Letter from the Editor

September is a catalyst. This is the month that everything just zooms by. After Labor Day, you might as well put your Christmas lights up. Remember over the summer when you were begging for fall to begin, and now you can’t get time to slow down. Life is like that, wanting what you can’t have and then having what you don’t want. In this upcoming fall season, I encourage you to be present in the moments ahead and enjoy every sip of pumpkin spice… every hug with a family member you haven’t seen in a while…every gust of wind…everything that makes you feel loved, included and wanted. We are special people, and we have to remind ourselves of such. We are resilient. Let me take it back a few hundred years so I can remind you, in September of 1830, the First National Negro Convention was held. In September 1910 the National Urban League was founded – an organization that helps millions of Black people buy homes, start small business, and further their education. September is a month filled with Black progress. In September 1857 the National Black Women’s Organization Movement was founded, which helped to distribute messages of “unity, activism, and race pride” before there was such a thing as Black Girl Magic. On that note in 1983, Vanessa Williams became the first Black woman to win Miss America. These accomplishments are just a short list of the progressive Black moments in history made this month. As this month ebbs and flows, remember your ancestors and be grateful for all they’ve done. Also, remember you will one day be an ancestor so shine as bright as you can, and help as many people as you can. The future is depending on you.

With love, power, and respect,

Attiyya