Frankly Speaking with Tyra G Tyra Garlington - Tyra G

We continue discussing with Michelle Petties., her book, and the mentoring program about Leaving Large.



"Life will work for me when I accept … The labels placed on me don’t always fit.



With its structures, expectations, and divisions, society has fostered certain ideas about women that are not always flattering. Many people believe that strong women are not feminine and that assertive women cannot be trusted. My all-time favorite is that women who exhibit any degree of clarity about who they are and what they want are dangerous. Do not forget that a bossy woman is domineering, making her the B word. We won’t bother to mention the myths that women are not as smart as men or that they cannot handle money as well. The point is some people believe these things about women, and some of these are women!



Labels define. Often, labels set up expectations. Labels prescribe how much, how little, and sometimes how long a thing can be used. Labels are descriptive. Labels are protective, and labels can be removed. It just may be that the time has come to take the labels off women. It is probably more accurate to say it is time for women to take the labels off themselves.



For a woman to realize that she is more than a mother, more than a wife, more than what she earns or what she does to earn a living, she must know her worth. This means she must test herself and her limits. A woman must learn to describe herself and establish her expectations for herself. She must encourage herself, support and nurture herself, be willing to be disliked, and violate the descriptions and confines imposed on her. 



My guest is doing the work today, paying the dues, and gracefully managing the rewards.



The first inscription in her new book is a quote from Maya Angelou: “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”



My guest personifies a butterfly and has come this week to share her journey. Her story will amaze, encourage, and excite anyone who has ever felt left out, left behind, or left over.



Listen, be inspired, and share.

I quote



"Life will work for me when I accept … The labels placed on me don’t always fit.



With its structures, expectations, and divisions, society has fostered certain ideas about women that are not always flattering. Many people believe that strong women are not feminine and that assertive women cannot be trusted. My all-time favorite is that women who exhibit any degree of clarity about who they are and what they want are dangerous. Do not forget that a bossy woman is domineering, making her the B word. We won’t bother to mention the myths that women are not as smart as men or that they cannot handle money as well. The point is some people believe these things about women, and some of these are women!



Labels define. Often, labels set up expectations. Labels prescribe how much, how little, and sometimes how long a thing can be used. Labels are descriptive. Labels are protective, and labels can be removed. It just may be that the time has come to take the labels off women. It is probably more accurate to say it is time for women to take the labels off themselves". --Iyanya Vanzant, Until Today 2000



My guest is doing the work today, paying the dues, and gracefully managing the rewards. The first inscription in her new book is a quote from Maya Angelou: “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit the changes it has undergone to achieve that beauty.”



My guest personifies a butterfly and has come this week to share her journey. Her story will amaze, encourage, and excite anyone who has ever felt left out, left behind, or left over.



Be inspired and share.

In her own words,



“We had music growing up, 78RPM’s that evolved into 45RPM’s and, always, the radio.  The radio in my day, Black and white, played everything.  Gospel Spirituals, even some opera when Leontyne Price came along.  You could listen to R & B late at night or you could go to the other station and listen to popular music.  There was also jazz if the wind was right.  I feel so sorry for the kids who only hear one kind of music.  Where do your dreams come from?



My dream was not to publish or to even be a writer:  my dream was to discover something no one else had thought of.  I guess that’s why I’m a poet.  We put things together in ways no one else does.”



She did not go unappreciated as revealed in a few recognitions below.



Seven NAACP Image Awards: for Love Poems; Blues: For All the Changes; Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea; Acolytes; Hip Hop Speaks to Children; 100 Best African American Poems; Bicycles.

Named one of Oprah Winfrey’s 25 Living Legends

Phi Beta Kappa

State Historical markers in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Lincoln Heights, Ohio

The Tennessee Governor's Award in the Arts

Tennessee Governor's Award In the Humanities

Virginia Governor's Award for the Arts

Woman of the Year, Ebony Magazine

Woman of the Year, Ladies Home Journal

Woman of the Year, Mademoiselle Magazine



This show is a replay of an NPR On Being with Krista Tippett Nikki Giovanni interview. You will love her authenticity, her humor, and her resolve.  Grab your favorite beverage, put your feet up, and exhale. Then, click below.

It’s March, National Women’s History Month when we intentionally recognize the ongoing great contributions women have made to our nation.



Frankly Speaking with Tyra G is celebrating this month with a twist. We are looking at phenomenal women and how we embrace and manage our universal experiences, our rainbows and clouds, and our courage and resolve.



We are a journey, not a destination; a process, not an event. Even when we are still, we are motion; loving, serving, nurturing, encouraging, and empowering. We are love and love does. But sometimes, sometimes we get stuck between our no longer the familiar, the habits and our not yet, who we were created to be,  and we may ask the question: “Am I enough?”   



By the way, the right answer is a resounding YES!



Our theme this month is: You are more than who you’ve become.



Across generations, three women of color celebrate Michele Obama and her bestseller, Becoming. Join Emma Allen, Denise Fayne, and Jamella Smith in an authentic and vulnerable discussion about how self-compassion, self-improvement, and self-worthiness, are critical to becoming the person you were created to be.



Listen, be inspired, and share.

We begin Women’s History and Appreciation Month celebrating phenomenal women who walk into this space through many doors. They willingly share their stories authentically and often vulnerably in order to pay forward what they have learned and to celebrate each other.  Thank you, ladies!



Irish author C.S. Lewis says,



“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You Too? I thought I was the only one.”



As a result of the women who have agreed to join me at the table, many friendships, although virtual will be forged.



Author and life coach Iyanla Vanzant says, “Life will accommodate you in any way that you choose. Life is always listening to the silent requests of your heart and mind. Life is always surveying the landscape of your heart, gathering the bits and pieces of the emotions buried there. Life is always monitoring the activity of your tongue, checking for ruins and sacred elements. Life knows that your mind, heart, and mouth will produce the requests of your consciousness even when you are most aware of it.



Until today, you may not have realized that life is answering your requests. You may not have believed that you have the power and the right to ask life for more than you already have right now. Just for today, be devoted to creating a life of positive, joyful requests. Create them first in your mind. Next create them in your heart. Then speak to them into existence. Be sure to remember what you have created. If it does not show up, check your counter requests.



Repeat after me, Today I am devoted to creating and requesting what I truly desire to experience in life."



I met today’s guests a few years ago, each on a separate occasion where their stories were shared, inspired, and begged for more.



Please welcome Ms. Kari Galloway and Ms. Helenia Bragg to the Frankly Speaking table. Their stories embody lessons not taught in school and affirm the belief that what happens to you is not who you are.



Click below, be inspired, and share.

Women's History Month is celebrating veterans and active-duty military who keep us and have kept us out of constant harm’s way, often at great costs. Considering this is the year after the 101st year anniversary of WWI, we are reminded that war is a part of human history. My goal is to share diverse war stories across the spectrum of age, gender, and race to include family impact and cultural legacies.



The Vietnam war was my coming-of-age war. I became immersed in and confused by the concurrent war at home, about the necessity of US involvement, while at the same time grieving over school friends who paid the ultimate price.



There were so many bold and untold stories. Today’s story although, history is her story. We will hear women who decided to make history instead of reading about it. The Voices of Women in Vietnam is a replay of a weekly National Public Radio show called With Good Reason.



When I first heard this show, it was such a heart tug I knew I had to share. It includes in their own voices, stories from wives, widows, nurses, librarians who took off their white lace gloves and struggled culturally, socially, intellectually, and physically to build a foundation for our continued gender-based struggles today.



So, brew a cup of tea, get comfortable and click below.  This show is dedicated to all women, your children, and your children’s children.



THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, then and now.