour, it's sometimes hard to find a student. Announcements were made by multiple people, I asked classmates, other educators, other colleagues.  The hunt was on.  It was about to be perfect because as soon as she stepped back into the school, she became to receive the multiple messages that I was looking for her.  What is a student to conclude?  "I'm in trouble!"  So I might not actually be someone they will want to find.  Perfect!  When she did find me, I told her that I had to have a serious conversation with her.  That it was really important.  That we had to have in the office and her guidance counsellor had to join us.  When we got the office, a very nervous young lady, surrounded by several staff members: "I heard a rumour (smh) that you have been working really hard and some great things are happening for you as a result.  I believe that anyone who works hard, should be rewarded.  How would like to see Oprah tonight?"  

No words can do justice to her reaction.  She screamed, cried and then hugged everyone for several minutes!

Here's my best effort to capture what occurred for me:

"I can hardly function today I'm so high. Yesterday may have been the BEST day in recent memory in this building. I've been feeling so defeated watching everyday while this world chooses to treat the lives of black people like they have no value. I watch every day as black youth have their spirits snatched away because someone else decided something for their lives. I notice how easy it is to put on my rose-coloured glass, to close my eyes because I feel overwhelmed by the work. The one thing that saves me every day - a commitment I made to myself when I sat in a room in 2002 and I embraced and surrendered my life to the conversation of the International Black Summit. The journey to me...is the most important one I walk. As a result, I can not ignore the little black girl or little black boy in me, who longs for someone to just notice! I am the one to do it and I do it for me! I am my vision fulfilled. I am who I've been waiting for. I am empowerment through laughter! It doesn't matter how many times I screw this up, moments like yesterday remind what I've sometimes heard repeated by addicts of all kinds: "Your always chasing that first high." When you feel the high of seeing the world open up for a young adult, there is no better feeling like it. 

 I will chase that high for the rest of my life even if someone said, I can't ever have it again.  My vision is my drug!"

I didn't need to see Oprah that night.  I saw Rochelle and Tshanda and as a result I saw me.  On the way to the show, we laughed, we talked about how Oprah and Madame CJ Walker are linked.  We were happy!  They shared with the poem Oprah shared in gratitude for what they experienced.  Others shared it with me too but the message I got from them is that they NOTICED and knew that poem was for me.  A gift I can never repay except to be my vision fulfilled!

Love After Love

by Derek Walcott

The time will come

when, with elation 

you will greet yourself arriving 

at your own door, in your own mirror 

and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat. 

You will love again the stranger who was your self.

Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart 

to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored 

for another, who knows you by heart. 

Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes, 

peel your own image from the mirror. 

Sit. 

Feast on your life.

International Day for the Elimination of Racism - a day to take very seriously! (Did you?)

Some people forgot! Racism is like Climate Change/Global Warming....REAL and we're in denial about both! Racism is not a troll under a bridge waiting for you to cross so it can jump out and jack you (Toure)... Oh no! It's woven into the every day life. It's deeply institutional and it is a form of bullying. Everyday for those who experience, choices are removed, sometimes without them even knowing. To have to tell my children that they have to be twice as good to be seen as good, IS A DOUBLE STANDARD (Coates). To be told by a parent that you already have 2 strikes - "you're black and a woman" - is A DOUBLE STANDARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IF ya don't know, have an authentic dialogue, without the guilt, with a person who LIVES it. It oppresses us all!

Sent with Love from the Crackberry of a Solutionary!

International Black Summit, Ottawa Aug 1-4, 2013

#BeMoreCommUnity

Lessons in Trigger: Dolphins have sexually assaulted people?

I know what you're thinking.  Maybe not! But I know what I was  thinking when someone at the back of the room gave me this absolutely, unbelievable, you must be a rassoul, factoid.  Let me first say that I think this was the best lesson I have ever taught a group of young people.

The period as a result of my trigger the night before while checking participation in our discussion group.  The discussion group has some rules: be respectful to other opinions and express yours respectfully, make a post and reply to a post, when responding make sure to support your opinion with something from the article or audio clip.  I noticed that although the participation in the discussions was pretty good, no one actually followed that last one - Point - Proof - Discussion!  I came into class prepared to set them straight and that moving forward, anything less, would not be acceptable.

So there I was.  At the front of the room, giving an awesome understanding about the essentials of providing support for your point in an academic setting.  Waaa, Waaaa, Waaa!  The stares that I get back let me know that they got it but they weren't buying it.  Just as I was about to move on, a disruption in the back caught my attention:
"Ask her, ask her!"
"What would you like to ask me?"
"Miss, is it true that dolphins have raped people?"
Before I could even express an emotion....
"I heard that's true!"
"Dolphins are one of the few animals, like humans, that have sex for pleasure."
"Yeah, I seen that of WorldHipHop."

WELL...The flood gates opened.  I just couldn't control myself.  I started clowning the entire premise.  The jokes were just flowing like rain.  The kids were killing themselves laughing, like deep belly laughs.  People were trying to stop others from making any noise so they could make sure to hear my next singer:

"What the Dolphin gunna do, hold me down with his fins? Boy get outta here!"

"What they gunna do?  Oh, while I'm swimming by them, they start saying, 'hay, how you dooooinnnn'?"

We were howling!

Next thing another one found a Youtube video of a Dolphin seemingly humpin' some women.  Another dude found something on Wikipedia that stated 14 people annually are sexually assaulted by Dolphins.  14!!!!!!!! And that they have been known to "gang rape".

And then it happened.  All of a sudden, without even really being conscious of it, I hit them straight across the head.  Out loud, I started to count - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ,6 ,7 ,8!  Eight separate young people found a source for their point that Dolphins had sexually assaulted people.  8!

"Are you kidding me?  You all were able to support the crazy and insane but when I asked you to do that in a discussion, you acted confused as though it was something you couldn't do."

They tried to say that I tricked them but with ease admitted how much fun we had in learning a great lesson.

It was like magic and in that moment
they got,
I got it,
I was free.

And every time I remember this great day, I will be free again because I was my vision fulfilled.  I am my vision fulfilled.  Empowerment through Laughter!

What is life preparing you to DO?


(even my momma gave me a high five for well done when I told her this story)

"If my life wasn't funny, it would be real!" - Carrie Fisher

What if Life had a Quick Pull App? - Lessons in Trigger pt2!

"Your life is going into REBOOT in 5 seconds.  Press Escape to Cancel"

As a Blackberry user, I know about REbooting.  I've done it so many times, I decided a long time ago there had to be an easier way which lead me to the Blackberry App World to find a "Quick Pull App".  Quick Pull is the technical term used to describe the resolution to the problem of my phone not working to its fullest capacity or ability.  When the rebooting process is complete, you can automatically see just how much memory is newly available for my phone's functioning.  It is always amazing to me what my phone is able to pull off while working incredibly below it's potential. 

What is LIFE had a Quick Pull App?

Sounds like an awesome proposition.  While watching two young children play a video game the other day, I noticed something.  Just as the one kid was about the win the game, the other kid pulled the plug and rebooted the game.  Perfect solution to a problem?  That might work in childhood.  Actually, no it won't.  The conflict it caused between the two little boys I was observing required them to be physically removed from each other's company.  But imagine....

Had a bad day - quick pull!
Called into your boss' office - quick pull!
Staring at the overdraft of my bank account - quick pull!
Another repair for my gas guzzling SUV - quick pull!
Upset with a colleague - quick pull!
"Ain't doing that for sure" - quick pull!
Would prefer to hide from people - quick pull!
Don't want to be responsible/accountable? - quick pull!
Looking at the large roll around my waist where muscles used to be..- QUICK PULL!!!!

I think you get the point....As awesome as that might sound on some days, it just doesn't happen that way, not without the work that it takes to be clear such that I can Notice in the first place.  I'm more certain than ever that for my own life, it's a great thing it doesn't work that way.

My current relationship to the International Black Summit distinction known as "Trigger" is best paraphrased by a scene in KungFu Panda - "triggers are neither good or bad, they are just triggers".  Trigger is a Quick Pull.  An opportunity to REBOOT - "What is available when I NOTICE my trigger, BE with what is, and TRUST it provides me access to my Vision fulfilled".  Noticing MY Trigggers, I'm giving myself permission to REBOOT/Quick Pull because to notice triggers, BE with what is, I am accessing my vision fulfilled.  Trigger becomes a Quick Pull of life.  I can observe it in myself and for myself so I can be my vision fulfilled.  My Quick Pull becomes a great opportunity.

My coaching partner sent an email last night after being Triggered by watching Black Magic,  a four-hour documentary about the history of basketball as played at Historicall Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).  He said that more than ever he is clear he needs to take our players in a certain direction inside of his vision for how basketball can transform their lives.  His 'trigger' solidified his overstanding for the importance of his vision for our basketball program and the players who engage in it.  His trigger gave him a "Quick Pull", a moment in life to reBOOT, refocus, repurpose, reconnect, reignite, and to be Re-spons-able to his vision fulfilled.  So clear, that I have been enfolded in the same overstanding because through it, I see something for myself.  My life has been given a Quick Pull too - a possibility that has been present all along but now together we can move forward with velocity inside of a possibility for each of us. 

I am no different.  Inside of the space of Trigger, I am QUICK PULLED into the power of my own vision.  My reboot makes me move with velocity and  I am the thing I have only imagined myself to be.  I am Empowerment Through Laughter and this is another lesson is Trigger.

Lessons in Trigger: The Journey to Ottawa 2013! pt1

Edwin Devaughn

I just got home yesterday.  What a trip!  From Birmingham I went to Atlanta to hang out for a few days.  It was on my maiden voyage on the Megabus when we got the news that Edwin Devaughn made his transition earlier that day.  His service was last Saturday so me, Quita, Henny, and Tamara drove from Atlanta to Clara's home in Cherry Hill NJ.  What a drive, but we humped it there arriving Friday afternoon to help clean the house to receive guests.

At that point, I was still kinda stunned by the whole thing and I just felt weary.  My head was really full of chatter about all kinds of things and I just couldn't get right about anything that was happening.  The distraction of my mind had me be very distracted with what I was going to wear.  All I had with me was white.  In tracking my "noticing" it was the moment that Clara walked in the room in white and said that not everyone knew yet but they can wear white with purple, exactly what I was about to put on, that I knew we were present inside of an alignment I was unaware of but knew I needed to be a part of.

We gathered on Saturday, August 11, 2012 in love to support our sister Clara and to say good bye to our brother Edwin.  It was a very moving tribute that had 292 of his Omega Psi Phi brothers show up in tribute to his life.  As well, his high school band played as we exited the church and at the cemetary.  The church was packed with all kinds of people from all of the parts of Edwin's life I didn't know about.

Summit family returning home from the Summit annual event, those living in the area plus those who traveled, all came together like NATO in response to a crisis!  Clara requested for us to share the Declaration and when we stood in front of that church, I saw our power.  It was an amazing demonstration of being able to notice moments and Be with what is in order to see when you are your vision fulfilled.  We are our visions fulfilled.  Some of us just don't get to always see that.  It's confirmed for those who loved us when we die but while alive, how many of us get a chance to know for sure?  The Conversation of the International Black Summit let's me know when I get present enough to notice.  Standing there sharing the Declaration, I saw it for Edwin, I heard it, I experienced it.  His journey is complete....He is his vision fulfilled...He has done his spiritual job toward his destiny!!!!  In that moment, I was proud and determined....

"What is available when I NOTICE my Trigger, BE with what is, and TRUST it provides me access to my vision fulfilled?"

Edwin was self-titled 'Captain of the Trigger team' on the Facilitator Body.  Many people shared how it was Edwin who was the "trigger" that brought them together or kept them together.  The award on the wall said: "Before there was Twitter or Facebook, there was Goldboot..."  Laughter usually erupted every time that story was shared.  I drove for 12+ hours, something I would have said was crazy otherwise.... Through that I Noticed: Triggers are neither negative nor positive, they are just triggers (paraphrase from Kung Fu Panda).  Releasing my attachment to the relationship I have with/to the trigger, provides me a deeper access to something I'm suppose to BE with.

Standing in front of that church, I experienced TRUST in so many things seen and unseen.  I was proud of us and how we came together in different stages of BE/ing with what is around our own relationships to death - the right people, in the right moment - to share the Declaration of the International Black Summit so those people could know that part of Edwin too.  We were powerful because the opportunity is available for everyone to know now.

Edwin was the trigger....I'm doing the work to notice the moments when I am My Vision Fulfilled.....

#TrenchLife

"Faith doesn't mean you believe you're gonna get your's so you sit around and wait for it. It means believe you will get your's because you're working towards it." - Garry Gallimore TrenchLife

"People can't read your thoughts, so thinking about making an effort is not good enough. The work you do will speak loud enough so those around will understand your purpose." -- TrenchLife

TrenchLife Suit Up and Go!

TrenchLife: The Product

TrenchLife - Generation!

"Your Dream Will Remain Dormant.  If you Awake From Your Rest And Continually Do Nothing Towards Making Your Dreams Reality." -- TrenchLife

Trenches ALL DAY!

"Dream it, Want it, Go Get It."

TrenchLife

PHX Camp 2012

Ottawa Phoenix Elite Summer Training Camp

"Our Team's Practice is your Team's Punishment"

"We get work done!"

Keynote Address - MOST (Making Ottawa Safe Together)

Engaging Black Youth (talking notes)

When I sat to put my talking notes together, I was very challenged to figure out exactly what I would say to you.  After all, how hard can it be to engage youth in general and black youth specifically?  It’s easy for me, so what’s the problem?

First, I have had almost 45 years of study about this, 20+ years of which I have been locked in a laboratory with daily intense study of the beast we speak of – the young adult and the teenager.  I work with youth but I study black youth with a special focus on the connection between strong cultural ties and academic confidence. 

So, perhaps I have an unfair advantage...

Someone might say that and that person may unfortunately be one of those adults who forgot that you can’t get to YOU without going through YOUth and I mean that literally and figuratively.

I know THIS because by working with black youth, I found ME!  I found my true calling in this world amidst the crazy, the chaos, the foolishness and the insane, I found ME and I’m blessed everyday I actively work to work myself out of a job. 

That’s right!  Work myself out of a job!  If I believe anything I say about the power that comes from engaged, self-actualized youth in a way that helps them empower themselves, then I should be shortly out of a job and happy to sit back and watch as they become the caretakers of the worlds they create.

If I’m not working to do that then I’m full of crap and I’m pimping youth just like a lot of other things in their day and I should not be trusted to be my word about anything I say therefore why engaging youth may be challenging. 

Adults think like adults and would be much better served to return to the head space we had before we became fearful and cynical about the possibilities of the world – innocent and naïve are powerful tools and a beautiful space for community innovation.  It prevents you from seeing the barriers that say you CAN NOT do something.  Possibility lives in that space.  One of our youth leaders use to describe it like a ball of twine.  When the energy was positive, she would say her ball of twine was growing.  As soon as doubt or negativity entered her consciousness, the ball of twine would begin to unravel.  How many times, as adults, do we allow our ball of twine to unravel because we’re afraid we can actually get from life the things we claim we want?

That’s also, interestly, why teenagers and young adults need Adults – to provide them the safe space to be their visions fulfilled while holding the space – literally and figuratively – until they have ALL their strength to stand up with that vision in the world for real.

I think my mother would say I was a different kind of kid.  I was certainly full of energy and I was very observant.  I almost never missed something.  It also meant that I noticed easily when things were foolish to the point I frequently needed corporal punishment in order for me to not say out loud what I noticed.  She would also certainly say that I was always laughing and for sure mischievous.  For sure though the one she would have to be forced to admit, is that I’ve never been very good with rules.  She might have accidently nurtured my natural sense of curiosity.  Although I may not have read a certain kind of book cover to cover until I was in my 20s, every year for Christmas, my parents would be give me two books – a book of facts and a Guinness Book of Records.  I was in my glory driving people crazy with loads of useless information you would only need to know if you were going on Jeopardy. 

As a result, I am the perfect collision of the time in history I was born and the place my parents were in their lives when I came around – young, recently married, community activists, new Canadians who came as students originally and entering into their adult public lives. 

My engagement in and with the youth IN me allows for me to say that “I AM AN ACTIVIST AND ADVOCATE HOLDING THE SPACE FOR YOUNG ADULTS TO CREATE THE WORLD THEY WANT TO LIVE IN.” 

I want to live in that kind of world and that’s why I/WE do what we do….

What do We DO?

I’m always challenged by this question too.  Whenever we are outside of black communities and/or our organization is announced, What do you do? is frequently the first question asked.  What does 3Dreads and a Baldhead do?  The answer is unofficially ANYTHING OUR PASSIONS GUIDE US TO DO but officially is says that 3Dreads and a Baldhead provides opportunities for people in black communities to transform their lives by maximizing their physical, mental, spiritual, and economic potential. 

I am the Founder and Opportunities Broker of 3Dreads and a Baldhead.  We give nothing to anyone.  We are each a representation of the opportunity available when you do the daily work that it takes to be your vision fulfilled.  The things we “DO” are just a manifestation of that overstanding.  The DOING/BEING/LIVING of the vision creates things:

Ottawa Phoenix Basketball – provides an opportunity to experience that vision through pressures of being in a competitive athletic program. In this context, excellence includes commitment to the physical and emotional well-being, and social development of student-athletes as well as to the development of their sense of citizenship, dedication to sportsmanship and fair play, the development of individual and team skills, the exertion of best effort, the will to win, and the general conduct that brings credit to the program and is a source of pride and enthusiasm for all members of the community.

The Be More Leadership Academy -- is a youth friendly space established for black youth by black youth to support the growth and development of their leadership capacity, personal development, mentoring and networking skills.  The leadership body of the Be More Academy is also 'response-able' for the facilitation and organization of the annual Black Youth Conference Day.

Jesslyn Colley and Sarah Musa - CHUO Ad 2010

Punchline and Hip Hop Loves

The Black Youth Conference -- is an annual event that gathers black youth together in order to engage them in a conversation, empowering them to be active participants in the discovery, manifestation, and articulation of their visions for themselves, Black communities, and the World.

BlackYouthaPalooza – is a unique networking event and the 2^nd day of the Black Youth Conference.  The Be More Academy is showcased giving communities an opportunity to meet some of community’s best and brightest young adults: Art, academics, athletics, entertainment, poetry, business, ideas, possibility, and potential are just a few of the areas of passion for this unique group of young, gifted and black movers and shakers. 

The recently launched Men’s and Women’s Programs:

The Women’s Program -- A year long intergenerational conversation for women to gather in a holistic space of healing to dialog, clear, share life, exchange their passions and create vision; while developing the tools to capture the essence of who we are in relationship to self in being our vision fulfilled.

The Men’s Barbershop Conversation – A year long intergenerational conversation for men to engage in ongoing dialog, share life, exchange their passions and create vision; while developing the tools to capture the essence of who you are in relationship to self in being the physical, mental and spiritual self-expression of all that is powerful and abundant in being your vision fulfilled.

Current Community Partnerships include:

The International Black Summit/International Black Youth Summit

Urban Priorities and Focus on Youth Programs with the OCDSB

Sankofa Bookstore

   YOUCAN

Canada Blood Services, ONEMatch

Ottawa Bluesfest, Broad Communities Program

 A Different Booklist

Break the Chains: The War on Drugs as it impacts Communities of Color