Frankly Speaking with Tyra G

“Legacy is about life and living. It's about learning from the past, living in the present, and building for the future. A legacy may take many forms – children, grandchildren, a business, an idea, a book, a community, a home, some piece of ourselves. How many of us are living our lives so that our legacy reflects all that we truly hold most near and dear? How many of us are living with integrity and courage?

The world isn't connected by molecules. It's connected by stories, traditions, memories, hopes, and dreams. We are connected by the legacies passed down from those who came before us and the legacies we pass down to those who come after us.

For children, legacy means learning from the past. It separates the timeless from the transient. Children have a feeling of security and continuity that comes from knowing that there are adults who care about them.

For adults, legacy means hoping for the future. It means developing and passing on a timeless part of yourself. We feel valued and useful no matter how old we get. We come to terms with our accomplishments and our disappointments. We create personal meaning and purpose”[1]

Experience the power and promise of an ever-living legacy between father and son Asa and Courtney Nero. They magnify their bond as they share stories and their music. Both come alive int the Frankly Speaking studio.

[1] http://www.legacyproject.org/guides/whatislegacy.html

This week we visit the land of Gen Z aka IGen, aka Centennials, aka Nexters…

Generation Z is the youngest, most ethnically diverse, the largest generation in American history, comprising 27% of the US population. Current Population: 23 million and growing rapidly.

Gen Z is described as a maker generation, a far more pragmatic and practical generation who must architect and build the future we are all trying to imagine living in. The world doesn't need more foundational layers, it needs a generation to create. There is a belief that the best way to predict the future is to build it.

And Gen Z has been described as BUILDERS and human justice warriors. They are living out loud. Their gifts are bridges. And remember bridges go 2 ways. So, our gifts become our tickets across the bridges into one another’s lives.

 Their growth is a very profound experience. It can be beautiful and ugly, empowering and confining, thought-provoking and mind-boggling, pleasant and unpleasant, all at the same time.

Writer Howard Thurman says, “don’t ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive, and then go do it.”

Today we have a wonderful ambassador from the I generation, who is living out loud, sharing his gifts and talents internationally. I have been looking forward to sharing him with you. Mr. Nyliek Brooks, an 18-year-old, international soccer player shares authentically and vulnerably his story of the hard choices of his journey so far.

Veterans Day honors all of those who have served the country in war or peace — dead or alive — although it's primarily intended to thank living veterans for their sacrifices. It was initially called Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I.

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” – officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls. The restoration of the observance of Veterans Day to November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the essential purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

This week, Frankly Speaking shares the table with a National Defense Strategist, Educator, Research Analyst, and Business Architect with multiple years of experience in each of these areas. Hershel Holiday Sr, US Army United States Military Academy at West Point and Veteran takes us beyond preparation for war and the war experience. We share the resulting emotional impact on his family spoken through Hershel Holiday Jr.'s words.

Take a listen, learn things, feel proud, subscribe, and share.

Do you go the extra mile? Do you do more than what is expected? Do you expect the best? These questions pertain not only to your relationship with the world but also to how you treat yourself. Do you go the extra mile when it comes to you, or do you think that the least is enough for you?

Going the extra mile means taking what you have and looking for ways to expand it--- you believe in your ability to make it happen. Going the extra mile means doing just a little more than is expected, being just a little more than is expected, and having just a little more than you expected. It means moving beyond limiting beliefs and restrictive behaviors and being willing to have more than you have right now. Going the extra mile does not mean that you have prideful ambitions. It means that you want to feel better about yourself. You want to know that you can surpass your expectations. You want to push your mind to the limits. It can be quite a rewarding experience!

My guest today has explored the best of all possibilities for herself and put those into action by continuing a giving legacy. Welcome Brig-Gen Sandra Gregory, USAF, Ret. to Frankly Speaking with Tyra G.

Be inspired!

Dollar-for-dollar, human trafficking in America is far worse than it is overseas. It is a market that is growing exponentially, putting $975 million in the pockets of human traffickers every year.

Every 2.5 hours, a child is taken by human traffickers. Seven years is the average lifespan of a child victim once taken. Ninety-six percent of trafficking victims are female. Every trafficked child is purchased for sex 5.4 times a day.

Human traffickers use any tool available to them to connect with potential victims. Contrary to popular belief, these predators rarely kidnap victims but rather employ psychological manipulation to get what they want, such as social media, video gaming consoles, and chat rooms. The traffickers often search for specific characteristics that make a victim the most vulnerable. This includes emotional neediness, low self-confidence, and economic stress.

While looking for their role in a victim's life, traffickers work to obtain the trust from the victim through casual conversations over weeks and sometimes over months. Traffickers also send their current victims to interact with potential victims to gain trust. These girls essentially act as scouts for the trafficker.

The traffickers utilize the information they gathered to fill a role in the victim's life. Through gifts, love, friendship, drugs, or alcohol, traffickers force the victims into a dependent relationship. With their new role in the victim's life, traffickers wedge themselves between the victim and those closest to them--their friends and family.

This week’s story is a courageous conversation with the mother of a human trafficking victim who was blessed to retrieve her daughter from today’s current slave trade.

Click below and learn things. Listen with your heart.

Saturday, July 30, 2022, marks the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons as resolved by the United Nations. This Year with the passing of the TVPA in the House, we have more reasons to be positive that change is happening.

According to Bill Woolf, founder of The World Group in his recent speech, "Human trafficking has the potential to touch each and every community across the globe, especially through the use of technology.  Current global statistics report that “one in every three victims detected is a child” and that “the share of children among detected trafficking victims has tripled, while the share of boys has increased five times over the past 15 years.” Statistics like these cannot be ignored. 

The Covid pandemic and digital platforms have added gasoline to the fire, therefore making this year’s theme the “Use and Abuse of Technology” which, according to the United Nations, has allowed traffickers to “recruit, exploit, and control victims; organize their transport and accommodation; advertise victims and reach out to potential clients; communicate among perpetrators, and hide criminal proceeds – and all that with greater speed, cost-effectiveness, and anonymity”.  As a former human trafficking investigator, I have seen how traffickers manipulate technology to scout, manipulate, and trap young people into a life of exploitation." 

A common example:

“It was a casual relationship at first. You could see there was a mutual connection. I thought he was cute,” Tonya recalled. “I could tell he was really flirtatious with me. We would talk and flirt a lot, but it was not much more than that until we met again when I was 15.”

Tonya would cook, clean, and look after Eddie’s kids from time to time. However, when the two were at a party filled with alcohol and drugs relationship took a turn.

“He approached me and told me in so many words, ‘I want you to have sex with this guy for money,’”  “I was very uncomfortable, and I kept saying no, I didn’t want to do it. He kept telling me, ‘If you love me, you’ll do this. It’s just one thing. Just try it.’”

What she thought would be a one-time thing became an everyday routine for the next few weeks.

Human trafficking is a topic we don’t talk about at dinner, and maybe if we are parents or caregivers to children, we should. About 10,000 children a year suffer the horrors of commercial sexual exploitation in the United States. Each victim, on average, is forced to have sex more than five times a day. Yet, the buyers who fuel the child sex trade are seldom held accountable. Most blend back into their families, jobs, and neighborhoods.

Click below, listen, learn things, and share.

Researchers have found that sex traffickers often target children and youth with a history of maltreatment, sexual abuse, low self-esteem, and minimal social support.

About 10,000 children a year suffer the horrors of commercial sexual exploitation in the United States. Each victim on average is forced to have sex more than five times a day. Yet the buyers who fuel the child sex trade are seldom held accountable. Most just blend back into their families, jobs, and neighborhoods.

My guest at the table today is a wonderful resource to educate us about the human trafficking space. Beyond that, she is also an expert and advocate in the world of Foster Care. And yes, there is a relationship between foster care and human trafficking. I am grateful for her expertise and her willingness to share the table today. Meet Ms. Anne Basham, CEO of Anti Trafficking International!

No one can tell her story better than she can, so let’s listen and learn things:

Dr. Inger Anderson, Executive Director of the UN Environmental Programme addressed the UN in 2020 with the following words:

"That we even need to utter the phrase “Sustaining All life on Earth” at all should ring alarm bells.

We have long assumed that nature will provide for us no matter what. For too long we have seen the living world as an endless, inexhaustible resource for us to tap.

But the veil is falling. Human activities are pushing the natural world’s limits to breaking point, placing the well-being of all life on earth, including our own, in grave peril.

The warning signs are all around. Forests destroyed by wildfires, glaciers melting at alarming speeds, the mass extinction of species, the dying of coral reefs. The very ecosystems that feed and water us – that are so essential to life on earth – are collapsing as the natural world unravels around us.

Beneath the surface of our seas and oceans there are profoundly unsettling changes taking place.

Global heating is causing the world’s oceans to warm at an alarming rate. These changes are disrupting one of the world’s most important food baskets, which provides one-fifth of the world’s population with its supply of protein.

We are quite literally suffocating our oceans.

To change course will require a revolution in perspective. The natural world must inspire more than just awe. We must return to a time when we understood how the living world sustains humanity.  And we must begin to see the natural world as deeply interconnected web of living systems.

The beauty of this understanding is that the same is true in reverse. By tackling the damage done to one part of the system we can begin to reverse the damage done elsewhere.

This is the work. We are in the business of arresting the destruction of the natural world so that we can, “Sustain all life on Earth”, including our own. We need to set targets that are ambitious, implementable, inclusive, measurable, and financeable.

Dr. Tom Hays expands this conversation with a systems perspective of earth's sustainability. Click below, listen and become smarter.

This month, Frankly Speaking, focuses again on phenomenal women and how we embrace and manage our universal experiences, rainbows and clouds, courage, and resolve. We are a journey, not a destination; our life is a process, not an event. Even still, we are motion, loving, serving, nurturing, encouraging, and empowering. We are love, and love does. And yes, sometimes… sometimes we get stuck between our no longer the familiar, the habits, and our not yet, who we were created to be, and we may ask, "Am I enough?"

By the way, the correct answer is a resounding YES!

“Society, with its structures, expectations, and divisions, has fostered certain ideas about women that are not always flattering. Many people believe that strong women are not feminine and that assertive women cannot be trusted. My all-time favorite is that women who exhibit any degree of clarity about who they are and what they want are dangerous. Do not forget that a bossy woman is domineering, making her the B word. We won’t bother to mention the myths that women are not as smart as men or cannot handle money. The point is that some people believe these things about women, and some are women!

Labels define. Often, labels set up expectations. Labels prescribe how much, how little, and sometimes how long a thing can be used. Labels are descriptive. Labels are protective. And labels can be removed. It just may be that the time has come to take the labels off women. It is probably more accurate to say it is time for women to take the labels off themselves.

Share and enjoy Catherine Ahearn's story of ignoring the labels and becoming a successful entrepreneur. There are stories along the way that will grab your heart. Thank you, Catherine!

This month we celebrate the Phenomenal Women who walk into this space through many doors. They authentically share their stories, often vulnerably pay forward what they have learned, and celebrate each other.  Thank you, ladies!

Life is always listening to the silent requests of your heart and mind. Life is always surveying the landscape of your heart, gathering the bits and pieces of the emotions buried there. Life is always monitoring the activity of your tongue, checking for ruins and sacred elements. Life knows that your mind, heart, and mouth will produce the requests of your consciousness even when you are most aware of it.

Author Iyanla Vanzant believes you may not have realized that life is answering your requests until today. You may not have believed that you have the power and the right to ask life for more than you already have right now. Just for today, be devoted to creating a life of positive, joyful requests. Create them first in your mind. Next, create them in your heart. Then speak to them into existence. Be sure to remember what you have created.

Meet Afrika Bell Kathuria and Michele Sandiford, two phenomenal women who have accessed their power within. They asked questions of life, made decisions, first in their minds, then in their hearts, and then spoke their dream into existence. They have found a positive, successful, and joyful path they call Zebra Ears podcast through their creative collaboration focusing on early childhood development.

Wait until you find out why Zebra Ears. I was fascinated!