Chicagoans agreed that indeed, it was time to turn on the light with Mayor Lori Lightfoot as the first African American woman leading as their new mayor. It was on a Tuesday, April 2, 2019 to be exact, when Sancti-Fly History was made. A lot of hearts stopped glowing in the dark as Lori slayed in the polls. Her footprints were everywhere! There was an insurrection of black excellence making strong waves throughout the election. Chicago had two black women (Lori and Toni) as their top contenders with explicit backgrounds, qualified to take over Rahm Emanuel's old job. Either way, history was going to have its way with a black woman as mayor. I was totally enlightened by all the Sancti-Fly excitement. What are the odds of having two black women run against each other for mayor? It was sweet and it was unique. There is absolutely nothing wrong with America snuggling up close with inclusion and diversity. Representation is something black and brown people have been rather thirsty of.  
 
Have no fear, reform is finally here. The players of the game just wont' be the same under Lightfoot's rule and reign. Mayor Lightfoot is giving hints for other leaders to promote courage and strength. I think it's time to do the right thing. Chicago has been stigmatized with indelible stains of corrupt leaders and politicians for far too long. Lori Lightfoot have already met and exceeded some of her goals as mayor. According to the Tribune she has demanded Alderman Burke resign in light of him being indicted on corruption. She has sliced poor spending habits of her constituents in the city council. As noted in the New York Times, the men and women of Chicago articulated what having a black woman as mayor means to them. Mayor Lightfoot definitely has challenges to conquer as far as managing the duties and responsibilities of Chicago. In addition, the unattractive history of crime, the police, and people of color. Maybe it's time for Mayor Lori Lightfoot to start a new political machine. Some things are meant to be rearranged for change; for the betterment of all citizens and all people who live in the City of Chicago. 

Titivate your day with the light of love and positive energy as often as you can to bring healing to your surroundings. Fight against negative energy at all times and know that you are worthy of all the goodness life has to offer. You have the right to remove yourself from people, places and things that are the antithesis of your hope.

It is never too late to start, so start! Take baby steps. You can do it! You have to start somewhere. Don't let go of your dreams, aspirations and dedications to yourself. It will happen when you start it. 

Do people know what real love is? It is pure and it is powerful. When you give it away you don't expect nothing in return. We need more and more love in our world!

Yes, I am so proud of you for fighting to become the magic God created you to be. Rock on! You will not be removed or replaced. You fought hard and there is no turning back!

Go right ahead and create those dreams you have up your sleeve. The vision you have is part of your purpose God gave to you. It is time for you to step into this new chapter of life called "Your Destiny." There are other people connected to your assignments in life, so it's time to BOSS UP. Yes, you are going to be the best boss ever. 

This is why you can't give up on people or turn your nose up at folks. Hey, it can be someone you love so show off your humanity. You don't know who a person will be in the future. Be careful how you interact with people. Only God can show you how that same person you looked down on will be able to help you out one day. 

The law of attraction is real! Focus on the goodness of others and good things all the time. Kick negative thoughts and thinking to the curve. Something good is about to happen to you! Watch!

Unbeknownst to the action and drama I knew I was going to receive while  viewing the movie “War for The Planet of The Apes” with a few friends over this past holiday weekend, I was gobsmacked with a heavy spirit full of weeping near the end of the movie, in light of the goodness and decency portrayed by the temperament of the apes in the film. I will not give away too many details for those who have not seen the movie. Caesar was the main character in the movie. He was also the leader of the apes. I wish the society we live in would emulate the morality Ceaser's character and family personified. The male soldiers in the movie wanted to hunt and kill Caesar and his ape family. All the apes ever wanted was peace and equality to live their lives as free apes; not hunted or in cages. There is a scene in the movie where the apes killed a human male in defense of their lives. There was a little girl in the house so the apes took her and cared for her because they knew she could not survive on her own. She could not speak; she was mute. She fell in love with the apes and they loved her too. Although she was a human and they were apes, they treated her just like she was one of their own. They saw no difference! I thought wow, these humans desired to kill the apes representing an acute form of savaged wickedness; yet the apes showed love and mercy to the human child and the other humans (predominately white men). I definitely encourage you to go see the movie. It is two years old but it is worth seeing.

I could not stop some of my tears from falling as I watched this movie. I caught my friends sniffing out tears as well. I don’t know why but all I could think about was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the struggle he carried on his shoulders for people of color; for all oppressed individuals to be free with liberty and justice for all. Below are a few excerpts from one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., speech that bespeaks the strength of his morality and the irony of it, in our present world. 

How do you think it would psychologically affect you if the ingredients of your historical bloodline consist of an ongoing struggle that tends to be never-ending? Do you think it is conducive to a person's mental wellness? What do you think it does to a person or a group of people who consistently have to fight for their life, liberty, and the pursuit of their happiness? Can you empathize with that? We are living in 2019. I feel like it is 1960 at times! Dr. King and other freedom fighters understood what true love meant. They sacrificed their lives so white folks could treat them and their families like human beings doing that awful period. There is a certain ethnic group of people who have been lynched throughout the history of America. Can you imagine seeing someone you love being lynched? Those same people endured slavery. They were the property of other human beings; treated like pain; raped, used as experiments and exploited with no voice or rights. It was the law; institutionalized madness. Do you remember when your child was born? I bet some of your children look just like you. They are precious and you want the best for your child. Can you ever imagine your child not having an equitable start and finish to an education? Is education something all people should have access to? What about having to fight the courts to get the job done. It is still happening today. Black folks and other oppressed people just wanted to be free; the cry is still the same today. Can you imagine seeking an unbiased court for justice and one of the men on the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roger Taney telling you that you have “no rights which the white man was bound to respect?” The crazy thing is, a lot of people still think like this today, in 2019. They are audacious with it! The remainder of this explicit white supremacy continues to give birth to a generation of individuals who believe it is their birthright to oppress and control all things and all people. This is why the history of injustice in our court systems, education, healthcare, and other inequities in our society prevails. Some people don’t have the moral character or virtue to exercise godliness. Some folks are on the wrong side of history. They still wonder why Colin Kaepernick had the nerve to take a knee in protesting against racial injustice. Really?

Dr. King was not a perfect man. He did represent the love and probity of God in the most Sancti-Fly way. His heart was righteous despite all the wickedness he conquered. I think black folks who overcame (still overcoming) all that racial hatred coupled with slavery, lynching, rape, police brutality, and discrimination are very strong people; rich in morality. You have to ponder how mind-blowing their moral strength is. They continue to stay hopeful in the power of God’s love! 

I want to say thank you to all the men and women for your true-blue sacrifices to our country for the protection of all of our freedoms. I would also like to give a  very special acknowledgement to all the African American men and women who gave their lives; who haven't been properly thanked for their sacrifice in light of all the separation and discrimination they had to endure. They did represent loyalty even when it wasn't enforced for them. Thank you to all! God bless all of the families! Thank you! 

The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children. Psalms 115:14

The lord shall bless you more and more, you and your children as you continue to please him and get closer to him. Your life is a sacrifice for others. Your life is not about you. The choices you make and the wisdom you partake in will birth brand new generations. You shall rest well in knowing how dangerous your selfless love rocked the world and your bloodline. May the lord increase you more and more in spiritual gifts to give glory to his name. The things God whispers to you and shares with you are not to be taken with levity. It is an honor to have God pour into your bloodline on purpose; using you as a witness to heal and help others. Please don’t take his gifts for granted. There is no one quite like you who can do the things you can do! May the lord increase you more and more; changing the history of your bloodline from lack to abundance to give honor to him. May the lord increase you more and more to live in expectancy; training your children to live and accept God’s expectancy.

May the lord increase you more and more. You and your children shall possess the land as you were created to do! If there are to be any trendsetters making this world better, it should be you showing out in righteousness doing it. If there are to be any phenomenal inventors, gifted artist, medical breakthroughs and philanthropist in the land, it should be you showing out in righteousness. You were created to dominate; gaining weight as you reign in your faith, sometimes falling then winning, learning, and winning again.

Carolyn Maull McKinstry is a woman teeming with a prolific revolution of black history. She certainly has a story to share with the world. McKinstry has brazenly divulgated her truth. Carolyn was a young teen who grew up in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. She was a young activist who was blissfully involved in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The world watched black folks go through racist acts like church bombings, Jim Crow coupled with white supremacy, and other terrifying acts of evil. Carolyn Maull McKinstry witnessed seeing her four friends (ages 11-14) in church during the last day of their lives. September 15,1963 is an unforgettable memory for Carolyn Maull McKinstry. She was in the church that day but she survived the bombing.    
 
Carolyn Maull McKinstry was an assistant to the 16th Street Baptist Church. She went to the church early Sunday morning around 9 a.m. to take some secretary work to the church office. She saw her friends Denise McNair, Cynthia Westley, Addie Mae Collins, and Carol Robertson in the women’s bathroom on the day of the bombing. She spoke to them as they were being normal teenage girls in the bathroom, laughing and talking. She had to get her reports done for the church. She said hello and kept going. As she left her four friends, she went upstairs and heard the phone ring in the church office. She went inside and no one was there so she answered it. A man on the other end of the phone warned her that the bombing was going to take place in 3 minutes. On the phone he referenced having only 3 minutes. As a young girl, Carolyn probably didn’t think much of the call. She hung up the phone and walked into the sanctuary of the church. After about 15 seconds the bomb went off and exploded killing her four friends in the 16th Street Baptist Church. The time was at 10:22 in the morning.

Can you imagine praising the Lord together or singing in the choir with your young friends in church? It is reflective of something positive. Most of us think church is supposed to be a safe place to worship. What about seeing your friends one minute and then seeing them dead in the next few minutes? This experience mentally interfered with Carolyn Maull McKinstry's faith and frustration. She was tormented by her encounter with the church bombing for years. I encourage you to read her book. Give it to all of your children and young people to read. They need to know their history. You need to know your history as well. Carolyn didn't understand why it happened. She often wondered why God allowed her to live and not her four friends. This exacerbated her activism to the tenth power. She wrote a book about her personal testimony of the 16th Street Baptist bombing. Carolyn Maull McKinstry continues to educate and lecture on race relations through love and grace, also on the history of the 16th Street Baptist Church because she lived through it.

This is why we should and can share black history with our children and families. It's not illegal for black folks to read like it used to be! It's a shame that some of us won't even vote. Some folks act like they were always allowed to eat where they wanted to eat or go to school where they wanted to go. Please don't forgot history like this. We still have barriers to knock down. God has brought black folks from a mighty long way. You can dress the way you want and buy what you want. You can build companies and build wealth. You can get involved politically yet some of you choose to be apathetic about everything. Please don't ignore or throw away all the sacrifices made on your behalf. Its shameful!

A white supremacist surreptitiously placed a box of dynamite attached with a timer under the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church. Unfortunately black folks and church folks lived in fear all the time in light of churches being bombed throughout Birmingham, Alabama. The 16th Street Baptist Church was a renowned meeting place for activism and organizing. The Klu Klux Klan didn't like that! Sarah Collins was in the back part of the church when the bombing went off. She also escaped death. Her eye was injured but by the grace of God she is alive and well today to tell her testimony. Sarah was the sister of Addie Mae. Sarah was devastated. She didn't understand why it happened. She said she had nightmares and no counseling. For many years, Sarah Collins and Carolyn Maull McKinstry never talked about the incident. They kept their pain hidden inside!

This historic church bombing showcased the worse unimaginable evil. A warm rainy Sunday morning turned into torture and pain. It was barbaric and racist. It happened in a church of all places! The folks responsible was not brought to justice until many years (15-20) later.

I had the honor to hear Pastor Arthur Price speak recently. He is the present pastor of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. He was the guest speaker during Black History Month last week at my worship experience. Before Pastor Price went into his sermon he briefly touched on the history and heritage of the 16th Street Baptist Church and black folks. I didn't know the 16th Street Baptist Church was the oldest African American church in Alabama. It was first built in 1873. It stood proud and tall. The majority of white folks back then didn't like the fact of black folks having such a nice church. They lusted to destroy it! It was a beautiful edifice. Pastor Price shared that black people should not forget the path and the price paid for their civil rights. Work was done by other black folks, on the behalf of the black people thriving right now. Ways were made so they (we) could have the things or luxuries they have today. Those resilient black folks did not get the chance to see the fruit of their labor that you (we) are so abundantly enjoying. 

Gormandizing in a fress of human beings who looked like me is how hungry I was as a child to see black award shows. I concede, I am still greedy to see black award shows that resemble people of color! I couldn’t wait to call every person in my family and my friends to tell them the Soul Train Music Awards was on or the Essence Awards was on. I inherited that pride from my Sancti-Fly grandma Lula. She loved to see colored (black) folks on television who looked like us; who contributed something positive to the world. She was beyond proud. It appeared easier to find out what time the shows would be aired and when. Black award shows used to be promoted on local television stations like WGN, ABC, CBS, and NBC. Today, a lot of the black award shows are not endorsed unless you have cable television. People who are interested in watching black award shows don't get a chance to view the shows because they don’t know when the shows come on. If you don’t’ have cable television you won’t be able to view most of the black award shows. 

The BET Awards is always showcased in the month of June. This year the BET Awards will be aired in Los Angeles, of 2019. If you so happen to miss it, don’t worry. BET has a great track record of repeating the BET Awards show numerous times. You will definitely be able to see it. Black folks in television, sports and music will be honored. 

Why don’t you just throw your hands in the air and wave it like you just don’t care. If you have no clue as to who some of these new Hip-Hop artist are, you are not alone. I surmise this would be a good time to tune into the BET Hip-Hop Awards. If you have children it’s good to know the artist they listen to. I am an aficionado of old school Hip-Hop, which won’t stop in my mind! The BET Hip-Hop Awards is an annual awards show that is usually showcased in the month of October. Well last year they did. This year the date might change. It is all about the genre of Hip-Hop and the industry of entertainers that will be performing Hip-Hop music. If you enjoy Hip-Hop, don’t stop! Please be sure to tune into BET to watch this awards show. Stay alert for the month of October. If there are any informative updates to add I will inform you.

Black Girls Rock (BGR) is usually aired around the month of August on BET. Please check your local BET channels to see the exact date and time for this year. You guys know how much I love watching this show. I become united in my excitement when this show is scheduled to air. Black Girls Rock has several flaming hot categories to honor black women and girls. They have the Living Legend, Shot Caller, Star Power, Community Change Agent and the Young, Black and Gifted awards. You do not want to miss it. Incidentally, this year Black Girls Rock is having a festival of magical girl power on March 8, 2019 during International Women’s Day. This spectacular event will be held at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC. You do know that March is the celebration of Women’s History Month, right?

The Essence Festival will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana from July 5 to July 7. You are totally free to hang around after those dates. This yearly festival of black love and music will be held at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. This event has a host of electrifying artist lined up. I think it's time for you to take a girl's trip or a couple's trip. Get out of the house and come visit another state as you party with a purpose at the Essence Festival of 2019. 

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored  People (NAACP) Image Awards show will air live this year on March 30, 2019. You can catch this show on TV One. Check your local cable listings to find TV One. 

The Soul Train Awards salutes black entertainers in the music industry. It is a celebration of all genres of black music. I remember the Soul Train Awards used to air on WGN but now it is televised on the cable station BET. It is aired during the month of November. BET currently has a series (American Soul) dedicated to Don Cornelius in light of him being responsible for the creative vision and legacy of Soul Train. If you have time check out American Soul on BET.

The Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards is an extension of the Soul Train Awards. This show specifically honors African American women artist, entertainers, trailblazers and all elevated levels of black love. This awards show is usually aired around the month of November. Please check your local cable station for the exact time and date as they often change yearly. 

The Trumpet Awards honors black men and women who provide a sustainable quality of life to all individuals; making the world and communities better. This show has already aired. February 27th the annual awards show was shown on Bounce TV. Sorry if you missed it. It usually airs every year in February so check your local listings for next year.

The American Black Film Festival honors (ABFF) black people in film. Did you think I was going to say something else? No, it's all about black films. It's like the Academy Awards but the focus is on black cinema. Check your local BET listings for the exact time and date. Sometimes the award shows haven't updated their sites, therefore I am not privy to giving you the dates and times. 

Before

Allow me to sashay on over to your innovative side. This birthday meme is not that boring, right? You have your bubbles in the background and the word birthday is in big letters. This kind of birthday love would make any man or woman feel special on their born day.

After

Kaboom! Check out the after effect. Who knew you could add some extra happy birthday love inside of all those bubbles. What are you waiting for? Try it! What about personalizing the name inside the bubbles. You guys know how much I love personalizing things. You can do so much with Quotes Creator. Hey! You deserve to have a great birthday so enjoy it!

Before

Anytime you see names, these are actual birthday memes I did for my family and friends. This is a rainbow full of magic. You can't see it yet, but it's there!

After

I did this one for my cousin. Its so magical! You can add whatever you like. I placed happy faces and hearts on this one. I also personalized it with his name. He was blessed with a very nice day.

Before

Quotes Creator will allow you to take a string, a picture from a magazine or anything you desire and add your own flavor to it. I know exactly what you are thinking. How is this going to be a happy birthday meme? I am excited for your inquisitive mind.

After

Who can take a woman's shoes, purse, and gown by the Quotes Creator hand then turn it into an amazing birthday meme for someone? I did, so you can do it as well! Those legs needed something special on them so I placed the words "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" on them. I couldn't leave the purse and shoes looking lonely so I added something on them. Remember on your birthday, it's your day!

Before

Once upon a star. There lived a purple royal star. It was crying out for something different. It needed to be more fancy and less plain. 

After

Purple adrenaline came rushing through the wind and this happened. Lots of hearts and smiles plus crowns with birthday kisses. If you don't enjoy any other day why not enjoy your birthday your own way.

A salubrious dose of explicit learning strategies are closer than you think. You don’t have to work in education to apply these methods. Irrespective of your profession, we are all teachers in our own purposeful way. In the past SFM encouraged you how to use and abuse different forms of spelling strategies. All you need is a disciplined mind to practice a little bit more. Our scholar babies have to master reading and math competency. Parental dysfunction becomes obsolete when you seek out educational instruction for your kids or any child whose learning you are concerned about. In light of living in this technology era, you have all the tools available to quench your educational thirst for more; for better. You no longer have to forsake mental love bites of learning sites. If you cannot afford to place your children in an advanced math or reading curriculum, take advantage of all the free resources and programs online and in your community. 

PARCC PREP TESTING

Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is easily accessible to gorgonize your kids into free test preparation. In the state of Illinois PARCC is a test mandated by the state to help students prepare for their futures and to ensure they are following the guidelines of the Common Core Standards. There are only 6 states using PARCC. When you are ready for your kids to start practicing, enter the website and then select your child’s grade level. You can sign in as a guest. There is one for the math (Mathematics Practice Test) and one for the reading (English Language Arts/Literacy Practice Test). Practice! Practice! Practice!

EYE LEVEL LEARNING

Eye Level Learning is very popular in the Asian culture. It is a Korean based curriculum.  A lot of westerners have adopted their strategies to better prepare their kids in their educational curriculum for reading and math; particularly math. Eye Level Learning is not free but it is worth the expense. A lot of other nationalities and cultures besides Asians sacrifice the price to afford their children the beneficial strategies; helping their kids thrive academically. You can also check out the rainbowsource and the asianparent as a resource for you. 
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What are the educational strategies you are using to help prepare your scholar babies?