018 | To Be Creative and Black

There is no doubt that creativity is ever-present in our lives, but how much do we take away from ourselves when we don't invest in our creativity? And do we take creativity seriously in the Black community? After watching the documentary "The Creative Brain," I had questions.

I turned to a couple of great, creative friends, Khalilah Elliott and Jamal Sterling. Khalilah is the founder and chief disruptor of Gafford Communications, and Jamal is an actor and educator. Both also host the arts and entertainment podcast "Whatever We Want with Jay & Kay." Besides creativity in the Black community, we talk about the creative process, barriers to creative output, finding creativity in whatever you do, and why it's good for creativity to make people nervous.

012 | The Psychology of Hazing

Every September, HazingPrevention.org holds National Hazing Prevention Week to create and share awareness about the dangers of hazing. An instrumental figure in tracking hazing deaths is Hank Nuwer. On the old Eddie Francis Podcast Show, we talked to professional mental health counselors Leslie Brown and Von Eaglin about the psychology of hazing, particularly in the Divine Nine. As a member of a Divine Nine fraternity--Alpha Phi Alpha--I thought it important to talk to a couple of counselors who speak our language, and both came through with great insight about what goes through the mind of potential hazers.

Leslie is no stranger to "For Our Edification". A member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., she appeared on episode 4, "The Mental Health Benefits of Giving". Leslie is a relational counselor with extensive experience working with military veterans, veterans' families, and women/families in substance abuse recovery. She is a doctoral candidate at Barry University where her research interests include the evolution of families, polyamory families, race/class/gender and cultural competency as well as indigenous, and traditional mental health healing modalities. Leslie earned her bachelor's degree from Hampton University in Mass Media Arts and her Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy from St. Thomas University (Fla).

Von is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. who talks about positive psychology on One Life Radio. Von earned his bachelor's degree in Business Administration and master's degree in Education at the University of North Texas. He has experience working with physically and sexually abused youth, couples, men’s issues, anger management, adolescents, depression, anxiety, and addictions. Von is currently a doctoral candidate at the North Texas where his research focuses on formulating a new approaches to couples therapy using men’s groups.

007 | All the Smoke: Fyre Fest and Narcissistic Leadership

Social media was abuzz in early 2019 when two documentaries about the infamous Fyre Festival dropped on Netflix and Hulu. People could not believe how the event got so out of hand and how the festival's creator, Billy McFarland, seemed oblivious to the harm he caused several parties in the process. I believe the reason is McFarland's narcissism.

Using my professional experience and information I am gathering for my master's degree research, I lay out the signs of narcissistic leadership using the events surrounding Fyre Fest as portrayed in the documentaries. This isn't about McFarland so much as it is about helping people understand how working under narcissistic leaders can adversely affect one's identity and value. Trust me, I know. Not only do we look at warning signs in this episode but also ways people can protect themselves under narcissistic leadership. 

Click the image above for Dr. Ramani's web site. For her great TED talk on narcissism, click here.

SOURCES

Leader Narcissism and Outcomes in Organizations: A Review at Multiple Levels of Analysis and Implications for Future Research by Susanne Braun

The Narcissism Spectrum Model: A Synthetic View of Narcissistic Personality by Zlatan Krizan and Anne Herlache

How to Handle Narcissistic Abuse by Darlene Lancer

Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, the Inevitable Cons by Michael Maccoby

8 Types of Narcissists -- Including One to Stay Away From at All Costs by Kristen Milstead

Narcissistic Leaders and Their Victims: Followers Low on Self-Esteem and Low on Core Self-Evaluations Suffer Most by Barbara Nevicka, Annebel De Hoogh, Deanne Den Hartog & Frank Belschak

The Narcissism Epidemic and What We Can Do About It by Joe Pierre

EDITORIAL NOTE

I made a reference to the Op Ed Project during my "to be sure." Please take time to find out more about this great organization.

004 | Mental Health Benefits of Giving

WRITE TO BEAR ALMS

In this first installment of Halima's Write to Bear Alms segment, we take a look a the mental health benefits of giving. To do that, we're taking it back to her old "Write to Bear Alms" radio show which aired on the Dallas-based Radio Azad.

Halima's guest was Leslie Brown, a mental health professional who is pursuing her Ph.D. in Counseling. Leslie's mental health work includes stress reduction workshops for various groups and counseling military veterans. She explains the neuroscience behind the feelings of satisfaction that come from giving and how an attitude of gratitude relieves stress. Halima and Leslie also discuss the importance of leveraging giving to help youth develop their mental health.

Not only is Leslie a great friend but she also serves on the board of the Purposeful Philanthropy Foundation.