The Educational Pledge

02/17/2023

Dean Phylicia Rashad has been selected as the inaugural Toni Morrison Endowed Chair in Arts and Humanities at Howard University. As the Toni Morrison Chair, Dean Rashad will collaborate with faculty across the disciplines to oversee the development of an Arts & Humanities Leadership Laboratory. 👏🏾

11/25/2022

08/16/2022

It starts with us🙌🏾

07/15/2022

RULES TO TEACH YOUR SON👇🏿
1. Never shake a man’s hand sitting down.
2. Don’t enter a pool by the stairs.
3. The man at the BBQ Grill is the closest thing to a king.
4. In a negotiation, never make the first offer.
5. Request the late check-out.
6. When entrusted with a secret, keep it.
7. Hold your heroes to a higher standard.
8. Return a borrowed car with a full tank of gas.
9. Play with passion or don’t play at all…
10. When shaking hands, grip firmly and look them in the eye.
11. Don’t let a wishbone grow where a backbone should be.
12. If you need music on the beach, you’re missing the point.
13. Carry two handkerchiefs. The one in your back pocket is for you. The one in your breast pocket is for her.
14. You marry the girl, you marry her family.
15. Be like a duck. Remain calm on the surface and paddle like crazy underneath.
16. Experience the serenity of traveling alone.
17. Never be afraid to ask out the best looking girl in the room.
18. Never turn down a breath mint.
19. A sport coat is worth 1000 words.
20. Try writing your own eulogy. Never stop revising.
21. Thank a veteran. Then make it up to him.
22. Eat lunch with the new kid.
23. After writing an angry email, read it carefully. Then delete it.
24. Ask your mom to play. She won’t let you win.
25. Manners maketh the man.
26. Give credit. Take the blame.
27. Stand up to Bullies. Protect those bullied.
28. Write down your dreams.
29. Take time to snuggle your pets, they love you so much and are always happy to see you.
30. Be confident and humble at the same time.
31. If ever in doubt, remember whose son you are and REFUSE to just be ordinary!
32. In all things lead by example not explanation.
33. Dress how you want to be addressed
34. BE BLESSED BY BEING A BLESSING

04/08/2022

We believe play is a necessity!!

03/16/2022

Did you know…?

Join us in celebrating our past and present history makers as well as the everyday beauty and resilience of all women!! 🌸

Celebrate Black History all year at www.ShadesCalendars.com

02/28/2022

—Nanny also known as Queen Nanny was a Maroon leader in Jamaica during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Enslaved Africans who escaped & established independent settlements in the Americas were known as maroons.

—Nanny was a runaway slave from Western Africa who had been sold into slavery. It is usually assumed that she was born into the Ashanti tribe of modern-day Ghana.

—Nanny and her 4 brothers (all of whom went on to become Maroon leaders) were sold into slavery and eventually escaped to the highlands and jungles that still make up much of Jamaica. Nanny and one of her brothers, Quao, established Nanny Town in the Blue Mountains on the Eastern side of Jamaica.

—Nanny Town thrived because of its remote location in the highlands, far from European villages & difficult to attack. Nanny avoided attacking plantations and European towns, preferring instead to farm and trade with her neighbors in a civilized manner. She did, however, conduct multiple successful raids to free slaves trapped on plantations and her actions resulted in the emancipation of about 1,000 slaves during her lifetime.

—Nanny & the Windward Maroons flourished and multiplied during Nanny’s lifetime. The triumph of the Maroons threatened the British colonial authorities. Plantation owners demanded action from colonial officials after losing slaves and having their equipment and crops torched by Maroon raids.

—The Jamaican jungles were searched by hunting groups made up of British regular army soldiers, militias & mercenaries. Captain William Cuffee, often known as Captain Sambo, is said to have murdered Nanny in one of the war’s many brutal battles in 1733. The war lasted from 1720 to 1739, when a truce was declared; Cudjoe, one of Nanny’s brothers and a Maroon War leader, was the driving force behind the treaty.

—Following Nanny’s death, many Windward Maroons relocated to the more sparsely populated Western (or Leeward) part of the island. The British eventually seized Nanny Town and destroyed it in 1734.

Nanny’s life and achievements have been recognized by the Jamaican government, who have named her a National Hero and given her the title of “Right Excellent.” There are currently just seven such National Heroes, with Nanny standing out as the only woman. The Jamaican $500 note, the country’s largest denomination, has a modern image of Nanny based on her description.

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