Some mothers believe their children will never be too old to get that belt! El Paso high school freshman Aaron Campero thought he was being slick by sneaking out of the house in his mother's BMW. The teen had big plans to impress his girlfriend, but he was in for a classic mama surprise, according to the New York Post.  His sister, Liza Campero, posted an epic Twitter thread chronicling the journey toward her brother's old-fashioned belt-whooping in classic sibling mode.My 13 year old brother disconnected the WiFi so my mom wouldn’t be able to see her cameras and took her brand new bmw to his gf’s house 🤦🏼‍♀️ I shouldn’t be laughing but damn 😂😂😂— Lizaconda♛ (@LilaaBites) October 12, 2018First stop is his gf’s house pic.twitter.com/flC3Y0KUJw— Lizaconda♛ (@LilaaBites) October 12, 2018She made me bring a belt to whoop his ass pic.twitter.com/kQSL8EViRL— Lizaconda♛ (@LilaaBites) October 12, 2018The moms are all snitches pic.twitter.com/4mnQsXQrHK— Lizaconda♛ (@LilaaBites) October 12, 2018Telling my dad the tea pic.twitter.com/M1pdpX7P6h— Lizaconda♛ (@LilaaBites) October 12, 2018After the chase, the Camperos' mom, Liza Martinez, caught up with the young teen. Martinez legit asked Aaron's sister to hand her the belt. Uh-oh, it's on! Rip to my brother 😂 pic.twitter.com/Q15pT2Sx06— Lizaconda♛ (@LilaaBites) October 12, 2018Although the world got to watch the mom meting out discipline, Martinez said her goal was to catch her son before the police did."It's my son's well-being, his livelihood, his best friend's well-being, not to mention all of the people on the roadways," Martinez told KFOX TV. The video quickly went viral, making the mom an internet celebrity: Wow now both of my parents have been on #fitfam 😂 pic.twitter.com/xbqXORgx18— Lizaconda♛ (@LilaaBites) October 12, 2018Wow fame really has her switching up pic.twitter.com/0xv4JAB8GL— Lizaconda♛ (@LilaaBites) October 12, 2018My mom is now an El Paso parenting icon, I’m her manager now. #fitfamep pic.twitter.com/Fdi5LMrxZA— Lizaconda♛ (@LilaaBites) October 12, 2018Aaron, on the other hand, is reportedly not enjoying internet fame as much. According to his sister, he's been grounded “until 2019 or further notice.”  Liking this content? Check these out: See Why This Teen’s Viral Video Is Blowing Up Your TimelineHow Black Dances Go ViralCut Me My Check: Monetizing Viral Success As A Black...

Travis Scott’s music gets people so hype that it’s even lit in sign language.DEAFinitely Dope posted a video of its founder, American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter Matt Maxey, on Thursday signing the lyrics to "Sicko Mode" in front of a classroom full of youngsters.When you turn on that sicko mode in the classroom with some sign language and it’s ASL 1....they wasn’t ready 😂 pic.twitter.com/x8AlyCNn8K— DEAFinitely Dope (@deaf_dope) October 18, 2018With the way Maxey commands the room with his lively interpretation of the song, it’s hard to believe he didn’t start signing until he was 18 years old. The founder of DEAFinitely Dope received his first hearing aid when he was 2, and that enabled him to learn how to speak. When he enrolled in Gallaudet University, the world’s only post-secondary institution for deaf and hard of hearing students, learning to sign was a challenge."I never really knew about deaf culture," Maxey told GQ last year. "All I knew was talking. I never signed. And they would always get mad at me; I could talk, and they couldn't. It became kind of a hostile environment.”The Atlanta native eventually caught on to the language and began posting videos of himself signing to popular hip-hop songs. His interpretation of DMX's "How's It Goin' Down" lit up Reddit, and he linked up with interpreter Kelly Kurdi, with whom he founded DEAFinitely Dope. He started working shows for rapper DRAM and caught the eye of Chance the Rapper. Now, he’s Chano’s preferred interpreter.As a Black male interpreter, the 30-year-old is an anomaly."A lot of interpreters want to interpret hip-hop music, but they don't know the culture. They don't know the slang," Kurdi said. "Matt wants to change the game for interpreters."She believes he can be a bridge between different cultures."What's amazing about Matt is he's not only bilingual, he's bicultural," said Kurdi. "At first he felt too deaf to be hearing and too hearing to be deaf. But now, it's a huge benefit; he's able to, for example, talk to Chance, and there's no lull in the conversation. He's able to talk about different hip-hop artists. He's able to talk about whatever basketball game. And then he can go into the deaf culture, and he can connect with all of them and sign."Liking this content? Check these out:Jason Mowatt Breaks Down The Origins Of Trap Karaoke And How It's More Than Than Just A 'Party'If Cardi B Was Mayor Of NYC, She'd Get Rid Of Rats And Raccoon12-Year-Old Rapper Featured On 'Ellen' Arrested For Selling His CDs At Georgia...

Waves created through careful durag use isn't just a look; it's a lifestyle.A few months ago, wave and durag enthusiasts held a #DuragFest in North Carolina to show everyone just how serious the wavy lifestyle is. In true wavy form, Twitter user @2xfly held a digital durag fest Thursday by showcasing a video of Black students at an HBCU holding a ceremony to unveil the freshest and crispest waves you've ever seen: Wave check 🌊🤷🏾‍♂️🤧😭 #Ncat pic.twitter.com/935zYKVpHr— Fly '🎐 (@2xfly) October 18, 2018The event included live commentary on each student's impeccable waves. Move over, NBA draft! Plus, we're always here for Black brotherhood. The love shown was real. As the video made the rounds, everyone was riding the wave of Black joy, even Missy Elliott! This gives me way to much satisfaction 😍 black men r beautiful https://t.co/MGcDohgFFb— 10/26♏️ (@_nyalo) October 19, 2018Lawd, this is so sexy https://t.co/VzzytcflZP— DARK. WHITE. SKIN. (@SpectaclesMcCoy) October 19, 2018This is the family I’ve needed my entire life https://t.co/XaKO82dAuv— Aron Yohannes 🇪🇷 (@AronYohannes) October 19, 2018So much black boy joy here. Nothing like n*ggas hyping each other up..Bro said “oooo he might be Indian” 😭😭😭 https://t.co/UugLl5WSgC— BIGNOAH 👨🏽‍💻 (@BIGNOAH256) October 19, 2018In all seriousness this vid has some all-time great waves. History. https://t.co/U7EKbdzU8d— William Ketchum III (@WEKetchum) October 18, 2018😂🤣😂 Supa Wave🤷🏾‍♀️🌊😂 pic.twitter.com/vnIF5CBmEi— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) October 18, 2018The star of the show was, undoubtedly, this homie:Idc this shit was gorgeous asf 🤤 pic.twitter.com/K4brQPU3bQ— Laniie Milani 💋 (@LaniieMilani) October 18, 2018That cut so wavy, we need a surfboard. Much like A Different World, this video had some folks yearning to enroll at a HBCU,immediately. Ayeeee This Just Made Me Wanna Go To College Dawg😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/Fd8iytqxs0— iA♏️TheAPEXpredator™ (@OGcolorwaysOnly) October 18, 2018Of course, the guy who shot the video had to show off his waves:i gotta just cus. pic.twitter.com/TQuqcgtm62— Fly '🎐 (@2xfly) October 18, 2018So wavy! And by the way, 2xfly has a message for anyone trying to stomp on the Black joy in the clip:It's amazing how many black people are hating on this video at time when immensely positive black reflection needs to be seen by the world, get it together negros. And to all the white women fetish thirsting over the black men in this video - don't, this is a HBCU.— Fly '🎐 (@2xfly) October 19, 2018Liking this content? Check these out: These Sisters From Brooklyn Create The Most Beautiful Luxury Du-ragsBlack Twitter is celebrating #DuragHistoryWeek and it's hilariousA$AP Ferg Just Graced Us With A Must-See, Step-By-Step Durag Tying Tutorial For The...

A conservative street artist altered a Hollywood billboard advertising the new version of Halloween, swapping out serial killer Michael Myers' face for that of California Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D).According to The Hollywood Reporter, the artist Sabo is behind the change, which portrays Waters as a knife-wielding madwoman with her mouth agape. Sabo also added the hashtag #uncivildemocrats to the billboard.The artist told The Hollywood Reporter he made the alterations to push back against Waters' remarks encouraging liberals to confront GOP politicians."If you see anybody from [Trump's] Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd," Waters said at a rally in in June. "You push back on them and you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere."Since the congresswoman made that statement, several Republicans have been confronted in public places including Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.Auntie Maxine’s fiery opposition to the Trump regime has made her a thorn in the GOP’s side. Republican Omar Navarro is running against Waters in the midterm elections, and his attempt to turn her solidly blue district red has garnered him more than $450,000 in donations, reports Politico.Maxine Waters is the poster child for uncivil. #VoteOmarNavarro November 6th. https://t.co/RuORrn21KX pic.twitter.com/572pQa8ePz— Omar Navarro (@RealOmarNavarro) October 19, 2018“There’s a lot of people across the country that are just unhappy with the rhetoric Maxine Waters is using,” Navarro said. “They’re becoming angry. They’re not happy she’s trying to impeach the president.”Now, check these out:Everyone Needs To Get Into This Rap Cypher Auntie Maxine Hosted Around Social Change With Common And RapsodyBeyoncé Named America's 'Most Politically Divisive Celebrity'5 Lessons In Leadership From The Ford-Kavanaugh...

Jamaica has a new reason to be proud! According to The Huffington Post, the nation's women's national soccer team, the Reggae Girlz, qualified for the Women's World Cup. The Reggae Girlz made history for the island with the accomplishment, becoming the first Caribbean nation to advance to that level. The team made it into the Cup by defeating Panama in a penalty shootout after the teams played each other to a 2-2 tie.As the BBC reports, Bob Marley's eldest daughter, Cedella Marley, played a key role in the team's success, serving as an ambassador and major fundraiser for the Reggae Girlz. The team was forced to disband in 2010, and its 2014 comeback was helped by financial contributions from Marley and the Bob Marley Foundation.“That support from the Bob Marley Foundation has been so important to us,” team coach Hue Menzies told FIFA.com. “Bob Marley loved football, of course. Cedella has continued that passion, and she really wants to help women’s football develop in Jamaica.”The scion congratulated the team on Twitter:CONGRATULATIONS @JamaicaReggaeGirlz!!! The journey has just begun #STRIKEHARD! Thank you Panama, game well played #Respect! AlacranGroup #BobMarleyFoundation#JFFLive #ReggaeGirlz #ReggaeFootball #StillOnTheBall pic.twitter.com/r7JowlsQtV— Cedella Marley (@cedellamarley) October 18, 2018Usain Bolt, now a footballer himself, gave the girls some love, too! Congratulations to the #ReggaeGirlz on qualifying for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France. pic.twitter.com/OdeOUPjC2E— Usain St. Leo Bolt (@usainbolt) October 18, 2018 View this post on Instagram One Love @cedellamarley @romarley #Strikehard #thanksandpraise A post shared by Reggae Girlz™ (@reggaegirlz) on Aug 23, 2014 at 6:01pm PDTWhat makes the win even more special is the Reggae Girlz's advancement comes on the 20th anniversary of Jamaica's first World Cup appearance. The men's team, the Reggae Boyz, advanced to their first World Cup in 1998. Like the 1998 Men's World Cup, the 2019 Women's World Cup will take place in France. For their next game, the team will head to the U.K. to play the Nottingham Forest Ladies on October 28.Liking this content? Check these out: Messi, Fly Kits And Naija: The Black Folks Guide To The FIFA World Cup 2018Here's Why People Are Loving The World Cup's Only Black Coach Who Just Led Senegal To Victory On This Here JuneteenthFrench World Cup Champions Are Celebrating Their Win By Donating To Charity, Honoring Their Parents And...

Each time the media bends over backwards to push the narrative of law enforcement to justify the shootings of unarmed Black people and to frame them as inherent criminals who deserve to be executed, I find myself becoming more and more incredulous at a nation that proves to me every day that the lives of my people carry no value in a white supremacist society bent on returning back to the days when Black people had no rights whites were bound to respect.The late James Baldwin rightfully opined that to be Black “in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.” And who can blame Black folks that are angry at the extrajudicial murder of innocent African Americans at the hands of law enforcement, the unjust criminal justice system, and disparities in health, employment compensation and every other status indicator in these yet-to-be United States of America? Top that off with an open racist for a POTUS and an administration full of white supremacists, and it should be completely understandable why Black folks would be in a consistent state of rage.Today, for many African Americans, the American Dream seems nothing more than a white myth, or as George Carlin explained, “It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.” Yet, if Black folks express justifiable indignation, they are judged to be “angry,” “disrespectful,’ and unappreciative of the generosity of white America. Recently, Reginald Andrade, an employee at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, was reported for being ‘and agitated black male’ for simply walking to work. The campus police locked down his building and interrogated him about his supposed ‘agitation.’ Following the traumatizing incident, a white colleague suggested that Andrade ‘smile more.’ Sorry, we don’t feel like smiling.Yet, we wear public masks that hide our frustration, anger, pain, bewilderment, and angst against a white society that consistently fails to treat us with basic human decency or view us as equals. The majority of white America never seems to do the difficult work of genuine self-reflection, which could bring them closer to understanding white privilege and how Black people have suffered under its vile disregard for our humanity, violence, and bigotry. Sadly, hiding our anger is a required life skill to survive in white supremacist America. Far too many of us must suppress the fact that we have repeatedly suffered attacks on our character, personhood, and families simply because of the color of our skin. We become experts at concealing our anger at such inhumane treatment, yet, at the slightest display of passion or indignation at the racial oppression of Black people in America, a host of white tone police stand at the ready to drag out the ‘angry Black man’ or ‘angry Black woman trope’ to diminish the credibility of our expression and deny us basic human emotions that are afforded to white people.  White anxiety about ‘angry’ Black people is racist, hypocritical, and unfounded. Black folks have never engaged in racial terrorism, ethnic cleansing, mass violence, lynchings, or widespread retaliation against white people, which would be understandable given how we have suffered at the hands of white society. Whites expect Black folks to magically be resistant to suffering physical pain and discomfort, which explains their callous lack of empathy.  Perhaps, if just once, white America would honestly contemplate how it would feel if it were subjected to wicked, unjust, racially motivated terror and institutional violence solely based on the color of its skin and what life would be like to live in a society where whites are treated as subhuman, it would understand how justified our anger really is. Anger is a natural response to oppression, mistreatment, poverty, violence, murder, and injustice. To complain about how offensive Black anger is without doing a thing about its root cause is ethically and morally evil. White America would never tolerate the treatment it consistently doles out to Black people. Asking us to hide and suppress our anger is the epitome of white...

Hidden beneath the bosom of Alabama, right above the warm current of the Gulf of Mexico is the Florida panhandle. One of the most naturally stunning landscapes of the Florida peninsula, it’s a place with a complicated culture and history. There’s a grittiness about north Florida—that’s one of the first lessons that you learn when you step foot on one of its chalky, red clay dirt roads. There’s a tight sense of community, while at the same time a detectable degree of tension.This tension is a racialized tension, an inheritance from an earlier century when the “color line” determined everyone’s life-prospects.In north Florida, an unbelievable amount of guilt occupies the average person’s mental space. Most white folks wear their guilt like an uncomfortable piece of clothing. Many refuse to admit that their skin color not only presently gives them an advantage but that it always has. Others aren’t so oblivious. No matter where you fall, however, your identity as a white person in the cherished “Redneck Riviera” is tied to the bones and burdens of Black folk. Their culture is a touchstone for who you are. And without it, the feeling of being white would be unrecognizable.Most Black folks tuck their guilt beneath their pride.Daily resistance makes them this way. After all, we’re talking about the ones who stayed. A nuance missing from the American imagination of the Great Migration narrative is an awareness of the realities of the Blacks who remained in the South during the Jim Crow regime. There is also a pervasive ignorance about the Black spirits who evolved into Ford-tough expats of this mass exodus, eventually returning home to the Dirty South to reenlist in the struggle with much more liberal sass and blue-collar cash.That was my family. My grandmother, Rosa, was a daughter of the turpentine trees, a “swamp child,” let her tell it her self. Etched in her memory are images from her childhood of she and her siblings slaving in the cotton fields of white sharecroppers for not much more than a few pennies a day. Nathaniel, my grandfather, saved her from that manual labor. But she saved him from a great deal of spiritual labor, a divine fortification for the racial struggles that were to come.The day after he graduated from Jackson County Training School, the “colored” high school in Jackson County, Florida, my grandpa fled “north” to Newark, New Jersey. He was a pipe-layer and worked unbelievable hours to support his immediate and extended family. He helped cousins, friends, and strangers.He had one goal, and one goal only: he wanted Black people from his community to experience what it’s like to focus on the formation of their identity, absent of the dehumanizing gaze of the specter of Jim Crow. In other words, he was invested in a project of showing Black youth, primarily from the slums of rural north Florida, what it’s like to come alive in their blackness, liberated from the corrosive containment that help create it.There are no “metropolitan areas” in north Florida—only small cities and even smaller towns. But Hurricane Michael found us—and like my grandfather over 50 years ago, I felt the same pinch pulling me back to support another phase of muddy integration in the panhandle.When this natural disaster hit, the “Black-White” binary suspended for a few hours. Color didn’t matter, class didn’t matter, and the history in which both these categories are mired seemed to blow away in the 154 miles per hour winds.It was like mother nature needed to vent to us. For the deeply religious, this was a test for our common faith. The more secular-minded, however, seemed to think that this was an opportunity to reaffirm our regional identity as one of the most economically impoverished areas of the state of Florida. Despite whether or not either one of these judgments is true, both reflect a deep-seated need to make sense of this catastrophe.In my opinion, this is more than just a search for an explanation. It is a psychological symptom of the moral cyclone that displaced us ever before Michael infiltrated our beaches—it’s the data point of our shared racial guilt. Down here, race and wealth are tied together, no doubt—but probably not how you think. Like most rural areas in America, poverty in north Florida is a universal burden. Despite the narrative pitched by many conservatives, most welfare recipients in the panhandle are not “Black” or “urban.” They are as white as Rick Scott. However, they exist outside his blanket of cushy capital and political prestige.This is not to say that their whiteness is worthless. It’s not. It is a valued inheritance in the rural South. A superficial wealth, it won’t prevent you from being the target of a hurricane’s horror but it will enable you to stay afloat while the floodwaters of its aftermath are still high.In north Florida, white people feel guilty for not telling the truth about their privileged civic status, about their rocky but attainable entry into the American Dream. When disaster strikes, they lift each other up, disguising this conspiracy as a joint patriotic effort to uplift the entire community.On the other hand, Black folk in this part of Florida feel guilty for not expressing to white people their awareness of this deception. They feel guilty for masquerading their resistance, finessing their way through the good ol’ boy system as neglected step-children in a space that demands their labor, food, laughter, and spirit but declines their status as equal members of the shared social arrangement.Let me guess.You’re probably wondering why I wove a criticism about race relations into a narrative about a colorblind disaster, like Hurricane Michael.What most Americans don’t understand is that a great structural amnesia dictates this segment of the rural South—and this amnesia is parasitic to the souls of whites and Blacks alike.Now, faced with widespread adversity, we must discard our assortment of hand-me-down lies. Lies about equal respect and lies about equal status.At the heart of these lies is a false consciousness about racial progress, a civic tragedy that is necessary to overcome, if we ever hope to heal from this disturbing attribute of our cultural narrative.This kind of deception can instill us with Christian values, but these values won’t be capable of motivating us to practice the moral truths that empower them. It may nudge us toward a politics of respectability but only at the expense of abandoning an inclination toward human decency. This spiritual commitment can even contribute to the establishment of a sense of community. However, this community will always function as polarizing space void of belonging.So, where do we go from here? Some will say that this question depends on the material recuperation of the Gulf coast—that the continuation of our community rests on the scraps of support that the Trump administration perceives sufficient for appeasing our charity case.Many more will insist that the burden is on local communities. Prideful enough, they will rally “the community” to steadfast in the beliefs, practices, and traditions that ironically make the panhandle the most “Southern” thing about the state of Florida.But maybe the most appropriate response is that we can’t go anywhere until we wrestle with our pre-established human disaster. Predicated on the structures of the past, this disaster is anchored in a guilt-oriented relationship between white people and Black people—the first being frightened to live with the attitude that their group identity depends on the domination of their darker brothers and sisters. The second group, on the other hand, is disillusioned from the spiritual two-ness of balancing a basic respect for all lives affected by poverty with the particular set of obstacles generated by the white gaze.Our road to recovery not only presupposes a revitalization of the area’s physical appearance but, more importantly, a socialized removal of the preexisting moral infection that debilitates the region’s cultural anatomy.Ultimately, restoring the public health of northwest Florida will be a project about mending the social fabric of its communities so that the tragedy of Hurricane Michael doesn’t amplify the guilt already festering in our...

Like many Americans, I watched the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing with testimony from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford.While I certainly possess opinions—both personal and legal (I earned my JD from Georgetown Law)—about the proceedings and outcomes, it’s the leadership lessons that stand out from what I witnessed. The hearing was replete with teaching moments that any lead could benefit, whether at a large enterprise, a non-profit organization, a start-up or a family.Here are the five leadership points that hit me the hardest:1. You don’t have to be an expert on everything. Throughout the hearing, subjects ran the gamut from U.S. Federal Rules of Evidence to neuroscience to drinking games. Regardless of your political opinions, let’s agree that all participants in the proceedings were highly educated and likely more informed than your average person. Still, when Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford was questioned by Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell who mentioned the use of “exculpatory evidence,” at the risk of sounding ignorant, Dr. Ford said: “I don’t know what exculpatory evidence is.”In front of millions, on live television, an individual with four advanced degrees admitted she did not know something. She made the right call because when we pretend to know more than we do, we risk undermining our own credibility. I wonder what else we risk by assuming we understand. More importantly, what could we gain by admitting what we don’t know?It’s in these moments of vulnerability that true dialogue begins. You allow others to share what they know—to share their own experiences. It’s in these moments that leaders build trust and credibility about their experience. And it’s in these moments leaders can display vulnerability. Dr. Brené Brown, who has researched vulnerability across a variety of environments puts it this way: “Vulnerability is the absolute heartbeat of innovation and creativity. There can be zero innovation without vulnerability.” So I have to ask, are we sacrificing everything that really matters by choosing to be know-it-alls?2. Good manners go a long way.Two people were subjected to hours of questioning in the same environment, yet the demeanor and energies of these hearings could not have been more different. Let’s put aside that one person accused the other. And let’s also put aside what we think we know about the political leanings of the participants. Instead, let’s focus on the basics of the manners observed, meaning their outward behavior and their way of behaving towards others.Here’s my takeaway: interrupting makes you look like an asshole. At its core, interrupting says, “My voice means more than your voice.” Again, set aside interruptions made as are part of rules outlined for hearings of this type (e.g. timing, who has the floor, etc.). There was no shortage of interruptions from all sides during the hours and hours of the hearing.Everyone believes they had a very good reason for interjecting while another is speaking, but the result is always the same: the interrupter’s influence is reduced. Interrupting while another is speaking impacts how people see you, tarnishes your personal brand and leads to ineffective interpersonal interactions. Leaders should hold themselves to a higher standard. Leaders embrace a beginnings mindset to prioritize listening over speaking above others. By harnessing the power of the pause, leaders can give themselves more time to process and, perhaps, spark more meaningful discussion more often.3. Ask for what you needWhile few of us will participate in congressional hearings, most of us, at some point in our lives, will attend long meetings or events where our brains, emotions, and stamina will be tested. The Kavanaugh hearing was on the extreme end of all of the above, yet both Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford asked for what they needed; whether a break, a moment to read/review, or a Coke. Sometimes as leaders, we take the approach of “leaders eat last” or even believe we must be martyrs. While there may be times that adage holds true, I’d argue if you aren’t taking care of yourself, you’re likely not doing a good job taking care of your team and your business.4. Saying less is usually moreDuring the hearing, Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh were permitted to give opening statements without time limit. Dr. Ford’s took about 17 minutes, while Judge Kavanaugh took about 44 minutes. Joseph McCormack’s research reveals that not being brief can lead an audience to doubt a speaker’s message. According to McCormack, human beings can absorb 750 words a minute audibly, while the average person speaks at 150 words a minute, “the elusive 600” words available leaves listeners open to feeling bored or engaging in ways that lead to productive dialogue.The issue is this: the longer you speak, the more you run the risk of losing listeners. Mark Twain said, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” Being brief takes preparation because “you have to make a lot of decisions about what’s essential [...] for that [audience] in that moment in time.” Taking the time for this exercise means what you do say will be impactful. Leaders want to have impact. Saying less usually leads to more impact.This brings me to my final observation.5. Prepare and editJudge Kavanaugh began his remarks by stating that he wrote his opening statement the day before and that only one person had seen it. For the sake of argument, let’s assume this is true. He seemed to say it as a point of pride, but this explains the statement’s lack of impact (to my ear, anyway...I expected more organization as a legal scholar). Consider any other stage equal to the one Kavanaugh experienced—in corporate, it’s comparable to earnings meetings and product launches or seeking a round of funding and pitching to new clients. I cannot imagine waiting until the day before to prepare materials for these critical events. Nor could I imagine any professional soliciting feedback from only one individual and expecting the next day’s events to be the best it could be.Additional feedback enables us to craft clear, impactful messages. Previewing the message aloud helps us manage potential emotions or connect with an audience more effectively. Practice and feedback from others allows us to uncover the weight, credibility, and impact of our message.Certainly, both sides of the aisle are feeling the negative impacts of this tumultuous moment in American political life. These five lessons of leadership are a few ways to challenge ourselves to look beyond the obvious, learn from others’ experiences, and interact with each other in meaningful...

For most parents, discovering their kid is being bullied might invoke the desire to hurt somebody's child.It takes a special person to have compassion and see the bully through a different lens. Aubrey Fontenot decided to confront his son's bully, Tamarion, with the intention of getting to the root of the child's hostility. When the father asked what Tamarion had against his son, Jordan, the answer wasn't quite what he was expecting.spent some time with my sons school bully yesterday .. just to dig a little deeper on”why?” .. come to find out he was being bullied for not having clean clothes n clean shoes.. I asked “why?” .. just to find out that his family is currently homeless🤴🏿♥️🙏✊🏽I had to do Something pic.twitter.com/IY29lgChqY— TattooArtistAubrey (@illuminaubrey_) October 17, 2018In an interview with KHOU 11, Fontenot revealed a phone call to Tamarion’s mother led to the discovery that the family was going through hard times and lacking stability. With this realization, Fontenot decided to step in and help where he could. A tattoo artist by profession, Fontenot purchased Tamarion new clothes and new shoes. In the video, an initially reserved Tamarion eventually radiates as Fontenot tells him to hold his head high.Fontenot then decided to bring the boys together outside of school. While the initial interaction was a bit awkward, the boys eventually warmed up to each other and began playing video games. Now, Tamarion and Jordan even consider themselves friends. Fontenot told KHOU11 that this was a lesson in perspective and listening. “It taught me something," Fontenot said. "I was angry at first; then I said let me try something different."The father also created a GoFundMe campaign to help the family get back on their feet.Liking this content? Check these out:Houston Ballet Soloist, Harper Watters, Imagines Future Possibilities In This Rousing Short FilmThe Hip-Hop Version Of Jimmy Kimmel’s ‘Mean Tweets’ Is Here, And It’s All We Ever WantedHere's The Deeper Meaning I Took Away From Childish Gambino's 'Feels Like Summer' Music...

A young mom passed away after doctors failed to tend to her post-childbirth complications. Despite Charles Jonhson's requests for his wife, Kira, to be seen as she struggled to recover from giving birth to the couple's second son in 2016, doctors waited seven hours to conduct a CT scan. By then, it was too late. In a talk with 11 Alive, Charles described his late wife, who spoke five languages, as unstoppable. As unstoppable as she was, it was only right that he would notice when something wasn't quite right with his outgoing wife after she gave birth on April 12, 2016. His inspection led him to find blood in Kira’s catheter. After alerting nurses and doctors, he said the staff ordered a CT scan."That was supposed to be performed STAT," Charles said. "In my mind, I'm thinking, 'That means immediately.'"Despite repeatedly asking for help, it took the doctors seven hours to see Kira. “She's beginning to tremble uncontrollably," Charles said. "She's beginning to shake. She's beginning to be in increasingly more pain. She's becoming sensitive to the touch. There's still no CT scan."When doctors finally came to get her for an internal scan, they assured that she would be back in 15 minutes. However, that'd be Charles last time seeing his wife alive. Doctors found three liters of blood in Kira’s stomach. Her heart stopped immediately. She died from a hemorrhage nearly 12 hours after giving birth. “We walked in for what we expected to be the happiest day of our life. And we walked straight into a nightmare,” Charles said describing the tragic situation. “I sit awake at nights thinking maybe I should have grabbed somebody by the collar; maybe I should’ve turned a table over, would that have made a difference? Even two years later, I still can't make sense of it in my mind.”But Kira's story is not an isolated incident. Pregnancy-related deaths continue to rise in the United States with Black women being impacted the most by maternal mortality. For every 100,000 births in the U.S., 26 women die. According to the Nine Maternal Mortality Review Committee, a minimum of 700 women die in the U.S. every year from pregnancy-related causes.Even a superstar like Serena Williams has felt the effects of doctors not listening to Black women. Williams, who has a medical history of pulmonary embolism — a condition in which one or more arteries in the lungs become blocked by blood clots, was well aware of her symptoms. "So, when I fell short of breath, I didn't wait a second to alert the nurses," Wiliams said; however, the nurses didn't listen. Because she knew what to expect, she told doctors that she needed a "CT scan and a heparin drip." A slew of complications followed in the days to come, but her assertiveness saved her life. Still, even she wonders what would have happened if she wasn't Serena Williams.Charles' mother is Judge Glenda Hatchett, best known for her nationally syndicated reality court TV show Judge Hatchett. She was left devastated by the news of her daughter-in-law's passing."She was so excited that Langston was coming. She should be here," Hatchett said.Now, Charles and his two boys, Charles Johnson V and Langston, will have to go on without Kira when it could have all been prevented by listening to a Black woman when she says she's hurting.Now, check these out: EXCLUSIVE: New York City's Black Mothers Are Dying At Alarming Rates. Here's What The City Is Actually Doing About It.Why Maternal Mortality In Black Women Is A Problem That Cannot Be IgnoredBlack Maternal Health Week Has Ended, But The Risk Of Losing Our Black Mothers...

After nine years, Amerie has returned the music scene to bestow patient fans with a surprise double album.The new mom’s last full-length album In Love & War was released in 2009. Although she hadn't been putting out music, she certainly kept herself busy editing the New York Times' best-selling anthology Because You Love to Hate Me: 14 Tales of Villainy and debuting several novels, Pitchfork reports. According to Billboard, the singer-songwriter’s new album comes in twos. The double-album R&B project, 4AM Mulholland and After 4AM, aims to showcase her maturity as an artist.“As I was recording, I wasn’t trying to limit myself in anyway,” Amerie told Billboard when asked about the decision to release a double album. “I had just come off of writing a new story, and I wanted to go full-out into the recording process. I didn’t want the album to be a smorgasbord of sound; it needs to have a vibe, and that’s why there are two projects.”Upon hearing news of the new release, fans rejoiced:We've got NEW Amerie, Solange, NAO and Brent Faiyaz on the way. pic.twitter.com/bbswaoaAIK— V.E. (@VICKY__smalls) October 18, 2018*sees Amerie trending...finds out why* pic.twitter.com/QhPiPBA0sP— ~*~Bella Mila~*~ (@bella_meelah) October 18, 2018Me if I hear any slander towards Amerie when she drops tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/ckH5f8YGgF— Patrick Lewis (@PatrickLewis_) October 18, 2018Hold up amerie is coming with new music tomorrow pic.twitter.com/vq1SyRBmmS— Shawna 💖 (@colorme_shawna) October 18, 2018Me back in the day when 1 thing by #amerie came on pic.twitter.com/tryKWnRaVb— Miss Kim (@Misskim869) October 18, 2018AMERIE IS DROPPING TOMORROW pic.twitter.com/IlchXlHaZA— Delete w/ a machete. (@mandarinmink_) October 18, 2018Someone literally asked who is Amerie..... pic.twitter.com/jOD6Vz7W54— Clyve “CarbonClyve” Monroe (@clyveSPEAKS) October 18, 2018"Amerie" is going to release new music pic.twitter.com/c4luy3oAld— Troll King (@FakeFac67460950) October 18, 2018This week been too much & Amerie dropping an album?! WITH ONE i #AMERIE!? pic.twitter.com/Q0brfMogsw— Rosaura Rivera-Melendez (@officialrosaura) October 18, 2018Now, check these out:A Reflection On My Hopelessness, Anxiety And Black Girl Magic16 Black Songs You’re Guaranteed To Hear At The Function11 Music Video Directors Who Gave Us Visual...

Once again, a white person is trying to discredit their racism based on their proximity to a Black person. Hillary Thornton made headlines when she dared to block D’Arreion Toles from entering his St. Louis apartment. After losing her job and experiencing the backlash that comes with being a bigot, she is saying there's no way that she's racist. She has a black friend husband.According to Fox 2, Thornton is still legally married to a Black man although the two are currently separated. While she may be clinging to her estranged husband, Brandon Mueller, to save face, he makes it clear that he doesn't know her.While those may not have been his exact words, he did take to Facebook to let us know that he doesn't mess with ol’ girl like that and has nothing to do with her latest shenanigans.“I want to take the time to express my deep disappointment in the incident that took place in Mr. Toles’ home,” Mueller said in the video. "The individual in the video and I have been separated for over a year, and I, myself, no longer reside at the Elder Shirt Lofts building. As a man of color, I have spent most of my professional career teaching others the importance of diversity and inclusion." By his use of the word "individual" rather than her actual name, it becomes pretty clear that Mueller has quite the disdain for Thornton. "My only hope is that as a community can do what my father taught me many years ago: To not ignorance to allow others’ ignorance to incite anger and hatred; but to use it as an opportunity to learn, grow and promote love," he concluded. Mueller only referred to himself as "a man of color." While that doesn't determine if he identifies as Black, let's hope Thornton isn't choosing his identity to save her behind.Let this be a reminder that no matter how many Black men you sleep with or even marry, the racism always jumps out. Now, check these out: Off-Duty Cop, Property Manager Force Black Man To Leave Pool Outside His Apartment Complex'Cornerstore Caroline' Apologizes For Accusing Young Black Boy Of Groping HerFour FAMU Students Believed They Were About To Become The 'Next Trayvon Martin' When A White Man Pulled A Gun On Them Near...