Darlene Brock

If you have not yet seen the film Hidden Figures, I’m telling you that you really should! This story of three brave females who rose to excellence in a world that both their gender and their race told them they didn’t belong. Their very lives were the epitome of redefining a woman’s strength. As I pondered on the amazing courage and resilience these ladies displayed I did a little more reading and discovered another lady of that era who entered the same world they did NACA (a precursor to NASA) whose reflections on the time period offered great insights into what it took to excel when others believed they couldn’t. Annie J. Easley, was the first African American computer scientist in her […]

Ladies, whether you are single, dating, married, widowed or divorced, having the ability to live independently is a vital part of life. It’s important for every relationship to be built upon two healthy individuals as well as creating within us a strength that exemplifies unfading beauty. You may already be in a great marriage, but health issues could arise and prompt you to be the one to take the helm. Or, though you may have never expected to be alone, suddenly life forces change upon you. Maybe you’re the girl who has stayed single; you already know how to do this well… But I encourage you to take this as a refresher. To make sure you are prepared for every life contingency, let me give you a few tips for healthy independence. •

I have heard the cries of teachers I know, family and friends, the caretakers of our children. I have watched as their passion has been eroded by the demands of the career they have chosen, demands that have nothing to do with teaching. I have taken their words in hopes of giving them a voice. By doing so it is my hope that the gatekeepers of education will listen, hear and let them teach. That they’ll be given the freedom to lead the next generation anchored in the grit of an educator, laced with unending grace. I am a teacher. I sit in my classroom each morning being welcomed by the tender little faces hanging up their backpacks, chattering all the way

Standing in the grocery aisle looking at the magazines covers, I find myself pondering. Not on who is divorcing, marrying, cheating, too fat, too thin, or simply confused about their sexuality. Nope; I’m pondering how amazing the ladies who grace these covers look. Well, of course they do, there is a wonderful software called Photoshop! I’d look pretty darn good, too, if they did that to me! But alas, it’s not going to happen—don’t even really want it to. But at one time, photo-shopping the imperfections out of my life is something I would have seriously considered. I did not want my blunders, errors, and life faux pas to be seen by the masses. That is no longer true! A bunch of years ago I