Author: vanessa mahmoud

psychotherapist, author

And They Say It’s His Policy They Hate by V. Lyn

by vanessa mahmoud, posted in Petty Tyrants

The Black Holocaust on Black Wall Street

by vanessa mahmoud, posted in African American Psychology

AUDIO: Addressing Racism Within American Muslim Community

by vanessa mahmoud, posted in African American Psychology

dawudwalid's avatarWeblog of Dawud Walid

Image

Last night’s lecture was given at the Islamic Library of Dearborn in Dearborn, Michigan.

Click here to listen.

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How to Love a Black Man

by vanessa mahmoud, posted in Couples Therapy

How to Love a Black Man.

A Specter is Haunting Canada, and That Specter is Racism.

by vanessa mahmoud, posted in African American Psychology

animal_static's avatarstatic_animal

The life of unwitting social icon, Rodney King will forever serve to illuminate the shadow of racism that still darkens the world, and his recent passing prompts a painful admission that not much has changed since 1992.  Sure the U.S. has a black president which is a huge milestone, but systematic racism is still a fact, attempted genocide is still a fact, hate crimes are still a fact, and supremacy groups protected by constitutional law are still a fact.

Read about Rodney Kings life here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_King

I recently had the displeasure of encountering and addressing some racist behavior that has no place in todays “enlightened” society. I decided to take an extra shift at work last weekend and the result was an ugly confrontation with a co-worker.  My co-worker is a fishin, campin, get er’ done type (nothing wrong with that), and while there is a stereotypical ignorance…

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My Skin is my Uniform- I am white and you?

by vanessa mahmoud, posted in African American Psychology

People of color everywhere —struggling with the intropressor…..

joyporsche's avatarSpeakage

Racism has always been a touchy topic. Not only is it present in the various aspects of society,but also variably present in all forms of media. Be it print,television ads or viral campaigns. But this recently launched campaign by Vaseline has pushed the limits of marketing and advertising. Vaseline recently came out with a skin-whitening app (yes, that’s right, an app) to promote “Be Prepared,” a skin-whitening cream for men the company is launching in India. “Be Prepared” promises to get rid of dark spots and to lighten skin tone in just one minute a day.

The app, meanwhile, allows users to lighten their faces in Facebook pictures and share the new pictures with friends.The download is designed to promote Vaseline’s range of skin-lightening creams for men, a huge and fast-growing market driven by fashion and a cultural preference for fairer skin. The widget promises to “Transform Your Face On…

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AtlasBooks Distribution Blog

by vanessa mahmoud, posted in Writing our Stories

feed://blog.atlasbooksdistribution.com/feed/

An Interview with a Storyteller Ron Spears

by vanessa mahmoud, posted in Writing our Stories

Lexi Flint's avatarLexi Flint's Author Alcove

1. When did you first begin writing poetry?

I wrote my first poem maybe in 2005, but wasn’t serious about poetry until 2008 when I was confident enough to perform at Open Mic venues. After that, poetry became natural and I amassed a nice collection of poems over a 1 year period.

2. Who are you inspirations?

As a writer and music enthusiast, I enjoy the lyrics of Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, KEM and Michael Franks. I also admire the lyrics of deep soulful house music tracks which speak about love, peace and joy. My favorite poets in Detroit are Marsha Carter and Stephen “Sparrow” O’Neal and globally, Talaam Acey and CoCo Brown. What I admire most about these talented artists is how the depth of their lyrics are powerful enough to transform lives, influence behavior, change a culture and define concepts to shape attitudes. Pretty deep, I know, but…

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Black Writers Reunion and Conference Labor Day Weekend 2012

by vanessa mahmoud, posted in Writing our Stories

pwdergirl1's avatarPowder Girl World!

For all my writers out there, mark your calenders, stop procrastinating and start writing! Stop making all the old excuses: ‘No one will be interested in what I’m writing.’ ‘There are too many writers. I’ll never get published anyway.’ ‘I don’t have the time to write.’ ‘I’m not nearly as good as those other writers’. Maybe one or all of these things are true. Maybe none of them are true. Whatever the situation, you’ll never know if you don’t try. Start with this great conference and maybe you’ll become the writer you always wanted to be! Here’s the link: http://www.blackwriters.org Also, you may want to submit a proposal for the conference either as a stand alone workshop or as a topic to be discussed during breakfast. Please check this out and stop letting procrastination rule your life!

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Grada Kilomba: Dealing with Racism in Europe

by vanessa mahmoud, posted in African American Psychology, Racial Abuse

Innerstanding Isness's avatarInnerstanding Isness

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Identity and Injustice

by vanessa mahmoud, posted in African American Psychology, Cultural Issues

L.Danielle's avatarBLACKOLOGY101

Below is an interesting talk by lawyer Bryan Stevenson filmed earlier this month in Long Beach, California. It touches on an issue that has always grabbed my attention – identity. Not only identity, but its role in the development of activists and social justice agents. Especially when it comes to the issue of Black identity, a lot of fascinating work has been flooding into popular media lately, including the post-Black art movement, several books blasting traditional notions of Blackness (Womack, Toure, Dickerson, and Thurston), as well as the recent Canadian indie film Colour Me. The bottom line is that there is a generational movement toward expanding what it means to be Black. But there is also an acknowledgment that the reality of institutional racism remains, necessitating caution as we move away from the boxes imposed on Black people’s humanity. I consider this a quintessential…

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A Black Psychology for a New Generation

by vanessa mahmoud, posted in African American Psychology

L.Danielle's avatarBLACKOLOGY101

A healer in the king’s court faces a unique challenge. To truly be effective, he or she must think critically. This means often ignoring the dictates of the king’s laws, which may be the cause of illness in the first place. Healers must be savvy enough to recognize that although current conditions are obviously not working, it is by navigating within those conditions that the people will be reached and the medicine delivered on time.  ~Bakano Warrior

Early in my doctoral studies, I struggled to bridge the worlds of Black and “mainstream” psychology. I found them both lacking when it came to the issues of people who didn’t fit the traditional mold. As a young Black woman – and also a Buddhist, a mom, a wife, an artist, and an activist – I had a hard time finding myself or people like me within the walls of traditional psychological training…

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