Where Is Tanya?

January 12, 2016 I’m listening to 100.3fm Old School an interview with an author I believe of “Behind Closed Doors”  a fictional novel based on a sex trafficking survivor named Tanya. I have been raising awareness about the derogatory treatment women and men go through. Outside of Terrance Tykeem addressing child sexual abuse I haven’t been able to cover much about the men addressing these same issues affecting men.

Would like to find a way to end sexual and all exploitation of our most vulnerable members in our society. During the #BreakingTheSilence town hall, Girl’s Justice League Kyndal Clark spoke of her experience as a social caseworker in a high school in Philadelphia. She had a student name Tanya, who was the only Asian American student in an all black school. Kyndal and the schools’ dean made a home visit because of Tanya’s excessive absence from school. Language barriers kept the mother from communicating but she allowed Kyndal and the school dean to enter Tanya’s bedroom. Tanya’s room was torn apart much like Tonya had been as she laid disoriented in her bed. Tanya’s world is shattered because her mom’s boyfriend abuses her. They again questioned the mom to no prevail.

The Philadelphia Department of Human services were contacted. DHS said they couldn’t find Tanya’s address. #%&%$%#@&^*   The school kicked Tanya out and refused to let her return. Judge Lori Dumas, Court of Common Pleas, Family Division oversees the sex trafficking courts. Judge Dumas shared with us that 99% of the young girls and women who end up in her courtroom were sexually abused. These young girls and women were being charged as prostitutes but that law was changed to charge them with being trafficked.

I wonder where is Tanya? Is she still caught up in a life full of careless systems? Or worse? Systems that play a blind eye whenever possible. Her mother and her probably came here looking for a better life. Only to have one wall after another block their freedom to enjoy life.  The authoress who wrote “Behind Closed Doors” mentioned she did so to raise awareness about the dangers of glorifying the sex trade, our young women think that partying is the way. NOT!! In South L. A. the young girls/women walk around with dresses/shirts that barely cover their ass and no panties. We can do better than this if we take the time to pay attention and care versus pay attention with a blind eye.

When Will The African American Community Stand Together?

Read a post asking us to stand by Mr. Bill Cosby simply because he is a black man. My response: i want to support him, but have a challenging time doing so. for he talked about using Spanish fly on t.v. so I'm sure he has raped several of those women because of the Spanish fly culture that was promoted during his rise in stardom. i don't like the way white media constantly talks about his case and not the catholic priest who moved child pedophiles from school to school.

"After 12 days of deliberations, a Common Pleas Court jury found that Lynn allowed the Rev. Edward V. Avery, who had a history of sexually abusing children, to live in a Northeast Philadelphia rectory, where he later assaulted a 10-year-old altar boy. Avery pleaded guilty in the 1999 attack and is serving five years in prison."http://articles.philly.com/.../61693800_1_house-arrest...


Crazy i was wondering when, who and if we should stand by those in the African American community when accused and or found guilty of crimes against our communities and society. Exploring the African American woman and why some of us don't support one another when the question of who and when to support popped into my mind. The question popped in my mind because i have been video documenting the African American communities and learning that what we have in common is that we come from different parts of Africa and was born in different parts of The United States of America. Documenting women for the "Changing Attitudes Towards Women" campaign that i created in March 2015 i began to see the various icebergs that make up the African American woman. i plan to focus on these icebergs to help bring light to some of the support struggle in our communities.

I support my people without judgement. I also hold my people accountable. For example i attend African American cultural events to support our culture and past on our history. I'm known for my anti-charter school stand, i see charter schools as genocide on poorly resourced communities. Sad but true, those who believe they are the authority with pasting on the African American culture are also big charter school supporters. So when i attend these events the room or air often goes stiff because I'm judged by my advocacy. I don't judge those who support charter schools and have invited them to some of my recordings to give them voice also. I'm not a religious person but volunteered four days for the World Meeting of Families Pope Francis visit. I'm able to see past our differences and work with those the catholic church, and charter school supporters on other concerns in our communities but they can't do the same towards me.

Bottom line, finding common ground depends on how mature we are and how strong our desire to come together is. How do our actions affect others? I understand that my complexion is a barrier caused by Willie Lynch. Because of my complexion i have learned when to stand firm and when to fall back. I don't expect everyone to understand my position but i know when and when not to take position. i will not give up on the African American Community i really appreciate our diversity!!

The Women Uniting The African American Community

The exploration that I’m sharing via digital media documentation is an exploration into the raped and currently self destructive mode of thrown away people. Lost because we do not know who we are thanks to a society stuck in a childish state of mind: “conformity aka I think I’m better than you so you have to do what I do or say to be accepted”. The claws of this barbaric way of thinking has weaved into many of the ways of the United States of America. Which brings me to wonder what is barbaric way of thinking? Is the thinker or the doer barbaric? What have we become?

There is a desire to come together and become a caring community of African Americans. I received an email from Umoja Magazine stating their goal is to unite us. There was an article on Queen Mother Falaka Fattah founder of The House of Umoja being recognized for her work.  Do you know who Queen Mother Falaka Fattah is? She is one of the bravest Philadelphians that I know about. Queen Mother Fattah took a stand and organized Philadelphia communities to end gang violence. They celebrated 40 years of the Imani pledge to put down the guns and live a better way than gang life.

While attending “Breaking The Silence A Philadelphia Town Hall on Girls and Women of color and their allies” co-hosted by Girls Justice League, we took an oath of duty. Seems some of us took that oath a bit prematurely, like babies sticking our hands into a box of chocolate? Do we know Who’s in the fights? What are we looking to win? How do we develop a healthy inclusive mentality that says all is welcomed and not be uncomfortable with those who are different? If belief is some of our realities how do we Stop imposing beliefs on others?  How do we define support? 

Sharing our stories is a start!!

Dr. Kimberle Crenshaw founder of the African American Policy Forum and professor of law at UCLA and Columbia Universities, is doing the research on the state of women of color in the United States of America and brings the academia voice into our fight. 

The African American Policy Forum is a powerful resource aiding in the creation of a society that allows women and those identifying as women to be who we were born to be and not societies norms. Dr. Crenshaw work helps eliminate the curtains of lies we live behind, by bringing voice to the ignored and brutal conversations behind the icebergs of being a woman of color in the United States of America. Reality is we live in a society based on policy; we the people have the power to influence policies governing our lives.

Empress Chi founder of "The Million Woman March" was at the "Breaking The Silence" town hall informing us of "The National Campaign for the Elimination of Violence and Abuse of Women and Girls of African Descent". 

I support Empress Chi because she is important to the African American culture.  Particularly the history of African Americans in Philadelphia, and advocates so that we know our history. I’m looking forward to the 2016 Million Woman March and the international movement to end violence against women of African descent.  It is our duty to fight, win, support each other.

These three women are a few of the no fear advocates focused on the quality of life for the African American community,  two with a focus on African American women.  All these women have different mentalities sharing the purpose to give voice to our communities and end the violence and abuse we suffer. I realize and embrace each of these women differences because we all have a role on this path of unification within the African American community. 

This blog was written December 25, 2015 for those who celebrate Christmas, I say this is one of the most deceptive days with no disrespect to your faith. How is lying to the innocent, to get them to do right, become so much of the American culture? Fairytales. Cultures. Reality

What Is Going On At The Philadelphia High School For Girls?

Preparing for "Breaking The Silence" A Philadelphia Town Hall on Girls and Women of Color, i learned more disturbing facts about my alma mater The Philadelphia High School For Girls. i say that i learned more because in November 2012 i had reached out to the school to address concerns of domestic violence i had witnessed with some of my little sisters. i was working as a tax preparer for Liberty Tax Services at the checking place located at Broad & Olney Ave. when my little sisters would come into the location and get beaten by boys hanging in the check cashing location. My little sisters would laugh as if the treatment they were going through was acceptable. i reached out to them in front of the boys and informed them all that, that behavior is considered domestic violence and should not be tolerated.

i tried to connect with the principal but she would not respond. i contacted Women Against Abuse and addressed my concerns with them. They told me that the host classes that educate girls and boys about domestic violence. i reached out to Girls High again to inform them about the domestic violence prevention classes offered at Women Against Abuse and was not received well.


December 12, 2015 i learned that my sister was expelled from the Philadelphia High School For Girls because of her sexuality. I have not loaded the video of her speaking out at "Breaking The Silence" as of yet. Please check this blog or my youtube in about a week to view her speaking out against this abuse. She should sue the school for the abuse and stress they have caused her.

Hiding from the truth seems to be the way at GHS. If you are not aiming for the bougie black status then you are not welcomed by some of the black women who graduated from GHS. i remember the bougies when i attended and how they would talk about me because they didn't understand me nor tried to get to know me.

We can do better than what is currently going on at girls' high. It is our duty to do better!!

This is another sister of mine, earlier this year speaking about what she went through at GHS. Will post more video soon!!

Thanks Attorney General Kathleen Kane for Being A No Fear Advocate Pulling The Curtains on Porn Gate

 

Those disconnect curtains are coming down, exposing the silent aka peaceful rape taking place in the United States of America. Thanks to no fear advocate Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, who went up against the powers that be by exposing Porn Gate. Porn Gate exposed emails of elected officials containing racism along with derogatory treatment women working for the old boys society, have to go trough just to maintain their life styles. These women were sexually exploited and the derogatory talk of secret circles.

The Pennsylvania justice system is publicly in chaos. Our Attorney General Kathleen Kane vowed to end the corruption in the justice and political systems of Pennsylvania. I voted for her because I would also like to see an end to all the corruption polluting our legal system. The impact of this clean up is huge.  I use social media and reached out to national media programs to help spread the word about porn gate. With hope that we as a society can end derogatory treatments for all, change attitudes towards women and femmes along with support our most vulnerable members of society worldwide.

 Unfortunately our AG has gotten her hands a bit dirty by leaking information to the press and then lying under oath about the leak. She also dismissed a corruption case that my friend no fear advocate, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams bought against corrupt Pennsylvania Legislatures. Seth fought that dismissal and won, the state legislators were removed from office. The third ugly twist in the Pennsylvania corruption clean up is that Fina is a prosecutor who sent horrible emails demonstrating the unspoken abuse of power towards his female counterparts and now works for Seth.

The entire state justice system is under investigation in Pennsylvania. I hope this means an end to back door deals and leads to a fair justice system in Pennsylvania. To take down the trolls of deeply rooted corruption comes at a price. A toll truly exhibiting the  disconnect within our society.

Did You Know That West Philadelphia Has The Most Closed Public Schools?

West Philadelphia is number one for closing public schools I learned during a recent meeting at Huey elementary. The residents of Samuel B. Huey expressed their concerns during this meeting, that I was told was to create a School Advisory Council. That was not the case, the meeting was to choose parents to interview charter schools if the SRC decides to make the school a charter.  There is no SAC at Huey and no desire to create a SAC.

The meeting was to start at 6pm, but district staff choose to stand around and talk to each other as if our time meant nothing to them. 6:22pm Pam Africa told them that they need to start the meeting. The district staff stated they were sorry and she was right. The meeting was called to order by the community who shortly after the start broke out into rage due to no presentation, no mics, no respect for the community whatsoever and they had the nerve to call the police and have them stand guard.

I really felt the stress of the parents and community members as the evening went on. Parents addressed that they felt that funds were abused and not working for the students and families.

One parent who volunteers in the school stated that she started an after school program to help the students stay out of trouble and build self-esteem.

She mentioned that after she spoke to the district staff about the school changing into a charter school she was on board for the charter and that is when the community got heated. They explained to the parent that the district was there to create a charter school and would not inform you of anything different. The community then demanded that all the parents and concerned community members come together and learn all the facts and options.

What we didn’t learn that evening is that our current Superintendent Dr. Hite graduated from Eli Broad non accredited Superintendent school and was given a blueprint for closing public schools.

I. What is this guide and who is it for?

This is a guide for school district operators considering school closures to address significant budgetary challenges. Note that this tool was not designed to assist with school closures as part of a periodical closing and opening of schools for academic performance, though a subset of the strategies may still be applicable.

Drawing on effective practices and lessons learned from 10 large urban school districts1 that have recently closed schools, this guide provides frameworks, timelines and recommended practices for:

• • •

Deciding whether to close schools and which schools to close Engaging and communicating with stakeholders Effectively executing school closures

This guide describes first what it takes to go through the school closure process; second, the do’s and don’ts of school closures—some major risks and mitigation strategies other districts have identified; and finally, the detailed steps a district must take to decide upon and conduct school closures.

Last edit date 5/20/09 For further information or referrals to personnel in districts contributing to this guide, please e-mail: tools@broadfoundation.org.

 Fortunately we have James Kenney taking over the mayor office in January and he plans to save our public schools with the community school model. The community school model is everything that we that have been advocating to save public resources have been advocating for. We want professional educators, counselors, nurses and support staff. No more experimenting with our communities and families. Students looking at education as a possible career are welcomed as long as they have a trained professional shadowing them with students. Advocacy is often a long road, but we are winning because we did not give up. We stood firm to those who choose to privatize our public resources and our voices are being heard.

Committee of Seventy November 3rd 2015 General Election Assistance #votenov3rd Bike Tour and more...

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On November 3rd we'll be electing three members of the PA Supreme Court, almost half the Court. That means after the election the Court could wind up split anywhere from 5-2 Democratic to 5-2 Republican.

If the Court is controlled by Republicans, we'll probably lose a wide range of cases involving:

• full funding for public schools 
• gerrymandering 
• fracking 
• prisoner rights 
• the right of Philadelphia to enact a minimum wage 
• regulate guns

And whether Democrats win these races will depend almost entirely on turnout in Philly because that's where the Democratic voters are.  Yet, most people in Philly don't know this election is even taking place. (Neighborhood Network)

Not often that we get three open seats in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. I've been calling people to get them involved with this very important election. Most are on board but some did not know about the election or who is running. Important for us to get this election information out to as many registered voters as possible, for we must win!!

n addition to being one of Philadelphia’s most reputable photographers – with a career spanning over 20 years – Dominic Episcopo has created perhaps one of our most awe-inspiring, and creative signs. And today we are THRILLED to announce that we’ll be giving away his sign to one lucky Instagrammer on Election Day! Ok, here are the rules…

How to Enter
1) Follow @NSDemocracy on Instagram
2) Take your own photo of one (or more) of our 60 artist-created “Vote Here” signs, which will pop up all around Philly on Election Day from 7am-8pm, and post to Instagram using the hashtag #VoteNov3rd (Locations of all our signs can be found HERE.)

Increase Your Chances: Each sign you photograph and post to Instagram will count as 1 entry. So the more signs you Instagram on Election Day, the better your chances of winning Dom’s INCREDIBLE artwork! (Not valid for ‘private’ Instagram accounts.)

Winner will be notified via Instagram direct message on November 4th… And 5 runner-ups will win an authenticated “Vote Here/Vote Aqui” print by another one of our AMZING artists, a legendary Philly artist himself, Joe Boruchow!

Happy hunting y’all!

http://nextstopdemocracy.com/votenov3rd-scavenger-hunt/