#LeadershipTuesdays: We Must Use Our Voice…Michelle Herrera Mulligan

“We must be impatient for change. Let us remember that our voice is a precious gift and we must use it.”

—Michelle Herrera Mulligan, Writer, VicePresident and Associate Publisher, Simon & Schuster

On Tuesdays, #LeadershipTuesdays presents a variety of voices and resources to develop, encourage, and strengthen women leaders. For more information and resources to broaden your knowledge of leaders, and also develop your leadership skills, go to @LeadershipTues on X.com, formerly Twitter.

Healing Starts On The Inside...Kevin Powell

"Healing starts on the inside, but our healing is affected by our environment. Seek an environment and community that facilitate and support your healing."

--Nona O., Founder, womenatliberty.com 

Be The Light...Hans Hofmann

"In nature, light creates the color. In the picture, color creates the light."

--Hans Hofmann

http://wallpaperswide.com/lakeside_2-wallpapers.html

The Decisive Factor...Theodore Roosevelt

"Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike."


-- Theodore Roosevelt

A More Perfect Union...@vnona

History has taught us that consistent action on timeless principles brings lasting change. I believe the Constitution commands us to create and secure a more perfect Union for ourselves, our children and generations to come.

Are you apart of the solution or the problem? You are either one or the other. There is no neutrality in this issue.

--Nona O., Founder, WOMEN AT LIBERTY and Women Making History

Where Your Focus Should Be...Shaquille O'Neal

"I never worry about the problem. I worry about the solution."

Shaquille O'Neal, PhD, Entrepreneur, Sports Commentator,
Championship-winning Professional Basketball Player, Actor and Artist

What Did You Do About It?...Rosario Dawson

"I remember my friend said that she had talked to Chelsea Clinton after [Chelsea had read] Bill Clinton's book. And she'd never thought about it, but her (Chelsea) Dad was a little boy during segregation. ...and she was like,  'Whoa, Wow Dad...what that must have been like. What did you do about it?'

And just know each and every one of you at some point will get asked that question. Cause there is a lot of things that are happening right here and right now. It's not about being nostalgic and looking at the past. Or just about always assuming we're just gonna get there somehow in the future. We have to participate. And there's going to be a lot of kids at some point that are gonna look at you and go, 'Wow during all of these things that were going on in the world, what did you do about it?' And hopefully you all can say that you voted...at the very least."*

--Rosario Dawson, Actress and Entrepreneur

*An except from: Q & A Panel from Comicpalooza June 2015 

Dress Up and Go Make It Happen!...Israelmore Ayivor

“Never be complacent about the current steps; don't agree and follow the status quo. Be determined that you are making an indelible impact with great change. Now, dress up and go to make it happen!”
 
--Israelmore Ayivor, The Great Hand Book of Quotes

The Past's Relationship To The Future...Confucius

“Study the past if you would define the future.”
 
--Confucius

Changes...Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Life belongs to the living, and he [she] who lives must be prepared for changes.

--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

Every other Tuesday, WOMEN AT LIBERTY presents Leadership Tuesdays, a platform for a variety of voices and resources to develop, encourage, and strengthen women leaders. The Holidays can be a tough time for many especially those who are experiencing loss or missing loved ones. Michelle D. Freeman knows this all to well. In December 2006 she lost her husband, Josh Freeman, then president of the Carl M. Freeman Companies, in a tragic accident. In today's feature, she talks about her grieving process and how she has since found renewed life and purpose.

Currently, Ms. Freeman is the CEO of the company and the two family foundations: Joshua M. Freeman Foundation and Carl M. Freeman Foundation. She is also an entrepreneur, a philanthropist and a minority partner in Monumental Sports and Entertainment which owns the WNBA Mystics, NBA Wizards and NHL Capitals as well as the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Lastly, Michelle is the proud mother of three children.

It is our hope that you are encouraged and inspired by this message. To view the video, click here.

One More Good Idea Could Change Your Life...Jim Rohn

Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea.

--Jim Rohn

Leadership Tuesdays: Using Our Influence To Effect Change...John Maxwell

“Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.” 

--John C. Maxwell, Best-selling Author and Leadership Expert

Every other Tuesday, WOMEN AT LIBERTY presents Leadership Tuesdays, a platform for a variety of voices and resources to develop, encourage, and strengthen women leaders. At this very moment, I am moved by John Maxwell's quote listed above and another one of his quotes that states, 'everything rises and falls on leadership'. In a few short days, August 24, the United States will mark the anniversary of one of the most powerful Civil Rights demonstrations in its history.  On August 28, 1963, 50 years ago, an estimated 250,000 people of all races conducted a peaceful demonstration in Washington, D.C. that began at the Washington Monument and ended at the Lincoln Memorial. The March was organized by Civil Rights leaders to bring attention to injustices and discrimination that the African American community was suffering. "The organizers of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom also demanded decent housing, adequate and integrated education, a federal jobs program for full employment, and a national minimum wage of over $13.001 an hour in today’s dollars."(1)

Tomorrow I will publish the first of a two-part blog series that talks about my experience in attending the 20th Anniversary of the March on Washington in 1983 as a young college student.  I will also share some of the subsequent civil rights experiences I have had.  In the second part of the blog, I will provide some key statistics that characterize African American life then and now. Although we have made major and significant advances that we should well be proud of, as the statistics and our current news headlines show, we still have work to do.

Going back to John Maxwell's quote, I will leave you with this: Martin Luther King's dream was one of a world where there would be equality for all and people would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.  If everything rises and falls on leadership and as Myles Munroe asserts, we are all called to be leaders, do we have a leadership problem?  Are we doing enough to effect change through our influence and actions.  Could "we" be both the problem and solution for what needs fixing in "our" community?

For more information on the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, go to:
http://50thanniversarymarchonwashington.com

To read past features on leaders like Laurel Richie-WNBA President, Ruth J. Simmons-former President of Brown University, Toni Blackman-2012 Dove Role Model, and others, click here.

Note:
(1) Algernon Austin, The Unfinished March: An Overview, Economic Policy Institute, June 18, 2013 http://www.epi.org/publication/unfinished-march-overview/

Do You Know Your Assignment?...Renita Weems

A sermon is only as great as it moves listeners to do something. To be-come different. To act differently in the world.  To change — self and the world. Great sermons leave you with an assignment. 

--Renita Weems, Biblical Scholar, Academic Administrator, Author, and Ordained Minister

http://www.twitter.com/somethingwithin

It's About The Journey and The Legacy...Tony Dungy

“It's about the journey--mine and yours--and the lives we can touch, the legacy we can leave, and the world we can change for the better.”

--Tony Dungy, Super Bowl Winning NFL Coach (Retired), Author, Father, National Spokesman for All Pro Dad

Happy Father's Day!!



Be The Change...@Womenworking

Today, be the change you want to see. Step out of your comfort zone and make a difference.  --@Womenworking Womenworking.com