in honor of World AIDS Day, I'd just like to simply send a shout out to all the brave individuals out there who are living with this disease but still manage to do their daily routines. Those who still get up to work to provide for their families, have fun and enjoy their lives to the fullest. I appreciate that you share your stories with those of us who do not share the same struggle but we gain insight into your experience. You are valued and respected for the story you tell and the life that you live.

After a brief hiatus Open Mic is back! I attended a conference called America's Future Now which addressed the state of our country as of now and what we as progressives can do about it. Here are some of my reflections from the conference. I had a great time and shout outs to Advocates for Youth and Generational Alliance making this opportunity possible!-freestyle

 

I'm sure the title alone grabbed your attention so now that I have it, let's talk about what the title means! After a long and treacherous winter season spring time and warmer weather is beginning to surface. We will be in April in a matter of hours and that will only lead us closer to one of the best seasons of all; SUMMER! However some people like to rush the season and "let it all hang out!" I find it amazing that the amount of females on my college campus find it necessary to break out the open toe shoes, and my fellas breaking out the shorts. It's not time yet people!!!

There's a phrase that says there is a time and a place for everything and right now is not the time for the nicer weather clothing to come out just yet. In addtion I find quite a few women who wear things that they shouldn't based on their physical makeup. They literally "let it all hang out" and bring unneccesary attention to themselves. A lot of people use this time to get in the gym extra tough in order to get that summer physique in order and that is fine, but if you're not doing anything to get your body together you shouldn't show certain areas. The "spare tire" effect has swept across America in not just women but men also. It's sad to see the health condition of our country yet we "let it all hang out" anyway....This is a problem

So what am I getting at with all of this? First don't rush the season spring and summer will be here before we know it and the time will be perfect to expose some skin. Secondly take care of your body and maintain your health, not for external praise and adoration but for your own self-esteem and self-image. With the warmer weather approaching it's key to get the recommended 6-8 glasses of water daily to keep your body hydrated. A healthier you makes a happier you and then you can truly "let it all hang out!"-Freestyle

Wasup world and welcome to another post from "Open Mic!" I just want to say that I am pleased with the new health care reform bill being signed. I particularly like the fact that I can now get back on to my parents health insurance! It's a great thing to see that the majority of the population will now be covered because there were a lot of hurting people out there. I believe President Obama did a great job going to battle with this health care monster, and the signing of this bill shows progresssion. However we know that it can't always be a bright side on all fronts...

What I meant by my last remark is that with a budget of $50 million being left for abstinence only, our fight for comp sex ed still remains and now we must fight harder and stronger than before! Though $75 million dollars is in place for comp sex ed funding which is a lot of money, with money remaining for abstinence only, $75 million still doesn't amount enough to replace a non-effective sexual education! As advocates and activists for change we owe it to ourselves, our communities, and our youth to see that abstinence only funding is zeroed out! We have a responsibility and a duty to see that our youth are provided with an education that provides them with the tools necessary to make healthy and responsible decisions with their lives.

I personally will not rest until I see this change occur. Throughout his presidential campaign, President Obama emphasized a theme of change and I will not be satisfied until I see true change brought about for our youth regarding sexual health education. This health bill is a start to seeing change brought about, however this change needs to end with an end to abstinence only education... -Freestyle

Welcome to Open Mic! Today's blog is a little different due to what day it is. In light of today being St. Patrick's Day I want to first wish all of those who are of Irish decent a happy holiday! Secondly I wanted to share a story behind the history of St. Patrick's Day that was emailed to me. Sometimes you never really know the history of something or how it originated until it is exposed to you. So I felt inclined as to sharing the real story behind the holiday of parades, green clothes and beer, and an all out fun holiday!

The person who was to become St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Wales about AD 385. His given name was Maewyn, and he almost didn't get the job of bishop of Ireland because he lacked the required scholarship.

Far from being a saint, until he was 16, he considered himself a pagan. At that age, he was sold into slavery by a group of Irish marauders that raided his village. During his captivity, he became closer to God.

He escaped from slavery after six years and went to Gaul where he studied in the monastery under St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre for a period of twelve years. During his training he became aware that his calling was to convert the pagans to Christianity.

His wishes were to return to Ireland, to convert the native pagans to Christianity. But his superiors instead appointed St. Palladius. But two years later, Palladius transferred to Scotland. Patrick, having adopted that Christian name earlier, was then appointed as second bishop to Ireland.

Patrick was quite successful at winning converts. And this fact upset the Celtic Druids. Patrick was arrested several times, but escaped each time. He traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country. He also set up schools and churches which would aid him in his conversion of the Irish country to Christianity.

His mission in Ireland lasted for thirty years. After that time, Patrick retired to County Down. He died on March 17 in AD 461. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since.

Much Irish folklore surrounds St. Patrick's Day. Not much of it is actually substantiated.

Some of this lore includes the belief that Patrick raised people from the dead. He also is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland. Of course, no snakes were ever native to Ireland, and some people think this is a metaphor for the conversion of the pagans. Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday.

One traditional icon of the day is the shamrock. And this stems from a more bona fide Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.

The St. Patrick's Day custom came to America in 1737. That was the first year St. Patrick's Day was publicly celebrated in this country, in Boston.

Today, people celebrate the day with parades, wearing of the green, and drinking beer. One reason St. Patrick's Day might have become so popular is that it takes place just a few days before the first day of spring. One might say it has become the first green of spring.

Welcome, welcome, welcome to another blog from "Open Mic!" I want to shift gears a little bit this week and hip you all to something you probably didn't know. Travel with me back to 1951 to the "colored" ward of John Hopkins Hospital where a young black woman 31 years of age died of cervical cancer. Who is this woman you may ask?....Henrietta Lacks. So why is this story important? HeLa cells which they are known as today were made possible due to the gift of science from Mrs. Lacks body. These cells are responsible for producing drugs for various diseases including parkinson's, lukemia, and the flu.

Cells were removed from her body in order for doctors and researchers to see if they would live indefinitely in order to do research on cancer. It turns out that these cells were practically immortal, however no one was aware that these cells had been taken, not even Mrs. Lacks. Dr. George Gey was responsible for mass producing the cells, but never made a profit. Yet these drugs are sold all over the world and have generated millions in profits. One has to question should patients, and Mrs. Lacks in this case have control or financial claims to tissue that is taken from their body?

Mrs. Lacks family never recieved a dime, nor were they aware that this had even occurred. They did not even know these cells existed until after 20 years that their mother had been dead! I personally believe that this was a social injustice to not inform a patient of what you were doing or intending on doing with their body. I believe corrective action was called for in this case, and cases such as these have drawn high interest from activists!

I believe that in order to be fair and legal, a lawyer should be present at the time a doctor is explaining that tissue or organs are being removed from a patient's body and what they're going to be used for. This would ensure that before the patient signed anything they would have full control as to what their bodies were being used for. We owe it to ourselves to protect ourselves, because unfortunately the world is somewhat made up of those who are only looking out for themselves...-Freestyle 

Welcome back to Open Mic everyone! I have been posting written blogs as opposed to vlogs due to the fact that my camera has for some odd reason not been uploading to YouTube. (gotta love flipshare right? lol) Hopefully my next video will upload as I plan to be back this week, so keep your eyes peeled! Now down to business; as for todays topic I would like to touch on the Jamott Study. This was a study that released data results showing that abstinence only programs do work. However they forgot to highlight one minor detail.....these were abstinence until ready programs!

Just goes to show yet again that ab-only educators are really full of themselves! I mean we have already exposed and exploited the likes of Derek the Abstinence Clown (shout out to his cousin Abstinence Andy by the way! lol), so how much more can we handle?! If you're going to teach an abstinence until ready, you might as well train to be a car salesman because that's like test driving until you're ready to buy! Another profound tactic of abstinence only programs! I find it really sad in all honesty that our youth are recipients of such incomplete and quasi helpful teaching.

Yet another reason why we being pro comp sex ed have a responsibility and a duty to ensure that comp sex ed is what comes to our schools. I need not explain any further why it is even more necessary, because ab only programs such as these do a fine job of that themselves! However we can't let up on our fight so lets see that our youth are provided with what they need and not just with what sounds good for the moment. (which brings me back to that dishonest car salesman we have all encountered at one point or another!)-Freestyle

Welcome to another post from your show and mines Open Mic! On todays post I want to highlight two of my fellow advocates from the Ohio Advocates: Danny Sparks and Emma Southard! Danny and Emma testified before the Ohio House Education Committee on Tuesday February 23rd in support of the Act For Our Children's Future comp. sex ed bill.
As we all know this bill would require schools that choose to provide sex education to their students to use a medically accurate, age appropriate comprehensive sex education curriculum. This is just another great step in seeing that comprehensive sex education is taught in our schools. 

I encourage all of you to continue to support one another in our fight for comp. sex ed. Emma created this action alert and I urge all of  you to check it out and pass it on to everyone that you may know. http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/actforourchildrensfuture Events such as these just continue to show that our fight for comp. sex ed just continues to get stronger, and that we are relentless in our efforts to see that our youth have a brighther future to look forward to. Lets keep the heat on ab-only educators and programs and show them that comp. sex ed is here to stay and never going anywhere!-Freestyle

Welcome to this weeks edition of Open Mic. In light of February being Black History Month I would like to take time to reflect on one of the many great African-Americans in black history; Arthur Ashe. Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. was born July 10, 1943 in Richmond, Virginia. Arthur Ashe is one of the greatest US tennis players in history. Ashe won three Grand Slam titles (the first African-American male to win a Grand Slam), had 33 career titles, a career record of 818-260 and turned pro at the age of 26. Ashe is in the International Tennis Hall of Fame as well in addition to many of his other accalades. Ashe was also known for his civil rights efforts. Ashe was an active civil rights supporter and was a member of a delegation of 31 well-known African-Americans who visited South Africa to witness political change in the country as it reached racial integration.

Arthur Ashe was also very influential and involved when it came to HIV/AIDS. Having contracted the disease himself through blood transfusions he received during heart surgery, Ashe founded the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health to assist in addressing the issue of inadequate health care. Ashe passed away from complications from the disease on February 6, 1993. Ashe was a great man and did alot for the world and was more than just a world-class athlete. He was a first-class citizen.-Freestyle

On this weeks episode I address an injustice that occurred right here in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. Situations such as the one discussed have no right in our society, however certain groups of individuals would cause you to think differently. Only in a perfect world I suppose things might be different...this is reality-Freestyle