Category: New Online

Are you a seller or a buyer?

Since the pandemic everyone has developed a side hustle to support their families. Depending on one job is not enough anymore. A lot of women are tapping into their creative side and taking that leap of faith and than you have others who are still stuck and scared. Whats stopping you from reaching your fullest potential?

You sitting and watching other people lives, stories and even track their views and yet you still haven’t decided what route to take as an entrepreneur. Your brain has soaked up enough knowledge to grasp how to start a business so whats the problem?

A little competition on multiple items or services is today’s norm. Just because you know someone who is doing it, doesn’t mean you cant …especially if you like it and good at it.

You can even find a bag inside a bag. Meaning at your current job you can always expand and develop new ideas.

Phenomenal Expressions can navigate and teach you are to become a self starter into the entrepreneur world but first you have to believe in yourself.

Word around town that the New year doesn’t start till February so that gives us time to start some new traditions.

Love in a Can is something I came up with when my mom came to stay with me. She had an old cookie tin can that she would store her sewing supplies in that I took and used as a table center piece.

Every week I would write a quote on a piece of paper and hanged it on my fridge. Its warming to read something positive everyday or even something loving. At the end of the week I would place the note in the tin can on the table. As the weeks went by if ever we were in need of something uplifted we would go to the tin can and pull a note. I made sure to date them as well to remember.

You can do this too with a jar and put your own thought and feelings onto paper. You have the choice to make it loving or inspiring. Imagine doing this all year long for every day or week and going through it all at the end of the year. It can be a invention of love or healing process for those in need.

Sheila Bender is a poet, essayist, memoirist, and master teacher, who has helped hundreds of people write from personal experience.

She believes that when it comes to writing-in-progress, there is no bad writing only opportunities for good writing. She has served as a Distinguished Lecturer in poetry for Seattle University, taught writing at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, and for the Centrum Foundation’s Port Townsend, Washington writers conference among many venues. She founded WritingItReal.com, an online instructional magazine focused on writing from personal experience and speaks on writing to heal grief, overcoming writer’s block, and writing craft skills for new and experienced writers and poets.

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Sheila Bender to discuss her passion and journey to becoming a poet, essayist, memoirist, etc:

Can you tell us about your journey as a poet, essayist, memoirist, and master teacher?

I think I had the inclination to write poetry from an early age. In middle school, I asked the teacher if I could write my social studies papers in ballad form for some of the assignments, and she said yes.

By high school, I put writing poetry aside to fulfill credits in the sciences and languages for college entrance and then to complete college elective requirements. I had declared myself a biology major because my favorite teacher in high school was the biology teacher. But organic chemistry and dissecting frog embryos under a microscope led to dropping hot zinc on my lab partner’s hand, watching it heal all semester long, and requiring at least three frog embryos before I could successfully slice only one cell off with a baby hair under the microscope rather than destroying the whole embryo.

I felt most comfortable in a psychology class where the text included one famous poem at the start of each chapter, and each of the poems seemed to tell me the essence of that chapter. So, it wasn’t long before I changed my major to English literature. I carried a huge number of books back to the apartment that I shared with three women who wondered why I would commit to so much reading. How I loved the reading, though, and the fact that, in bookstores, poetry collections by poets I hadn’t heard of seemed to jump into my hands. I would like to add that to this day, some of what I learned in the science classes keeps me well-stocked with metaphors that ring true to me. (Nothing is wasted when it comes to writing.)

After my undergraduate years, I earned a Master of Arts in Teaching and taught middle school English for two years, selecting poems from Stephen Dunning’s anthology of poems Some Haystacks Don’t Even Have Any Needle and Other Complete Modern Poems. Then I moved to Seattle, directed a daycare center, and was the lead teacher in a classroom of four-year-olds half the day. There was a lot I had learned about being person-centered in my approach to teaching that paid off with these little ones; then I had my daughter, and from her early years on, person-centered facilitation of learning was what I practiced (see Teaching as a Subversive Activity).

When I first held my own newborn in my arms, I asked her who she was; telepathically, I heard her ask, “Who are you, Mom?” I began scribbling poems during her naptime, and another two years later when my son was born, I read them to her while he napped. She was a marvelous audience, seeming to hear what her mother was at least trying to discover about who she was. Living near the University of Washington, I perused the course catalog and found that David Wagoner, a poet represented in the Some Poems Don’t Even Have Any Needle anthology, was on the creative writing faculty. I arranged for babysitting and enrolled as a non-matriculating student to study with David Wagoner. My goal was to have one of my own poems published. Next, I took more poetry writing workshops with several visiting poets, and ultimately, I enrolled in the University’s Masters in Creative Writing Department (the University didn’t yet offer a Master of Fine Arts).

David Wagoner had accepted me into the multi-level class as a beginning poet based on the naptime unfinished poems I’d managed to create. It wasn’t easy being ten years older than the other students and having had my ability to concentrate altered by looking after two young ones who made it difficult to even remember I was running the faucet to wash the dishes.

It wasn’t easy to endure harsh criticism with words I had to look up in the dictionary when some class members discussed my poems: “I don’t mean to be pejorative,” one upper-level student said, “but….” “This poem doesn’t earn its ending,” he added. Another claimed that the “penultimate stanza” was wrong in some way or another that I no longer remember, but I quickly learned the meaning of “penultimate” and love to say it instead of next to the last. That’s where person-centered education came in again. I learned to rephrase the harsh responses into something helpful to me: “This stanza confuses me. I feel misdirected,” was empowering to me as a writer who needed to revise, rather than the editorial critiquing voice those class members used.

I remember the day with excitement still when a revised version of a poem of mine came up, and those same students tore into it. Then David Wagoner said, “I am pleased by this revision.” Ultimately, after other poems of mine were chosen for publication in local newspapers and literary magazines, he chose one for the National Poetry Northwest. Whatever had been keeping me from writing disappeared.

What drew you to these forms of writing, and how did you become passionate about teaching others to write from personal experience?

David Wagoner remarked one day that when you are a poet, you must always write in another genre because sometimes the poems don’t come. Personal essays, now often called short memoirs, became that for me. They seemed a cousin to the poetry I was writing. With a Master’s degree, I began teaching composition at a community college and used what poets taught me about writing and the writing process, as well as my person-centered instructional approach, to facilitate prose writing. I wrote personal essays along with my students. Theirs and mine were so successful that some were published! Eventually, I wrote an instructional book, now titled Writing Personal Essays: Shaping and Sharing Your Life Experience, about writing personal essays based on what my poetry teachers had taught me applied to teaching the essay form. From there, over the years, I wrote enough poems for several collections and many instructional books, along with teaching students through my website, Writing It Real.com, established in 2002. I had overcome my hesitation to become “real” to myself through writing and wanted to facilitate others in the craft because writing from personal experience in poetry and in prose had made me real to myself and answered the question my newborn posed. I wanted to help people who wanted to write free themselves from their internalized judgment that it would be impossible for them. I wanted to show them how possible it was to grow what they wrote into fully manifest poems, personal essays, and autobiographical fiction too.

You mention that there is no bad writing, only opportunities for good writing. Can you elaborate on this philosophy and how it shapes your approach to teaching and mentoring aspiring writers?

Yes. What we read in print has usually been through quite a drafting and revising process before publication. So, we tend to judge what we write, even as a first draft, to be intolerably less polished and incomplete. In addition, we often feel like what we had in our minds seemed better than what came out on the page. So, we must understand three things:

1. We learn what we are thinking and feeling, what is in our minds and hearts, by writing and discovering more than we realized we had to say. Many of my teachers said a version of this, that the words were smarter than they were, that they wouldn’t know what they thought unless they wrote.
2. That there is a way to listen to the words of our drafts to find out where the words are wanting to take us. That is where trusted listeners can guide us with their responses, tell us what words struck them, what feelings they receive that they believe the words intend, and what feelings happen because it is a draft and might offer confusion or lose the reader in places, for instance, and where they are curious to know more, things the writer might have left out. I call this growing our writing, and from botany, I have this metaphor: when a seed sprouts, the first leaves don’t look like the signature leaves of the plant but are more rounded. They are called the cotyledons, and they hold nutrition for the plant. When the plant has used the nutrition, the cotyledons dry up and fall away. That is how I feel about the parts of first drafts that help us continue writing but many of which are no longer needed once more is manifest on the page.
3. That, as David Wagoner taught, writing is best accomplished in three stages: invention, shaping, and then editing. He warned about moving from one stage to the next too early. We at first feel free of judgment about what we write down and even go wild with imager; then we come to that invention writing with a writer’s eye and start to see a shape (or strategy) the writing wants to take. Finally, we involve our editor self (or another) who deals with word choice, punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing, sentence combining, and even deletion of redundant language and sentences as we tighten our writing. Of course, in the end, we may go back and forth a little among the stages, but never early in our process.

From this point of view, there can never be bad writing in the drafting process, only the opportunity for good writing.

As a Distinguished Lecturer in poetry and someone who has taught writing at various institutions, including Loyola Marymount University and the Centrum Foundation’s writers conference, what unique perspectives do you bring to your teaching, and how do you inspire your students to tap into their personal experiences for their writing?

First and foremost, I establish writing workshops as a safe place to share early writings and revisions as well as finished, polished work. I use the three-step response method I described as telling the writer what words stuck, what feelings they think the piece so far as it is written are feelings they think the word intend for the piece and what feelings arise that get in the way, feelings like being confused, left out of learning something the words seemed to have promised, or overwhelmed with information they can’t sort out, for instance. Learning reader responses in this way sustains a safe environment for growing writing. Writing from personal experience creates intimacy with others as well as with ourselves, which can leave writers feeling very vulnerable, but receiving responses in the way I outlined builds confidence and allows writers to know that even in early drafts they have reached others’ hearts and minds. And they learn how to do that even more effectively. It helps the writers with the shaping stage and encourages the invention stage but is so crucial to meaningful full writing.

How do I encourage the use of personal experience? By offering prompts that pose a question such as: When was a time you lost someone, something, or some opportunity? Can you describe a place for which you have strong feelings of love or hate? What do you know how to do that you can teach others (try this in the letter form, not only giving instructions but recounting a story from life that allows the recipient to understand why you are offering the instructions)?

The founding of WritingItReal.com suggests a dedication to online instructional resources for writers. What inspired you to create this platform, and what kind of content can writers find there?

I lost my 25-year-old son when he had a snowboarding accident at the end of 2000. In my grief, I could not stay focused on my jobs teaching, then in LA at Loyola Marymount and
editing for Accepted.com. I read and read poems, essays, and memoirs by parents whose
children had died. That was the company I wanted to keep. Slowly I began to write poems
and then personal essays about my son and my grieving. Somewhere along the line, I
thought of one of my students who had written an essay about losing her high school best
friend in a car accident and how she understood that now she would live for both.

My son was a young architect when he died, one who designed with a passion for designing
spaces that enhanced people’s personal spaces. He taught my husband and me so much
through his passion for helping by building. When he was in graduate school, he learned
that migrant workers in California’s Central Valley had to wait for buses home in the hot sun
after having worked all day in the fields under the hot sun. He enlisted the help of
classmates in designing and building a cement bus shelter for those who waited for the
buses. Architecture was his best thing and the way he offered help. Writing was mine and I
wanted to reach people who wanted to write more quickly than producing books takes. My
husband is in the computing field and he and an associate who is a programmer built the
website in 2001 (there was no easy make-your-own-website software then) after asking me what I wanted it to be like—a quiet place for writers, new and experienced, to learn more
about the craft and overcome writer’s block. We launched in October 2002, and I wrote
weekly instructional articles. In 2004, I added online instructional workshops via email and
things grew from there—now I offer Google Groups and Zoom workshops as well as on-
one consulting via Zoom on poetry and prose work.

You speak on writing to heal grief, overcoming writer’s block, and writing craft
skills. How do these aspects intersect in your teaching, and what advice do you have
for writers facing challenges in these areas?
Overcoming writer’s block means trusting that if you write you will find what interests you to
write about, almost by surprise, and if you write using prompts you will find a way into work
that you have felt was too big to take on, like grief and loss, for example, certain memories,
even love. Writers write. We sit down and we keep our fingers on the keyboard or around
the pen and just write. We sometimes set timers so we feel there will be an end to this
experiment. We use prompts and just go from whatever they trigger. Just writing keeps us in
practice and delivers much to continue writing from.

Learning writing craft skills: I always offer models from published work and read those
models as a writer reads—what strategies has the author used to tell their story? Lists,
journal entries, the letter form, descriptions that use the five senses instead of summary
words, sound images as well as visual ones, taste, and smell too—we strive as writers to
offer experience and experience comes in through the senses before we make meaning in
terms of feeling evocations and thinking. I learn by emulating the ones we like. and we learn
via the three-step process, too, because we learn how to reach others. And when we have
reached others, these strategies which include metaphor that refreshes experience and
sound that imitates it, we learn the writing craft skills as we go along.

Healing grief. Writing helps. Reviews I found on Amazon for my small book Sorrow’s Words:
Writing Exercises to Heal Grief tell the story of how writing from grief helps us through the
dark emotion to find the light, the happy memories, the way to live with the spirit of the one
who has died inside your own spirit. We must articulate our grief as it is for us, and we will
find that doing that opens the path to happy memories and a way to continue to feel joy. If
we feel sadness, we can feel joy; if we block the sadness, we block the joy as well. Writing
helps us feel the sadness by naming it, evoking it, letting it live in our writing and then we
write conversations we would like to have now, and then we write our memories. And then
the one who has gone before us is with us in a deep way.

Having helped hundreds of people write from personal experience, can you share a
memorable success story or transformational moment from your experience as a
writing mentor?
Most of my students and one-on-one clients tell me what I responded to in their writing and
showing them concerning developing what they wrote was “very helpful.” Those are my
favorite words. They mean that we have both grown as we worked on their writing. Every
revision, my own or another’s, is transformational. Once something is fully written whatever
was inchoate inside of us has a shape and lives in the vessel that we have built for it by
writing. We have reached another’s heart and mind, and we are both renewed, changed,
and deepened. Transformation!

What role do you believe personal experience plays in the writing process, and how can writers effectively draw from their own lives to create meaningful and impactful pieces?
I think everything we write comes from personal experience, even fiction (which uses our
imagination and our research) is personal experience because we experience our
imagination and research. If we can get the sights, sounds, textures, smells, and tastes of
our world, real or imagined, into our writing we have created experience from our own
experience, real or imagined.

In your experience, what are some common challenges that new and experienced
writers face, and how do you guide them in overcoming these challenges?
I think the most common challenge is believing they not only have something to say but
deserve to write to find out what that is, and that taking time for writing is not selfish because
the time it takes furthers authenticity and centering. Next, I think worrying that they are not a
good enough writer to write their experiences is a challenge. And then, there is the fear they
might offend someone with their writing tell a family or friendship secret, or reveal their
feelings when they are not used to doing that. The remedy to all the challenges is to write
and to keep writing. Then to show that writing to trusted listeners and revise that writing until
it tells the whole story and brings the writer as well as her readers to a felt “aha.” It is so
often the case that what the writer feared they’d write is not as frightening as keeping it
buried. Of course, reading writing by others helps if we don’t judge our writing as less than,
but read to learn how other writers put their work together. And that is a skill I like to teach.

What is your definition of a Pretty Woman Who Hustles? 
A Pretty Woman Who Hustles is a woman who gathers the courage to reach a dream, who
finds a tribe that will help her, and who then helps others by reaching her dream and sharing
what that entails and what it means to her. For writing, that means writing what she has
inside to write, finding writers to work with her on her work-in-progress, studying the
strategies of other writers, and sending her writing out to venues looking for material where
hers fits It means believing in herself, listening to advice that resonates for her and not
accepting judgments that quell her desire.

Connect with Sheila
Website 

Amazon page 

Facebook 

Mastodon 

Medium 

After a remarkable career as a pediatric nurse, Myrical Alexander traded in her stethoscope for a life of entrepreneurship. From handcrafted candles to natural and herbal products, Myrical provides others with ways to improve their quality of living. Although she’s hung up her scrubs, this grandmother of three remains dedicated to enriching the lives of others as the visionary continuously explores new and inventive ways to serve the people.  

Fueled by an avid love of writing and an innate ability to captivate an audience with vivid storytelling, Myrical is an emerging presence on the literary scene with her debut book Honey. This captivating story invites readers on a journey through the life of a homemaker that proves everything is not always as it seems. This jaw-dropping drama is just the beginning for this best-selling author. 

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Author Myrical Alexander to discuss the road to becoming an author, the message behind her debut book and more:

If you could use any five words to describe you and your passion, what would they be and why?

This is an interesting question. Firstly, I would say “Innovative.” My way of thinking and approach to problem-solving is what I consider to be innovative, driving my passion for helping others. This brings me to my next word: “Driven.” I am a very driven individual, working hard to turn my innovative visions into reality. “Authentic.” Authenticity is key in everything I pour my heart into. Regardless of the situation, I stay true to who I am and what I believe, evident in how I operate – ensuring I put out what I desire in return (level of care, service, etc.). “Inspiring” and “Powerful.” I hope that everything I do not only helps others but inspires them to do better, be better, and understand that hard work pays off, obstacles can be overcome, and something beautiful awaits on the other side – and that is powerful.

When did you first realize your interest in entrepreneurship?

As a child, I witnessed my grandparents, relatives, and my mother balancing raising her children with owning and operating a business. I started with small babysitting gigs and braiding hair when I wasn’t in my mom’s store. My interest continued to grow from there.

Who or what would you say was your earliest example of entrepreneurship done right?

My earliest example of entrepreneurship done right would be the examples set by my family. In my eyes, they did it right because they achieved success in their business by ensuring customer satisfaction, offering quality products and services, and still taking care of their families. I watched their hustle, commitment, integrity, and faith, feeling blessed to have been raised and influenced by some of the greatest.

Transitioning from a pediatric nurse to an entrepreneur is a significant shift. What inspired you to leave your nursing career and embark on an entrepreneurial journey?

Entrepreneurship is in my DNA – my parents and grandparents were entrepreneurs as well. I always had entrepreneurial ventures on the side. However, it wasn’t until the birth of my first grandchild that I felt it was time to make it a full-time thing. It allows me the freedom and flexibility to spend time with my grandbabies while also leaving a legacy for them.

What inspired your love for handcrafted candles and natural/herbal products?

Firstly, I love a good smell. Who doesn’t, right? Having worked long in the medical field, I’ve witnessed the pros and cons of pharmaceutical products, and I prefer using more natural items.

As a pediatric nurse, you’ve dedicated much of your career to caring for others. How has your healthcare background influenced your approach to entrepreneurship and the products you create to improve people’s quality of living?

I am a natural caretaker, always looking for new and innovative ways to do things. My healthcare background provides extensive medical knowledge, aiding exploration of more natural remedies and alternative care methods.

Your book, “Honey,” has garnered attention and praise. Can you share more about the inspiration behind the book?

My inspiration comes from my life and observations in this ever-changing world. Social media makes a lot of things available at your fingertips, and I look at how open and proud people are of things that previous generations had to do in secret. I reflect on the path I’ve taken and wonder what I would have done dealt a different hand.

The description of “Honey” suggests a journey through the life of a homemaker, revealing that everything is not always as it seems. What lessons do you hope women take away from this project?

Self-empowerment. I hope this helps women feel empowered to find their strength to overcome whatever they are dealing with. I want women to feel they can take control of their lives and be confident in who they are. I want women to find the power in owning who they are and not being ashamed of the process of growing into the powerful queens they are destined to be. Don’t give up, no matter how hard it gets. You’re worth it.

As a grandmother of three, family seems to be a crucial part of your life. How does your role as a grandmother influence your work, both as an entrepreneur and an author?

It’s all about balance, reflected in my writing as the main character in “Honey” needs to balance her life as a homemaker with her other life. Wearing many hats as a mother and grandmother, each child has unique needs requiring me to meet them at their own level. This is similar to how I approach entrepreneurship – each piece of the venture requires a different level of me – a different skill, a different mindset, a different vision, a different level of understanding.

In the competitive world of authorpreneurship, what challenges have you faced as an emerging author, and how have you overcome them to become a best-selling author?

The main challenge is entering a new world. I’ve been in the medical field and sold various products, but selling a story is a different realm, and I’m learning to navigate it. I’ve learned so much about writing, editing, and publishing. My overall drive and desire to learn new things to help others keep me going. I’m just soaking it all up.

For those who want to stay updated on your work, you encourage them to follow you at myricalalexander.com. Can you share some exciting projects or upcoming releases that your followers can look forward to?

Expect more from me. This book is just the beginning. I am working on something for release in 2024, but you’ll have to stay tuned.

As someone who has successfully transitioned between different fields, what advice do you have for individuals contemplating a major career shift or pursuing their passion later in life?

Do it. Never let anyone keep you from pursuing your dreams. Would you rather spend your life wondering what if? One quote I often reflect on is by Erin Hanson, “There is freedom waiting for you, On the breezes of the sky, And you ask ‘What if I fall?’ Oh but my darling, What if you fly?”

What is your definition of a Pretty Woman Who Hustles?

A woman who is confident, secure, carries herself with grace and dignity, and does whatever it takes to get the job done – someone who takes care of business and is always looking for ways to grow, improve, and give back to others. A woman who sees beauty not only in herself but in others and works to bring it out. A strong, driven, fierce go-getter.

To stay updated, follow her at myricalalexander.com

You will have the chance to learn more and connect with Myrical in our upcoming January issue of Pretty Women Hustle Magazine.

Embrace your magic .

To become a takeover, you first have to view yourself as a Boss. A women that hustles gracefully and beautifully. To help manifest your NEW self, you can do a few things to put you on the right path;

*Vision Board

*Prayer and Worship

*Exercise/ Weight Loss / Meditate

*Drawing/Color/ Artwork

Goal Planning

Write down your short and long term goals for the year and plan to reward yourself after every completion. You can get friends to join in to have an accountability partner. We all need a push every now and than.

Activate

Lets get prepared for the GLOW UP. Lets shed the layers from this year and show up for ourselves entirely. No more delays, set backs, excuses. It’s time. Show people who you are and what your passion is. Let this be the year you discover and cap on your truest potential.

Tokyo Baldwin started her journey towards activism, abolitionism, and social justice/racial justice by founding End the Genocide of BIPOC LLC. An LLC that prioritizes the BIPOC community in the attainment of Equity and Sustainability. While researching the history of Genocide in the US she learned of a Document entitled, “We Charge Genocide”. This petition was presented to the UN in 1951 by Paul Robeson and William Patterson. It charges the US Government with the Genocide of Black identifying humans. Inspired by the previous petition, she created a new petition called, “End the Genocide of BIPOC”, which includes all BIPOC identifying humans in charging the US with the Genocide of its BIPOC people/ communities. She has also just published her new book entitled, How is this NOT Genocide. The book is now available on Amazon, Kindle, and Ingram online platforms. Tokyo is currently employed with the Wildflower Alliance as their Career Initiative Coordinator. She is also a member of their training team and a peer support advocate.

As a CEO, mother, and wife, her desire to create a better quality of life for her family is the driving force of her ambition. She is deeply spiritual and supports her community by working at The Afiya House; New England’s 1st Peer run respite. Through the Wildflower Alliance, Tokyo is in line to become the Director of one of the 1st BIPOC peer-run respites to be established in MA as an affinity space for the aforementioned communities. She attends hearings and provides testimony to promote bills to establish peer-run respites all across the commonwealth of MA and hopefully, one day, the whole world. It is Tokyo’s firm belief that all humans are connected to one another. She hopes to be able to witness a day in which the world promotes love!

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Tokyo to discuss the inspiration and passion behind her brand and community work:

Tell us about your journey into activism and social justice, when did you realize you had a passion for justice?
I have always had an interest in Criminal Justice as well as Social Justice and Human Rights. The textbooks provided in Criminal Justice courses state plainly that there are biases in law enforcement’s response to Black and Indigenous People of Color and their communities. I have lost a family member to gun violence. That is my primary inspiration. He was killed a block from home. He lived 10 minutes from the hospital and it took 45 minutes for the ambulance to arrive. I realize now that BIPOC people will never know equality until they are afforded equity and access to sustainability. Progress is not promised until we are viewed as equals instead of chattel.

What inspired you to create End the Genocide of BIPOC LLC?
I noticed how BIPOC people/communities suffer and how the US promotes and facilitates their Genocide. I have noticed the Genocide in the Congo, the Genocide of the Palestinian people, and the continued systemic Genocide of Black and Indigenous identifying humans and People of Color. There have been countless non-white communities that have perished at the hands of hatred. From Christopher Columbus’ contribution to the Genocide of the Lucayan people to George Floyd being killed in the street for nearly 10 minutes. It’s time to make a positive change.

Can you elaborate on the significance of “We Charge Genocide”?
I first stumbled across, “We Charge Genocide” after the killing of George Floyd. I wondered how police murdering people in the streets could be allowed in this day and age. This treacherous spectacle compelled me to look into whether the US government had ever been held accountable for its participation in the Genocide of BIPOC-identifying humans. When I googled that question, I found the 1951 petition that was delivered to the UN by Paul Robeson and William Patterson; it was also dismissed as communism. Their petition was geared toward Black humans. My petition highlights all BIPOC-identifying people. Some of the key issues that are addressed in my petition surround revising the 13th Amendment; to no longer include the legality of servitude if duly convicted of a crime. The majority of people housed in the prison systems are from BIPOC communities. I also ask for all systems of oppression to be acknowledged and dismantled immediately. Racism is at the core of this country’s foundation. It is a social construct that can be discarded as easily as it was adopted. I also ask for sharecropping and homesteading to be reinstated. Huge subsidies of land were given to those who colonized the US. It is the primary reason for the equity deficit when comparing white-identifying communities to BIPOC-identifying communities. We have to look back to move forward accordingly.

Your new book, “How is this NOT Genocide,” addresses a critical issue. What motivated you to write it, and what key messages do you hope readers take away from it?
.My book, How is this NOT Genocide, is an answer to the age-old ignorant question of, “What Genocide?”. This book is my retort to those who would suggest that Genocide is not a prevalent issue here in the US. This book is about my life and the lives of countless others. The cover alone is a compilation of historical documents that outline acts of Genocide against BIPOC communities, that were carried out in the US. This could not be allowed without the knowledge and lack of action on behalf of the US government and its Presidents. I would like for people to understand that inactivity when regarding racism, is and always will be compliance. Love is more fulfilling than hate.

In your role as the Career Initiative Coordinator at the Wildflower Alliance, what initiatives are you currently working on, and how do they contribute to your mission of equity and sustainability for BIPOC communities?
As the Career Initiative Coordinator at the Wildflower Alliance, I support marginalized folks in securing funding for their business ventures. The Career Initiative Grant Fund prioritizes folks who have had prior mental health diagnoses, that may have impacted their ability to access this type of funding elsewhere. We do not require ID or Proof of Citizenship, which can be a huge barrier for migrant folks and folks who are displaced. We also offer an Education grant when additional funding is available.
These types of opportunities are invaluable to folks in the BIPOC community. We also offer employment workshops and have recently partnered with Expert Staffing to support our Holyoke and Springfield centers. Both of those spaces support an extremely diverse community, consisting of many marginalized and BIPOC-identifying folks.
We are also working toward hosting community events in the Spring and Summer of 2024.

As a CEO, mother, and wife, how do you balance your various roles and commitments?
I honestly don’t find it difficult to balance the various roles that I play in my life. As a person, I consist of all of those parts, and being a parent comes naturally to me. My daughter and husband are my heart and soul. I love my job. I just try to make sure that at home we foster love, respect, and honesty. Apart from that, making sure that I have time to enjoy the fruits of my labor is a must. I have never wanted to retire at 60 or 65. I want to enjoy my family long before that and wealth is not a necessity.

What does a day in the life of Tokyo Baldwin look like?
A day in the life of Tokyo looks like finding funding for various business ventures. Constantly contemplating/challenging societal norms. Trying to exude the kindness that I wish was more present in the world.
Being grateful to God (spiritually not religiously) for all that I have and for who I am. I enjoy family as much as I am able, they are my priority most days. I also garden a lot in the Spring and Summer.

Tell us more about your work at The Afiya House and the role of peer-run respites. How do these spaces contribute to the well-being of individuals and communities?
As a peer support advocate at Afiya, I am also someone with lived experience who supports others who are navigating their own life experiences. Afiya helps to prevent folks from being hospitalized against their will. When people are looking for a nonclinical option for mental health, they call Afiya because it is not a restrictive setting. A person could also be experiencing heightened emotions and they can call Afiya. We do not call the police on folks for sharing their feelings, or traumas with us. We are also an alternative to incarceration. We do not require ID and we honor all identities. When someone is exploring alternative housing situations after incarceration, we can be that support. We are peer-run so that folks who enter the space can interact with other humans who are trauma-informed and who have navigated various walks of life. Afiya is not just a physical space, it’s a community.

You’re in line to become the Director of one of the first BIPOC peer-run respites in MA. What challenges and opportunities do you foresee in establishing such spaces?
I think the biggest challenge will be finding a property for the BIPOC peer respite. I don’t think that we will have any trouble finding folks to fill the space. I imagine the BIPOC peer respite will be designed in a similar way as Afiya. One big challenge might be creating awareness around its existence. Marginalized folks are historically misinformed in addition to being under-informed about spaces that could benefit them. This peer respite would create the opportunity for BIPOC folks to encounter a space that is made entirely for them. A place where they are welcomed and embraced; somewhere that their identity does not condemn them.

Reflecting on your work, what message do you hope women take away from your platform?
I hope that women know how powerful we are and how much we can achieve when we seek to do so. We are our biggest hurdle. I would also suggest that women uplift one another. Do not, “go quietly into the night”, ruffle feathers, and denounce conformity.

What is next for you and what can women expect from you in this upcoming year?
Women can expect me to raise hell! I will be making a lot of noise around Genocide and Social Justice. I aim to establish some long-term emergency housing in Western and Central Mass. I will be providing free meals and developing a BIPOC support group hosted by my business, End the Genocide of BIPOC LLC. I plan to make changes where there have been none.

What is your definition of a Pretty Woman Who Hustles?
I think a pretty woman who hustles is a woman with dignity and integrity. She exudes strength and stands for justice. I think a pretty woman who hustles is a mother, a sister, an aunt, a grandmother, a daughter, and all women who make it through another difficult day. Pretty women who hustle are true to themselves and do not allow others to define them.

Connect with Tokyo Online

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/EndgenocideBIPOC?mibextid=ZbWKwL

Twitter:

@TokyoBaldw45034

Outskirts Press author page:

https://outskirtspress.com/howisthisnotgenocide

Amazon link to How is This NOT Genocide:

How is this NOT Genocide https://a.co/d/cTWpwVr

Petition to End the Genocide of BIPOC:

https://www.change.org/EndgenocideBIPOC

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved u” – Romans 8:37

By definition, Conqueror means to rule or win over someone or something. This is not the perception I take from the word itself.

To be in a leadership position, you have to remember that their are people who look to you for answers. I believe to be a leader, you have to take on tasks that others cant quite do. This maybe because they have never been taught how. A person that has leadership skills will always look to the leader in the room and slowly start to mimic the actions and language of that leader. Its the manifestation, that “I too, want to be a leader” and I too can do what you can”. When you are able to develop and grow your character and personality trait. You can grasp the concept of what a leader really is.

We are taught to learn by our senses. To see it, hear it, touch it, taste it, brings life to anything. To become a successful adult we have to be able to mesh with other human beings. When you are sure about who you want to be in life, you will find those looking just like you and you all will run into people that can assist. If we all are doing gods work/community service, having a open mindset to all people will make more of a impact to the cause at hand.

To be a Conqueror you have to allow others to join you and learn from you, just as you learn and follow someone else because it is the understanding that if I lead, they will follow and it will continue to have a affect.

Side Note;

Reflection of self will allow you to always strive to be better. When you are able to recognize your own faults and flaws, you have the ability to make the change before somebody else notices. Always Self Reflect! Be honest with yourself.