Nurah Speaks

My belief demands that I think five times before speaking.  This principle is a marvelous tool when under a barrage of hateful written and verbal attacks.  It commands one to pause and perform an assessment of the worthiness of one’s antagonist and the substance of the attack. It also serves as a prompt for one to be critical and self aware of one’s own language, behavior and reactions.  And ultimately one must determine what, if any, retort is advised under such circumstances. Often, in the critical analysis, one finds responding in kind levels the playing field and puts one on par with characters and personalities that may be quite unlike your own.  It is better to be discerning, disciplined and say nothing than to impinge one’s own character by responding in kind to individuals whose only gain is in spoiling one’s reputation.   There is discipline in silence.  It is a skill that is practiced by the wise. If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions or topic sug

I am pleased to welcome Councilwoman Cindy McCoy to Nurah Speaks.  Councilwoman McCoy is on a noble mission to end hunger in her community and she is working on that via her non profit ‘McCoys Stop the Hunger Food and Mobile Pantry’. McCoy's Stop the Hunger is a 501(c)(3) organization functioning as a food and mobile pantry that works with the community to address food insecurity and provide nutritious options to residents in need.  Councilwoman McCoy will be hosting her first Walk/Run-a-thon November 9, 2024 to not only bring the community together but also fundraise to continue the work. On episode 244 of the podcast, Councilwoman McCoy shares how she first began working in service to her community and her upcoming event. To learn more about McCoys Stop the Hunger Food and Mobile Pantry and to register for the Walk/Run-a-thon see the links below: Walk/Run-a-thon: Donate:https://go.dojiggy.io/stop-the-hunger/Campaign/Details Location: Cooper River Park, Intersection North Park & Airport Drive, Pennsau

In the absence of unity, we have no control or ability to establish a direction for our community.  Rather than directing ourselves, we are directed by those who do employ unity to materialize their goals and agendas.  And they return to us every few years using our persistent challenges as their platform to petition for our votes and endorsements.  But since we are not self determining in any substantial sense, we remain in the vulnerable position of need and dependency.   We are so much more empowered by the power of our unity and actualizing our needs.  With unity, we can set our own agendas rather than be a mere agenda item for those who really practice unity. If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions or topic suggestions to info@NurahSpeaks.com.  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website:  NurahSpeaks.com. Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email

This 2024 election season, one thing is guaranteed and that is the flood of propaganda penetrating via television ads, punditry and social media.  Not unlike that which occurred during the 2016 and 2020 campaigns, the information reaching us will be, in large part, manufactured deception to sway our ideas and leanings.  In this time, it is important for us to stay anchored to what we know is the truth via our own experiences so we are not riding a wave of propaganda ourselves.  We must be intellectually curious, rational and very discriminating from who and where we take in information. If the revelations about Cambridge Analytica has taught us anything, it is that things may not be truly as they seem.  Visit this link to learn more:  (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-scandal-fallout.html) If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions or topic suggestions to info@NurahSpeaks.com.  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiti

This is the concluding episode in the series: Unity, Faith & Leadership.  I have heard more than now than ever, conversations by our people, rejecting the need for leadership.  As social beings co-existing in the world, not only must we work cooperatively, but we should also recognize there is a natural requirement for leadership. The observation of nature demonstrates just how ordinary it is that there is leadership amongst bodies or group.  The sun leads the planets, the silverback leads the troop and the bee hive is centralized around the queen. Our dismissal of leadership is a miscalculation we cannot afford to make.  Our needs are too great and the change we need is too massive that we dismiss the ordinary convention of leadership. If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions or topic suggestions to info@NurahSpeaks.com.  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website:  NurahSpeaks.com. Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Faceboo

Of our greatest handicaps are our lack of unity and faith in ourselves that we can effectively tackle the most significant needs of our people.  Confidence and the fervent belief that we can change the conditions of our people for the better is a must if we are going to take a serious look at improving the lived experiences of our families and communities.   Without faith in ourselves, we are hopeless to do better.  It is an essential quality for establishing a promising future and achieving any goals we set for ourselves.   If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions or topic suggestions to info@NurahSpeaks.com.  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website:  NurahSpeaks.com. Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email info@NurahSpeaks.com. Remember, don’t just Join the Movement, Be the Movement!

Improving outcomes and the conditions of our people requires Unity, Faith and Leadership.  Unity as a concept is easy to understand if we are discussing sports, music and social (status) organizations.  But Unity is very difficult for the most of important of missions including family, education and changing our communities. Individualism is the antithesis of Unity and is an impossible tool for success.  Our bodies are a perfect example of Unity.  The heart does not work in separation and selfishness from the other organs of the our body.  The heart pumps blood to the other systems that is returned to it oxygenated by the lungs.  Without our lungs functioning, our heart fails.  If our heart fails, our kidneys fail. Our body is a system of co-dependent organs working collectively in service of the whole. Individualism is not a tool to make the greater body of our people successful.  Unity is always the basis for success.  But we also must rid ourselves of the barriers to Unity-jealousy, suspicion, laziness, se

Reading beyond the headlines, also known as ‘ClickBait’, is necessary in the age of sensationalist news and misleading links.  The reasonable expectation is that the headline is a snapshot of the article’s content and context but this is not always the case.  Now it seems more often than not, it is teaser that absolutely contradicts the article itself.   In other cases, the accuracy of the article is a crap shoot.  Truth can easily be lost in the political and social interests of the writer and publication.   Wise advice for us all is to study the author.  Before reading any book or article and listening to any speaker, pundit or podcaster-first study the author. What is his background, mission, position, affiliations?  What is she from, what else has she written, what is her expertise and what does she value?  Knowing the author can give a hint at where the writer or speaker is leading us. One should hope to be acquainted with truth when reading or viewing reputable news outlets but even then it is prudent t

If you are chasing your haters you are moving in the wronnnng direction!  Make your Lord your exclusive object! Fear only the Lord and serve Him with truth!  By however you define the Perfect Universal Ruler, that is of Whom we should be seeking our guidance and our favor.  Chasing anything else like adoration or fanfare can be a distraction.  And keeping up with your haters and persecutors is a misdirection. Those of you in the trenches of service, those of you doing work making meaningful change in the lives of people, those of you sacrificing time, resources and energy and rest-it is not for praise and glory.  Rather, love of your people and your commitment to your diety compels your work. So!  Be not weary in well-doing!   Doing good work has it challenges and its critics but faint not for in due season, you and those you touch shall certainly reap! If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions or topic suggestions to info@NurahSpeaks.com.  Listeners can al

The principle ‘Clean Glass, Dirty Glass’ teaches us that we do not need to condemn a dirty glass.  Instead, set a clean glass next to the dirty glass and the people can make their own choice based on the evidence we put before them. This principle is intended to make us understand that condemnation of what we believe to be an inferior program, an ineffective methodology or an inadequate leadership, teaching, coaching, parenting or business model is really unnecessary.  Where we are really challenged is in demonstrating what we say others should be doing.  Talking is always the easy part.  Establishing the superior results others can see, feel, touch and experience is something else.  In fact, this is the real work.   Unless we have something to show, our talk alone cannot lead anyone to anything. If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions or topic suggestions to info@NurahSpeaks.com.  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website:  NurahSp

This episode is dedicated to the imprint that my Aunt Beauty has made on my life and the way we can impact the young people adjacent to us.  I walked into a library recently and was flooded with the nostalgia of my first library visit as a very young child.  Aunt Beauty had taken me, my brother and cousin and I absolutely LOVED it.  To this day, I still love the library and I continued the tradition of visiting the library while raising my own children. This was just part of her impact on my childhood.  This and other memories still resonates with me even decades later and forces me to consider way ways that I impact the young people who are around me.   It is something of which we should all be mindful.   What do we want our influence or persuasion to be in the lives of youth that they can extract years later in who they will become? If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions or topic suggestions to info@NurahSpeaks.com.  Listeners can also learn more about

Reciprocity is a principle that supports the courteous elements of society.  The mutual exchange of kindness, support and manners establishes trust and balance in all interpersonal relationships.   Reciprocity is not keeping score but it is giving back in equal or similar measure that which has been given.  When reciprocity is withheld, an imbalance can manifest that can create mistrust and destroy bonds. It is a principle that we all should understand and practice and we teach our young people the same. If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions or topic suggestions to info@NurahSpeaks.com.  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website:  NurahSpeaks.com. Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email info@NurahSpeaks.com. Remember, don’t just Join the Movement, Be the Movement!

An abundance of good comes from giving.  And with so many ways to give, we have no excuse to forgo making meaningful impacts in our community. Whether it is time, skills, or resources-giving has a way of helping the giver just as much as the person(s) being helped.  Your confidence and self esteem will grow, you’ll have more joy in life and you will have more gratitude. Charity is a universal principle across most religions and philosophies because there is just something very right and rewarding about being unselfish. If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to info@NurahSpeaks.com.  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website:  NurahSpeaks.com or reading her blog by clicking this link. Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email info@NurahSpeaks.com. Remember, don’t just Join the Movement, Be the Movement!

“Kill kill kill, pill, pill, pill, money for sex, sex for money, money over love, money over love!”   Music for urban listeners can be summed as explicit content containing harmful language promoting violence, drug use, and the objectification of individuals.  Since music has the ability to influence attitudes and behaviors, one should question why lyrical content exposing drug and alcohol abuse, self hatred and violence is produced en masse for the urban listener.  If you enjoy Nurah Speaks, please share it with friends, family, and colleagues who could benefit from our content. Every time you share, you help the show’s growth. If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to info@NurahSpeaks.com.  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website:  NurahSpeaks.com or reading her blog by clicking this link. Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email info@Nura

Most discussions on mental health seem to focus on how to improve our mental health, ways to heal, ways to cope and manage.  What I see often ignored is what contributes to the erosion of our mental health.  And frankly, normalized aspects of our own culture degrade the mental wellness of our people. If we take a careful inspection of our media, our families and our education, we find aspects of each that create anxiety, grief, fear, alienation and insecurity.  Couple this with the availability of degenerate food, drugs, alcohol and toxicity in our air and water, we must accept that there is more than a person’s singular traumatic experience that impact the mental welfare of our communities.   The saying goes, ‘That an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  We should apply this idiom to our mental health.  So let us identify the causes of mental strain as we promote healing.  In a future episode I will talk about some of the preventative measures we can take to support our mental health. If you wo

How do Black people measure their own progress in America?   What metric are we using; what is our gauge to assess progress?  This can be a difficult assessment if there have been no clearly established markers. All of this and more are explored in this REWIND episode of Nurah Speaks. If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to info@NurahSpeaks.com.   Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email info@NurahSpeaks.com. Remember, don’t just Join the Movement, Be the Movement!

This REWIND episode was inspired by a conversation that I had with my own son.  We were discussing the dysfunction of accepting substandard results and outcomes.   In areas of health, family, educational outcomes and finances-Black Americans lead in most negative statistics.   Whether through mental conditioning or suppression, we are not generally positioned for successful outcomes. In consideration of our condition, we should rethink the standards by which we are living and rejecting mediocrity and inferior circumstances. I would suggest that we raise our standards and habituate ourselves to those standards.  If we accustom ourselves to the basic principles of success, success will then become the norm.   If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to info@NurahSpeaks.com.   Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email info@NurahSpeaks.com. Remember, don’t just Join the M

In this REWIND episode of Nurah Speaks I share five key takeaways that I have learned from being misunderstood. I share them here with hope that listeners will find them useful in their own journeys. The way others perceive is influenced by the culmination of their life experiences, personality and expectations. No one is exempt from being misunderstood. Tell the truth and get out of the way. Always make clarity, not ego, the goal. Misunderstanding may occur due to your own failure in communication. If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions to info@NurahSpeaks.com.  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website: NurahSpeaks.com or reading her blog by clicking this link. Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email info@NurahSpeaks.com. Remember, don’t just Join the Movement, Be the Movement!

The prom is a billion dollar industry.  Custom gowns and suits, luxury cars, ostentatious grandeur and extravagance are exhibited by a people who have the least net worth in the nation. King for a day and broke for a lifetime is not acceptable.  In their ‘coming out’ we permit excess in our children's celebration and in many cases mothers promote the excesses themselves. We are doing our young people and their future no favors with the modern prom culture we help them to indulge in.  In general, not just with prom, we are people without money trying to appear to be what we think people with money look like-to our own detriment.  But we can do better! If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions or topic suggestions to info@NurahSpeaks.com.  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting her website:  NurahSpeaks.com. Follow Nurah Speaks @NurahSpeaksPodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To bring Nurah as a speaker at your next event, email info

Love of others is predicated on love of self.  Respect and trust of others is also based on that which we have for self.   We may testify as if we love ourselves though our language and behaviors prove differently.  And others quickly recognize this fractured confidence and esteem in our own people and take advantage of it.  As descendants of American chattel slavery, we must accept that we have been made distinctive by virtue of that experience and love who we are in spite of the cruelties we have endured. By putting others on a pedestal before yourself, by seeking allegiance with others before yourself and by pursuing trust of others before yourself shows the depths of our destruction.    There is a healing that must occur for our people and it begins with knowing and accepting who we are after our shared experiences.   If you would like to engage with the Nurah Speaks podcast, submit your listener questions or topic suggestions to info@NurahSpeaks.com.  Listeners can also learn more about Nurah by visiting