PNO February 2023 newsletter

Phi Nu Omega Chapter

Chartered January 29, 2000 Volume 13, Issue 2 February 2023

2023 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Past Basilei

v Sharon Worthy

v Kimberly Armstrong

v Michelle Thomas

v Lona Gordon

v Kimberly Walker

v Yvonne Jones

v Theresta Lanier

Kirstin Riddick President LaToya Kearns Vice President

Minyon Palmer Vice Secretary Sydney Hannah-Holliday Secretary Essence Mitchell Financial Secretary Michele Swain Hostess Danielle Bridgeforth Chaplain Lisa Heath Correspondence Secretary Dawn Marcelle Member-At-Large Aliya Robinson Historian Saunji Fyffe Sergeant-At-Arms Deirdre Miles Ivy Leaf Reporter Courtney Walker Treasurer Karen Davis Miller Parliamentarian

2023 Phi Nu Omega Chapter Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc

Let Go!

Soror Danielle L. Bridgeforth

Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 4:23 (AMP)

The Lenten season is upon us, and this is a good time to purge and release what is not needed from our lives. Lent is the 40 Days (excluding Sundays) between Ash Wednesday and Resurrection Sunday that are marked by repentance, renewal, and sacrifice. This is a good time to shed our lives of habits, thought patterns, and routines that do not bring us closer to God, but rather pull our hearts in the other direction. This is a time to prioritize our spirits and invest in our faith in God.

I want to encourage you to spend some time praying about what you can release in this season. A lot of times people fast during Lent. I challenge us to not merely fast for these few weeks, but to considering giving up some stuff forever. Here is a list of things that I recommend for us to simply let go:

Let go of being overly critical of yourself and others.

Let go of wanting (demanding) your own way all the time.

Let go of stopping before you have reached your goal.

Let go of procrastinating.

Let go of unkindness.

Let go of rehearsing your mistakes and reminding yourself of past failures.

Let go of internalizing the pains and issues of others.

Let go of putting yourself last.

Let go of limiting your faith in God to your experiences.

Let go of blocking Christ’s love from freely flowing into your life.

I’d be eager to know what you would add to this list. We need to hold one another accountable and be responsible to those who are depending upon us to be better. Starting with ourselves.

We Honor Our Trailblazers as We Celebrate Black History Month

Kamala Harris is the 49th and current Vice President of the United States. Vice President Harris is the FIRST Black female (and First Asian American) vice president and the highest -ranking female official in U.S. history. Before becoming Vice President, Harris was the 27th San Francisco, District Attorney. She was also elected as the FIRST Black woman to serve as California's 32nd Attorney General.

Althea Gibson was a professional tennis and golf player. Gibson was the FIRST Black Woman to win a Grand Slam title.

Gibson was the FIRST Black Woman to take court at the U.S. National Championships in 1950, and in 1951 she was invited to compete at Wimbledon - the FIRST Black player in the tournament's 84year history.

Gibson was voted "Female Athlete of the year by the Associated Press" in 1957 -1958, (after winning both Wimbledon & the US Nationals) and dominated the women's tennis competition in the late 1950's (winning over 20 titles).

Ida Louise Jackson was the 8th International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated ®, an educator and philanthropist.

Jackson was the First Black teacher in Oakland, CA Public Schools and was the First Black woman certified to teach in the state of California. While a student at University of California at Berkeley, she co -founded the Rho Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. ®, making it the first Black sorority on Berkeley's campus.

Marian Anderson was an Opera Singer, and was known as one of the finest contraltos of her time. Anderson was the First Black singer to perform at the White House in 1936 and the first Black singer to perform with New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1955.

Coretta Scott King was an Author, Activist and Civil Rights Leader. She was married to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., from 1953 until his assassination (1968) and is referred to as "First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement!" Mrs. King was the First Black Woman to preach at a worship service at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. After her husbands death, she founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, GA. She also led a major effort to make her husbands birthday a national holiday. And in 1983 she succeeded when Congress signed it into legislation. In January of 1986 she oversaw the first legal holiday in honor of her late husband.

Katherine Johnson was a mathematician and is historically known as one of the First Black women to work as a NASA scientist.

Johnson's knowledge of mathematics was very instrumental in the safe return of the Apollo astronauts from the Moon to Earth.

The Ultimate Black History Month Documentary Watch List

by Lisa Kennedy, AARP, Updated February 3, 2023

Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues (2022 )

In addition to writing a winning memoir about growing up in New Orleans, trumpeter Louis Armstrong was a copious keeper of his thoughts. The shelves in the Queens home he shared with his wife of nearly 30 years, Lucille, were lined with audiotapes he made of those ruminations and conversations. With those tapes, along with a treasure trove of archival images, director Sacha Jenkins creates a fabulous portrait of an artist in his own voice, on his own terms.

Watch it: Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues on Apple TV+

Descendant (2022)

Margaret Brown’s intricately woven film follows the story of the salvaging of the last known slave ship to carry African captives into American waters, the Clotilda, paying special heed to the descendants of that ship: the people of Africatown , AL, a small community north of Mobile. Like many of the stories involving the enslaved, Descendant engages the past and follows a river of ongoing outrages and lies to the present. But the film also holds exquisite space for the progeny of the captives including Cudjoe Kazoola Lewis to seek and speak their truths. Literary trailblazer Zora Neale Hurston interviewed and later wrote about the Clotilda’s last living captive (Lewis died in 1935) in her posthumously published work Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo .”

Watch it: Descendant on Netflix

I Am Not Your Negro (2016)

It’s not entirely clear when the James Baldwin renaissance began, though Ta-Nehisi Coates’ 2015 book Between the World and Me certainly nudged it. Director Raoul Peck’s Oscar -nominated documentary grapples with the unfinished book Baldwin hoped to write about three of his friends assassinated for their activism and vision: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. In addition to using excerpts from the manuscript, Peck weaves his own thoughts about cinema’s history of representation of Black people to elegiac and damning effect .

Watch it: I Am Not Your Negro on Apple TV , Hulu , Prime Video

Between the World and Me (2020)

Producer Roger Ross Williams and director Kamilah Forbes document the 2020 gathering at Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater for a reading of Coates’ book. Readers are a who’s who of intellectual, artistic and activist heft. Some of the notables reading excerpts: Angela Davis, Janet Mock, Angela Bassett, Mahershala Ali, Phylicia Rashad, Wendell Pierce and Coates himself.

Watch it: Between the World and Me on HBO Max and Prime Video

Sing Your Song (2011)

This documentary about the ascendancy and purpose -led life of Harry Belafonte, directed by Susanne Rostock, makes clear that the singerentertainer was one of the first celebrities to leverage his astounding popularity in the services of his deeply held values during the television age .

Watch it: Sing Your Song on Apple TV, Prime Video

Sidney (2022)

Sometimes you just don’t paint the lily. Case in point: Reginald Hudlin’s illuminating doc about Sidney Poitier. Hudlin doesn’t resort to filmmaking flourishes but instead trusts an insightful roster of talking heads to pay homage to and offer insights about this man of impressive humility, resounding talent and a string of firsts: first Black actor to win the Best Actor Oscar (Lilies of the Field, 1963) and first Black director to have a film exceed $100 million at the box office (Stir Crazy with Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder). Hudlin also leans into compelling interviews between Poitier and Oprah Winfrey (the doc’s producer) to tell the story of the legendary actor and great American. Watch it: Sidney on Apple TV+

Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)

This Oscar winner is a shimmering example of what the archives can yield if you’re sincere about looking. The footage of 1969’s Harlem Cultural Festival sat in boxes for decades with few execs interested in the trove, because for so long Woodstock was treated as the only significant pop music gathering of its kind. While amazing things were indeed taking place on Yasgur’s Farm, Black and brown people crowded Mount Morris Park for six weekends that same summer. The terrific editing of that performance footage with the likes of Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder and Mahalia Jackson would have been enough to gladden the heart and drop the jaw, but director Ahmir “ Questlove ” Thompson does so much more. He speaks with some of the performers who took the stage during the fest, but more vividly interviews people who attended the happening when they were kids or teens. The impressions left on them were indelible; the memories they share touching and invaluable.

Watch it: Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) on Disney+ , Hulu

The Sit -In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show (2020)

It was 1968 and Harry Belafonte was thriving. At utter ease, the star took Johnny Carson’s seat for a week in February. During his stint, guests included Lena Horne, poet Marianne Moore and singer Eartha Kitt (who’d been virtually blacklisted because of antiwar comments she’d made to Lady Bird Johnson the month prior). But the “get” of all gets might have been guests Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, who would announce his presidential run the following month. It was the last sit-down TV interview for either man.

Watch it: The Sit -In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show on Peacock

Mr. Soul! (2018 )

Melissa Haizlip presents a documentary on her uncle Ellis Haizlip , whose 1968 -’73 series Soul! was TV’s only national variety show by, for and about Black people. Mr. Soul! won a Peabody Award, Critics Choice Documentary Award and Best Music Doc from the International Documentary Association. With its archival parade of guests Amiri Baraka, the Lost Poets, actor Novella Nelson and Stevie Wonder the film offers a thrilling, Soul Train -like line of Black Arts Movement luminaries.

Watch it: Mr. Soul! on Prime Video, HBO Max

My Name Is Pauli Murray (2021)

Consider this documentary a biography of one of the most vital human rights mavericks you may never have heard of. RBG directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen were introduced to the significance of Murray by the Supreme herself: Ruth Bader Ginsburg credited Murray’s use of the 14 th amendment to advocate for women’s rights for her own work on gender discrimination . Murray, who questioned her sexuality at an early age, has become a beacon of LGBTQ+ rights, too.

Watch it: My Name Is Pauli Murray on Prime Video

MLK/FBI (2020 )

Black History Month invites us to reckon with the nation’s outrages and failings, the better to keep working for “a more perfect union.” Sam Pollard’s well-crafted documentary serves as a chilling reminder of how the government can be hijacked and wielded to thwart American possibility. Under J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI surveilled Martin Luther King Jr., and worse, as this film reveals.

Watch it: MLK/FBI on Hulu

4 Little Girls (1997)

Spike Lee’s documentary about the domestic terrorist bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL, and the killings of youngsters Addie May Collins (14), Carol “Denise” McNair (11), Carole Robertson (14) and Cynthia Wesley (14) on September 15, 1963, remains a rending must - watch.

Watch it: 4 Little Girls on Apple TV, Hulu, Prime Video

The Black Power Mixtape 1967 -1975 (2011)

Director Göran Olsson mined the footage made by Swedish camera crews over the years they visited the U.S. to cover the Black Power movement. Then he created a soundtrack for his assemblage with voice - over insights from those inspired by the activism and a soundtrack with songs from Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding and Gladys Knight & the Pips, to name a few .

Watch it: The Black Power Mixtape 1967 - 1975 on Prime Video

The 1619 Project (2023)

With the help of producer Oprah Winfrey and an impressive collection of talented filmmakers, Hulu has turned journalist Nikole Hannah - Jones’ celebrated (and contested) New York Times Magazine series into a six - part docuseries. Hannah - Jones hosts the show about the arrival of slavery to the U.S. in 1619 and how it has defined the United States. Each episode takes its lead from one of her essays. The 1619 Project premiered Jan. 26; the final episode will be available Feb. 9.

Watch it: The 1619 Project on Hulu

Please bring all items to our March 2023 chapter meeting.

Let’s elevate our chapter operations!

The Leadership Development Committee is pleased to offer a workshop on parliamentary procedures. As it is the responsibility of all chapter sorors to elevate chapter operations, it is strongly encouraged that all sorors attend.

This workshop will be facilitated by Soror Mona Calhoun and follow Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised and Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised in Brief. At a minimum, you should have a copy of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised in Brief. The workshop logistics are:

Date: Saturday, April 1, 2023

Time: 1:00pm to 3:00pm

Location: Arlington Mill Community Center 909 S Dinwiddie St, Arlington, VA 22204

To register for the workshop, please click here to complete the registration form.

Fun & Fit with Soror Crystal!

BELLY BLASTERS!

Here are a few alternatives core exercises to crunches that will help you get “summer ready”!

Benefits:

1. It improves balance and stability

2. With a strong core, other physical activities become easier and helps you achieve your fitness goals

2. Creates tone abs!

The Challenge:

25-50 repetitions 2-3 times daily of each

SIDE PLANKS

• Place your right elbow under your shoulder on the floor so that your lower arm is perpendicular to your body.

• Place one foot on top of the other and lift your body off the floor.

• Hold your body in a straight line while contracting your core.

• Your goal should be to hold a strict side plank for one minute without letting your hips dip.

• Rest for 15 seconds and repeat on the left side.

SINGLE LEG LOWERING

• Lie on your back with your arms extended straight at your sides.

• Bend at your knees and lift your legs until your upper legs are perpendicular and your lower legs are parallel to the floor.

• Straighten your right leg by extending at the knee, and slowly lower it until your heels are a few inches off the floor.

• Return to the starting position and repeat with your left leg.

MARCHING GLUTE BRIDGE

• Start by lying on your back with your arms extended straight at your sides.

• Plant your feet firmly on the ground.

• Elevate your hips while pushing through your heels.

• Tighten your glutes and contract your core as you reach the top of the movement.

• Bring your right knee towards your chest while balancing your body on your left leg.

• Slowly return to the starting position and repeat with the other leg.

Recovery:

STRETCH: cobra

• Lie face down on your mat, your entire body extended

• Bring your hands underneath the shoulder blades

• Begin to lift your upper body

• Use lower back muscles to lift higher

• Look slightly forward and up

• Lower down gently

STRETCH: cat-cow

• Start on your hands and knees, aligning your wrists underneath your shoulders and your knees underneath your hips.

• Keep the neck long by looking down and out.

• Inhale and curl your toes under.

• Tilt your pelvis back so that your tailbone sticks up.

• Take your gaze gently up toward the ceiling without cranking your neck.

• Exhale and release the tops of your feet to the floor.

• Tip your pelvis forward, tucking your tailbone. Again, let this action move up your spine. Your spine will naturally round.

• Draw your navel toward your spine.

• Drop your head.

• Take your gaze to your navel.

• Repeat the Cat -Cow Stretch on each inhale and exhale, matching the movement to your own breath.

• Continue for 5 to 10 breaths, moving the whole spine. After your final exhale, come back to a neutral spine.

FOOD: What are you eating? Make sure you are still getting enough vitamins and protein in your diet. Don’t forget to drink lots of water!

HYDRATE!

I can’t say enough about WATER. Always remember to hydrate. However many glasses (or bottles) of water you drink per day, try to DOUBLE it.

Benefits:

• Relieves fatigue . Did you know that your blood volume level drops if you have an inadequate amount of water in your body? This may be the reason for any fatigue you may feel throughout the day.

• Helps with headaches and migraines. Many headaches and migraines are due to dehydration.

• Encourages weight loss. Sometimes you’re not really hungry…you’re thirsty. Try drinking a glass (or 2!) of water before a meal.

• Flushes toxins. Flushing out the toxins is healthy for your internal organs. Bonus: healthier, younger looking skin!

In this Lenten season, I hope that you remain focused what to include in your everyday habits, versus what you may be giving up during this season. Consistency is key to creating a better YOU! I’m rooting for you, Sorors!

LET’S DO THIS!

Reach out and send me an email at ceswhite@gmail.com about your progress and tell me what you’re jamming to while you workout! YOU GOT THIS!

“Even when you don’t feel like doing it, do it anyway!” – me (Soror Crystal)

Recipe: Healthy Granola!

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 21 mins

Total Time: 26 minutes

Yield: 8 cups

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups old -fashioned rolled oats (use certified gluten -free oats for gluten -free granola)

• 1 1/2 cup raw nuts and/or seeds (I used 1 cup pecans and 1/2 cup pepitas)

• 1 teaspoon fine -grain sea salt (if you’re using standard table salt, scale back to 3/4 teaspoon)

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil or olive oil

• 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2/3 cup dried fruit, chopped if large (I used dried cranberries)

• Totally optional additional mix -ins: 1/2 cup chocolate chips or coconut flakes*

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts and/or seeds, salt and cinnamon. Stir to blend.

3. Pour in the oil, maple syrup and/or honey and vanilla. Mix well, until every oat and nut is lightly coated. Pour the granola onto your prepared pan and use a large spoon to spread it in an even layer .

4. Bake until lightly golden, about 21 to 24 minutes, stirring halfway (for extraclumpy granola, press the stirred granola down with your spatula to create a more even layer). The granola will further crisp up as it cools.

5. Let the granola cool completely, undisturbed (at least 45 minutes). Top with the dried fruit (and optional chocolate chips, if using). Break the granola into pieces with your hands if you want to retain big chunks, or stir it around with a spoon if you don’t want extra-clumpy granola

6. Store the granola in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks, or in a sealed freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. The dried fruit can freeze solid, so let it warm to room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

NOTES

• Recipe adapted Meg Gordan’s granola, which I’ve tweaked over the years. Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten -free oats.

• Make it nut free: Use seeds, like pepitas or sunflower seeds, instead of nuts. *If you want toasted coconut in your granola: Stir the coconut flakes into the granola halfway through baking. They’ll get nice and toasty that way.

• Serving suggestions: This granola is awesome on its own, with milk or yogurt and fresh fruit, and you can even throw a couple handfuls into a salad for granola “croutons.”

NUTRITION INFORMATION

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.

Recipe from Cookie and Kate: https:// cookieandkate.com /healthy -granola-recipe/

February 18th, 2023 Chapter Meeting Community Service

Sorors enjoyed service with a smile before the chapter meeting. Love supporting our Childhood Hunger Initiative Power Pack Program #CHIPP

Sorors Out & About

Soror Jatrice with Metropolitan Opera Soprano Aundie Marie Moore and renowned pianist and violinist. Jatrice was the guest host at the National Chamber Ensemble Black History/ Valentines Day Love Concert.

Photos of Soror Ursula and her honey do attending the Superbowl! It was quite the event .

Soror Karen is again working with the Alzheimers Association's Nation's Capital Committee to bring the Ride to End ALZ to the DMV area on May 7, 2023. If you are a rider, Sorors Karen and Anita LaRue are riding again and would love to have you participate on Team Jubilee. You can ride as short or as long as you want to in terms of miles. If are interested in donating towards this worthy cause, please visit her page at http ://act.alz.org/goto/ tea mjubilee - karen

The Fairfax County Commission for Women invites you to celebrate Women’s History Month at a breakfast event on Friday, March 31, at 8:30 a.m. at the Leidos headquarters in Reston.

The keynote speaker is journalist Nancy Lyons Sargeant (NPR, CBS). There is no cost to attend, and a hot breakfast is included. The event ends at 10:30 a.m.

Seating is limited to about 80 attendees. Please register as soon as possible at this link:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ womens-history -month -breakfasttickets-525658668227

About the Commission

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/familyservices/boards-authoritiescommissions/ commission -for-women

If you have questions or comments, do not hesitate to contact :

Lanita R. Thweatt

First

Vice President of Programs

National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc.

Northern Virginia Chapter

Fairfax County Commission for Women