News — Black Girl

Zizo is a gender-based violence activist and a self-published author. However, behind this strong, hardworking woman's positive energy is a chilling story. Zizo's father raped her first when she was 7 years old then continued doing it for seven years. Zizo lived with her mother and visited her father over the weekend; this is when he would rape her. It is when she got pregnant that her mother realized what was going on. This story is an eye-opener for all parents. Children need extra care, attention, and need sex education from a young age, so they know no one is allowed to do this to them. What do you think?

Hundreds gathered in Toronto for the first annual Regis Korchinski-Paquet Memorial Walk for Justice, organized by Black Lives Matter on July 25, 2020, to honor the life of a young African-Canadian woman who fell 24 floors to her death during an encounter with police.

Regis Korchinski-Paquet, the daughter of Claudette Beals-Clayton and Peter Korchinski, was deeply proud of her Black Nova Scotia roots and Ukrainian heritage. She was a talented gymnast and dancer during her school years, and held a variety of jobs after high school, including working for a computer security company and at a deli counter.

Korchinski-Paquet was diagnosed with epilepsy five years before her death and found it increasingly difficult to maintain a job because of her seizures and the effects of epileptic postictal phenomena, a condition occurring after seizures that is marked by drowsiness, confusion, migraine, and other disorienting symptoms. On several occasions Regis experienced psychiatric crises that required hospital visits.

On the morning of May 27, 2020, during a heat wave and under COVID restrictions, Korchinski-Paquet had a seizure in the family apartment at 100 High Park Avenue in Toronto. Her mother called 911 and requested assistance in de-escalating a family conflict and getting Korchinski-Paquet safely to a hospital. At least five officers responded and met Korchinski-Paquet, her mother, and brother, in the hallway outside their apartment.

When Korchinski-Paquet asked to use the washroom, the officers followed her into the apartment but barred her mother and brother from entering. What happened next is unclear. From outside in the hallway, Korchinski-Paquet’s mother and brother heard a commotion, the words, “Mom, help,” and then silence. Officers emerged to announce that Korchinski-Paquet was dead. She fell 24 floors and her body remained on the ground outside the apartment for the next five hours.

The family believes that the integrity of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) investigation was compromised by intentional leaks to news outlets to sway public opinion. The SIU denied that it leaked information.

The family’s lawyer said the SIU has a history of pro-police bias and a high rate of clearing police officers of wrongdoing. With the help of their legal team and Howard Morton, a former head of the SIU in the 1990s, the family carried out an investigation of their own. They found a new witness and succeeded in having a second autopsy performed in Newfoundland. In a statement made July 15, 2020, lawyers for the family suggested that there might be grounds for criminal charges against the officers who were in the apartment at the time of Korchinski-Paquet’s death.

In August 2020, the SIU cleared five officers in the death of Korchinski-Paquet. The family then filed a complaint with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, claiming misconduct and neglect of duty. They claim that officers did not follow de-escalating procedures and that the SIU report is inconsistent and missing crucial information. The family’s complaint process is ongoing.

When did the image of women’s empowerment become a blow-up doll? With WAP as the Millennial, Zoomer anthem for women’s sexual liberation, who is really pulling the strings? And who is the real puppet?  

In an Instagram and YouTube world, it can be hard to discern what is real beyond the makeup, staged homes and relationships, luxury brands, wigs, skin bleaching and cosmetic surgery. Social media opened the world to the possibilities of the American dream. But is it a dream, nightmare, or simply an illusion?  

Plastics can be convenient. Lucrative. But they also cause pollution. Cancer. Self-hate.  

“I love my body,” Megan Thee Stallion proclaimed in her sexy 2020 American Music Awards performance. “Every curve, every inch, every mark, every dimple is decoration on my temple. My body is mine and nobody owns it but me. And whoever I choose to let in is so lucky. You may not think my body is perfect and it probably never will be. But when I look in the mirror, I love what I see.”  

The twerk Goddess’ power is an inheritance bequeathed to women of African descent by ancient Matriarchs erased from history during the rise of patriarchy. Ancient Africa was matriarchal, and women were sacred. The exploitation of women can be traced to ancient Greece and Rome when African women with supernatural powers were murdered and demonized.  

Why?  

In her book, Origins Of The Vodoun Religion In America, Mama Zogbe reveals the truth, “African matriarchies under the auspices of the Sibyls who were the civilizing authority in which all new waves of foreign immigrants, no matter how barbarous, would be gradually subdued and systematically integrated into the main society. However, no matter how “civilized” or culturally assimilated, none of these groups were ever allowed knowledge of the mysteries, which remained the exclusive domain of the African priestesshood.

“Even long after their colonization by the barbarous Dorians (Greeks), though they (the Greeks) claimed to be ‘Sons of (the non-Egyptian) Heracles,’ these primitive groups had not yet been tamed and assimilated as the earlier wave of Libyans, Aeolians and Ionian immigrants. Thus, it was  forbidden for them to even enter into the sacred chambers of the Sibyls, whom these earlier Greeks  often worshipped as god/desses… the oracles and prophecies of the Sibyls were employed and trusted universally as the holy word of the Gods and depended upon in all manner of life and sudden travails.” 

The rise of patriarchy coincided with the demonization and erasure of these women from history, including the Torah, Bible, and Koran. Labeled witches because of their supernatural abilities to heal, prophesy and even raise the dead, thousands were piled into fiery pits and incinerated alive. 

According to Mama Zogbe, “During pre-Mohammed Islam, Al-Uzza (‘the almighty, and morning star’), was one of a triune (holy trinity). The other two were ‘Ali-at and Kore.’ These were the principle deities representing the tribes of the original African Muslims. For example, the Kores (Korites) of East and Central Africa are the ancestral clan of Ibrahim (Abraham), who were also worshippers of Mama  Tchamba Al-Uzza.  

“The shrines of this holy trine were located between Al Talf and Mecca. The other African goddesses,  Ma-Anat (goddess of destiny) shrines were located along the road between Mecca and Medina. 

“Many of the followers of Al-Uzza were an ascetic, highly spiritual group of matrilineal nomads and  traders. Each clan was headed by a queen priestess, and a temple haram (harem) of priestesses and  sadhus (ascetic priests). Many of the Abyssinian clans wore their hair in long locs, did not touch the  dead, nor did they attend funerals (even of relatives). They were meticulous about their worship,  hygiene, morals and taboos. They spoke and wrote in Aramaic, Mande, Fulbe, and Houssa (Hausa), the  primary ancestral language. 

“In one out of hundreds of accounts, the Qur’an (Surat al-Buruj 85:4) documents that in 523 (C.E.),  Ethiopian King, Yousef Athar Dhu Nawas, originally an initiate of Al-Uzza, was forced to pile more than  10,000 matriarchs and their clans into a mass Ukhdud (pit) and ordered it set ablaze, because they had refused to convert to any of these emerging competing doctrines. During their scramble to conquer Africa, all of the emerging patriarchal sects clashed, vying for expansion. All competing for her land,  wealth through African enslavement and her mineral spoils. A great number of West Africans enslaved in the New World descend from these original African Islamic ancestral clans, where their founding ancestors and ancient deities are still born to them. Today, just as during ancient times, Mama Tchamba still plays a central and critical role in the West African Vodoun spiritual system.” 

The driving force of this plunge into global bleakness was greed. The insatiable thirst for money and power. Conquest.  The same driving force for the current capitalization of black girl magic. The Goddess energy brings wealth, joy, love, peace and harmony. Suppression of the Goddesses unleashed greed unchecked like an unparented child. Wild. Poverty is greed’s child.

African descendant women (and men) ghosted by absent fathers (or mothers), or emotionally ghosted by present fathers, attempt to fill bottomless voids. Repeating the same patterns in relationship after relationship to the point of exhaustion. Insanity. 

Gifted by systemic racism with poverty, trauma, mass incarceration, and broken hearts. No one has ever been held accountable or brought to justice for the crimes against humanity during the Transatlantic slave trade. Rape. Breeding. Deconstruction of families. Sex trafficking. Sex slavery. 

Sexualization of black women, once taboo, is now normalized. Glamourized.  

The Asherah pole, now known as the stripper pole, was once a sacred tree used in rituals to honor the life-giving force of nature called Asherah, an ancient African Matriarch.  The Nigerian Money Dance ritual which blesses the union of soulmates has now morphed into “making it rain” at strip clubs. Twerking originated as another ancient African non-sexual ritual.  

“We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and  suffered no harm.” Jeremiah 44:17  

Asherah is the Queen of Heaven.  

Iconic women of modern times are her descendants. Beautiful, brilliant, bold, talented, powerful black women driven to do whatever it takes to escape their impoverished past and live the “dream” they spent countless hours watching on television. Sacrificing their beautiful faces, bodies and life-giving melanin, sculpted and gifted by the Creator, for a piece of the American pie. We all have our lessons to learn on this life journey and our own path. These powerful women were pre-destined for greatness.  

Goddess Nicki Minaj embodies the power of the African Matriarchs. Born December 8, 1982, the number 8 appears twice in her birthdate, indicating power. Her sun sign is Sagittarius. More power. And she has the most powerful life path number 22/4. The Master Builder. An old soul on Earth to make her mark. And she has, as one of the greatest rappers of all time. Walking in the stilettos of another icon, Goddess Lil Kim. 

According to her Republic Records bio, “Minaj’s father was a severe drug addict with a long history of violence. At one point, he set fire to the family’s home in a failed attempt to kill Minaj’s mother. Those early struggles, Minaj has said, helped fuel her drive to rise above the life her parents knew.”  

Born March 21, 1994, the iconic Clermont Twins also have powerful life path numbers. The Master Number 11/2 is the most intuitive of the life paths. Visionaries. Their sun sign Aries is the ram. Power. If their ancestral wealth wasn’t stolen, then maybe their education, naturally striking faces,  personalities, innovation and blazing talent would be enough to build their empires.  

More than likely their ancestors were royalty, sold into slavery during the Transatlantic slave trade as patriarchy spread into Africa during medieval times.  

In her groundbreaking book, Origins of the Vodoun Religion In America: Reclamation Of A Suppressed Heritage, Mama Zogbé (Vivian Hunter-Hindrew) states, “One of the tragic consequences of the rise of patriarchy throughout Africa, was the suppression and limiting of the sacerdotal, social and political power of the matriarchy. This in turn created a hurried reshuffling and masculinization of the cosmological pantheon and the pyramidal (as opposed to circular) structure of the priestly ranks. Men  (male priests and diviners) placing themselves at its apex as a reflection and validation of the new global  patriarchal order.”

This takeover by men played out in the royal family. According to Mama Zogbe, “This feud was actually a  fight between the local family of Adonon, over Houégbaja’s unauthorized usurpation of her matrilineal brother’s divine right to the throne…“It is she (Adonon) a local Wasa (Ghanian, Anlo-Ewe?) woman, who  is the (ancestral) mother-in-law of Dahomey’s’ first three rulers (Houégbaja, Akaba, Agaja). Meaning that the succession to the throne should have been matrilineal. Adonon and Aligbonu, and her  (Tohwiyo), founding ancestor, are the ones who should have been venerated, and their matrilineal heirs should have ascended to the royal throne.” 

Suppression of the Matriarchs and the resulting conflict was exploited by European invaders of Africa, resulting in our ancestors’ enslavement. 

“However, what should be of interest to the Diaspora is that it was many of these Wassa Guedevi groups and their descendants whom the “dynastic” kings of Dahomey were constantly at war, because of their theft of the royal throne establishing an exclusive patriarchal rulership. Further, that it was these (Wasa/Guin/Guedeiv) royal lineages and their local descendants who were the first to be sold into slavery,” Mama Zogbe educates.  

Goddesses Shannade and Shannon Clermont had dreams of elevation similar to Nicki Minaj. Their drive exploited by photographer Terry Richardson, who captured the ambitious twins in incestuously suggestive poses.  

According to Independent, “Earlier this week it emerged that Conde Nast – which publishes high-fashion  magazines Vogue and Vanity Fair – would no longer publish fashion photographer Terry Richardson’s  work, after fresh scrutiny of years of sexual assault and harassment allegations made against him.” The article outlines multiple revolting acts of alleged sexual abuse of models spanning over a decade.

The plastic life of Shannade and Shannon came crashing down when allegations of prostitution and fraud shattered the illusion of their lavish lifestyle. Shannade subsequently served one year in prison for using a dead man’s credit card, while many of her followers incur debt and depression to mimic her. What seems like a devastating turn of events was an opportunity for transformation.  

Why do African Goddesses need bleached skin and hair, and Silicone Valley bodies to succeed in the entertainment industry? One need only look at the top to find the answer.

Are Barbies really empowered or simply little girls with daddy issues masked as grown women. Feminine power trapped by abandonment issues. Seeking daddy’s love and affection. Breakdown of family structure caused by systemic racism creates repeating cycles of abandonment and low self-esteem.  

Power does not need to be packaged or paraded. It simply is. Naturally. 

Barbies and blow-up dolls place too much focus on how we look instead of who we are. Placing the attention, approval and validation of men at the core of our existence. Who is really in control?  

Distributing exploitive and incestuous images in the media eventually makes incest, child abuse and pornography, sexual violence, and rape mainstream. Normalized. 

Society steadily declined when the African Matriarchs’ faces and names were replaced with Greek and Roman patriarchs.  

How do we stop the madness? 

We need the African Matriarchal voices in our world. As the civilizing authority of the ancient world, her suppression created chaos. The illogical became logical.  

She is suppressed but not silenced. Erased but not forgotten. She beckons through her daughters. 

Love, strength, smarts, insight, foresight, intuition, generosity, nurture, joy, wealth, health, creativity, business acumen, savvy, wisdom, logic, emotion, depth, diplomacy are her legacy.  

Jeremiah 44:17 is an omen. Erase the black woman. Erase the world.  

We need her. To ensure women and children are protected and not exploited. To ensure everyone has the quality of life necessary to develop and thrive.  

Justice is served as the African Matriarchs are resurrected in their descendants. People of all backgrounds are proudly proclaiming the title, “witch”. Using their power to heal our world as did our ancient mothers. 

Justice is served as black women have become the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs, according to Black Enterprise.  

Self-love, not surgery is what makes women attractive. When you know your power, you don’t have to prove it to anyone. Walk in your power. Stand in your power. Sit in your power. And the world takes note. The good news is patriarchy is coming to an end as we shifted into the Age of Aquarius with the Winter Solstice and Saturn, Jupiter Great Conjunction on December 21, 2020. 

A new era is born with the Age of Aquarius as a rising star takes the world stage. Born February 15, 1995, Megan Thee Stallion’s life path is 5, and the number also appears twice in her birthdate. Triple fives, 555, signals change. 

Megan inspires the next generation to look in the mirror and love what they see. To be original and allow the reality of their unique beauty to shine from the inside out. Not a copy of the latest celebrity packaged for sale and distribution by the white male-dominated power structure. Like another rising star, Goddess Azriel Clary, whose immense talent, strength and tenacity are more than enough. Goddess, you are everything. 

Black Deaf families have existed long before Nakia Charmay Smith took to TikTok to share videos on their dialect. The Black American Sign Language (BASL) is a dialect of the traditional American Sign Language (ASL) and so they have some similarities. What made Smith’s videos on TikTok go viral was how she and her family with hereditary deafness educated her followers on the history of BASL.

Smith is from a four-generation family of people who are deaf. The 22-year-old is bringing a much-needed representation that is lacking among Black deaf people as she creates awareness about her community and their history one lesson at a time on the video-sharing platform.

The TikToker focuses on American Sign Language (ASL) and BASL while educating people on how best to interact with people of the deaf community.

Her videos have raked over a million views on Tik Tok and over 900,000 views on Twitter, and they usually feature her family, particularly Jake, her deaf 95-year-old grandfather. Jake encourages her to continue sharing insights from their community with the world and the responses have been majorly positive.

“I felt like a lot of people didn’t’ know about BASL until my video went viral. They were really curious and wanted to learn more about BASL and history. I told my grandfather that the video went viral, and he said, ‘Keep it going’,” Smith said.

A recent partnership with Netflix gives more insight into how BASL came about. The giant video streaming platform reached out to Smith after her viral TikTok video for the project and now thanks to Smith, many now know that BASL was created because of segregated schools.

“It was developed by Black deaf people in the 1800s and 1900s during segregation. For reference, the first American school for the deaf was created in 1817 but only started admitting Black students in 1952. So as a result, Black communities had a different means of language socialization, and BASL was born,” she explained.

Experts in sign language have lauded the young college student for her revolutionary work which encourages people to learn to sign because it is prudent to have culturally relevant sign language interpreters across all areas.

For years, Black people have received unwavering criticism for not using the ‘standardized’ ASL. The Black deaf community has been fighting for years to get BASL recognized just like it was with African American Vernacular English (AAVE).

“It is important that we recognize and celebrate the diverse deaf communities and the variations within American Sign Language,” said Jan Withers, Director of North Carolina DHHS’ Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. “Understanding and appreciating Black ASL helps to create an inclusive environment.” 

When asked what the biggest difference between the two dialects was, Smith said, “BASL got seasoning.”

Smith is playing her part by teaching BASL while preserving Black deaf stories in the process. She records her speech therapy sessions with her brother, increasing people’s understanding of what it means to be Black and deaf. 

At the age of 15, Jessica Hyatt has already been awarded a $40,000 college scholarship. On top of that, she is just a few ranks away from making history as the first Black woman chess master in the world!

Jessica, who is one of the top 10 Black female chess players in the US, recently received the prestigious Daniel Feinberg Succes in Chess Award which comes with a $40,000 college scholarship.

“I play whenever I get the chance, like in my free time, like during my classes, like sometimes during classes,” Jessica told, noting that she plays at least 5 to 7 hours a day.

Jessica is currently a sophomore at Success Academy, a school known for its exceptional chess program. Five years ago, she met her coaches Tyrell Harriott and David Mbonu, who are both National Masters, the highest level in the US.

To become a chess master, a 2,200 ranking must be achieved. Jessica is already at 1,950.

“I learned the game when I was 15, so for Jessica to be at 1,950, that’s a huge edge,” said Harriot.

With that, she is hoping to become the first Black female chess master.

“There has never been a female Black player to break the master ranking and that’s what Jessica is going for,” said Mbonu.

Even with the pandemic, Jessica continues honing her skills by playing chess online. Her mother, Loy Allen, has been very supportive of her daughter and hopes other young children of color get inspired by her story.

“If your kid’s passionate enough about it, have them go for it because the sky’s the limit, right?” said Allen.

Moreover, after achieving her goal of being a chess master, Jessica dreams of attending college at MIT and plans to teach chess to other children as well.

A Brooklyn 7th grader, Grace Moore, has become one of the youngest composers to create original music for the famous symphony orchestra, the New York Philharmonic. The orchestra performed the piece on the streets of New York last month.

Moore composed the piece for the orchestra as part of efforts by the music group to introduce original composing to a broader spectrum of people including children.

The 12-year-old is part of the Very Young Composers program, an initiative by the New York Philharmonic which teaches children as little as age eight how to create music. Moore is very excited for the opportunity to create music for the esteemed symphony orchestra.

She said she has not seen many people like her composing for the orchestra. “I haven’t really seen many people who look like me on stage,” she told CBS News.  It’s her hope that her achievement will bring aboard more people of color into this genre of music.

“She was very excited about the fact that she could represent as a Black female composer and also such a young person,”, Clara Stewart Moore, her mother added. 

According to Philharmonic President Deborah Borda, the Very Young Performers program is an initiative to expose as many new people as possible to classical music irrespective of their age, class or color.

Times have changed and many institutions have had to adjust their modus operandi which includes the New York Philharmonic. The coronavirus health and safety measures have prevented the group from performing inside the Lincoln Center.

To keep the music alive, the Philharmonic’s “Bandwagon Series” was introduced so musicians and opera singers get to perform from pick up trucks.

Moore’s debut performance with the orchestra was in October near the Brooklyn Bridge and in front of Lincoln Center. Not only did they play her music, but she also directed the group from start to finish.  

“Music is universal,” Moore said. “It doesn’t matter where you are or where you’re from or what language you speak. Everyone can understand it.”

A lot of New Yorkers were able to enjoy the performances from their balconies and Moore had the opportunity of a lifetime to share her talent with the world regardless of the new normal imposed by the pandemic.