by Eric Payne
In a week it will be Thanksgiving. Family will either arrive in town or you will pack up your own family, hit the road, train station or airport headed for the agreed upon turkey destination.
The holidays are here. They are a time for celebration and a time for reflection. During these times I tend to get warm and fuzzy about family — mine and everyone else’s. But like everything, the holidays pass just as the seasons do. Once they’re gone I’ll still have my wife and kids. But …

by Harriet Hairston
A few months back, I wrote an article about silly things grown folks shouldn’t do like blowing bubbles, coloring and jumping on the bed.  These are all silly things we can do to stay in touch with our inner child.  *Insert big, huge, gigantic “BUT” right here.*  That said, there are SERIOUSLY some things grown folks shouldn’t do, especially if they are married with children.  Yet the news and human nature are chock full of examples that should not be so.  Here are a few …

by Aja Dorsey Jackson
After watching the Rihanna interview on Friday I went online to see what the masses had to say, as I usually do when I see something happen in the media. Although I was not surprised, it was still troubling to see the large number of Black women commenting online almost with contempt for the pop star. Despite the fact that we’ve all seen the pictures, despite the fact that at no point has Chris Brown denied her claims or claimed to have been defending himself against her, …

by Harriet Hairston
L’il Wayne is on his way to prison, and T.I. is on his way out.  I’m sure an existence behind bars is nothing short of nightmarish.  I’ve been there, done that.  Yet every single day, some people choose to create a prison within their minds that keeps them stuck in solitary confinement.  I’ve been to that horrible place.

You have to watch your back on every turn, otherwise another offender may attack you.  In a marriage, a person’s spouse may have done something wrong, and …

by Tara Pringle Jefferson
I’ve been a big Usher fan since his “My Way” days. I was excited to see him get married and have his face plastered all over Essence magazine declaring his love for his wife and his son. I thought it was beautiful.
But now that things have gone south in their marriage and divorce is imminent, Usher released “Papers” as his comeback single and I ain’t feeling it. Not at all.
With lyrics like, “I know it’s you I love, but then I also know it’s you I don’t …

Here are some specific steps for you to take to help end the Civil War between Black Males-Female Relationships…

by Harriet Hairston
On Tuesday, Dr. Shane Perrault wrote an article about the Civil War between black men and women in America.  The issues we face as a people were made painfully obvious, but what about the solutions? Nwenna Kai commented, “I’m ready to discuss an action plan…we have too many discussions on the problems and not enough on…action.”
That comment became the onus for this article today.  During the Civil War, the United States almost imploded with a fight over opposing doctrines:  slavery vs. freedom.   What of this so-called Civil …

Do you feel like a slacker if you hit the sack early?

As a black psychologist, I question how we can help turn our collective pain, as black men and black women, into something that works for the greater good of the community…

by Harriet Hairston
My high school volleyball team went 12-1 my senior year.  We were the #1 team in Germany and the #3 team in Europe by the end of the season.  I can definitely attribute our success to two philosophies our coach introduced us to.
The first attribute is something that I’m sure has been heard over and over again, and is relevant to more than just volleyball:  ATTITUDE is EVERYTHING.  It’s a small thing that makes a huge difference.  Personally, I’ve been dealing with my attitude in …