GirlTREK

“I say this to you, as I say to myself: If Malcolm and his message, so strong, so bright and so pure, was too good for those of us who have already reached manhood, there is a generation who is not yet spoiled, not yet degutted, not yet de-bold, not yet emasculated, who when they come into the light of this truth will rise up and redeem him and us and all the rest of the world. That is the meaning of Malcolm X.” - Ossie DavisWe are that generation.We are ready to rise up.Join us live on today’s walk for a historic conversation about the life and legacy of Malcolm X and the Shabazz family.Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - The Prayer Edition at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with prayers, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 spiritual warriors.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Pharoah Sanders - Hum Allah Hum Allah Hum Allah:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWghTVdDGDM&feature=emb_logoMalcolm X’s Fiery Speech Addressing Police Brutality:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_uYWDyYNUg&feature=youtu.beOssie Davis's eulogy for Malcolm X (The ending of the Malcolm X movie):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2PQ3XY_j2E&feature=emb_logo

21 million of us may lose healthcare.  21 million.  Rather than folding into rage, arguing perspectives, or waxing philosophical, let's get in the streets. Join us today, for a special edition of Black History Bootcamp to listen to the words of one of the most brilliant political organizers in history. Dr. King called us to love one another AND demand "a radical redistribution of political and economic power."  He said, "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhuman.”  In this pivotal moment, as we strengthen our bodies for the days ahead, we'll share the part of his final speech that they do NOT want you to hear.  It's a blueprint for labor organizing, economic withdrawal, direct action, and radical love."There is a certain kind of fire that no water can put out." Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - The Prayer Edition at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with prayers, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 spiritual warriors.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Oh Freedom! - The Golden Gospel Singers:https://open.spotify.com/track/3O9lB0cF1EC2cA6RwkO2NF?si=g42phSemTO6zpk3Sg8-tsgThe Anthology 1957-1968 - Mountaintop Speech - Martin Luther King Jr.:https://open.spotify.com/album/6VmSiL5dAz0iui79svT1XE?si=HfSCtWfRRWSfmcCwkHZu0g

ProphecyI sing of a new AmericanSeparate from all others,Yet enlarged and diminished by all others.I am the child of kings and serfs, freemen and slaves,Having neither superiors nor inferiors,Progeny of all colors, all cultures, all systems, all beliefs.I have been enslaved, yet my spirit is unbound.I have been cast aside, but I sparkle in the darkness.I have been slain but live on in the river of history.I seek no conquest, no wealth, no power, no revenge:I seek only discoveryOf the illimitable heights and depths of my own being.- The Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray Spiritual Warrior of the Day: This is the story of Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray, she was the #daughterof Cornelia, who was the #daughterof Harriet, an enslaved woman who was forced to bear children with her owner. This is the story of what would not die and what could not be stolen – our mother’s hopes and dreams for our lives. This is the story of the Black woman in America.The Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray lived one of the most remarkable lives of the twentieth century. She was a civil rights activist, a pioneering feminist, a labor organizer, a lawyer, and an Episcopal priest. Her legal arguments and interpretation of the Constitution helped to dramatically change the laws of this country Her steadfast and fearless pursuit of justice led her to break down gender and racial barriers across the land. We are indebted to Pauli Murray for her unwavering devotion to her people, for her bravery, and for the personal sacrifices that she had to make along the way. It is our privilege to talk about her life story on today's walk and to honor her legacy through a walking worship.We do it today in honor of Cornelia and Harriet because they endured so Pauli could live. And in honor of our grandmothers and great-great-grandmothers who did the same.Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - The Prayer Edition at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with prayers, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 spiritual warriors.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:The Best In Me - Marvin Sappr:https://open.spotify.com/track/1B5NWdLAt8GC4WKTPUCrLM?si=207hYhMRS6ePEjbIfOIrbgUp Where We Belong - Bebe & Cece Winans:https://open.spotify.com/track/6hjuzceBTUL1kv5H6Uw2Th?si=4LCL92eHTtG5JC1b9HLviA

I listened to John Coltrane all night ...and woke up singing the old gospel song, "I Hasten to His Throne."  I didn't fully understand the connection until now. Isn't that what this is all about?  Hastening to what is greater? Spiritual Warriors of the Day: For John Coltrane, it was at his lowest moment, in a cold fight against heroin, on his bedroom floor, he experienced God's Love.  From that moment, he dedicated his life to a fervent practice of spiritual awakening.  And because God is good, this awakening came with a spiritual guide from Detroit, a woman named Alice.  Together, they created A Love Supreme.  More than a ground-breaking album, it was an ethos.  A dissertation on love.  They improvised connecting with God day after day.  She once meditated continually for weeks. It was this devotion and discipline that gave the world one of the purest languages of love imaginable.  Love, for them, was not a falling.  No.  It was a practice.  A habit.  A discipline. A lifestyle.  Maybe even a religion.  It was a love note on the kitchen table kind of love.  A harp for Christmas kind of love.  Four babies in four years kind of love. Be still and hear God speak kind of love.  And when John was in deep, delivering his 4-part musical masterpiece, Alice was meditating, raising the boys and beaming with anticipation.  She said, "Before I even met John, there was something in me that knew there was a divine connection - there were things that he said to me, they weren’t spoken with the human voice." The Coltranes lived with edgelessness. They were expensive. Their music, healing.  In one of the most beautiful articles I've ever read, Carvell Wallace said that John gave the soul a place to sing. He writes, "There is something about a saint that makes it safe for all of us to get lost in the swell of being human."  And in a brilliant story for NPR, Sydnee Monday called Alice's music "spiritual preservation." She became the matriarch of Black meditation. Her transcendental music helped millions of us find enlightenment.  And he is arguably the greatest musician to ever live.  Together, they transformed the world.Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - The Prayer Edition at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with prayers, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 spiritual warriors.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:I Love The Lord - Whitney Houston ft. Georgia Mass Choir:https://open.spotify.com/track/2xrXUa8o1JJtz8nobY2UsY?si=xodi35yOSgyQubts4kqSOAA Love Supreme, Pt. I Acknowledgement - John Coltrane:https://open.spotify.com/track/0CLbmkYmQIWiEwnsbOkLpd?si=Ur4Bfxm8RR2ruZKT2Dk0ug

Precious Lord, take my hand. Be with me this week as I walk in my purpose. Show me where I’ve lost expectancy. Deal with the places in my life where I’ve settled, gotten off track, or completely lost my way. Help me to trust your promises. Teach me to walk with wisdom and discernment. I am an heir. Teach me to act like one, pray like one, and believe like one. Give me holy gumption. Give me the presence of mind to be a witness through all of my words and actions. Let me never be blinded by the limitations of my physical circumstances. Help me to see beyond. Put a song in my heart as I walk through the day, welcoming and receiving with open arms the goodness that I know you have in store for me.  Spiritual Warrior of the Day: “There is no music like that music, no drama like the drama of the saints rejoicing, the sinners moaning, the tambourines racing, and all those voices coming together and crying holy unto the Lord. I have never seen anything to equal the fire and excitement that sometimes without warning, fills a church, causing the church … to rock. – James Baldwin This is a story about the father of gospel music. This is a story about a man who carried the rhythm and blues of southern pain all the way north to Chicago and combined it with the scripture of God to create a new sound that would express the joys and sorrows, hopes and despairs, and most of all - the collective faith -  of Black people. This is a celebration of the spiritual warrior, Thomas Dorsey.Thomas Dorsey introduced the world to a new genre of music that would forever play as the soundtrack to the worship experience of Black people. His legendary life included authoring one of the most celebrated songs in the history of music, Precious Lord, written after losing both his wife and newborn son during childbirth. In that dark moment, this man called out to God in anger and God answered back, pouring into him a love song that would forever soothe the world. That’s how powerfully God can transform your pain into purpose. Today’s walk will be a timely reminder for anyone who had forgotten. You might be in your darkest hour right now, but Thomas Dorsey’s story teaches us to keep holding on. There is life after death and in each day, always, a possibility of goodness. Come get everything that you need today. We will be on the virtual sidewalk ready to walk and talk it all out.Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - The Prayer Edition at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with prayers, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 spiritual warriors.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:He Brought Us - Delois Barrett Campbell and the Barrett Sisters:https://open.spotify.com/track/03xqTwXIQ8l1dhFK9GmbUQ?si=KJ-g77Y0R12H1L915ExerQPrecious Lord - Thomas A Dorsey:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlmCflPD2s8Precious Lord - Aretha Franklin:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpFq9gxBxhk

You have to see yourself winning.Everybody's got that cousin... a cousin who is funnier than Eddie Murphy, one who can jump higher than Michael Jordan or that one who - with just a little coaching and education - could be the next Obama. Let’s agree to agree, we're blessed. Genius abounds at Black family reunions.So, when I look at Jesse Owens, it cracks me up because he looks like everybody’s cousin who can run fast. Jesse Owens was ours.  He was familiar. He was our chance to prove it. Settle the score. Win. He was the punchline to the joke of injustice. He was our graceful entrance.  And our “Hi Haters!” Jesse-Owens-was-redemption.  And, like so many of us who fight poverty, generational trauma, and thick-thick racism, Hitler didn't have anything for Jesse Owens - because he could already see victory before the race even began.  Call it survival.  Call it evolution.  What the enemy planned for his downfall became the greatest victory of his life.  Cue Koryn Hawthorne.  Won't He Do it!Spiritual Warrior of the DayIn 1939, Jesse Owens was the most famous man on the planet.  He "single-handedly crushed Hitler's myth of Aryan superiority" by pushing the limits of human capability and smashing world records.  But today, we won't talk about gold medals.  No. Instead, we will explore three very-real moral dilemmas in Owens' life that just may help us out in 2020.  His life was complex. Rich with irony.  Hard fought and often misguided. Scrappy. Not always honorable.  And yet, we celebrate him - as a spiritual warrior - because he stayed in the race until the day he died.  Through decades of shifting definitions of Blackness, he kept his eyes on doing his personal best.  And for that, we draw a gritty brand of inspiration. Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - The Prayer Edition at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with prayers, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 spiritual warriors.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Won't He Do It - Koryn Hawthorne:https://open.spotify.com/track/5Vr9WTLcbpKRkQGvVen13W?si=0sJUEo3uQlm7brR-628xlwSoldiers In The Army - Rev. James Cleveland:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnudHcR_34M&feature=youtu.beWe're Blessed - Fred Hammond:https://open.spotify.com/track/0ZD5LFsk2PMHicGH8MWRN8?si=ZKc8cUMiS6WesytoRpTo6Q

On the night that Gwendolyn Brooks learned that she would become the first Black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize, she was sitting in her living room on the Southside of Chicago with her nine-year-old son in the dark because the light bill hadn't been paid. By morning word had spread. A 32-year-old Black girl genius had secured the highest literary award in the land. Reporters descended on Gwendolyn's home and as they came, she sat petrified, not wanting to reveal to the journalist and cameramen that they would have no place to plug in their equipment.  But God!  When one of them came into the house and flipped on the switch without her knowing. The lights came on. Someone had gone down to the light company and paid the bill.  Somebody out there today needs this exact story.  Somebody needs to be reminded that its darkest right before dawn. Somebody needs to be reminded that there is still hope all around us.  “We are each other's harvest; we are each other's business; we are each other's magnitude and bond.”Today’s walk is a story of celebration. Of what survived. A reminder that we are the #daughtersof praying Black women and that their prayers are what keeps the lights on. Through Gwendolyn’s story we will discover the stories of our great-great-grandmothers, women who fled the terrors of the Jim Crow South, with nothing but the traditions, faiths, and beliefs of their mamas, packed in their suitcases. Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - The Prayer Edition at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with prayers, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 spiritual warriors.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or interview excerpt played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:God's Got a Blessing (with My Name on It!) - Norman Hutchins:https://open.spotify.com/track/208coS3K4leplVIBvrY6Pu?si=l1DCCZP-QLyYpHAV0LhpQgPrayer Will Fix It For You - LaShun Pace:https://open.spotify.com/track/5Li3n4gKfeQ5KKWggmUpom?si=bf-p4MmZRdSwuMFO8FUN3A

"When I try to describe myself to God I say, 'Lord, remember me? Black? Female? Six-foot tall? The writer?' And I almost always get God's attention."God gave Maya Angelou more than attention. God gave her a voice - a voice to break the silence, to sing calypso, to demand justice, to define excellence, to announce our peoples' rising up -- as a phenom.  Her voice blanketed an entire generation of Black girls with love.  ...and her boundlessness whispered into every girl's imagination. And for that, we thank God.Spiritual Warrior of the Day:Dr. Angelou's story is brilliantly blazed in the psyche of every Black woman.  Trust-you-me, we know about Stamps, Arkansas.  We know about her mother and her Momma.   We know the intimate truths of her darkest days.  And we watched her phoenix rise.  Her love affairs and protests created a rhythm for all of us to strut. And her lilts of "sister" gave us a daily doctrine for spiritual warriorship.  Maya Angelou is everyone's foremother and she commands us all to embody 1 Corinthians 16:14.  “Do everything in love."  Today, we honor The People's Poet.Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - The Prayer Edition at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with prayers, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 spiritual warriors.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or interview excerpt played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Optimistic - Sounds of Blackness:https://open.spotify.com/track/7Mb7jOst43wPQELas93ARE?si=9jnGA_5STCG2An2Q7ZpMtgMaya Angelou "Love Liberates" Courtesy of OWN:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8Gv7PwyeCk&feature=youtu.beDr. Maya Angelou on the Power of Words | Oprah's Master Class | OWN:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKv65MdlV-cDr. Maya Angelou Recites Her Poem "Phenomenal Woman" | SuperSoul Sunday | OWN:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeFfhH83_RE&feature=youtu.beMaya Angelou on the Noble Story of Black Womanhood:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4MucoOQz0c&feature=youtu.beI Hope You Dance - LeeAnn Womack:https://open.spotify.com/track/65B1tEOv5W294uCKbmEcFV?si=6TMqL9WWQ6SJYy2RHNKFmg

“I was missing somethingsomething so importantsomething promiseda laying on of handsfingers near my foreheadstrongcoolmovingmaking me wholesense pureall the gods coming into melaying me open to myselfI was missing somethingsomething promisedsomething freea laying on of handsI know bout/laying on bodies/laying outta manbringing him all of my fleshy self & some of my pleasurebeing taken full eager wet like I get sometimesI was missing somethinga laying on of handsnot a manlaying onnot my mama/holding me tight/sayingI’m always gonna be her girlnot a laying on of bosom and womba laying on of handsthe holiness of myself releasedI sat up one nite walking a boarding housescreaming/crying/the ghost of another womanwho was missing what I was missingI wanted to jump up outta my bones& be done with myselfleave me alone& go on in the windit was too muchI fell into a numbnesstil the only tree I could seetook me up in her branchesheld me in the breezemade me dawn dewthat chill at daybreakthe sun wrapped me up swinging rose light everywherethe sky laid over me like a million menI was cold/I was burning up/a child& endlessly weaving garments for the moonwith my tearsI found god in myself& I loved her/I loved her fiercely”  Spiritual Warrior Ntozake Shange. She invited us to find God in ourselves. She ushered entire generations of Black women into liberation. She wrote for those of us who didn’t yet exist. “So, we could have something here when we arrived.” That something was a vision for our lives that was bigger than our trauma. A vision that stitched together the words that had been snatched from our grandmothers’ tongues. She brought them back to life with vivid colorful detail and pain searing truth that forced the world to look our humanity in the face. Through her words, she said all the things that needed to be said. She wrote a Pslam and sang a Black girl blues. She resurrected the weary souls of Black women by breathing holy life into them, one stanza at a time and for this, we celebrate Ntozake Shange as the Patron Saint of Black Girl Healing. Thank you for serving us with such fierceness, dear sister. Today we tell your story. Let each step on today’s walk bring forth more of your powerful works into this world.Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - The Prayer Edition at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with prayers, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 spiritual warriors.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or interview excerpt played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:I Am Light - India Arie:https://open.spotify.com/track/6XgtZdXJN7R9Myu80BGebR?si=PGjMQ99pRXarW-70Gc_8SAA Laying On Of Hands (I Found God In Myself):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0ksLhou1mg&feature=youtu.be

What if you stopped performing?  What would that look like?  What would it feel like? ...to live your creed, to walk your walk, to sing your song - not for others, not for their applause or approval. Not to avoid pain or earn love - but because you were following your bliss.  What if you stopped performing and started living?  On deep purpose? With integrity.  Joy.  Who would stop loving you? What exactly would change?The greatest privilege of this lifetime is being exactly who you are.  So inhale... say "I am here."  Exhale...."Joy is here."Spiritual Warrior of the Day:Tina Turner's life defines the hero's journey and we will talk all about it on today's call. But the most heart-wrenching scene in What's Love Got to Do with It had nothing to do with Ike. No. The single, most heart-wrenching scene happened just after Tina Turner chose to die.  She took a lethal dose of pills. Then it happened.  Something too familiar.  Even in her darkest moment, she rallied herself to perform.  It was at that moment.  When she was tracing a heavy eyeliner and lost control - that we saw ourselves.  Even as we are dying inside, we are showing up, putting on face. We are standing at the ready to serve, give, earn, rally, stoke, protect, soothe, nurture, build, and love.  For so many of us, our attachment to needing to feel loved is the source of our suffering.  For Tina Turner, it nearly took her life.And then it happened. "Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō ...Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō ....Namu Myōhō Renge Kyōooo." She decided to rally for herself.  For her life!  This is the Lotus Sutra.  Perfect because like the lotus flower, born out of the darkest scum of a pond, we have the power to transform our own lives into pure brilliance - every single moment.  What a privilege.  It is the greatest journey - and it starts with a single step toward what satisfies your soul. Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - The Prayer Edition at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with prayers, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 spiritual warriors.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or interview excerpt played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Tina Turner - Proud Mary - Live Wembley:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2T5_seDNZEThich Nhat Hanh - Walking Meditation:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdO1vZJgUu0Tina Turner: Interview with Gayle King:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWHaONa1mWIWhat's Love Got to Do with It - Tina Turner:https://open.spotify.com/track/4kOfxxnW1ukZdsNbCKY9br?si=9VLaxChhRVWX_KQawC8X0A