Black Woman's Renaissance Violet T. Adams

In this special episode,  Black Women’s Renaissance honors the accomplishments and acknowledges the struggles of The Honorable, Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Justice Brown will soon be the first African-American woman on the  Supreme Court.  The Designate Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States received Senate confirmation on April 7, 2022, with all 50 members of the Democratic caucus and three Republicans voting in favor of the nomination.  I note here that despite having unique experiences and being as qualified  as the conservative justices on the court, 47 Republicans voted against her. This issue will be discussed later in the show.

We dedicate this show to the mother of Crystal Kelly, Ms Mary Ellen Kelly.  This episode features a special woman! Black Woman Renaissance will honor Ms. Crystal Kelly.  Crystal, is among other things, an advocate of inspiration and change.  This multi talented woman as the founder of the I Am Beautiful Award that honors formerly abused women who are now victorious, she is A talented health and welfare consultant, a certified Life coach, a  licensed life and health insurance  agent, and is currently a licenced Realestate Agent.  Crystal directed the ‘Face-2-Face’ mentoring group for junior and high school seniors located in Norfolk, VA, a motivational speaker,  has written several articles for Huami magazine, published by Mykel  Media in North Carolina, and is the founder of Make-it-Happen Entertainment, where she launched her own recurring event, Floetic  Expressions Open Mic Night. This event opened the door for local musicians and poets to  positively express themselves through the arts.  She currently Resides in metro Atlanta, GA, has Recently written a entitled,  “I Am Purposely Made!”

Crystal Kelly, the woman with 2 first names,  is passionate about making a  difference in other’s lives.  She once said,  “I love to be involved and put action towards change – not just  speak on it – you have to move on it.”  Crystal’s Mantra is “Your current situation does not define your final destination” This is the philosophy Crystal lives by, And this is why we honor the talented, beautiful, and compassionate Crystal Kelly as our Black Woman of Renaissance!

In this live recording,  we meet our Black Woman of Renaissance, Ashely M. Jones, Alabama's first black and the youngest Poet Laurette representative.  My Co-host for this show is Dr. Sharon Porter, Educator, writer, visionary and Editor in Chief of Vision and Purpose Magazine. Ashley shares with us vivid stories of her up-bringing, the road she traveled to being Poet Laurette, her struggles along the way and she treats us with a reading from her book, Reparations Now!   

Black Woman’s Renaissance

A podcast about women of color who are stepping outside the bounds of the American caste system we were relegated to. Today in every genre a record number of black women are accomplishing tasks that were believed impossible for us in spite of walls built to keep us out.


Welcome family to Black Women’s Renaissance.
I am your host, Dr. Violet T. Adams, Educator, speaker, writer, artist, all things woman, and creator of Black Woman’s Renaissance.

Today’s co-host is educator, author, publisher, and Editor-In-Chief of Vision & Purpose Life Style Magazine, Dr. Sharon H. Porter.
Introduce yourself Dr. Sharon

Thank you Dr. Adams. I am a lifelong educator (almost 30 years). I am currently an elementary school principal in the Washington DC metropolitan area. I am CEO Perfect Time SHP book publishing and owner and Editor-in Chief of Vision & Purpose Life Style Magazine, which is a bi monthly print and digital publication

Today Black Woman Renaissance will honor Ms. Ashley M. Jones, Alabama's new poet laureate. She became the first person of color and at 31 years old is the youngest poet ever appointed to the role.

(Bio)
Her prestigious award was announced Friday September 10, at the Magic City Poetry Festival of which Ashley was the founder. According to the release, Jones received the commendation during a Sunday meeting that was part of the Alabama Writers Cooperative’s yearly conference.

Being the brainchild of Jones, Magic City Poetry Festival debuted on Thursday, April 5, 2018 at the Naked Art Gallery in Birmingham, Alabama. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the last 2 festivals were held on zoom with the most recent one being held on April 3 of 2021. The Magic City Poetry Festival offers local poets, writers, and readers a venue for iconic expression.

At the tender age of four, this visionary dreamed of being a state poet laureate, a U.S. poet laureate, and a Nobel laureate. She began preparing for these goals at Epic Elementary School of Birmingham, Alabama where she chose a poem about Harriet Tubman to recite for her second grade assignment. This experience identified her life’s purpose as she began writing poetry.

With Her first goal being realized, an Alabama’s state poet laureate, Ashley is required to serve as “the ambassador of poetry for the state,” Her activities include touring the state “to make appearances at schools, universities, libraries and other state institutions, as well as give lectures, read poetry and hold workshops on a local and national level.” Now that she is selected, as a poet laureate she will be officially confirmed by the governor for a four-year term.

In the statement released by the festival, Ashley mused, “I’m so honored to serve my home state as an ambassador, advocate, and as a lover of poetry and all the people who write it, read it, and find new magic from it in this life. I have dedicated my life so far to making poetry accessible to all, to celebrating everyone’s voice, and working to eliminate gatekeeping in our industry. I’m so excited to spend the next four years helping to make Alabama poets and poetry radiate here at home and beyond.”

In addition to being the founder of the Magic City Poetry Festival she is a member of the Alabama Writers Cooperative, the Alabama Writers Forum and PEN Birmingham She serves as a member of the creative writing faculty at the Alabama School of Fine Arts and is a core faculty at the Converse College.

These are the reasons why we honor Alabama’s first Black Poet laureate, Ms. Ashley M. Jones, Our Black Woman of Renaissance.

KEEPING IT REAL:

Jones is honored, but says she has a long-standing love-hate relationship with Alabama and her hometown of Birmingham.

Can you relate Sharon?

Yes, I really can. I was born and raised in North Carolina. My love is deep for my home state, but there are certain events and actions that often have me questioning the intent

Today’s special guest is Ms. Arvis Renee Jones Walker, who is running for Clayton County School Board, district 8.  Clayton County voters in School Board District 8 will have two candidates to choose from in the September 21 special election.

What is the foundation of this quote?

“Our children are our most valuable asset and I want to ensure that we continue on the right track with a balanced budget, adequate tools for our teachers/students and infrastructure updates.”

How can you ensure the following statement:

[I will] make sure that all schools in this district are adequate with the resources that they need for the nurturing environment that our students need to learn.”

KEEPING IT REAL:

Clayton County is the 5th largest school district in the state but ranks 172 out of 192 yet experienced a 25% growth. What is your vision for Clayton County Schools?

District Eight includes some of the lowest performing schools in the state. All are Title I

93% free and reduced lunch.  What are your ideas for improving their performance?

How have the people of district 8 received you?

What have been your biggest challenges in this race?

CCPS has experienced a nine-year growth in the percent of students graduating (2011-2020) reflecting a 25.1 percentage point increase in the district-wide rate.

Citizens do not vote in off elections. What can you say to encourage them to vote?

How do you reach the Large Hispanic population, less than 3%white

The takeaways

It takes a Village not only to raise our children but to also to support each other

The bigger the challenge, the better the growth

Don’t complain about the problem if you don’t do anything about it.  

In the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, on August, 6, 2021, Felix concluded her illustrious 17 year Olympic career by acquiring her 11th Olympic medal, after winning gold in the women's 4 × 400 meters final, overtaking the 10 medals of track phenom Carl Lewis.   Additionally, The 35-year-old, the oldest American female track and field athlete to win a gold medal.

In a New York Times op-ed, she accused Nike, her longtime sponsor and a kingmaker in her sport, of penalizing her and other pregnant athletes in contract negotiations. The move was fraught. Felix risked losing her primary source of income and could have been blacklisted from major meets. Felix soon left Nike and signed with Athleta, becoming the women-focused apparel brand’s first athlete sponsor, paving the way for Simone Biles to make a similar move to Athleta in April. On June 23, Felix announced the founding of her own footwear and apparel brand, Saysh. Far from following corporate expectations, Felix is now taking full agency over her career—and legacy. Earlier this year, Bianca Williams, a Nike-sponsored sprinter from Britain who had a baby in March 2020, reached out to Felix. After Felix called out the sportswear giant, Nike expanded payment protections for pregnant women and new mothers. The takeaways You write your own story. It’s not over until you give up. Never Give up! Be an advocate for yourself and other women in your circle. Research Ob-Gyns who are sensitive to the health needs of black women. Open your own doors. When they say no, create your own yes.

This is why World Champion Sprinter Allyson Felix is our Black Woman of Renaissance of the week. 

In June 2018, Allyson told Wes she was pregnant. Fearing that Nike could rescind the offer if it found she was starting a family, Allyson and Wes decided to hide her pregnancy. Olympic runner Kara Goucher left Nike in 2014, and has said the company stopped paying her when she got pregnant with her son in 2010. Another former Nike runner, Alysia Montaño, claimed the company also told her it would stop paying her when she was pregnant.

She is an active voice for women, and especially for mothers who too often hear what she heard when she got pregnant with her now 2-year-old daughter, Cammy: That once women start having babies, their best athletic days are behind them.

During pregnancy, Felix developed preeclampsia, a condition marked by high blood pressure and adverse childbirth outcomes that is more prevalent in African-American women, which contributed to Camryn’s dangerous early birth. Though everyone ended up fine, America’s vast racial disparities in maternal mortality could well have pointed to a different outcome: a CDC study published in 2019 found that a Black woman with at least a college degree was 5.2 times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than her white counterpart. That year, Felix felt compelled to testify before Congress on the topic. “We need to provide women of color with more support during their pregnancies,” Felix told the House Ways and Means Committee. “Research shows that racial bias in our maternal health care system includes things like providers spending less time with Black mothers, underestimating the pain of their Black patients, ignoring symptoms and dismissing complaints.”

The takeaways

1. You write your own story.  It’s not over until you give up. Never Give up!

2. Be an advocate for yourself and other women in your circle.  Research Ob-Gyns who are sensitive to the health needs of black women.  

3. Open your own doors.  When they say no, create your own yes.