Nurah Speaks

In this episode of Nurah Speaks, I challenge the idea that Black progress can be achieved through moral appeals to the powerful or through political victories.  As I reflect on the sacrifices made during the Civil Rights Movement and the political realities we face today, I question if we have placed unrealistic expectations in systems that repeatedly prove limited.

Our problems cannot be solved by simply voting the right people into office or by appealing to the conscience of those with economic or political power.

Though I whole heartedly support civic engagement and recognize the value of local political participation, I do not believe that politics alone will save our people. In my view, Black people will be saved by Black people by what we do with and for one another.

Throughout this episode, I explore the difference between civil rights and human rights, the fragility of political gains and how we are witnessing our elected representation being taken away.  I question the notion of equality if rights that are granted and amended can also be  removed by legislation.

My central message is simple: regardless of election outcomes, we have to ask ourselves what we are willing to do for one another. If we want justice, equality and a progressive future, we must be prepared to build it together.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to Nurah Speaks on YouTube and follow the podcast on your favorite streaming platform.  Be sure to like, share and leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts on this conversation.

You can follow Nurah Speaks on X, Instagram and Facebook @NurahSpeaks.

In Episode 273, I explore the growing trend of extravagant prom culture and how prom has evolved from a school dance into a highly performative social event fueled by social media, status symbols and public presentation, particularly in low income communities.  From luxury shoes,  jewelry and cars to elaborate prom send-offs and even helicopter arrivals, this episode explores the social and emotional motivations behind these celebrations.  

This episode is not a criticism but a recognition of the emotional connection between deprivation, love and saying “yes” to our children and also a nudge for our community to think beyond the excitement, indulgence and joy of a solitary ‘moment’ and establishing a strong foundation for our young people's future.

Episode Takeaways:

• Love should be expressed not only through moments, but through long-term preparation.
• Saying “no” can sometimes be just as valuable as saying “yes.”
• Prom is a milestone — not the “crowning achievement” of a young person’s life.
• Parents can celebrate responsibly while still helping children feel special.
• Our community should prioritize sustainable success over performative luxury.

If you would like to engage with the podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more by visiting NurahSpeaks.com.

You can follow Nurah Speaks on X, Instagram and Facebook @NurahSpeaks and subscribe to the channel on YouTube.

In this episode, I speak directly to the health challenges facing the Black community and show the clear connection between lifestyle choices, food and chronic disease. This episode explores how generational eating habits, modern processed food and targeted marketing have contributed to widespread health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

It is emphasized that while these challenges are real, they are not irreversible. Through intentional changes in diet, awareness and discipline, individuals and families can reclaim their health and create a healthier future. This episode brings awareness and serves as a guide toward empowerment through everyday choices.

Key Topics

• Impact of diet on health in the Black community
• The dangers of processed and GMO foods
• The importance of whole foods and organic eating
• Lifestyle adjustments for better health
• The connection between food industry marketing and health outcomes

If you would like to engage with the podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more by visiting NurahSpeaks.com.

You can follow Nurah Speaks on X, Instagram and Facebook @NurahSpeaks and subscribe to the channel on YouTube.

Are your choices empowering or holding you back? Let's talk about the hidden impact of what you eat. 

Our lifestyle choices shape our health in ways we often overlook. From childhood, we are influenced by the foods we consume.   We must educate ourselves and our children about real nutrition versus manufactured "food" that just looks appealing. 

The truth is, our choices are informed by the information we have. And when that information is skewed, our outcomes suffer. 

Let’s commit to making better food choices together and retrain our palates for healthier options. 

Stay informed, stay empowered. More on this in future episodes!  

If you would like to engage with the podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more by visiting NurahSpeaks.com.

You can follow Nurah Speaks on X, Instagram and Facebook @NurahSpeaks and subscribe to the channel on YouTube.

In Episode 270 I reflect on a compelling conversation I attended featuring Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey and Donna Brazile, hosted by the Center for American Women and Politics.

Being inspired by their discussion, this episode I explore the realities of public service, the misconceptions surrounding elected officials and the importance of community involvement beyond the ballot box. I share insights on leadership, sacrifice, collaboration and how we everyday people can play an active role in creating meaningful change.

Important Takeaways

• Voting is just the beginning—community work continues after elections.
• Constituents can support elected officials beyond offering criticism by asking: “How can I help?” instead of “Why isn’t this fixed?”
• Practice kindness-you never know what someone is facing.

If you would like to engage with the podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more by visiting NurahSpeaks.com.

You can follow Nurah Speaks on X, Instagram and Facebook @NurahSpeaks and subscribe to the channel on YouTube.

American broadcasters and political pundits employ fear and anxiety concerning national and world affairs to persuade the Black community's political leanings and economic actions.

It’d be better to compel us to unite our talents and knowledge towards the common needs in our local communities.  It’d be better to acknowledge the urgency of unity as a necessary component to address these collective interests.  Our unity and will to achieve, not our votes, are the greatest resources we have.

Imploring political and governmental leaders before we solicit our own efforts is misleading guidance.  We do not need to panic in the wake of national or global turmoil if we have prepared our community.  And there is still time for us to redirect our energy towards a civic engagement that starts with what we do at home in rearing our children and keeping our communities safe and clean.  

If you would like to engage with the podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more by visiting NurahSpeaks.com.

You can follow Nurah Speaks on X, Instagram and Facebook @NurahSpeaks and subscribe to the channel on YouTube.

This week’s episode of Nurah Speaks is a Special Tribute Rewind in honor of Munir Muhammad, whose birthday we celebrated March 27th. Brother Munir was the business manager and co-founder of CROE (Coalition for the Remembrance of Elijah Muhammad). He was also known as the chief archivist and historian of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam.

This interview was recorded on December 9, 2017 in Camden, New Jersey during a film showing of the movie ‘The Nation’, written and directed by Junie Smith.

In this interview Brother Munir explains:

•how the Honorable Elijah Muhammad impacted him personally

•why time dictated the establishment of CROE

•why the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam are misunderstood by many

I feel it is important to note the significant impact of the work of Brother Munir. He was a man who single handedly performed the work of many men. He was an archivist, a journalist, an investigative reporter, a facilitator, a radio host, a television host, a leading media figure, a husband, a father, a successful businessman and so much more.

On set in the CROE television studio, he interviewed prominent politicians, judges, notable civil rights figures, renowned actors and actresses, singers, song writers, community organizers, Senators and Congressman, religious leaders, celebrated authors, respected businessmen and business women. Additionally, Brother Munir interviewed leaders of other esteemed nations and offered us a global perspective on world affairs.

On Nurah Speaks, when I mention my own personal mentors who have inspired and encouraged me to begin this podcast journey-Brother Munir was always one of my strongest supporters.

There are countless men and women who we learn little if anything about but who have worked tirelessly to address issues impacting our people. Brother Munir Muhammad was one of those men whose impact has not only been national but UNIVERSAL!

I honor him. I honor his legacy. And it has been a personal privilege to know him and join him on his television shows remotely and in person on so many great occasions. 

He will continue to be an example to be emulated in the work for the true liberation of our people.

Enjoy this tribute replay of my interview with our Brother Munir Muhammad.

Learn more about CROE by visiting CROE.ORG and CROETV.COM. CROE is located at 2435 West 71st Street (CROE Lane) Chicago, IL 60629. You can contact them at 773-925-1600 or [email protected].

Viewers can watch CROE live each Wednesday at 7:30est and Sunday at 3:30est on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC--UCt5LqFF3IW5fLn5lH2g or on Ustream: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/muhammad-and-friends. Be sure to check out CROE’s archived episodes as well!

If you would like to engage with the podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more by visiting NurahSpeaks.com.

You can follow Nurah Speaks on X, Instagram and Facebook @NurahSpeaks and subscribe to the channel on YouTube.

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

Harriett A. Washington is featured this episode for her incredible work in cataloguing historical and present day medical abuses experienced by Black patients within the medical industry.  Her research provides the stark reality of how practically racial biases are applied everyday in medical offices, hospitals, clinics and pharmacies. 

Often Black patients’ suspicion of doctors is dismissed as hyper paranoia related to the Tuskegee Study.  Such disregard suggests the Tuskegee was a one-off atrocity.   Harriet Washington’s research exposes the reality of the exploitation, abuses, under treatment, over treatment and savage treatment by doctors against Black people from the antebellum to the present.

In other words, Harriet’s work is confirmation of the sentiments many Black people have concerning the medical industry as less myth than hyper vigilance against true and real medical perversions experienced throughout American history.

This episode highlights three of her books:  

1.  Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present (2006)

2.  Deadly Monopolies: The Shocking Corporate Takeover of Life Itself—And the Consequences for Your Health and Our Medical Future (2011)

3.Carte Blanche: The Erosion of Medical Consent (2021)

If you would like to engage with the podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more by visiting NurahSpeaks.com.

You can follow Nurah Speaks on X, Instagram and Facebook @NurahSpeaks and subscribe to the channel on YouTube.

This episode celebrates the conviction of Zora Neale Hurston in holding to her principles in spite of pressure from both the literary world and leaders within the Harlem Renaissance to write in a fashion that was both palatable and expressive of the black grief and pain of American racism.

Though Zora acknowledged that Black Americans experienced hardships associated with prejudice, she did not believe it was the predominant experience that should be expressed in literature.  For Zora, Black people were joy and beauty, intelligence and love and in no great measure were we robbed of presence and prestige because of the divisions of segregation.  Therefore, her writings in the 1920’s and 30’s were a deviation from the harsher realities portrayed by other authors such as Richard Wright.  

Additionally, as an anthropologist, Zora held to the dialect and vernacular of the subjects she interviewed despite urgings to make the text ‘tidier’ for the reader.  Rather, Zora chronicled the accounts of her subjects unchanged from how they were delivered to her.

These choices unfortunately had a deleterious impact on her work and though she saw great success with ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’, she subsequently found it impossible to get published and ultimately had to return to menial labor and living in housing for the poor.

Fortunately many years after her death, some of her work was resurrected and published, like Barracoon completed in 1931, published 87 years later in 2018.

If you would like to engage with the podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more by visiting NurahSpeaks.com.

You can follow Nurah Speaks on X, Instagram and Facebook @NurahSpeaks and subscribe to the channel on YouTube.

On the morning of April 12, 2015 Freddie Gray was taken into custody by Baltimore Police officers.  With his hands cuffed behind his back and feet in shackles, he was put in the back of the vehicle and transported without being secured with a safety belt.

During transport, Freddie sustained a fractured neck with 80% of his spine was severed. Several days later he went into a coma and on April 19, 2015 Freddie was dead.  

Marilyn Mosby was only five months into her first term as Baltimore State’s Attorney, the city’s chief prosecutor.

On May 1, 2015 she charged the six police officers involved in Freddie’s death, one of the first cases nationally holding police accountable for the death of a black man while in custody.

This decision had its consequences.  Hate mail and death threats ensued forcing Marilyn to defend the decision to charge officers. "For those who believe I am anti-police, it's simply not the case. I am anti police brutality.”  

Marilyn Mosby made an unpopular and highly controversial choice in charging the officers.  Though none were convicted, there was a $6.4 million settlement with the family and Mosby’s office pursued substantial reforms that contributed to the exoneration of 13 men who had served a combined 300 years in prison despite proclaiming their innocence.

The right choice may not be the easy choice when justice is the basis for one's decision.  Today, more than 10 years later, Marilyn and her family continue to suffer the fallout of her decision in holding officer’s accountable.  However it is a decision of which she reports as having no regrets.

If you would like to engage with the podcast, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more by visiting NurahSpeaks.com.

You can follow Nurah Speaks on X, Instagram and Facebook @NurahSpeaks and subscribe to the channel on YouTube.