Being Black in America: I Am Black, Not A Person of Color

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I am a Black American, not a woman/person of color. What’s the difference? Being a Black American whom ancestors went from :

✔️ slavery

✔️ sharecropping

✔️2 parts Northern migrations due to lynching and harsh Jim Crow laws 

✔️Segregation to the Civil Rights movement

✔️Limitations of Affirmative Action policies
✔️Redlining 

✔️Limited or no wealth
✔️Environmental racism such as broken school systems/toxic waste sites/food deserts

✔️Job discrimination due to hair texture and ethnic-sounding names 

✔️Bank and mortgage companies predatory practices and blatant racism

 ✔️400 plus years of holistic brokenness 
✔️Institutionalized racism, including racist policies and laws
✔️My brothers and sisters getting gun down
✔️Genocide
✔️Lack of quality insurance and medical needs
✔️Aging 7 times quicker due to holistic stress

✔️A constant state of rage
✔️Lack of Safety and Security while breathing, exercising, attending school, sleeping, chilling, and etc
✔️Highest Birth and Child mortality/Medical Apartheid 
✔️Mass incarceration of Black Men
✔️Drugs and other addictions ravishing my community/Still recovering from the Crack epidemic, three-strikes policies, and '94 Crime Bill
✔️Pandemic ravishing and killing my people at an alarming rate

We are owed reparations, restitution, repair, and restoration! We have been owed this debt since we have been violently snatched from our original place. You owe my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-grandparents, and the list continues. We are still being feared, don’t have a place of refuge due to my ancestors being violently forced into slavery, breeding camps, plantations,  and the list continues.

Excuse me if I don’t claim or say people/women of color! My experience as a Black American woman is unique, unadulterated, and unapologetic. We have been here for 400 years and counting. We are the alchemist, and we aren't going anywhere. Our stories are historic and damn near paramount, and I refuse to water down my lineage to blend in and be forgotten.

The Careerist Project Social Impact Coaching

We are committing our time, skills, purpose, and talent of individuals who have been deeply affected by the COVID-19. We are committed to an individual’s personal, professional, and holistic growth and development by committing 6 weeks of FREE virtual coaching to those who are serious-minded, talented, and part of this affected group.

We are identifying 6 women who are in need of personal, professional, and holistic coaching. If you are a woman of color, unemployed, underemployed, or struggling financially; we encourage you to apply to our 6-weeks FREE virtual coaching program.

This coaching program is free, y'all. F-R-E-E. Head over to www.careeristproject.com for details!

Please share our new coaching program with those who have been affected by COVID19. All you have to do is be committed to a 6-week coaching program and other criteria along with uploading your resume and answer a few questions.

Please apply at https://careeristproject.com/social-impact-coaching

Got questions? Email us at hello@careeristproject.com

Self-Care for Brown Girls: Forgiveness is the Highest Form of Healing

#SelfCareforBrownGirls: Forgiveness is the highest form of healing. To start your journey of healing, please start forgiving yourself and others. Forgiveness will free you. 

Self-Care for Brown Girls Workbook: http://bit.ly/SelfCareforBrownGirls

Heal Your Inner FLY Girl: You Are Good Enough!

Somewhere along the line someone or an event indicated we are not good enough. We question ourselves, second guess ourselves and allow the self-doubt creep in like a thief in the night. We need to check people and check ourselves when we want to go back into that dark place. Adult bullying is real. Many people are suffering from low self-esteem which is causing us to stay stuck and unfulfilled.
If you like this video, please like, share, and comment. Also if you have any questions, place those in the comment section or email me at drea@browngirlfromboston.com

Peace, Love, and FLYness,
Drea

Glorifying Busy Isn't Cute, Boo! (Video)

Please stop glorifying busy! When we glorify busy we are usually failing in other areas in our personal and professional lives. When we glorify busy we are ineffective and incomplete in projects, relationships, self-love, and self-care. You don't get a badge of honor for glorifying busy, being Superwoman, or saying yes all the time! You usually get burnout, onset chronic mental and physical illness, and used!

Stop glorifying busy and pass this message on to your folks who are "busy"!

The Go-In Tribe: An Online Support Group Created For Us By Us

All it take is one article (http://bit.ly/leaninnot), one online and offline discussion, two best friends who are passionate about personal and professional development for women of color, with one common goal in mind for women of color to "Go-In" in a sacred and safe environment. Less Talking and More Action. 

Interested in the Go-In Tribe? Please fill out this short form and we will get back to very soon! Let's Go-In, Brown Girls: bit.ly/goinform

(Video) National Black Women Society: Women of Color Summit Power Lunch Session: I Am My Own Boss and I Make My Own Money

On September 17, Andrea C. Imafidon, CEO/Blogger/Coach of Brown Girl From Boston was invited to share her entrepreneurship journey with Black Women professionals in Boston, MA at Simmons College. The name of her Power Lunch Session entitled: I Am My Own Boss and I Make My Own Money. Check out the video above and and learn some tips on being your own Boss and making your own money, your way.

For Brown Girls Who Are Considering Coaching: But Don't Know Much About Coaching

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, you do better."-Maya Angelou Coaching is an interactive and powerful way to call you to your highest purpose and helping you to break through to your life's passion and purpose. Coaching is a safe place in which you can remove yourself from the daily distractions, remove your mask in a safe and loving environment. Coaching also provides people with regaining your voice, hope, and power to a better YOU! Coaching is what you make it, fun, tough and empowering. You will be in your feelings, you will be held accountable and possibly do the ugly cry, but you are on the road of healing. I discovered that coaching is the new phenomenon, especially in the community where ethnic diverse lives. Coaching been around for at least 25 years. Within the last decade, coaching exploded as the new and improved field. Whenever I write, discuss and blog about coaching, I have a lot of people give me the side-eye or seem to hesitate to ask in-depth questions about coaching. Many are fearful due to lack of knowledge of coaching, unclear of what they want to work on, uncommitted to the coaching program, and the list continues. Are my brown girls and beaus fully understand coaching? And the amazing transformation process that takes place? Culturally and historically, women of color, especially African-American women dismissed anything therapeutic/clinical such as seeking a therapist, counselor or social worker because they didn't want labels place on them such as "Cray Cray" or weak. Usually, women of ethnic diversity, especially African-American women suffer in silence or try to pray it off. Also, as an African-American woman, we have been programmed and browbeat into not "telling our business to outside folk." My questions to those who are suffering in silence and distrustful of others: How is that working for you? It is time to break the generational curse of being strong, independent and able to hold it together. Honestly, we as women of color are not able to hold it together because many of us are suffering, struggling and stressed. Stop going through life on autopilot. As a Social Worker and Life Coach, I understand the true value of seeking a coach. I also understand that it takes courage and vulnerability to admit to yourself that you are "sick and tired of being sick and tired" and you are ready for a change. Not only do I coach women of ethnic diversity to live out loud, boldly, fearlessly and unapologetically; I coach women who are looking to start/restart their business. I coach women to start their business from start to launch and it is such an amazing thing. Coaching vs. Counseling It is important to me that you have clarity about the difference between coaching and other types of professional services such as therapy or counseling, consulting and mentoring. Coaching focuses on where you are presently and where you and where you are going, with a goal of helping you gain clarity about your vision, eliminate obstacles to your success, accelerate the pace of personal and professional growth and do results that allow you to live your best life-professionally and personally. We can focus on any area of your life: Relationships, Finances, Spiritual Life, Work, and Business, or Physical Health and Environments. While coaching is a forward-focused, counseling tends to deal more with past issues in which you may find yourself stuck and struggling. We may occasionally discuss something that has occurred in the past, for clarifying the present, but your coaching will not focus on resolving the past. Do you need coaching or counseling? If your past is an issue, counseling is your best option. If your past is simply a fact (regardless of whether the circumstance were difficult or negative), you are probably ready for coaching. If it seems that there is an issue for which you may need counseling, I will suggest it. With the support of a counselor or therapist, some people choose to engage in coaching and counseling simultaneously, but with a focus on different areas of life for each service. I also believe that women of color don't see other women of color offering their coaching services, nor feel that coaching is a necessity. Coaching is not only a necessity, but it's affordable. As a coach, I deal with the here and now issues such as achieving your goals and dreams. Coaching deal with celebrating the victories and improving the room for improvement. (Hence, I didn't say weakness because I don't like that term.) Coaching deal with celebrating your true essence and having someone to cheer you on to complete that unwritten book, relocating to another city, state, or out the country and just discovering your true greatness. Coaching is all about investing in yourself. Embracing your essence and being F.L.Y (First Loving Yourself)! Coaching isn't court mandated (thank goodness), we don't stay stuck with discussing the past issues which are keeping you from shining. If you find yourself stuck in your past issues or trauma, I would more than likely refer you to a therapist, who is educated and equipped with the clinical tools. Most importantly, coaching is a beautiful, growing experience. Brown Girls you are amazing and great! Do we have challenges and difficulties? Yes, we do. Can we be great? Yes, we can! Coaching Questions: What is holding you back from living your life loudly, boldly, fearlessly, and unapologetically? Do you know the value of life coaching? What is holding you back from pursuing coaching? We will love to hear from you! Comment in the comment section below. Sign-up for your 30-minute complimentary coaching discovery call! Thank you for reading Brown Girl From Boston! XOXO, Drea

What’s Your Passion Feature: Brown Girl From Boston Featured Interview

This week Brown Girl From Boston was featured on Wombanist Views, Blog Talk Radio segment! Andrea Imafidon, Founder and Coach of Brown Girl From Boston discussed being a Brown Girl From Boston, life's passion and purpose, the benefits of hiring a life coach and what does a startup business coach entails.

Wombanist Views created and produced, and co-hosted by Cherise Charleswell, is dedicated to broasdcasting the voices of women of color, who are doing positive things in their communities around-the-globe. 

Here is the link to the interview! Listen to Interview

Thank you for listening! Let us know about your thoughts on life coaching? Would you hire a life coach or startup coach if you needed one?