Nurah Speaks

We must not let the frustrations of our past mistakes stain the joy our young people have in pursuing their own dreams and ambitions.

We unfairly place the burden of our errors at their feet and pour out a cascade of our grief and regrets. It is selfish and unjust of us to do.

Instead of discouraging our children with a litany of our failures, lift them up and push them towards what’s possible for their lives.

If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website: NurahSpeaks.com or reading her blog by clicking this link.

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To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email [email protected].

Remember, don’t just Join the Movement, Be the Movement!

Propaganda is the systematic dispersion of information (truth or untruths) to persuade opinions, attitudes and ultimately the behavior of people.

It is a tool used in education, retail marketing, religion, entertainment, politics and healthcare.   Strategists use propaganda to create followers, manipulate emotions, behaviors and the financial investment of its targets.

This episode shares ways to manage propaganda to get at the truth in all matters. 

We cannot afford to be intellectually lazy in this day or we can fall victim to those who are skilled manipulators for the purpose of their own agendas.

If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website: NurahSpeaks.com or reading her blog by clicking this link.

Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email [email protected].

Remember, don’t just Join the Movement, Be the Movement!

More and more I see requests on social media for followers to post pictures of the interior of their homes and for games which require followers to insert information that could be used for fraudulent purposes.

Episode 166 features ten social media best practice tips for listeners to employ to protect themselves, their property and their loved ones.

1 Refrain from posting the interior of your home

2. Be conservative with your posts

3. Do not post intoxicated, either from substances or strong emotions

4. Do not play the games that ask you to list key details about yourself or family that could also be used to hack your accounts.

5. Use strong passwords such as sentences, phrases and use two factor authentication.

6. Protect your children by refraining from posting them in their bathing suits, beds and bedrooms and with identifying information such as their school or sports team.

7. Know your employer’s social media policies.

8. Do not accept every friend request.

9. Refrain from posting your personal fears and insecurities.

10. Refrain from posting yourself in compromised positions such as when receiving medical treatment, hospitalization, in your bed, bedroom, bathroom and other circumstances where strangers would not be invited.

If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website: NurahSpeaks.com or reading her blog by clicking this link.

Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email [email protected].

Remember, don’t just Join the Movement, Be the Movement!

To every extent possible we must exert control over that which influences our young people. They are too valuable and our future too precious to defer the responsibility and direction of their lives to outside persuasion.

If we want a future of prosperity, longevity and security-the work is ours to do today to make sure that happens.

Parenting and guidance of our young people is an active - not a passive - job.

If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website: NurahSpeaks.com or reading her blog by clicking this link.

Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email [email protected].

Remember, don’t just Join the Movement, Be the Movement!

Standard Bearers are those who uphold values or ideas. They are those who champion the values and ideas in which they believe.

They possess the strength to endure changing trends; they have the discipline to remain consistent and on message and the fearlessness to speak to that which is unpopular or unfavored by the masses.   If you want to be a leader and be successful, you must possess the qualities of a standard bearer.

In this episode, I share a staunch example of a steadfast sister, Sharazhad Ali, a bold woman speaking on behalf of the Black family for over 30 years. She epitomizes what it is to be a standard bearer.  You can find links to videos featuring her here:

https://youtu.be/nG8H4Jyd_no

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9XQ4ia2j0k

If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website: NurahSpeaks.com or reading her blog by clicking this link.

Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email [email protected].

Remember, don’t just Join the Movement, Be the Movement!

When we conduct ourselves without standards, we devolve into chaos - as evidenced by the outcomes in our community.  There must be some acceptable standard for language, dress and behavior - especially in public.

We are so worn down that we’ve acclimated to our substandard conditions and argue with those who encourage us to do and be better.  It makes the words of Henry Berry true:

“We have as far as possible closed every avenue by which light may enter the slave’s mind. If we could extinguish the capacity to see the light, our work would be complete; they would then be on a level with the beast of the field and we should be safe.”

If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website: NurahSpeaks.com or reading her blog by clicking this link.

Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email [email protected].

Remember, don’t just Join the Movement, Be the Movement!

Do not mistake correction for condemnation, they are not the same. To receive correction is to receive guidance when we have erred. We need not assume any judgement has been made upon us.

Too many of us are uncomfortable, agitated and distrustful when receiving counsel that does not align with our attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. I have personal experience with working youth and some adults who perceive instruction as aggression and correction as an attack

One remedy to this is rearing our children to respect authority and habituating them to training and coaching in their youth. Those who have not are easily identified by employers, teachers, mentors and coaches.  They are often the most difficult to train and the least receptive to guidance.  

If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website: NurahSpeaks.com or reading her blog by clicking this link.

Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email [email protected].

Remember, don’t just Join the Movement, Be the Movement!

A New Jersey school principal told her faculty that pajamas, do-rags and bonnets are ‘their culture’, referring to the school's black pupils. If this would upset us, what argument do we have with Mo’nique?

She is giving no less than what I received growing up from the women responsible for shaping and cultivating me into womanhood. The rearing, training and chiding (when needed) that I received in my youth conditioned me to appreciate mentorship and guidance as an adult.

It is simple. We need to do better and stop hating the person giving the correction. We may want to ‘do as we please’ but if what we please defies decency and etiquette then we ought to be challenged.

We should want more for ourselves than forcing society to accept our regressed attitudes and behaviors. This is not our culture. It is emblematic of our fall from grace and our own self regard.

These words can be tough to hear for women who are so encouraged to ‘live your life’ and ‘do what makes you happy’. We are being misguided and are misguiding our young folks with this ‘do you’ lifestyle.

I am interested in your feedback. Be sure to email me Nurah@NurahSpeaks or drop me a comment on social media.

Remember to subscribe to Nurah Speaks wherever you stream great podcasts.

If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website: NurahSpeaks.com or reading her blog by clicking this link.

Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email [email protected].

Remember, don’t just Join the Movement, Be the Movement!

Juneteenth, also known as ‘Freedom Day’, ‘Emancipation Day’ and ‘Liberation Day’ is the day that marks the enforcement of the freedom of slaves in Galveston, Texas.

It was on June 19, 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger enforced the freedom of slaves still held in bondage despite the January 1, 1863 signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the congressional passing of the 13th Amendment on January 31, 1865.

On June 16, 2021 Congress passed legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday and President Joe Biden signed it into law on June 17, 2021.

This episode is a recording of remarks I gave at a Juneteenth event June 19, 2021, an event facilitated by the Black & Brilliant Events Team in Glassboro, New Jersey.  My subject is ‘Priority’. What are our priorities in this day and how do we address them?

Be sure to share your thoughts and comments on this episode. Remember to subscribe to Nurah Speaks and share it with family and friends.

If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website: NurahSpeaks.com or reading her blog by clicking this link.

Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email [email protected].

Remember, don’t just Join the Movement, Be the Movement!

Nurah Speaks is back with another fresh episode, this time talking about the ‘I Got It’ mentality? 

Don’t know what that is?

It is the compulsion of us Black women to reflexively say, “I got it” when offered assistance or support. 

We say, “I got it” sometimes without even assessing if help is warranted for the given circumstances. Some of us are so in the habit of not needing anyone that we turn away aid when we could actually use it. 

This episode examines why we do that and the implications of this behavior.

If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website: NurahSpeaks.com or reading her blog by clicking this link.

Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email [email protected].

Remember, don’t just Join the Movement, Be the Movement!