TOP 50 SUCCESSFUL BLACK PEOPLE: 1. HALLE BERRY

Halle Maria Berry was born in Cleveland Ohio on August 14th 1966. She was born to a black father and a white mother. Her father abused her mother and her sister. After he worked out on them, her mother raised Halle and her sister.
As a child she dealt with racism from her peers.

She attended Bedford High school and had a lot of acheivements by being on the school editorial board. She was also a cheerleader and was the captain of the team and was president of her class.

She was voted as Prom Queen of her graduating class in 1984. She became Miss Ohio in 1985.

In in 1989 she was diagnosed with Type I diabetes.
In 1991, she made her first breakthrough by landing a movie role in Jungle Fever, a Spike Lee movie.

She got married to David Justice in 1992 and finalised the divorce in 1997. She was married to him until 1996. She was at one of her best in "Losing Isiah", a movie in which she played the role of a drug addict fighting a white woman in court to get back her son.She played the role of Dorothy Dandridge in the movie "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" and earned herself an Emmy anda Golden globe Award. She played the role of Storm in the X Men movie in the year 2000. In 2001, she got married to a singer Eric Benet and that same year she landed a role in the movie Monster's Ball.It landed her an Oscar Award making her the first African American to win an Oscar Award.In 2004, she filed for a divorce from Eric Benet. At 41, she had her first baby with boyfriend gabrile Aubury, she welcomed Nahla into the world on March 16, 2008.

Halle is one of my choices for a successful black woman, she is also a good example of a "good sistah that cannot be held down" She has faced a lot of issues such as racism. It is not the best feeling in life to be regarded as either white or black in terms of color. I can imagine all the teasing and taunting of the little kids who were her age.I believe people like that have self esteem problems. She also witnessd domestic violence in her childhood and ended up with bad relationships as an adult. In that case she chose the relationships she wanted to be in and made decisions to either stay or leave. She also made name for herself in the moves she made and made history for being the first black woman to earn an Oscar Award. She opened doors for other black women showing them that anything could be achieved, you had to put your mind to it. She is black and successful and that it that.


SOURCES
People Magazine
www.people.com/people/halle_berry/biography/0,,20004436_20,00.html

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halle_Berry#cite_note-80

MRS RIGHT

I believe that the word "Mr Right" by young ladies who want a perfect gentleman is highly over rated.
Every female has this dream to find a perfect man. Some girls have this need to have a financially stable and secure husband.This is a physical need. Not every handsome man is a perfect man,every less than average handsome man is not supposd to be the perfect man either. In terms of being financially stable, money comes and money goes hut either way money is very important in a relationship.Instead of calling it money, i would call it financial stability. If the man is not financially stable, a wedding is not ready to take place and definitely the marriage that comes after having a wedding ceremony.
Marriage and wedding are two different things, one is permanent and the other isn't, Marriage is supposed to be the permanent one and the wedding is temporary. The wedding ceremony, the fun at the reception lasts but one day but what happens after the wedding? Marriage. Marriage is an instituition by itself and it is supposed to last for a lifetime and this happens to those who are fortunate.
Some are compelled to get married because their peers are getting married, this is most especially of so many ladies,they have been bridesmaids in five or six different weddings and now their mothers are asking them, "when are other people coming for your wedding?" Others will keep picking from a selction of men especially to find the perfect one. I will tell you, No man will ever be perfect before you marry them, it will probably take you a lifetime to make a man perfect which is almost impossible, its just like telling a leopard to change its spots but i believe in the power of prayer.
I once dated this dude who just wanted to get married, thats all he could think of was get married.
"Oh babe lets get married tomorrow, oh babe i wish we could get married tonight." All that was wishful thinking because it never happened.
Stability in both mental and physical areas of life need to be established. I would not date anyone who is not spiritually stable or financially stable. It might not sound fair but if the guy's intentions are to take me to the altar, he had better have a job and a real good one for that matter.
Some of my mates want a handsome man, with a dashing car especially a new model and he also has to be on a six figure salray (in their wildest dreams) and so many fantasies. These are lovely thoughts but what will happen if the man is disabled,will he still be attractive to you, what if one of your jealous ex girlfriend pours acid on him, would you still find him attractive, what if he crashed his car on the freeway and he had no insurance and he buys a bucket would you still ride ith him?If he got laid off from his six figure paying job and he started living on Social security or living off you, would you still bear him, these are very uncomfortable questions> it is very tempting to say yes, but it is really hard.
SOmetimes you would wake up one morning and ask yourself why you are stuck with someone who looks like the character of the beast from "The Beauty and The Beast", has a legedesbesnz (on foot) and seems to share similarities with the life of a beggar and your frends will tell you "Why are you still with that man?, He has nothing to offer you". Beware of such freinds, people like that like to give advice that they cannot act on. When you go to his house, you look in the fridge he has no food, just water, you get tempted to cuss him out but how? Will you be in the relationship out of self pity, because he did you one favor in the past? Or you have made vows and you are scared of the consequences of breaking those vows. Hmm, Food for thought.
Have you ever thought of being Mrs Right?
Mrs Right is the right lady. Enough said.
Not too many women have this perspective in mind, they just want to be a lucky bride, who then is Mrs Right.
Have you ever wondered why men don't search for ladies anymore? Because women are too busy searching for men up to the point where they settle for anything and anyone just to be with someone. Out of pressure, they think to themselves,"He is the one".
Females, have you gotten your degree, a damn good job, do you have a spiritual life, do you have harmony and balance in your life? Can you balance your check book at the end of the month and still go on vacation? Can you spend a whole month without borrowing money from your friends, family and savings? Have you ever thought of working at becoming a person for yourself without relying on the prescence of another person. Why do you think men don't want "gold diggers" and "limited liabilites" for themselves. Have you ever thought of why men chase women who have got it covered physically and end up marrying a "good girl" (morals, money,beauty),because what was given to them was offered on a platter of gold. "Who will buy the cow when the milk is free?" Really why buy the cow when the dairy milk comes free everyday. That same guy will dump you and get the girl behind you. When you can fulfil all the requirements of a perfrect person only then will you become someone's Mrs Righr. Trust me,Men will come in their flock.

SACRED SEX

I have never met a male virgin and i have also never heard of a male virgin make a pronouncement of being one. Most African males and i think males in general have this egoistical attitude of talking about being the best of the best in the bedroom or sexually. I have met men who think that female virgins are like a taboo in today's world and i am not surprised because everything you see in a day has to have some sexual appeal at one point in time or another be it a music video with those voluptous girls shaking what their mama gave them or a soap opera or movie with some rather passionate sexual scenes and what of the plethora of pornography on the internet. Its all out there. Sex is a revolution. Female virgins these days could be no more than six or seven years old. Contraceptions have been put forward to even promote premarital sex. Sex is on sale, sold by prostitutes? No not anymore, its free. Why buy the cow when you can get it free.

Like i began i came across this marvellously talented dude's website. His name is Ekene Agabu and he believes sex is R. R could be rated, rampant,rude, but sex is a responsibility. I thought i had digested a great sex book when Juanita Bynum pulled out " No More Sheets" in 1998. That was a book i didn't put down until i finished it and it is the kind of book i don't lend to friends, i could get them their own copy but browsing through Ekene's website i realised that some men still have values and i think it is "Sexy". You need to read his definitions of "sexy" they are very "sexy".

I realise now that there is no such thing as sacred sex anymore. Sex is a topic everywhere, in music, in the classroom, with the girls at lunch, in the nail shop, the guys having some beer talk about sex. Its not bad to talk about it but now its been degraded,its now like the sex between animals,its just mating. There is no love, its just crude and raw so now i believe there is a difference between sex and lovemaking in terms of the definition.

When God put the first sexual partners in the garden of Eden, it was for a reason, Adam and Eve shared their love in form of sex which brought about children and it was only between them, no one could cross those boundaries to come between them. In the 21st century, cohabitation without commitment has made sex look like a one dollar bill, it is cheap sex. Most girls with low self esteem give men sex in order to keep them, you need to keep your goods for someone who is worthy. I mean after reading Ekene's page i was impressed, i had an entirely different view on men, i think i will go about this sex thing in parts.

He said " Why Lose it when you can give it"

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A man finally said it, not a woman, a man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. You don't have to lose your virginity to someone just because........................................................................., you have to give it because you love that person and there is a commitment, which brings me to one of Ekene's thoughts. "Has the person you are sleping with earned the right to have you?

WHY ARE YOU HERE?

The birth of a baby signifies the beginning of new life. The stages come and the child grows up, the crying, crawling, diaper, learning to tie shoes, reading , all these activities come in stages but the most important thing is why was that baby born? There is only one known reason to the birth of a baby which is the result of sex yielding procreation but the bottomline is as an indiviual why are you here?
The fact the God has allowed you to see today, there must be a reason, some people have perished along the way, some died at still birth, some slept and never woke up, some had one form of illness or another which threatened their lives but we need to ask ourselves why we are here. In Proverbs 27:1 " Never boast about tomorrow, you don't know what will happen between now and then" is an example of living your life and trying to fulfil your purpose on earth. There is a reason for your existence and you need to find it. Let this be your thought for today. WHY ARE YOU HERE?

A SIZZLING BOOK FOR A HOT SUMMER DAY

Sidney Sheldon's : Are you afraid of the dark?

Oh my goodness, this book has been provoking my thoughts for the past couple of days. It's really good. I suggest if you are bored out of your mind go to a local library to borrow this book to read. The book is playing like a movie in my head right now,you can just imagine the scene. I am almost done reading it.

4 people were killed in different cities in the world, New York, Denver, Paris and Berlin. Their deaths were not just accidents they were murders but they all appeared to be accidents and just one man masterminded their deaths but its not so obvious until you get to the middle of the book. I promise you if you buy the book at Barnes and Noble or Borders it would be worth every penny you spent.

FREEDOM

There is nothing as good as being free. Last week i had a horrible dream that i was kidnapped by the Talibans or rather Indians. It was horrible. In my life i would never imagine being kidnapped by anyone. all entrances were blocked i was running from pillar to post and it was like everytime i tried and failed they seemed to laugh at me they even took my cell phone from me. I could not call or do anything. For some reason since it was a dream i could have easily woken up from it but it started to become reality until my mom woke me up. Whewwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Watching the news today and watching Lisa Ling and Euna Lee get their freedom is something praiseworthy, this was the handiwork of Bill Clinton the former president of the United States who went to North Korea to plead on their behalf. They were detained in North Korea on March 17th 2009 for illegally entering North Korea and engaging in crimes that are said to be not specific yet. They were sentenced to 12years with hard labor in June 2009 and now they are finally free today August 4th 2009. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!

I also thank God for Jesus Christ who is the Intercessor for us humans after being accused by the main Accuser. We are free.

John 8:36. "So if the Son makes you free then you are free indeed"

In Him we are free, no one would value their freedom until they have been taken captive.In the second world war many soldeirs died for the freedom of people, in the Bible Jesus died so that mankind would be free, Bill Clinton stepped out of his comfort zone so that those ladies would be free. I thank God for people who value freedom. Don't be caught captive, be Free.

I remember back in the days when i used to collect money in form of change from those market women who would store money in their hot, sticky and sweaty bras or in thouse pouches that used to hang slighty above their genitalia. The Nigerian money had this awful stench that reminds me of cholera. I also had the mentality that it was only the Nigerian money that was so dirty until i found out that one dollar and twenty dollar bills could have the same look after giving them some time.

I was impressed to find out that the CBN decided to come up with a way to let the general public know that the Nigerian money should be given some respect and also handled properly. The chart to the right shows the many ways Nigerians violate the money and that a fine of fifty thousand naira or a six month jail term or both can be attratced if the naira is abused. I believe that Nigerians are guilty of at least one of these things and it is usually the last image. Spraying. One by one i would comment on the pictures.

Do not store the naira indecently: I have never stored money in my bra and i never will. I just think that is one of the most disgusting habits a woman should ever portray i tried it once but it didnt last up to a minute, it started to itch and ewwww not to talk of those women who are heavily endowed on the chest and that dirty black cleavage line.I don't want to imagine the sweat and the stench accumulated and then sweet smelling naira noted would be stored there and then come out as though it was hidden beside a pit latrine. Enuff said.

Neatly arrange money in pouches/wallets, do not squeeze the money: Rich people have a way of storing money that would make you want to have money, they stack the bills up neatly and place it in their wallets not squeezing the money or just being careless. I have seen some rich people pull out money, impressive its like saying "the dough is right here, take it". For sure, its for grabs. Money should be regarded as something of value and handled and kept right. I have noticed that when i fold money and keep it in other parts of my wallet i tend to forget and not know exatly how much i have. Thanks for debit card.

Do not stain the Naira: The picture with the caption is ridiculous why would you leave those bills hanging around your food. It makes no sense but i think some people do it anyway.

Do not deface the Naira: For those people who like to write on money, "Ada loves Thomas" or "Pass this money around and see if it comes back to me" or "trace this money"You had beter start getting appropriate writing materials. No more calculating money or writing cell phone numbers or addresses on Nigerian money.

SPRAYING: I wrote this in capital letters because you would have killed the joy at most parties. In Lagos and ther states or rather everything Nigerian it is the fun part of the party to have the celebrants dance and get sprayed on. All that money, its also a delight to pick the money up and think that it is your money. I don't know how that would work and who would want to arrest me for spending my own money.

In other words Nigerians have had their own share of abusing the naira and it would take more than a generation to change that. Squeezing money, writing on money,giving money as bribe, hiding it bras, pouches, shoes, headties, underwear(to hide from spouse or parents after stealing), spraying are all forms of abusing the Naira but guess what the Naira does not care and so does the general public,the Naira only has its best use for spending and it also acts as a leveller of people distinguishing the rich from the poor so whoever came up with this statement was not wrong "When money talks,bullshit walks"

ELECTRONIC PASSPORT IN NIGERIA

I think its really impressive to know that Nigeria will go digital with the new passport. It is supposed to ensure that there are no more forged passports and identity theft in Nigeria so the issue of Taiwo using Kehinde's passport as an identical twin will be ruled out. The difference between the epassport and the regular paper or hardback green passport is that an integrated computer chip is embedded in the back cover of the passport, this technology is to store the information written on the front page of the passport such as the digital photograph of the owner of the passport, this also uses face recognition technology which can be used to identify a person travelling to a different country. The biometrics that can be used in the e passport is face recognition, fingerprint and iris (according to wikipedia.com) . There are three different kinds and they also have different prices, the Green passport is the Standard Nigerian passport and it costs eight thousand seven hundred and fifty naira (8750),the official passport is blue and it costs four thousand naira while the Diplomatic passort is red in color. It costs about $110 to apply for the passport. online.It should go into use in 2010 and is proudly one of the first countries in West Africa or rather in Africa to use this system of technology.

RITA- THE KOKOLET

Since DBanj came out with his new Reality Show Koko Mansion, i have been an avid and not so keen anymore viewer of the show. I think the concept of the show has not been made manifest yet. Its all about a bunch of girls who live in a house and all they do is eat, sleep, dance and get entertained or entertain a guest who comes to the house to visit them. In one of the episodes, they had to give a lecture on "rebranding" Nigeria and i believe the first group failed woefully because none of them could tell how precisely they would rebrand Nigeria if they had to. All the negativites of Nigeria was pointed out but there was no solution to the problem. The second group had good speakers and demonstrated their point very weel with the highly hilarious drama piece that was given. Rita was in the first group. I admit i have posted a video on her grammatical errors in Facebook , she was trying to say something but it didnt come out right and then to top it all with her bad English accent and her constant error in grammar. I believe she is the only real person who lives in the mansion. For the fact that people were making fun of her English and her accent has made me realise something. My parents valued education and sent me to school and made me stay there till i "GOT IT". Some parents wish to send their kids to school, even the finest schools in the world but there is no money to do so and instead the full potential of the child is not seen, it is suppressed somewhere in the being of the child. It wants to come out so bad but it can't . That is what happened to Rita. She has the confidence of any good speaker but the words came out wrong. If she had the opportuinity to go to a better school or if hr environment was different like her peers, her family, she would probably sound better than the Queen of England. My main point is to show appreciation for everything i have including my education. Some people will envy you because they dont have what you have and you may also envy others because you don't have what they have but either way we should be thankful for the little things we have in this life. Listening to Wande Coal's " Se ope" made me value a lot. Maybe i should make my own lyric
" Some found school but could not go, Some could go but didn't find school".LOL.

MARRIAGE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

The last time i checked Marriage was supposed to be a "for better for worse kind of thing." It is supposed to be a lifetime commitment but these days, i have actually noticed that marriage is like going on a week spring break and coming back. People walk in and out of marriages as if nothing happened. It is fast becoming a trend that sometimes the thought of being single is bliss. Please don't get me wrong, i have actually seen successful marriages, marriages that have lasted for more than ten,twenty, thirty, forty, i have seen them all. I wish people would keep those standards today but in this world where morals are seriously on the decline ,it is hard to do so.On facebook, i read some random quotes on marriage.
Someone was thinking about marriage as three rings "engagement ring, marriage ring and suffering" - anonymous.
Other quotes i read were
"Marriage is yeserday's news, divorce is the way forward and its my kinda style."
"Why get married, find someone you hate and give them half of everything"
"Swine flu, what women catch after they get married"
"Marriage is not a word, it is a sentence ( a life sentence)
"Someone is watching their wedding video in reverse and loves the part where the ring is takne off and gets back into the car and goes away"
"Someone is sitting here looking at the marriage certificate, where is the expiry date?"
"At a cocktail party, one woman asked another "Aren't you wearing your ring on the wrong finger?" and the lady replied "Yes, i married the wrong man."
"In session, someone is now a marriage counsellor, session 1. top right hand corner, click LOG OUT
These are random facebook comments.That mindset is fast becoming reality.I don't think people should see marriage as such. Just as many people are getting married, so many people are getting divorces. It shocked me to hear this morning that Usher Raymond and Tameka Foster are actually getting a divorce,and sometimes i ask myself what really is the problem, didnt they see this coming at all.Was it not last month or so that Nas and Kelis hit the rocks, at the beginning of this year, a budding relationship ended up with punches and brutal beatings when Rihanna and Chris Brown came into the spotlight with domestic abuse. That whole incident was on the news for more than two weeks.It's like these days people just make up and break up. Did anyone ever think that Bobby Brown and Whitne Houston would end up where they are today? I grew up in the 90's listening to lyrics of songs that had Bobbi and Whitney like Alpha and Omega or Bonnie and Clyde. Other hot Hollywood couples i admire are Will and Jada Smith, David and Victoria Beckham and i am praying that they don't end up like Bobbi and Whitney.When all these celebrity's take pictures on the red carpet one would think that they are living perfect lives but no one is living a perfect life, everyone has problems that hide under make up, blemishes that could be skin deep or laying right in the soul like a tattoo. Maybe now i would say that marriage is luck. You may be lucky to find a good spouse that would stay with you for the rest of your life through thick and thin. I don't know. There must be explanations for this stuff going on, its like a pandemic. First you hear of someone getting married, next thing they are getting a divorce. I think this generation has had the most divorce rates. Maybe because there is a serious moral decline.
I have also noticed something, i think heterosexuals are the ones who frequently go to the divorce court, i don't think i have ever seen or heard of a homosexual relationship hitting the rocks.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am just thinking out loud. I am not in support of single sex marriags but i think that they kind of stay together more than heterosexuals maybe that is why they are pushing the "Sexual Equality Movement". If God made man to be with the woman why then don't they stay together why are better relationships budding out of homosexuals? What is it that they have that heterosexuals can't just figure out? Is it an estrogen and testeterone battele? I am wonderin and pondering.
I have seen parents of friends walk into marriage and walk out like nothing happened. Most of the time even while living together they live like"worse than roommates", like total strangers to each other and the children in the marriage observe it. Ladies please don't blame men for having "commitmentophobia" or men please dont blame ladies for feeling the same way. They must have probably watched their parents act out the nightmare that was called their marriage.Some children from dysfunctional homes tend to have fear of commitment or rather making mistakes in finding life parteners."What if he/she is not the one?" "I don't want her to turn out to be like my step mom/dad"I mean i think most parents make very selfish decisions when it comes to dealing with marital issues. Other children from dysfunctional homes sometimes more often than not live happily ever after, they tend to become their own personality aside from their parents inbuilt genes in them and get someone who understands and loves them for who they really are to be married to. They find someone who they don't want to make the mistakes their parents made to spend their lives with. Nothing is as sad as repeating the same mistake not once but TWICE.
Something is not right, the motives for getting married might be wrong, maybe its pregnancy but these days who cares about being pregnant before getting married. No one does. Or maybe its about the money, all these pre nup stuff, its crazy, and then the baby drama issues. I mean look at Jon and Kate, they are supposed to be role models for baby making factory women. They have 8 kids for goodness sake and they have just succeded in announcing to the media about not being steady or rather a possible break up, not a smart move on Jon's side i would say, he would be paying child support on those 8 kids for the next ten to fifteen years.A friend of mine on facebook wrote that "Usher and Tameka have finally come to an end, let's see how long Brangelina has left to go" I mean is it some form of prediction, right now i don't know but this summer, i have to go on a mariage tour or rather a marriage bus.Can someone bring up a reality show for singles with commitmentophobia?
After reading all those quotes i don't wish for anyone to look back after five years of being married and regret it, we all make decisions and we must try to live with them, no matter how bad, if you can't marry someone you can call your best friend,don't bother getting married at all because marriage is like friendship on a whole different level, it comes with love and children and enjoying life. I want to go for wedding anniversaries of my friends after 20 years of being with the same person not the second or third spouse. I pray long life and prosperous marriages for all reading this and i like these quotes
"Marriage is sharing your life with your best friend, someone you can count on no matter what, your one true love"
"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times with the same person"
"You don't marry the person you can live with, you marry the person you can't live without."
" In the end when all is done, it will be me and you, nothing can overcome."
Wishing all the 2009/2010 married couples to be a happy married life filled with love and beautiful children,i don't want to write any sad articles about anyone i know,please. Love you much