Secrets

I do not understand the point of secrets. Why do we keep them when we know what happens in the dark comes to the light? I am a secretive person and I need to be more open because I believe secrets can hinder relationships (with famends {family and friends} or with a boy/girlfriend). But I find it difficult for me to "tell it all" because growing up my biological mother said what happened in her stayed in her house, do not snitch, and if you are in pain or in need pray because God can fix all your problems. Yes, I believe God can fix all my problems, but does that means I have to be secretive?

Foster Care Fundraiser

This video is for a foster care fundraiser that one of Oregon’s Rotary Clubs is hosting this weekend. I am a huge supporter of the Rotary Clubs and I appreciate the work they do for foster children. The club provides foster children with gifts for Christmas, Easter parties, field days, and many other activities.

This year for their fundraiser they asked me, would I be interested in creating a video and I agreed. My former foster mother Helen Pittman is also in the video sharing her words of wisdom.

Kanungu Primary School (Uganda Africa)

My mother is involved in a project with a professor/pastor friend of hers, Dr. Richard White, has been traveling to Nicaragua and Uganda to povide students with educational resources.

Note from my Mother Lisa Gates:

"This summer, Richard, his wife Donna and others traveled to Uganda at the invitation of Sheila, a former student of Richard's at Portland State University. As it turned out, one of the places that the group visited was the Kanungu Primary School. What the group discovered was both fascinating and heart wrenching. Here were 750 primary students eager to learn with NOT A SINGLE TEXT BOOK TO WORK FROM! All of their learning was/is being done via chalk board with the students having NOTHING in materials to take notes, save information etc...

He has already negotiated with a book publisher in Uganda to provide books to the children at $4 each and the publisher will donate the building of a library space! Sheila is there to receive the funds for the books and supervise appropriation of the money we send and the project itself - therefore no worries about what happens to our dollars once we make our donations.

Other facts about this school are incredible! The children walk - or for the lucky few who have bikes ride - up to 8 miles a day to school. The student teacher ratio is 60/1! Whatever food and water the kids bring with them to school is what they have for the day no matter how meager as the school cannot supply either! The students have no shoes. Yes, you read correctly, they do not have shoes. There are a total of 15 adult staff at the school with zip, zero, zilch, nadda in classroom disruption, fights, disrespect and other mayhem - the students are there to LEARN! They know that school is their only chance out of poverty.

Please offer what you can and I will see that you get receipts, tax write off stuff and info about the 501c3 to you as soon as is available.


For now please send checks or money orders to:

Kanungu Projects

P.O. Box 17638

Portland, OR 97217-0638

 At this time Richard is in the process of setting up a non-profit which is turning out to be a production. I do not want to delay gathering funds for books by waiting for the non-profit to be in full swing sooo I am asking you, my peeps, to help with this project by sponsoring however many books you are able/willing to assist with. I have lots more info on the project e.g. a copy of the proposal from the book publisher, communication with the support staff actually in Uganda etc... so if you want any of that I can forward to you. "

Lisa's contact information:

setaglm@hotmail.com

The Road to Success

"The road to success is not straight. There is a curve called failure,
a loop called confusion, speed bumps called friends, red lights called enemies,
caution lights called family. You will have flats called jobs.
but if you have a spare called determination, and  an engine called perserverance,
insurance called faith, you will make it to a place called success." -Unknown

The Tulsa Race Riot in 1921

Friday, I attended "Before They Die! a documentary chronicling the Tulsa Race Riot, and benefiting its survivors." The highlight of my experience was hearing Bishop Otis Clark speak. He was born February 13, 1904, four years before Oklahoma became a state. At the time it was Indian Territory. Bishop Otis is history and I am thankful for him because he never gave up on his freedom and encouraging the other survivors through the tragic Tulsa Race Riot.  He was not able to attend Friday’s event due to the weather in Dallas. He was driving from Dallas to Atlanta from a recent vacation on a cruise. He’s traveled to Africa twice on mission trips, when he was 103 and 104 years old and when he was 107 he went to the West Indies. Because he was not able to attend he was phoned in. His conversation was inspiring and motivating. He talked about having faith and not letting the devil stop us from succeeding and believing. Over and over he said, “Tell the devil to go back to hell where he belongs. The world is God’s and the devil does not belong here.” It’s always inspiring to meet someone that has experienced a tragic event like Bishop Otis and still have their faith. Many people give up when times are tough, but Bishop Otis and the other survivors kept their faith and continue to fight for victory.

Happy Birthday Bishop Clark

The Tulsa Race Riot is not a well known riot in America and part of the reason is because Oklahoma denies the event. I cannot believe I’ve never heard of the Tulsa Race Riot until Friday. I was talking with one of my classmates after the event and we were surprised that our African Diaspora in the World class didn’t mention the Tulsa Race Riot. I never knew about the Black Wall Street which was the location of the riot and a well development community that the Blacks owned. I know Black people have owned homes, stores, and barbershops, but I did not know anything about Blacks owning a town. Greenwood was a prosperous neighborhood for Blacks. The black community owned the schools, barber shops, hospitals, movie theaters, and built and own their homes in the neighborhood. There were roughly 10, 000 residents and Greenwood was one of the most successful communities in the world.   Dr. Olivia Clark, a survivor, who was 93 years old when the video was created said, “she went Downtown maybe once because there was no need to go there. The Greenwood community had everything the Black community needed.”

On June 1^st 1921, that was the worse day for the residents of the Greenwood neighborhood. The Ku Klux Klans, also known as the KKKs, came into the Greenwood community and destroyed everything the Blacks owned.  One day, random men were killed because a white woman falsely accused a Black man of assaulting her. Since the White community was not able to find the Black man, they started killing any Black man they came in contact with. The Black community was forced to leave Greenwood and once the riot was over some blacks returned to their community to find their property destroyed.  Throughout the video, there were many speakers; survivors, lawyers, congress men and women, other elected officials, and one person I found to be important was Clyde Eddy. Mr. Eddy was an eleven year old White boy during the race riot and he witnessed majority of the violent crimes. He said, “I watched the Whites hurt many Black people.” He discussed how the KKKs buried alive and dead bodies in the Oklahoma cemetery and that was new information to the historians of Oklahoma and the survivors.  Mr. Eddy was a useful and supportive person of the survivors from the riot.

Recently, the survivors of the Tulsa Race Riot have worked together with lawyers and Congress men and women to receive justice. The survivors went to trial about eight times and lost each trial. The survivors received Brass Medals from the Black Caucus, but no words or justice for the White community. I cannot believe America is still experiencing racism like this. How can Oklahoma continue to deny what happened?

Survivors of The Tulsa Race Riot in 2008

Sunday Service

Today, Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. spoke at Sisters Chapel. For those that do not know Rev. Wright, in 1972, he became pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. President Barack Obama, his wife, and family became a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in 1992. Rev. Wright married the Obamas and also baptized Sasha and Malia. Many of us heard about Rev. Wright while President Obama was campaigning for president.

The title of Rev. Wright message was “Are we there yet?” and one of the best parts of Rev. Wright’s message was when he said, "SWAG means Stepping With Almighty God."

As believers of a faith we all are trying to get to the “Promised Community” known as Heaven for some of us and in the mean time we should have a “Beloved Community” on earth. The idea of the “Beloved Community” comes for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. King’s dream was for all of us to come together as one and create a peaceful and loving community. Rev. Wright asked us “are we there yet?” Do we have a “Beloved Community?” According to Rev. Wright, no, we do not have a “Beloved Community.” What are your thoughts? I think it’s important whether one is religious or not, to know what kind of community s/he lives in. Please share your thoughts.

Saturday Students

Saturday, I volunteered at KIPP Strive Academy teaching twenty 6^th graders about Social Etiquette with JEWELLS (Joining Emerging Women Everywhere to Learn, Lead, and Succeed) Program. Here’s a slide that I thought was cool and it was created by my SpelSister Tyler Smith.

S.P.A.R.K.L.E.

—  Smile, A genuine smile radiates confidence

—  Pride, Have pride in yourself and the things you do

—  Attitude, have a positive attitude

—  Respect, treat others how you want to be treated

—  Keep on keepin’ on. Don’t get discouraged

—  Listen attentively and Laugh, have a sense of humor

—  Eye contact; make sure that you make eye contact with those you are speaking with.

Here are some tips to be successful in any activity or situation you chose to participant in.

Last, but not least the picture above is me with the young girls.

Welcome

Greetings World,

Welcome to my Blog. Here’s a little information about me.

Name: My name is Shantel, but I’m going to go by ShanTelley.
School: I attend Spelman College. My major is Political Science with a concentration in Urban Studies and Public Administration and minor in Comparative Women's Studies.
Favorites

·         Color: Pink

·         Number: 1 and 21

·         Weather: The sun is my best friend

·         Vacation: Anywhere with nice weather, a beach, and great people.

·         Holiday: I love birthdays.

·         Quote: Nothing is impossible, the word itself says “I’m possible”!”- Audrey Hepburn

If you have any questions or comments please let me know. Again Welcome and I hope you enjoy yourself.

~ShanTelley