Nurah Speaks

It is never too soon to encourage our youth to start mapping out their life plan. However, they cannot be expected to chart the course of their lives on their own. We must help them plan, organize, strategize and steer their lives towards the goals that they ultimately set for themselves.

This starts with a simple conversation. Let's ask them the following questions and have them write their answers:

••What outcomes do they want in their lives?

What do they want their lifestyles, careers, families to be like? Be specific! What car do they want and how does the leather smell? What are their vacation destinations and how does the ocean breeze feel on their skin? And how's the water? What does their home look like? What color paint is on the walls?

•••What can catalyze their outcome(s)?

What can you do to ensure achieving your outcome? What actions need to be taken? For example, to purchase a first home by age 25, earnings will need to be saved, credit will have to be built, income needs to be steady. How can you become a nurse? Choose a nursing program? What is required for admission? (GPA, course study, entrance exam, etc?)

•••What can delay or prevent the outcome?

What events, behaviors or thinking can get in the way of achieving the outcome? Experimentation with drugs and alcohol, teenage pregnancy, criminal record, poor grade point average, poor credit, reckless spending…

•••What can you do to avoid barriers to your outcomes?

Stay around positive people, recognize what your barriers may be, make good choices, strategize, stay focused on outcomes, break your long term goal into smaller short term goals to prevent overwhelm, etc.

This is actually a great exercise at any age especially as goals can change during our lifetime. It helps young people realize that they are in control of their future and that their results will always be determined by the choices that they make.

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:  http://NurahZaheerah.com and reading her blog: http://www.nurahzaheerah.com/blog

Nurah can be followed on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/NurahZaheerahMuhammad and on Instagram @NurahZ20.

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

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

This episode marks the One Year Anniversary of the Nurah Speaks Podcast! I am so grateful to all who've listened, subscribed and shared the podcast over the last year. Special thanks of course to the great guests who have joined me to share their work and insights with the Nurah Speaks audience.

This anniversary episode was LIVE CAST on Facebook! That was a new and unique experience for me as a podcaster! In this episode, I share many of my wins, hurdles, next steps and more. I am so proud of this incredible journey and I am even more blessed that you have joined me on it!

If you have not already, please rate and leave a review or comment. Let me know what you think of the podcast and be sure to share it with others.

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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:  http://NurahZaheerah.com and reading her blog: http://www.nurahzaheerah.com/blog

Nurah can be followed on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/NurahZaheerahMuhammad and on Instagram @NurahZ20.

To bring Nurah to speak at your next event, email [email protected].

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

There is no biblical commandment directing us to $PEND-$PEND-$PEND to honor the birth of sweet baby Jesus. However, year after year, the season has become less religious and more commercial.

This episode I share tips that will benefit your wallet and your community.

So what should we do in this season of spending? For starters, I advise us all to be aware of the clever campaigns retailers use to incite our excitement to spend. We should be sober and buy what we need, when we need it. There is no sudden urgency wherein a large flat screen tv is needed. The jewelry, apparel, appliances now set at ‘markedly reduced’ prices can wait.

Advertisers know the perfect strategies to persuade spending. Here are my five tips for to help you this season:

1. Don’t!----Just don’t spend. Save your money. Invest your money. Refrain from making the rich even richer.

2. Buy Black!----If you like the tradition of holiday shopping, buy black. Identify black business with which you can spend. Buy black in brick and mortar stores or shop black online. Just buy black.

3. Buy Local!----Shop in YOUR neighborhood. These are the businesses investing in your community. Support them. It is hard for many of our mom and pop shops, startups, independent owners and small businesses to compete with the big box stores and retail chains. But they are right in your community sharing your interests in wanting your community to thrive.

4. Buy From People You Know!----Check your network. There are people within your network of friends and family with whom you can shop this holiday season. There are artisans, designers, small business owners, etc. If you don’t know the owners of the stores in your local community, introduce yourself to them. Expand your network and theirs. There is something special and unique in shopping from someone with whom you have a relationship. But not only that-it helps create a unique story with your gift-giving when you know your seller.

5. Buy Small!----Resist the push advertisers give us to spend, spend, spend. Buy what you need. Know in advance what you want or need and only buy that. Make a list or put a note in your smart phone. There is no reasonable need to trample, snatch, push and fight over retail items. Be responsible. You work hard for your money. Keep as much of it as you can.

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:  http://NurahZaheerah.com and reading her blog: http://www.nurahzaheerah.com/blog

Nurah can be followed on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/NurahZaheerahMuhammad and on Instagram @NurahZ20.

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

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

This interview with Terina Nicole, founder of Jypsea Leathergoods was so much fun! This is one of those episodes that will have you smiling from beginning to end. Terina is one of those bright, joyful and energized souls who makes you feel happy just being around her. Just listen to this interview and you’ll see!

Terina is a creative, interior stylist, modern leather artisan, product designer, diy instructor, design blogger and so much more. She has been featured on and in NBC, ABC, HGTV, Centric, Essence, Upscale, Philadelphia Magazine and more.

Terina is the cofounder of DIY MakersCon which is an annual one day conference for women which celebrates, educates and gives a platform to creative entrepreneurs.

On this coming Black Friday 2018, Terina will be hosting the Independent Designer Showcase: Pop-up Shop & Fashion Show. Get your tickets here: https://independentdesignersshowcase.eventbrite.com/.

Terina continues to create platforms for designers and would-be designers and she actively facilitates opportunities for us to support them. She embodies the phrase ‘Be The Movement’ in her work and personal life. She is an inspiration for all.

Visit TerinaNicole.com to learn more and make sure you follow Terina on her socials- Facebook: Terina Nicole, IG:TheTerinaNicole

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: http://NurahZaheerah.com and reading her blog: http://www.nurahzaheerah.com/blog

Nurah can be followed on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/NurahZaheerahMuhammad and on Instagram @NurahZ20.

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

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

"Cowards Quote the Revolutionary but Do Not Revolt Themselves!"

Nurah Muhammad

This is harsh language-I know- but I believe that the power of Malcolm X's language is used to enhance the speech of many without the many emulating Malcolm's activity.

How many times have we heard someone using impassioned words of Malcolm to push their argument but have no evidence of organizing others and creating real sustaining change themselves? We have taken to entertaining one another by how many leaders we can quote.

As a member of the Nation of Islam, as a student of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad-Malcolm X engaged in real work-not just speeches to improve the conditions of our people.

But today, we have folks claiming to be so-called Malcolm X experts who quote the man-but have not and will not walk the walk of Malcolm that made him great.

I claim not to be a Malcolm X expert, however I recognize his wisdom to be that of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the work which produced the solutions to our problems.

My suggestion-Quit Quoting Malcolm until you engage in the long, hard, tiring work of re-engaging our people with the truth of our nature and history-by organizing, creating and building.

In other words-do the work.

*Here is Sister Ilyasah's interview wherein she states that the Nation of Islam did not kill her father: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-stx5wf1Gw.

If you would like to engage with the show, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website:  http://NurahZaheerah.com and reading her blog: http://www.nurahzaheerah.com/blog

Nurah can be followed on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/NurahZaheerahMuhammad and on Instagram @NurahZ20.

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

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

WARNING! This episode may be triggering for some…

Protection of our youth should be paramount in the minds of parents and all adults responsible for the welfare of children. Unfortunately, we live in a culture wherein children are the prey of sexual predators. And these predators not are not only targeting girls, but also our boys. They are after our infants, toddlers, prepubescent children and beyond. There is no exemption of victim or victimizer. Perpetrators are fathers, mothers, teachers, preachers, coaches and doctors. In so many cases, they are the most trusted members of our society.

We are shown news story after story that the worst is happening to our children -sometimes for years- unbeknownst to parents. To protect our children from the ungodly intentions of these people, we must not be reckless with whom we leave our children alone. And we must be proactive.

Unfortunately, some of what I relate may be upsetting because I believe in very strict boundaries. I do not believe we should leave our young children alone with any male- that’s right-not ANY male- father, grandfather, boyfriend, uncle, brother, cousin. Additionally, we must be extremely limiting and selective with, women because vile intentions and sexual exploitation are not only the actions of men alone. Women engage in these indecencies as well.

I am a firm believer in risking a personal offense rather than therapeutic reparation of innocence lost to sexual abuse.

We can start protecting our children by realizing their value and our responsibility to them. Anywhere we go, with very few exceptions such as work, our children should be able to come with us. Otherwise, we might want to reconsider if it means leaving our children with a sitter.

This episode is not one intended to create suspicion in households and families. But it is one urging mothers and fathers to recognize the potential for abuse in any situation and a reminder that most abuse occurs with someone close to the family or a relative.

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:  http://NurahZaheerah.com and reading her blog: http://www.nurahzaheerah.com/blog

Nurah can be followed on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/NurahZaheerahMuhammad and on Instagram @NurahZ20.

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

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

To be Relevant one must possess Character, Capacity and Function. Without these, we find ourselves useless, irrelevant or only useful for inconsequential things and people

Character is dignity, decency and ethics. Having character is choosing right over wrong, honesty over dishonesty.

Capacity is the ability to a complete task, perform a duty, endure circumstances or produce results.

Some people are high capacity individuals. To develop capacity, one must train, study, practice, endure without quitting and with the goal to improve ourselves. Capacity is not developed on the sidelines. It is gained in the field of endeavor.

Function is the activity, role or natural purpose of a person-it’s why something exists. To be functional means that one can operate competently within the world. It is having the ability to get things done.

I cannot tell you how excited I am to present this week’s guest, Nisha Blackwell. Nisha is the Founder and CEO of Knotzland Bowties.

Knotzland is a company that sources the discarded waste from upholstery and textile manufactures to create unique hand sewn bowties.

And Nisha's journey? Just Remarkable!

But let me tell you how I learned about Nisha. One random, lazy Sunday I was watching a morning news program when an amazing google commercial caught my attention.

The ad was about a young black woman (Nisha) who found herself unemployed-but after attending a child's birthday party-she was an entrepreneur.

I kid you not!

But I won't tell the whole story here-you'll get the journey as you listen.

Still, this episode is full of wisdom that Nisha shares from that journey. When you listen, you'll learn about the challenges black women led startups face, gentrification and urban renewal and how being open to new challenges can take you to places you'd never expect.

Her message to anyone with a dream- 'Just Go For It!'

To learn more about Knotzland, visit Knotzland.com and follow Knotzland on Instagram and Facebook @knotzland and you can follow Nisha on twitter @Naturalknotz.

To view Nisha’s google commercial, click here:

https://youtu.be/6R8euQeU-Fc

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: http://NurahZaheerah.com and reading her blog: http://www.nurahzaheerah.com/blog. Follow Nurah on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/NurahZaheerahMuhammad and on Instagram @NurahZ20.

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

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

This episode comes in response to Bette Midler’s recent tweet, “Women are the n-words of the world.”

We are witnessing the absolute co-opting of the historical trauma and terrorism sustained by Blacks in America . We are a people who’ve endured American slavery, sharecropping, Black codes, Jim Crow and today, we experience modern day lynchings.

As others are hijacking our suffering to illustrate their hardships, we cannot ignore their implicit devaluing of our humanity.

But I wonder - what will WE do to value ourselves and our interests?

Below you will find Bette Midler's full tweet as well as partial lyrics from the song ‘Woman Is The Nigger Of The World,’ by John Lennon. This is the song which she references in her tweet.

Bette Midler’s tweet:

“’Women are the N-word of the world’

Raped, beaten, enslaved, married off, worked like dumb animals; denied education and inheritance; enduring he pain and danger of childbirth and life IN SILENCE for THOUSANDS of years…They are the most disrespected creatures on earth.”

Partial Lyrics from John Lennon’s

“Woman Is The Nigger of the World”

Woman is the nigger of the world

Think about it, do something about it

We make her paint her face and dance

If she won't be a slave, we say that she don't love us

If she's real, we say she's trying to be a man

While putting her down we pretend that she is above us

Woman is the nigger of the world, yes she is

Nurah Speaks is a weekly podcast that tugs at the soul and consciousness of the black community.  Nurah Speaks listeners gain unique perspectives on topics such as education, youth empowerment, women's impact, community engagement, youth violence prevention and more. Host Nurah Muhammad welcomes guests who have demonstrated capacity in these areas and so much more.

If you would like to engage with the show, submit your listener questions to [email protected].  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website:  http://NurahZaheerah.com and reading her blog: http://www.nurahzaheerah.com/blog

Nurah can be followed on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/NurahZaheerahMuhammad and on Instagram @NurahZ20.

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

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

This week's guest is Taylor Ali, founder of Brown Girls Nirvana. Brown Girls Nirvana is an organization striving to empower and restore sisterhood between brown girls of all shades and ages. It is her goal to create a safe space for brown women to thrive and flourish.

Taylor hosts the monthly women's groups 'Queens Court' which provides women the opportunity to decompress from the world that expects so much from them. Taylor continue to develop both Brown Girls Nirvana and Queens Court to provide encouragement and support for brown women.

On November 10, 2018 Taylor hosts 'I Like My Coffee Black' a women's empowerment and networking conference. This conference will empower, inspire and equip attendees through conversation and networking with an amazing panel of women speaking on real life issues! I am grateful to be a panelist at this great event!

To learn more and get your tickets to "I Like My Coffee Black" use the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/i-like-my-coffee-black-tickets-49876245192?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=escb&utm-source=cp&utm-term=listing.

Follow Taylor and Brown Girls Nirvana:

Instagram @brown_girls_nirvana

Facebook @browngirlsnirvana

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:  http://NurahZaheerah.com and reading her blog: http://www.nurahzaheerah.com/blog

Nurah can be followed on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/NurahZaheerahMuhammad and on Instagram @NurahZ20.

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

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