I’se still goin, Honey

My Dear by @godtaughtartist

Well, son, I’ll tell you:

Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

It’s had tacks in it,

And splinters,

And boards torn up,

And places with no carpet on the floor—

Bare.

But all the time

I’se been a-climbin’ on,

And reachin’ landin’s,

And turnin’ corners,

And sometimes goin’ in the dark

Where there ain’t been no light.

So boy, don’t you turn back.

Don’t you set down on the steps

’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.

Don’t you fall now—

For I’se still goin’, honey,

I’se still climbin’,

And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

- Langston Hughes

WEEKLY AFFIRMATION BROUGHT TO YOU BY SHIRLEY FROM SHADES OF STRONG

Affirmation: I am kind. I am Smart. I am Important. I am NOT the help.

Historically speaking Black Women don’t ask for help because we’ve always been THE HELP – in our homes, on our jobs, in mainstream media. I’m here to disrupt the madness, sis! You are NOT the help. It’s okay to ask for what you need, say what you mean (and stand in it) and take a break from life if you need to, because we can’t properly be there for others until we’ve learned to be there for ourselves.

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WHAT CH'ALL THINK

What specific challenges are faced by Black mothers?

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US SERIES

Tracey Roberson Pool

Tracey Roberson Pool

Hotel Executive

“My hotel is in Boston by the airport so we are one of the only hotels open. We have the contract for American Airlines, so we are at about 11% occupancy. The pilots and flight attendants are in pretty good spirits. Some had to stay with us for 2 weeks when they got back from another country and had to shelter in place for 14 days when they got to the states.

I had to lay-off 98.5% of my staff in March. It was hard. The Director of Operations was crying when we closed our restaurant and had to say goodbye to everyone (actually, we didn’t say “goodbye” we said “can’t wait to see you again”). Everyone was very understanding. They could see it coming: people were getting sick, people were starting to get sick, we could see that people were not flying as much.

It’s so strange to be in the hotel with just a few of us employees. Things are very different. We go through great efforts to maintain social distance. There is a large table between a guest and the front desk. Keys and credit cards are passed via a tray and a gloved attendant. We don’t clean rooms everyday as we used to but only upon a person’s checkout. Even then, we wait a day after a person has checked out before allowing a masked, gloved attendant in to clean. In the future, between guests, electrostatic machines will clean rooms before the attendants do their cleaning

It’s a whole new day. We are having many calls to consider how to keep our guests safe. For instance, we’ve asked how many people should be allowed in an elevator at one time; while also confirming that places that we didn’t focus on cleaning before, such as elevator buttons will need to be constantly sanitized. Our 90-seat restaurant is going to a 24-seat in order to allow for social distancing.

People must be prepared that when they start going to hotels again; it will be a different experience. For instance, there won’t be lobbies full of people socializing. No more open buffets. People will have their temperatures checked before walking into the property.

I understand how important it is to keep everyone safe. My father has the virus. He and my mother have been married 61 years. I’ve only seen my dad sick maybe twice his entire life. He has survived a stroke and dementia. Covid cannot be the way he’s supposed to go. It cannot be."

TWEET + MEME OF THE WEEK

Black-owned business spotlight

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Biz & BAnk

Budgeting during the coronavirus when the government has let you down

After several weeks of being on lock down, many of you have not received your stimulus check or unemployment benefits. However, your bills are still coming due. What should you do?

Understand your current situation. To create a plan, you most know who and how much you owe.
Prioritize your bills with a focus on the essentials (i.e. Rent/Mortgage, electricity, food etc.). Pay these first!
Communicate with your creditors, in writing.
And of course, reduce spending (which should be easy, since
we can’t go nowhere😂)

Next week some bullets on communicating with creditors.