No. Thank You...Yara Shahidi

"What modeling taught me at a young age was how to say 'no,' which is something girls - we're not always good at saying 'no.' We want to be nice, and then we forget to look out for ourselves."

--Yara Shahidi, Actress and Model

Image credit: http://instagram.com/yarashahidi
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjYlUHanKGS

Can You See Me? Phenomenal Woman, That's Me.

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.

I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me

--Maya Angelou

Image Credits:

1. Natural Hair, women in grey--Kriskrüg https://flic.kr/p/5HvSyB
2. African American Woman--William Gantz https://flic.kr/p/cn6jE
3. Thank God for Black Girls--Roel Wijnants https://flic.kr/p/24reg1D
4. Make-Up Makeup--Audrey Xavier Brulu https://flic.kr/p/p5xqDv
5. The Real Black Magic Woman Mrs. Queen Sabine-Sabine Mondestin https://flic.kr/p/bAkoSJ

There Is No Neutrality...

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”

– Desmond Tutu


“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

– Elie Wiesel


“Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.”

– Paulo Freire


“The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict…[an individual] who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

– Martin Luther King Jr.

It Can Be Done...Mary Frances Berry

"The time when you need to do something is when people are saying it can’t be done."

--Mary Frances Berry, Former chairwoman, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

Mary Frances Berry, Twitter.com

Nurture and Guard These Seeds...Forest Whitaker

"Nurture the seeds of love, equality, social justice, freedom & human rights that are planted into our hearts & minds but too often neglected."
--Forest Whitaker, Award winning Actor, Humanitarian, Philanthropist

The Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI) was founded by Forest Whitaker in 2012 to foster peace and reconciliation in disadvantaged and fragile communities in the different regions of the world, including Africa, Latin America and the United States. The non-profit organization working along with other like-minded organizations promote youth empowerment, cultural diversity, continuous learning, capacity building, and access to internet connectivity and digital technologies. Find out more at wpdi.org

Present The Best You Possible...Angela Bassett

"Don't settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had. We need to live the best that's in us."

--Angela Bassett, Actress

IMDB.com

Talent vs. Opportunity...Idris Elba

"Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not."

--Idris Elba

Believe In God...Joyce Rodgers

"There will be times when you have no trace of evidence that God is working on your behalf. Don’t panic! He’s just working behind your back."

--Evangelist Joyce L. Rodgers, Minister, Author & Church Leader 

Joyce Rodgers is author of the book, GO BIG (Believe In God). For more info about her, visit http://joycerodgers.org

When The Ordinary Becomes An Extraordinary Story...Lorraine Hansberry

"The most ordinary human being has within him profound anguish. You don't have to go to Kings and Queens of the earth. Every human being is in enormous conflict about something. Even if it's how you get to work in the morning. And I thought that it would be very interesting to explore the most ordinary man say on the South Side of Chicago."

--Lorraine Hansberry, Author and Playwright

Lorraine Hansberry was born on May 19, 1930 in segregated Chicago, Illinois to Carl and Nannie Louise Hansberry. She was the youngest of four children and grew up on the South Side of Chicago. Hansberry was an extraordinarily gifted writer who made history as the first black female author to have her play, "A Raisin In The Sun", opened on Broadway in New York City. Active in the Civil Rights Movement, she worked with the likes of Paul Roberson, Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, and Harry Belafonte, and was known by Nina Simone and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Her life story has been wonderfully told in a documentary in the PBS American Masters series entitled, "Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart". For more information on Hansberry's life, you may also visit the Lorraine Hansberry Literary Trust.

We Are All Connected...John Gibson

"We benefit as a society when we are quiet, but are listening to what each other has to say. Because I firmly believe there is much more that unites all of us than separates us."

--John Gibson, Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives, Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)

To hear John Gibson's entire quote and a clip of his upcoming #LeadershipTuesdays interview: click on the video below.

A Leader That Can Be Trusted...Tony Dungy

"The mentor leader gives his or her people a reason to stick around when things don’t go as planned. They can be trusted even in the midst of uncertainty."

--Tony Dungy, Super Bowl Winning NFL Head Coach, NFL Player, TV Sports Analyst

Coach Dungy was the first Black NFL Head Coach to win the Super Bowl. His Indianapolis Colts with Peyton Manning as the quarterback won Super Bowl XLI (41) in 2006 against the Chicago Bears who were coached by Lovie Smith. Both Dungy and Smith made history as the first black NFL Head Coaches to take their teams to the Super Bowl.

Photo: http://twitter.com/TonyDungy

Follow the @DungyFamilyFndn for more quotes and blogs from Coach Dungy
https://t.co/HNCKzKbYHJ

Problem or Solution?...Elridge Cleaver

"You're either part of the solution or part of the problem."

(Leroy) Eldridge Cleaver, Political Activist and Writer

Why I Do What I Do...Taraji Henson

"I love awards, don’t get me wrong, I like being nominated, but for me, it just means that that’s how many people I’ve touched. That award or that recognition is just, that’s how many people you’ve influenced through your work. Sharing a little bit of Cookie’s (Empire) pain or Yvette’s (Baby Boy) pain might be a little window into my pain or my joy. But the only way you’re going to make it live is if you at least are familiar with it."


--Taraji P. Henson, Golden Globe winning and Academy Award nominated Actress

The Dichotomy Between Polite Bigotry and Overt Racism...Michelle Alexander

“When we think of racism we think of Governor Wallace of Alabama blocking the schoolhouse door; we think of water hoses, lynchings, racial epithets, and "whites only" signs. These images make it easy to forget that many wonderful, goodhearted white people who were generous to others, respectful of their neighbors, and even kind to their black maids, gardeners, or shoe shiners--and wished them well--nevertheless went to the polls and voted for racial segregation... Our understanding of racism is therefore shaped by the most extreme expressions of individual bigotry, not by the way in which it functions naturally, almost invisibly (and sometimes with genuinely benign intent), when it is embedded in the structure of a social system.” 

--Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

On African American Culture...Spike Lee

"I'd like to state that Spike Lee is not saying that African American culture is just for black people alone to enjoy and cherish. Culture is for everybody."

--Spike Lee

To Achieve Success...David Satcher

To achieve success, you should never be guilty of low aim.

--David Satcher, MD, PhD, 16th Surgeon General of the U.S.

I Am A Woman...Madam C.J. Walker

I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South, from there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparation…I have built my own factory on my own ground.

--Madam C.J. Walker

The History We Need...Carter G. Woodson

We should emphasize not Negro history, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice.

--Carter G. Woodson

Upheld By His Hand...Jarena Lee

"I have ever been fed by his bounty, clothed by his mercy, comforted and healed when sick, succoured when tempted, and every where upheld by his hand." 

--Jarena Lee, First woman authorized to preach in the African Methodist Episcopal Church