Go to http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&gid=264856989322 and follow the links to find out about how you can get a sneak peak at her book, "Phenomenally Me" which will be officially released on March 20, 2010. http://www.publishamerica.net/product88848.html

Sarah j. Heidelberg’s 164 page book of poetry, Phenomenally Me, is filled with precious gems of modern poetry. The book has seven sections which divide the poems into the eras of a woman’s life:  Encounters with Love deals with the perils of young love, Pagan Poetry explores various beliefs that although they may be taboo are encountered in life, Phenomenally Me (Celebrating Myself) expresses the beauty that is found in womanhood and humanity, Colorful Nights is a beautiful selection of poems showing the romantic side of love, Honoring God's Creation deals with finding God when you need him, Poetry in Words is a selection of poems about creativity, inspiration and life, and In Remembrance is a personal account about family and coming to terms with what is important in life.  The point of the journey in Phenomenally Me is to acknowledge that while there are differences in every person’s journey, there are similarities as well.  Knowing the path of another person can help an individual put their life into perspective.

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As the nation watches the presidential race, I cannot help but feel a sense of pride in the advances we are making as a culture of people despite being challenged by racism, glass ceilings, and small minds that limit our potential. As an alumni of Ole Miss, I am particularly aware of the courage and fortitude that one must possess to overcome these circumstances. That was one of the reasons I chose AKA. They have a legacy of firsts on that campus which have positively impacted and enriched the lives of many students. That said, I want to share with my sisters here, the phenomenal acheivement of one of our own and one who influenced me greatly. She is worthy to be celebrated!

Rose Jackson Flenorl will be installed as the first African-American president of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Alumni Association Oct. 4, 2008. The historical moment will take place at 10 a.m.  in the Gertrude C. Ford Ballroom in the Inn at Ole Miss.

Rose is manager of global community relations and philanthropy for FedEx, Memphis, Tenn., where she coordinates the community relations efforts for the company. Previously, she held positions at International Paper in Memphis, as manager of community relations and as managers of communications.

Flenorl was awarded the Memphis Black Business Directory's Simply the Best Award as premier civic supporter, Girl's Inc. She Knows Where She's Going Award, the Mertie Buckman Mentor Award from the Women's Foundation, and the United Way of the Mid-South's Heart of the United Way Volunteer Award. She also received an Outstanding Service Award from Associated Catholic Charities, Young Executive of the Year from Big Brothers and Sisters, the Alpha Kappa Sorority South Eastern Region Humanitarian Award, Empowerment Award for the Sisterhood Summit, and Education Alumna of the Year from The University of Mississippi. She is a recipient of the 2000 Memphis Woman Magazine's Fifty Women Who Make a Difference Award and the National Society of Fund-raising Executives' 1998 Crystal Award for Philanthropy, as well as honored at the 1998 Goodwill Homes International Friends Gala 1998 honoree.

A 1979 graduate of The University of Mississippi, Flenorl was the first African-American female named to the student Hall of Fame. She became a member of Ole Miss' Theta Psi chapter in the late 70s as an undergraduate. She remains active with Alpha Kappa Alpha as a member of the Beta Epsilon Omega Chapter in Memphis, TN. She is married to Richard Lee Flenorl and has one daughter, Lillie Clarissa. Lillie is a recent graduate of Ole Miss (2008) where she was inducted into the Hall of Fame and also became a member of the Theta Psi chapter.

Pictures below of Rose Jackson Flenorl

~Posted by Dr. N. V. House, Theta Psi '91, Upsilon Iota Omega

Michelle explains how we can support the Obama campaign.

It was 46 long years ago today - that's right I said...46 years ago in Bakersfield, California that the two joined hands in marriage. Three sons, several businesses and a few grand-children later, this super duo still work together to model positivity within their community. Join us in wishing our SkeeWeeTv member, Soror Ruthie and her Honey-do Joe a happy wedding anniversary.

http://video.skeeweetv.com/pages/akaversary_celebrating_holy.matrimony

Oh My Goodness! What a surprise and absolute Joy when I just happened to venture onto SkeeweeTV and see myself and my Honey-Do Joe, posted on our wedding anniversary. Thanks to my beautiful Sorority sisters for the lovely thought and sentiments. I thank God for such a long marriage to such a wonderful brother. With much love, Soror Ruthie

Morpheous,

 

I understand that a time frame was not mentioned by you, that was just to serve as a sort of prerequisite to my response, not the initial points that you made. 

 

I have to say that there are many things that you said that I certainly agree with, of course, there is the point of involvement vs. the change of mentality that you stated you are calling for., in my opinion, semantics,.  Why do I say that?  Simple.  If one makes a choice to be uninvolved in the lives of another because it is easier, cheaper, less dramatic and traumatic...that is based on a mental stance that at some point they have decided to take.  Now of course there are those that desire to be involved with the children that they have participated in bringing into the world, so they would not fall under this particular point.

 

I further push the basis of semantics based on the fact that  involvement, though it is a word that leaves a great deal of room for error, it also leaves lots of room for growth.  In that point, it does not and should not be limited to the lives of the children involved in any relationship.  I start my focus there because in looking at the generation of parents and children that we have today vs. the two generations before us, there has been a huge shift in the teachings of familial values and a great loosening of the moral belt that used to surround, define and hold the family together, hence the children of today being the primary victims of our “liberal” attitudes towards parenting, marriage and the family unit as a whole.  Now, if we are looking at the family as a whole and talking about the need for a shift in mentality, which in turn would cause many more of us to be involved with our mates and our children then we would be remiss to negate the mentioning of the fall away from the church and the spiritual and moral values that even in the days of slavery, kept our families strong and proud...most of all, unified no matter what.

 

Again, I agree with the fact that marriage and the dedication to morality and strong familial values should DEFINITELY be a great consideration when it comes to bringing children in the world.  I also believe that having those values means that we need to have that shift back to a place where marriage was honorable and not living callous and reckless lives with the irresponsible attitudes of "If it makes me feel good do it" or "I'm grown and can do what I want!"

 

Unfortunately, I do see MANY families where both parents are in the house and there is still the same sorts of problems.  Not because one does not recognize their responsibility to the other people in that household, but because they are staying together out some forced belief that it is best for the children.  But is that not just as much of a travesty? When the parents don’t speak, or all that they do is fight….do they not create an even worse environment than just living in the home with one parent and spending time with the other?  What’s my point?  Simply this.  Much more than even a shift in mentality and involvement should be called for.  Before either of those things, there has to be some recognition of the fact that there is even a problem.  After that, there has to be a willingness, a desire, to make the changes that need to be made.  Then, the problems have to be clearly identified and some viable solutions have to be put on the table.  It is at THAT point that one can begin to make the mental shift that needs to be made because they are then aware of what they need to be shifting to.

 

It really all boils down to the fact that we have to begin again with placing value on honor.  We live in a society today that the man or woman who chooses to wait to become involved in sex and parenting until marriage are made a mockery of, and the one who hops in and out of bed with whomever will allow them to and the woman who always walks around scantly clad are glorified.  Honor my friend, HONOR is something that we MUST begin to define and DEMAND in our lives again.  Then…and ONLY then will that change that must be made for the survival of the rapidly endangered species we call The Family, have the means, methods and opportunity to replenish and repopulate the earth.

Morpheous,

First I would have to say that I definately agree with the fact that the single parent home epidemic is sweeping the globe at an exponentially destructive rate, BUT I would have to say that we need to explore that on an even deeper level.

First, we must all understand an accept the fact that this is an issue that is not going to be readily rectified with the snap of a finger or some other foolish notion.  What we have to do at that point in the look at the chain of things that play very serious parts in this problem.  In my opinion, it is NOT the fact that one is born into a single parent home which is the major factor in that assumption.  The primary problem is that the parents are NOT taking the vested roles in the lives of their children that they should.  Together or not, the responsibilities of the parents do not dissipate simply because one does not live at the same residence of their children.  Being that I am a single mother, I know that differences can be made in the lives of our children to push them in the direction of the positive.  Each of my children are on the honor roll, have never been in any legal trouble and are all headed on a path to college.  Are they perfect?  NOT at all!  But I do recognize that the bulk of the burden of responsibility falls on me not my children.

Now, in that, the problem as I said is the lack of parental involvement....and I have seen LOTS of families where physical presence is there...but concern and involvement with the children are not.  So THEREIN lies the true problem.  We as parents are not involved in our children's lives as we should be.  We are not monitoring school grades, participating in the PTA, teaching our children the things that they need to know that are not being taught at school.  We don't have the relationships with our children that allow them to be able to come to us when they are in trouble or need someone to talk to...so they stay wrapped up in television and music and so on...meanwhile those gaps grow into canyons in our and our children's lives.  Since they can not get the guidance that they need from the ones that they should be getting it from, they listen to the little boys who pick up on their insecurities and prey on them by feeding into it.  They trust in the boys on the block b/c they have the new Jordan's and a $600 I-Phone and never go to work or school. 

We don't live lives before our children that command respect, which is why they have no respect.  We allow our children to speak to adults any way that they want to and then when they get disciplined, we run up to the school and "go off" on the teacher/principal or whomever when we should have been snatching that child up and dealing with them.  We don't put our children before God, where they belong!  If and I mean IF we go to church, we allow our children to stay at home because they don't want to go!  NO...they are children!  And children need structure and discipline.  The thing is we try to be our children's friend instead of their mother and their father b/c we don't want them to be mad at us.  WHAT!  I don't care if mine get so mad that they think they want to blow up!  When it boils down to it, they only have two choices when they get mad, 1) to get over it and move on at some point or 2) to stay mad forever and die mad about it.  The rules are the rules and they are not subject to negotiation.

As parents, we need to be involved in our children's lives, our priorities need to be STRAIGHT so that theirs can be.  We need to first walk in obedience to God thereby showing our children that even we have to listen to someone.  We have to be the people that we want our children to be, if we don't how do they learn? Does that alleviate our children of some level of responsibility? Of course not!  Nor does it excuse one parent from their job, their duty/obligation to their children...nor am I advocating pushing single parent homes as the answer.  The men in our communities HAVE to stand up and BE men, be counted and accountable.  When the head is absent from the body, there are bound to be some things out of place...but they can be fixed. 

The men, the heads need to recognize that respect is earned, NOT given.  You can not expect the women and children around you to hold you in high regard just b/c you were the other person there when that child was conceived.  If you want to be respected as a father, you must be active in the role of a father.  We women need to stop making ourselves so hard that we push men away and both of us need to build and have the self esteem to be in support of the other and honest enough to be able to say something is wrong and loving enough to help correct it rather than having the "oh, you messed up..you're gone!" mentality, or the "I don't need a man/women."  If that is the case, don't have children, because they DO need that other parent. 

It all boils down to priorities.  What is important to us.  Down to us being cautious enough not to just jump in bed with people we barely know and have children with them.  Down to not jumping in bed night after night with person after person, that we have no idea who the father of our children are or what children you have fathered.  We just MUST do better!  That is just it, we MUST do better.  If we had the self esteem for ourselves that we should have and the education and confidence that we should, MANY of those behaviors would be obsolete as we would care about US, each other AND our children...so things would be done much differently than they are now.  In my opinion, ALL of these things and more are from some perspective or another are all tied equally into being the problem.

Honestly, the problem really isn't the problem...we all know what they are, the problem is what are the solutions..... [MORE]

Good Evening Sorors, Friends and SkeeWee TV Community!

First and foremost I want to take the time to thank Our group creators for putting this beautiful site together and for allowing each and everyone of us to participate in her further growth, development as contributors to the site's content and exponential growth!

Second, as I shared with the creators, I honestly hope that this group will serve as a catalyst for growth and positive interactions between Sorors, Sisterfriends, Frat, Fellow greeks and the interactive membership of our online community.  This as I see it serves as the beginning of what can be one of the greatest channels/sites on the web.  I say that simply because ANY entity that allows some of the members of the most influential communities in the world for african american men and women is one that can be used to make a difference in the world. 

I am now and always have been, of the belief that our Founding Mothers and Fathers intended for us to be agents for the betterment of human kind (hence all of us having strong ties to community service) and that we can use any venue through which we connect one with another to  do just that.  It doesn't have to be just about the sharing of videos and the sharing of special moments of our lives, but a venue through which we make steps towards being the changemakers that our Sorors and frat, children and grandchildren, neices and nephews can look around and find that there are tributes on the web to the people we are, that we have been to the community and the difference that we made the efforts to regularly strive for, that our mottos and creeds were not just something that we say and post on chapter and individual websites...but that those mottos and creeds which we hold so near and dear to our hearts be the builders and the basis on which we have placed the foundational principles of our lives! 

I for one, MUST say, that I look forward to seeing how this group of LEADERS will contribute to the change as we ever move forward, one day, one hour, one minute, one STEP at a time.

Sisterly,

Soror Dr. Blackmon, MD, PhD

What do you think is the number one problem with black people in America? When you look around we have a lot of issues. We have gang problems, we have financial problems because The net worth of a Black family in America is $6,100 versus $67,000 for a White family! We have education problems because Only 45% of Black men graduate from high school in the United States! We have employment problems because 53% of Black men aged 25-34 are either unemployed or earn too little to lift a family of four from poverty! We have mental problems because black men are constantly killing each other.

And guess what I believe that all of these things are by products of the core problem.

What is the core problem your ask?

70% OF BLACK CHILDREN ARE BORN TO SINGLE FAMILY MOTHERS!

This is what I believe is the core of the problem. Let me start by saying thank you to the single black mothers for raising our black children.

Black people....Let's say that 30% black children were born to single family mother. If that were the case then we would not have a gang problem because a father would be in the home provide stern father-style parenting.

We would not have net worth issue because you can afford more as family.

We would not have education problem because there would be 2 people in the home to help educate the kids.

The list goes on and on....The black family has almost ceased to exist. Black children were more like to grow up with both of their parents during slavery than they are today.

Think about it! you don't have to agree with me you just have to respond!

Morpheous