Not Ur Average Lady

Divine Women of Our Time: Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Jacqueline "Jackie" Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the women's heptathlon as well as in the women's long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals, in those two different events. Sports Illustrated for Women magazine voted Joyner-Kersee the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th century.

As of August 2008, Joyner-Kersee holds the world record in heptathlon along with six all time best results and her long jump record of 7.49 m is second on the long jump all time list. In addition to heptathlon and long jump, she was a world class athlete in 100 m hurdles and 200 meters being as of June 2006 in top 60 all time in those events.

In 1988, Joyner-Kersee established the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation, which provides youth, adults, and families with the resources to improve their quality of life with special attention directed to East St. Louis, Illinois. In 2007, Jackie Joyner-Kersee along with Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong, Warrick Dunn, Mia Hamm, Jeff Gordon, Tony Hawk, Andrea Jaeger, Mario Lemieux, Alonzo Mourning, and Cal Ripken, Jr. founded the "Athletes for Hope", a charitable organization, which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and inspires millions of non-athletes to volunteer and support the community.

In 1996 she signed on to play pro basketball for the Richmond Rage of the fledgling American Basketball League. Although she was very popular with the fans, she was less successful on the court. She appeared in only 17 games, and scored no more than four points in any game. Even in 2010 her great sportsmanship is still recognized as she is recognized as an NCAA Silver Anniversary Awards honoree.

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Divine Women of Our Time is a series to remind us of the rich culture we come from and to celebrate black history month. I will profile strong women that have been apart of building a culture, paving ways for those after them and who have made a memorable impact within their industry. These women were not only leaders, but they were role models for many people at an appointed time. Most of these women are still with us thankfully. Rightfully so, I want to celebrate them while they are here and can understand that there relevance is appreciated as apart of our rich history.

Divine Women Of Our Time: Deloris Sims

Deloris Sims and Margaret Henningsen

Deloris Sims started her banking career as a part-time teller for Firstar Bank in central Milwaukee, where she had lived since the age of five. Over 28 years, she rose up the ranks to become a vice president and a business banker, developing five Firstar banks in the city. All the while she watched as her own neighborhood, a low-income minority community, steadily deteriorated.

In 1999, she teamed up with two other minority women, Margaret Henningsen and Shirley Lanier, to found Legacy Bank. Their goal was to give the area's poor residents a stake in their neighborhood by financing small businesses and home purchases. The three women raised $6.9 million, bought the former Firstar building where Sims had worked for most of her career, and got to work with Sims as President and CEO.

Among projects Sims has been proud to see the bank support: the 2003 opening of a Ponderosa Steakhouse on King Drive in a lot that stood vacant for decades. The owner, Stella Love, is the only African-American woman in the United States to own a Ponderosa franchise.

Legacy also financed Milwaukee Health Services, which is owned by and serves minorities. The bank's support allowed the MHS to move to a location where they could serve more low-income residents.

In the bank's beginnings, Sims said, "Raising capital was the biggest challenge. None of us were wealthy." To get started, the team bought a preferred trust for $5 million and won awards from the U.S. Treasury Department. Nine years later, Legacy has assets of about $221 million. Year-over-year average deposit growth is 21 percent. In 2007, assets grew by 15 percent and the loan portfolio grew by 11 percent.

This year's efforts to raise capital, given the crises in the real estate and subprime markets, have been "very, very, very slow," Sims says. "With the banking industry the way it is, nobody wants to buy stocks in banks." And yet, based on Legacy's success in developing central Milwaukee, charitable foundations are picking up the baton and running with it. (c) 2008 U.S. Banker and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.americanbanker.com/usb.html/ http://www.sourcemedia.com/
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Divine Women of Our Time is a series to remind us of the rich culture we come from and to celebrate black history month. I will profile strong women that have been apart of building a culture, paving ways for those after them and who have made a memorable impact within their industry. These women were not only leaders, but they were role models for many people at an appointed time. Most of these women are still with us thankfully. Rightfully so, I want to celebrate them while they are here and can understand that there relevance is appreciated as apart of our rich history.

Divine Women of Our Time: Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954) is an American television host, producer, and philanthropist, best known for her self-titled, multi-award winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history. She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century and beyond, the greatest black philanthropist in American history and was once the world's only black billionaire. She is also, according to some assessments, the most influential woman in the world.

In 1985, Winfrey co-starred in Steven Spielberg's film adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple. She earned immediate acclaim as Sofia, the distraught housewife. The following year Winfrey was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The Color Purple went on to become a Broadway musical and opened in late 2005, with Winfrey credited as a producer.

In 1993, Winfrey hosted a rare prime-time interview with Michael Jackson which became the fourth most watched event in American television history as well as the most watched interview ever, with an audience of one hundred million. As well as hosting and appearing on television shows, Winfrey co-founded the women's cable television network Oxygen. She is also the president of Harpo Productions (Oprah spelled backwards). Winfrey publishes two magazines: O, The Oprah Magazine and O at Home. She has co-authored five books;

In 1998, Winfrey began Oprah's Angel Network, a charity aimed at encouraging people around the world to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged others. Accordingly, Oprah's Angel Network supports charitable projects and provides grants to nonprofit organizations around the world that share this vision. To date, Oprah's Angel Network has raised more than $51,000,000. In 2005 she became the first black person listed by Business Week as one of America's top 50 most generous philanthropists, having given an estimated $303 million. Winfrey has also helped 250 African-American men continue or complete their education at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.

In addition to several acting roles she has done voice overs for Charlotte's Web, the 2006 film as Gussie the goose. She is also the voice of Judge Bumbleden in Bee Movie (2007) In 2009, Winfrey provided the voice for the character of Eudora, the mother of Princess Tiana, in Disney's The Princess and the Frog.

In 2008 Winfrey and Discovery Communications announced plans to change Discovery Health Channel into a new channel called OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. OWN will debut at an unspecified time in 2010. It was scheduled to launch in 2009, but has since been delayed. On November 2, 2009, it was announced that Winfrey will narrate Discovery Channel's upcoming documentary series Life, which will air in March 2010. Sorce:Wikipedia
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Divine Women of Our Time is a series to remind us of the rich culture we come from and to celebrate black history month. I will profile strong women that have been apart of building a culture, paving ways for those after them and who have made a memorable impact within their industry. These women were not only leaders, but they were role models for many people at an appointed time. Most of these women are still with us thankfully. Rightfully so, I want to celebrate them while they are here and can understand that there relevance is appreciated as apart of our rich history.

Divine Women of Our time: Mae Jemison

Mae Carol Jemison (born October 17, 1956) is an African American physician and NASA astronaut. She became the first woman of recent African ancestry to travel in space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on September 12, 1992.

Jemison says she was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. but to her King's dream wasn't an illusive fantasy but a call to action. "Too often people paint him like Santa -- smiley and inoffensive," says Jemison. "But when I think of Martin Luther King Jr. I think of attitude, audacity, and bravery. "The best way to make dreams come true is to wake up," says Jemison

Jemison graduated from Chicago's Morgan Park High School in 1973 and entered Stanford University at age 16. Jemison graduated from Stanford in 1977, receiving a B.S. in chemical engineering and fulfilling the requirements for a B.A. in African and Afro-American Studies. Jemison obtained her Doctor of Medicine degree in 1981 from Cornell Medical College (now Weill Medical College of Cornell University) She interned at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center and later worked as a general practitioner. During her years at Cornell Medical College, Jemison took lessons in modern dance at the Alvin Ailey school. Jemison later built a dance studio in her home and has choreographed and produced several shows of modern jazz and African dance.

Jemsion was turned down on her first application to NASA, but in 1987 Jemison was accepted on her second application and became one of the fifteen candidates accepted from over 2,000 applicants. Her work with NASA before her shuttle launch included launch support activities at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and verification of Shuttle computer software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL). Jemison flew her only space mission from September 12 to 20, 1992 as a Mission Specialist on STS-47.

Because of her love of dance and as a salute to creativity, Jemison took a poster from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Company along with her on the flight. "Many people do not see a connection between science and dance," says Jemison. "but I consider them both to be expressions of the boundless creativity that people have to share with one another. Jemison resigned from NASA in March 1993. "I left NASA because I'm very interested in how social sciences interact with technologies," says Jemison.

In 1994, Jemison founded the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence and named the foundation in honor of her mother. " One of the projects of Jemison's foundation is The Earth We Share (TEWS), an international science camp where students, ages 12 to 16, work to solve current global problems, like "How Many People Can the Earth Hold" and "Predict the Hot Public Stocks of The Year 2030.

In 1999, Jemison founded BioSentient Corp and has been working to develop a portable device that allows mobile monitoring of the involuntary nervous system. Biosentient has obtained the license to commercialize NASA's space-age technology known as Autogenic Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE), a patented technique that uses biofeedback and autogenic therapy to allow patients to monitor and control their physiology as a possible treatment for anxiety and stress related disorders.

Jemsion sometimes appears at charity events. Jemison is an active public speaker who appears before private and public groups promoting science and technology as well as providing an inspirational and educational message for young people. "Having been an astronaut gives me a platform," says Jemison,"but I'd blow it if I just talked about the Shuttle. "Jemison uses her platform to speak out on the gap in the quality of health-care between the United States and the Third World. "Martin Luther King ... didn't just have a dream, he got things done."[

Jemison is a Professor-at-Large at Cornell University and was a professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth College from 1995 to 2002. Jemison continues to advocate strongly in favor of science education and getting minority students interested in science. She sees science and technology as being very much a part of society, and African-Americans as having been deeply involved in U.S. science and technology from the beginning.

Jemison participated with First Lady Michelle Obama in a forum for promising girls in the Washington, D.C. public schools in March 2009. Source:Wikipedia.com
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Divine Women of Our Time is a series to remind us of the rich culture we come from and to celebrate black history month. I will profile strong women that have been apart of building a culture, paving ways for those after them and who have made a memorable impact within their industry. These women were not only leaders, but they were role models for many people at an appointed time. Most of these women are still with us thankfully. Rightfully so, I want to celebrate them while they are here and can understand that there relevance is appreciated as apart of our rich history.

The Romance Challenge Day 10

Today is the last day of The Romance Challenge Tips but not the last day of the challenge for you at home. I consolidated 28 tips into 10 days of post, now you still have the rest of the month to enhance your relationship with your mate. Those of you who are participating I hope that your relationship is in a better place before you started the challenge and I wish you continued success in your relationships.

Tips 25-28

• Public Indecency: Your backyard, deck or patio is outdoors but it’s your property. Get a little risky and see what you and mother-nature can come up with.

• On Demand: Expand your horizons and order a flick, yea that’s right a porno I’m not a fan personally, but for many people this is a way to learn some new tricks.

• Mother of Pearl: Pearls can do amazing things, get some and let your imagination run wild.

• Show Your Love: Sometimes we allow love to be an action word and while that works for some people others need to hear it. Express your love often as possible, let your mate know that you love them through your physical actions just as much as your verbal ones.

As of today you would have recieved 28 tips from me on how to increase the romance and intimacy in your relationship. I’ve laid the foundation now the rest is up to you. Don’t be afraid to mix things up, it will all pay off in the end. Happy Valentines Day!

aakofii THE JEWELRY DESIGNER & JimiKing Trunk Show

The Obamas Cover Essence

"Malia will tell you, my attitude was, if she came home with a B, that's not good enough because there's no reason why she can't get an A..." --President Barack Obama, ESSENCE

ESSENCE kicks off the first of its three-part education series, "Teaching Our Children," with a White House exclusive--an interview with President Barack Obama. In his first interview of 2010, he talks tough with ESSENCE editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray, Deputy Editor Tatsha Robertson and Washington Correspondent Cynthia Gordy about holding teachers accountable, closing the education gap between Black and White students, how he and First Lady Michelle Obama encourage daughters Malia and Sasha to love learning, and how you can do the same with your own children. Source:www.essence.com

The Romance Challenge Day 9

Tips 22-24
• Let’s Go Shopping: Go lingerie/lounge shopping together and pick out an outfit for each other. It's not about what you like for yourself it's about what they want to see you in, and vice-versa. Go with the flow get out of your comfort zone, whats more risky than being naked?

• Blind Play: Use a soft or silk scarf to blindfold your mate while you tickle there fancy, if they will let you tie up there hands to. The sense are extra stimulated when the sense of sight and touch is removed at the same time.

• Oh My Baby Oil: Instead of turning on the water in the bath tonight or after the bath water is out, whip out the baby oil, pour and rub it all over your bodies while in the tub. I'll leave what happens after that up to you. Be careful when getting out of the tub, but especially careful the morning after. Wash the bathtub out if you can remember before the next use.(non slip bath mat recommended)

Read More from The Romance Challenge Here. Friday is the last days of tips, I hope you have enjoyed the series as much as I have enjoyed sharing with you.

Divine Women Of Our Time: Susan Taylor

Susan Taylor was born in New York in 1946. In her early twenties, the young entrepreneur started Nequai Cosmetics, one of the first companies to create beauty products for African American women. Although her product line was well received in African American communities and in the Caribbean, Taylor was interested in expanding her career. She heard that Essence, a fledgling publication catering to African American women, was looking for a beauty editor. Taylor approached editor-in-chief Ed Lewis for the position and was hired in 1970.

Although Taylor had never attended college, she was a licensed cosmetologist who understood the specific needs and concerns of black women. Her monthly articles were popular with African American females who were historically undervalued and underrepresented by media companies. Taylor soon became responsible for fashion as well as beauty, and in 1981 she was promoted to editor-in-chief, a post she held until July 2000.

Under Susan's expert guidance, Essence experienced phenomenal growth. Its monthly readership soared to more than 5 million, reaching black women all over the world. Capturing the hearts of Essence readers was Susan's monthly column, "In the Spirit," which addressed themes such as family, faith, self-esteem and health. Her motivational features culminated in the popular books, In the Spirit: The Inspirational Writings of Susan L. Taylor and Lessons In Living. She also authored a third book with her husband, Khepra Burns, Confirmations: The Spiritual Wisdom That Has Shaped Our Lives. Taylor also became a popular speaker on the lecture circuit.

In March 1986, Taylor was elected vice president of Essence Communication, Inc. and became senior vice president in 1993. She was the host and executive producer of Essence, the country's first nationally syndicated African-oriented magazine television show, the Essence Awards show and the Essence Music Festival.

In 1993 Taylor collected a number of these essays and new ones for her book, In the Spirit: The Inspirational Writings of Susan L. Taylor. "In the Spirit is a deeply personal book," Taylor wrote in the preface. "It's about my healing and yours. It contains the seeds I want to plant in our hearts and within our universal garden so that we can uplift our people and ease the suffering in our world." Publishers Weekly commended the book, particularly the author's style, warmth, and generosity in revealing herself. Library Journal highly recommended it, noting that it was written "first of all for black women," yet still "appeals to common humanity while encouraging transcendence." In the Spirit became a national best-seller.

Although she recently stepped down from her duties as editor-in-chief, Taylor remains the chief editorial executive responsible for the overall vision, articles and images of the publication. She also maintains a high profile in the community, where she is a staunch advocate for the nation's poor. Taylor is an avid supporter of Edwin Gould Services for Children, a foster-care agency, and serves on the advisory board for Aid to Imprisoned Mothers. Many recognize her tireless work and charitable contributions. Mission Society. Source: Thehistorymakers.com answers.com
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Divine Women of Our Time is a series to remind us of the rich culture we come from and to celebrate black history month. I will profile strong women that have been apart of building a culture, paving ways for those after them and who have made a memorable impact within their industry. These women were not only leaders, but they were role models for many people at an appointed time. Most of these women are still with us thankfully. Rightfully so, I want to celebrate them while they are here and can understand that there relevance is appreciated as apart of our rich history.

The Romance Challenge Day 8

Tips 19-21

• For-Play: Bring out the games and turn game night into the main night. Weather its strip poker, roll the dice, hide & go seek or put a new spin on your favorites, this might be a game you won’t mind loosing.
• Routine No More: Switch up your schedule and surprise your mate with a mid day rendezvous’ or offer yourself as soon as they walk through the door, nightime nookie is a dessert and not the main course anymore.

• Lights Costume Action: Using items around the house, seduce your mate through role playing. Costumes, wigs, aprons anything you can think of to get you in character for the role of a lifetime. Most adult novelty store sell costumes or you can always try party city for cheap accessories you can dress up with.

Read More from The Romance Challenge Here

Divine Women Of Our Time: Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford on February 18, 1931) is a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, editor, and professor. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed black characters. Among her best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, and Beloved. She went on to publish 9 novels. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

In 1949 Morrison entered Howard University to study English. Morrison received a B.A. in English from Howard in 1953, then earned a Master of Arts degree, also in English, from Cornell University in 1955. After graduation, Morrison became an English instructor at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas (from 1955-57) then returned to Howard to teach English.

Some years later she moved to Syracuse, New York, where she worked as a textbook editor. A year and a half later she went to work as an editor at the New York City headquarters of Random House. As an editor, Morrison played an important role in bringing black literature into the mainstream. She edited books by such authors as Toni Cade Bambara, Angela Davis and Gayl Jones.

In 1987 Morrison's novel Beloved became a critical success. When the novel failed to win the National Book Award as well as the National Book Critics Circle Award, a number of writers protested over the omission. Shortly afterward, it won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and the American Book Award. Beloved was adapted into the 1998 film of the same name starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover. Morrison later used Margaret Garner's life story again in an opera, Margaret Garner, with music by Richard Danielpour. In May 2006, The New York Times Book Review named Beloved the best American novel published in the previous twenty-five years.

In 1993 Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her citation reads: Toni Morrison, "who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality." In 1996 the National Endowment for the Humanities selected Morrison for the Jefferson Lecture, the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in the humanities. Morrison's lecture, entitled "The Future of Time: Literature and Diminished Expectations," began with the aphorism, "Time, it seems, has no future," and cautioned against misuse of history to diminish expectations of the future.

Morrison was honored with the 1996 National Book Foundation's Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, which is awarded to a writer "who has enriched our literary heritage over a life of service, or a corpus of work." In addition to her novels, Morrison has also co-written books for children with her younger son, Slade Morrison, who works as a painter and musician. She is also currently a member of the editorial board of The Nation magazine. In the Democratic primary contest for the 2008 presidential race, Morrison endorsed Senator Barack Obama over Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton though expressing admiration and respect for the latter. Source:Wikipedia.com
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Divine Women of Our Time is a series to remind us of the rich culture we come from and to celebrate black history month. I will profile strong women that have been apart of building a culture, paving ways for those after them and who have made a memorable impact within their industry. These women were not only leaders, but they were role models for many people at an appointed time. Most of these women are still with us thankfully. Rightfully so, I want to celebrate them while they are here and can understand that there relevance is appreciated as apart of our rich history.

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Divine Women Of Our Time: Cathy Hughes

Cathy Hughes, born Catherine Elizabeth Woods in Omaha, Nebraska on April 22, 1947, is an American entrepreneur, radio and television personality and business executive. After obtaining her degree from Creighton University She began her career in radio with KOWH and later went on to become the General Sales Manager of WHUR-FM, the Howard University-owned, urban-contemporary radio station.

Cathy Hughes made presentations to 32 different male loan officers to get the funding to buy her first radio station: "And the fact I was an African American female in her early thirties and a single mom, I was not the most desirable of candidates to them. And they all told me no. The 33rd presentation was to a woman banker at Chemical bank, her first week on the job. She was Puerto Rican. And she said to me, 'I thought my first loan would be to a Puerto Rican entrepreneur, but I guess an African-American female is close enough, I'll do the deal. And her name was Lydia Colón and she loaned me the money to buy the station'."

In 1979, Hughes founded Radio One, and with then-husband Dewey Hughes bought AM radio station WOL 1450 in Washington, D.C. After the previous employees had destroyed the facility, she faced financial difficulties and subsequently lost her home and moved with her young son to live at the station. Her fortunes began to change when she revamped the R&B station to a 24-hour talk radio format. Since 1980, Ms. Hughes has worked in various capacities for Radio One including President, General Manager, General Sales Manager and talk show host. Ms. Hughes has been Chairperson of the Board and Secretary of Radio One since 1980, and was Chief Executive Officer of Radio One from 1980 to 1997.

Hughes and Radio One went on to own 70 radio stations in nine major markets in the U.S. As of 2007, Hughes's son, Alfred Liggins, III, serves as CEO and president of Radio One, and Hughes as chairperson. Hughes is also a minority owner of BET industries.

In January 2004, Radio One launched TV One, a national cable and satellite television network which bills itself as the "lifestyle and entertainment network for African-American adults." Hughes interviews prominent personalities, usually in the entertainment industry, for the network's talk program TV One on One.

Cathy Hughes believes in creating opportunities for her employees: "Maybe 10 years ago now I had a goal of having 1000 women and people of color on my payroll. Well, I now have 2200 employees and so I have upped my goal to 5000 women and people of color. Because someone opened the door for me, and it is now my responsibility to open it for others, and I think that that's my true mission."

Both Cathy Hughes and her son, Alfred Liggins have been named Entrepreneur of the Year by the company Ernst & Young. She is also a notable member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Source:Wikipedia.com radcliffe.edu
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Divine Women of Our Time is a series to remind us of the rich culture we come from and to celebrate black history month. I will profile strong women that have been apart of building a culture, paving ways for those after them and who have made a memorable impact within their industry. These women were not only leaders, but they were role models for many people at an appointed time. Most of these women are still with us thankfully. Rightfully so, I want to celebrate them while they are here and can understand that there relevance is appreciated as apart of our rich history.