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.