Today's Single Moms

Social Media Prayer Rally Playback

2010-09-15T18:39:00.002-07:00

Thank you to everyone who listened in live on the social media prayer rally. And in case you were not able to attend, click here for the playback.

Feel free to pass it along.

Social Media Prayer Rally: Take Back Our Children

2010-09-08T00:16:00.000-07:00

On August 30, 2010, a group of parents banded together to have a disturbing fan page, Kankakee Hoes, removed from Facebook.

On September 3, 2010, Craigslist shut down the "adult" section of its website, thanks to the collective voices of a group of lawyers.

On September 14, 2010, a group of pastors, parents, students and community leaders will lift our voices and pray on a teleconference to take back our children from:

Online Predators
Gangs
Pedophiles
Date Rape
Dating Violence
Bus Accidents
Underage Drinking
Suicide
Gun Violence

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Dial-in number: 1 (213) 289-5460
Passcode: 362-6442#

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Wifeyhood or Motherhood: Which is More Important?

2010-04-11T13:48:00.000-07:00

A recent study shows that women used to focus more on wifeyhood and now they focus more on motherhood. Many women are debating which is more important, and if this could be the reason we have such a high divorce rate.

I don’t think it’s a matter of importance, but more about proper order. I’m divorced, but not because I placed more emphasis on my children than my husband. I know the importance of mama and daddy forming an alliance early against...uh, for kids who will eventually form alliances against them. That way when those smarter-than-the-average-bear teenagers start trying to play both ends against the middle, the parents are equipped to work together to keep the family intact. Otherwise, your children will have you heading to divorce court. And as Bishop Jakes says, now you’ve got a happy child and a miserable spouse.

Therein is the problem: children aren’t happy when they are allowed to run roughshod over their parents’ relationship. They appreciate discipline and structure, even though they rebel against it. So, why do some women toss their marriages out with the bathwater to take sides with their children? One woman actually left a comment on a message board stating that husbands come and go, but her children are hers for a lifetime.

I TOTALLY disagree with her, because marriage is the only relationship that is ‘til death do us part. Yes, our children are our children forever, but children grow up, leave the nest, and get lives of their own (or we hope they do). And if mama has tossed daddy out with the bath water, when the children leave, she is left lonely, bitter and without companionship. Then she becomes co-dependent on her grown children, meddling in their affairs, visiting and overstaying her welcome, and trying to run their household when she wouldn’t run her own.

Now that I’m divorced, I regret that my children didn’t see me and their father show affection towards one another. I’m sorry that we didn’t teach them how to stay and work through their disagreements rather than running away from them. And I hate that I contributed to the growing number of Blacks and Christians getting divorced.

My prayer now is that my children will have affectionate relationships with their spouses, even though it wasn’t modeled in their home. Because the only way we’re going to stop this growing divorce trend is for husbands and wives to form a united front against not only their children, but anything else that serves to sever their relationship.

Corn Bake/Casserole

2009-06-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix (recommended: Jiffy)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with Cheddar, although I prefer it without the cheese. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

Balancing Act: How to Juggle Work, School and Being a Mom

2009-06-01T02:24:00.000-07:00

Oh how I remember the days when I was working full-time, going to school and trying to have a social life while raising four children. (Whew, I get tired just thinking about it.)

Today I’m sharing tips to help you stay sane and come out on top of it all.

Get organized Clutter = chaos. Buy a wall calendar, something that’s easily viewed by you and your children so everyone stays on schedule. Set aside one day each week to do laundry, one day to go grocery shopping, one day to iron clothes, one day to pay bills… These things are great time wasters if you do them every day.

Get an in-tray for your children to put papers and permission slips that need your signature in, and an out-tray to put them after you’re done.

Everything should have a place. Clothes should be in the closet or drawers, not all over the floor. Shoes should be lined up somewhere where they can be easily found. Put a key hook by the door. Better yet, get a mail holder with key hooks. That way you’ll put your keys in the same place and not waste time looking for them when it’s time to go.

If your kids get the mail out the box when they get home from school, have them put it in the mail holder, instead of their backpack or under their beds.

Buy the same socks. Yeah, you may think it’s cute to mix and match it up but, trust me, it’s a whole lot easier to wash and mate them if they’re all the same.

If you’re in school, have a set time that you’ll study. Make the kids respect those boundaries by making yourself off limit. If you have smaller kids, you can do this after they go to sleep at night or during nap time on the weekend. If you have older children, tell them mama isn’t available.

Take your clothes out at night. Since you’ve already washed and ironed the clothes on laundry day, it’s really easy now to just take everything out at night (including panties, socks, pantyhose…everything) instead of rummaging through drawers or ironing clothes in the morning.

Make quick and easy meals. My kids ate a lot of spaghetti and chili when they were growing up, because I could make a big pot and it would last a couple days.

Make TV watching a no-no in the morning. You and your kids need to be focused on getting out the door, and not what’s happening on Arthur.

Keep a clean house. It’s hard to focus in a dirty house. It doesn’t have to look like you have maid service, but it should certainly look like humans live there.

Make lists. I love lists. They’re visual reminders of what I need to do.

Introduce your children to the art of earning their keep. Give them chores, as age appropriate. Younger children can mate socks (especially since they’re all the same, remember). Older children can do much, much more.

Make time for you. If that means waking up before your kids get up, or finding a babysitter on the weekends, do take time to celebrate womanhood in the midst of motherhood. That can mean doing anything from working out, reading a book or going out on a date. It’s imperative that you have some “me” time.

Valerie Jarrett's Life Lessons

2009-05-31T04:51:00.000-07:00

Valerie Jarrett, President Obama's senior adviser, has a list of "life lessons," 21 aphorisms she ticks off in speeches and keeps on her computer hard drive. This single mother of a daughter, Laura, a Harvard Law Student, was briefly married to a physician who died a few years after their divorce.

1. To thine own self be true.
2. All leaders are passionate about their beliefs, even the ones you don't like.
3. Trust your gut after you have listened, studied and learned from those with a diverse range of opinions.
4. You never know who is watching, so work as hard as you can regardless of the assignment.
5. Don't stay in your comfort zone too long.
6. As my grandmother would say: put yourself in the path of lightning.
7. Be flexible because opportunities rarely knock at the most opportune moments.
8. Take time to be kind to everyone.
9. Focus on your priorities.
10. In order to lead, someone must follow.
11. Effective leadership depends on your ability to connect and motivate people, not on your title, position or power.
12. Set high standards for yourself and your team (lead by example).
13. Take the time to develop personal relationships all along the way, and really cultivate those upon whom you depend. In order for them to help you, they must know you. And you must know what will motivate them. Nurture them so they can help you lead. They must believe in not just your ideas, but you.
14. Good will matters.
15. Women are particularly good at listening and studying their audience.
16. Have the courage to make tough decisions.
17. When you lead, not everyone will follow, and that's okay.
18. You will fail. Don't take your failures or your success too seriously. Learn to laugh at yourself. Trust me. It helps.
19. Affiliate yourself with worthy institutions, lead by good people who share your core values.
20. You can have it all, just not at the same time, and in the proportions you may want.
21. To those who much is given, much is expected.

Ways to Find Extra Cash

2009-05-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

Being a single mother and the sole breadwinner of a household requires stretching your dollars as far as they can go, so you can stay on top of your money game. Here are a few ways to find some extra cash:
Use coupons: Websites like coolsavings.com, coupons.com or smartsource.com can help you save while shopping. For additional savings, shop during double coupon days.

Buy generics: From dish detergent to paper towels, bread to orange juice, you can save big bucks by buying store brands.

Library: Movies, books, music, newspapers and magazine are free at your local library.

ATMs: Avoid ATM fees by using your bank's ATM or get cash back when making purchases with your debit card. If you travel a lot, check to see if your hotel will let you write a check for cash without a fee.

Healthclubs: Your employer may offer discounts on healthclub benefits. Otherwise, you may be able to use your local community center for a low fee, or free. Or, for a totally free workout, walk outside or buy hand weights and make good use of whatever space you have at home.

Movie matinees: Get there by 6pm and pay half the price.

Manicures/pedicures: Go to the salon midweek to take advantage of half-price specials. You can also save big bucks by getting your nails done at a beauty school.

Lunch: Bring last night's dinner for lunch and watch your dollars really add up.

Snacks: Avoid vending machines at work by bringing your own snacks.

Extended warranties: Protection plans are pure profit for the retailer, so skip buying the extended warranties when buying appliances. Your manufacturer's warranty will cover you for the first year.

Cable: Eliminate premium channels. (How many of those channels do you really watch anyway?) You may even be able to watch your favorite show online.

Prescriptions: Buy generic when possible. Also, check online prices and mail order outlets for up to 30 percent savings at U.S. pharmacies.

Fees: Avoid late fees and overdraft fees at all costs. They really add up.

No More Chapped Lips

2009-05-30T01:06:00.000-07:00

Elena George is a jet setting makeup artist to the stars and single mom. She's the founder of Go Light on My Lips, and offers a great tip on how we all can keep our lips soft and kissable:

No more chapped lips -- exfoliate your lips with a sweet mix: Half tsp of sugar and less than half tsp of vitamin E oil. Mix together to make a paste. Place on lips and rub back and fort. Walla smoother lips.

Dr. Ben Carson - Pediatric Neurosurgeon

2009-05-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

Dr. Carson was born September 18, 1951 in Detroit, MI. His mother Sonya had dropped out of school in the third grade, and married when she was only 13. When Benjamin Carson was only eight, his parents divorced, and Mrs. Carson was left to raise Benjamin and his older brother, Curtis, on her own. She worked two, sometimes three, jobs at a time to provide for her boys.

Benjamin and his brother fell farther and farther behind in school. In fifth grade, Carson was at the bottom of his class. His classmates called him "dummy" and he developed a violent, uncontrollable temper.

When Mrs. Carson saw Benjamin's failing grades, she determined to turn her sons' lives around. She sharply limited the boys' television watching and refused to let them outside to play until they had finished their homework each day. She required them to read two library books a week and to give her written reports on their reading even though, with her own poor education, she could barely read what they had written.

Within a few weeks, Carson astonished his classmates by identifying rock samples his teacher had brought to class. He recognized them from one of the books he had read. "It was at that moment that I realized I wasn't stupid," he recalled later. Carson continued to amaze his classmates with his newfound knowledge and within a year he was at the top of his class.

The hunger for knowledge had taken hold of him, and he began to read voraciously on all subjects. He determined to become a physician, and he learned to control the violent temper that still threatened his future. After graduating with honors from Detroit's Southwestern High School, he attended Yale University, where he earned a degree in Psychology.

From Yale, he went to the Medical School of the University of Michigan, where his interest shifted from psychiatry to neurosurgery. His excellent hand-eye coordination and three-dimensional reasoning skills made him a superior surgeon. After medical school he became a neurosurgery resident at the world-famous Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. At age 32, he became the hospital's Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery.

In 1987, Carson made medical history with an operation to separate a pair of Siamese twins. The Binder twins were born joined at the back of the head. Operations to separate twins joined in this way had always failed, resulting in the death of one or both of the infants. Carson agreed to undertake the operation. A 70-member surgical team, led by Dr. Carson, worked for 22 hours. At the end, the twins were successfully separated and can now survive independently.

Carson's other surgical innovations have included the first intrauterine procedure to relieve pressure on the brain of a hydrocephalic fetal twin, and a hemispherectomy, in which an infant suffering from uncontrollable seizures has half of its brain removed. This stops the seizures, and the remaining half of the brain actually compensates for the missing hemisphere.

On June 19, 2008, President George W. Bush presented Dr. Carson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor, for his work as a surgeon and for his efforts to improve the lives of America's youth. SOURCE

Bristol Palin Graduates from High School

2009-05-17T18:01:00.000-07:00

According to People.com, Bristol Palin has gotten her diploma.

Looking like a lot of her classmates – giddy and irreverent, wearing a silly necklace of Blow-Pop lollipops strung together with curly gift ribbon – Bristol Palin stepped toward the stage in Wasilla Sports Complex Thursday night to receive her high school diploma, more a worried mom than a jubilant teen.

"Where's my baby?" Bristol mouthed, searching the two front rows where her family sat until she finally spotted son Tripp near the backstage door, where Bristol's Aunt Heather was feeding the infant a bottle. With a wave to the little one she alternately calls "Handsome" and "My Guy," Bristol crossed the stage – and crossed "graduate high school" off her to-do list.

"I knew it would be hard work, but I knew I was going to do it," Bristol, 18, tells PEOPLE.

Solange Knowles

2009-05-12T20:32:00.000-07:00

Solange Knowles is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and model. At age 17, she married football player Daniel Smith in February 2004. On October 18, 2004, Knowles gave birth to their son, Daniel Julez Smith, Jr. In October 2007, Solange confirmed in an interview with Essence magazine that she and Smith had divorced. Knowles has partly expressed regret that she bore a child at an early age, but calls her son the greatest unplanned blessing. A song she wrote for her baby, "An Ode to Juelz", was included on Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams.

Halle Berry

2009-05-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

Halle Berry is an American actress, former fashion model, and beauty queen. Berry has received Emmy and Golden Globe awards for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming the first and, as of 2009, only woman of African American descent to have won the award for Best Actress. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood and also a Revlon spokeswoman. She has also been involved in the production side of several of her films.

This single mom gave birth to her first child, a girl named Nahla Ariela Aubry, on March 16, 2008.

Sharisse "Shar" Jackson

2009-05-12T18:53:00.000-07:00

Shar Jackson is an American television and film actress and rapper/singer, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Niecy Jackson on the UPN show Moesha.

Shar Jackson has two children with her former high school boyfriend – a son, Donnie, and a daughter, Cassie. She also has two children with Kevin Federline – a daughter, Kori, and a son, Kaleb.

Stanley Ann Dunham

2009-05-12T18:51:00.000-07:00

Stanley Ann Dunham practically raised our first African-American President Barack Obama, as a single mom.

Angelina Jolie

2009-05-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

Angelina Jolie is an American actress and Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. She has received three Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and an Academy Award. Jolie has promoted humanitarian causes throughout the world, and is noted for her work with refugees through UNHCR. She has been cited as one of the world's most beautiful women.

Divorced from actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton, Jolie has three adopted children, Maddox, Pax, and Zahara, as well as three biological children, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne with actor Brad Pitt.

Brandy

2009-05-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

Brandy is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, actress, television personality, and film producer. Discovered by Chris Stokes when she was a member of a youth singing group, Norwood released her self-titled debut album in 1994 at the age of fifteen.

Monica

2009-05-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

Monica Denise Arnold, professionally known as Monica, is an American R&B and pop singer, songwriter, and occasional actress.

She came to prominence following her debut album Miss Thang, which produced four singles and made the youngest recording act to ever have two consecutive chart-topping hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Rapper Rodney "Rocko" Hill, Jr., whom she had actually dated since the age of nineteen, the couple welcomed a son into the world on May 21, 2005. Nicknamed Lil Rocko, the child was officially named Rodney Ramone Hill III, after his father.

Monica has two sons (Rodney III "Lil Rocko" and Romello Montez) with rapper Rodney "Rocko" Hill, Jr.

Samantha Gregory

2009-05-12T18:18:00.000-07:00

Samantha has always been an entrepreneur by nature.

Samantha Gregory describes herself as one amazing woman. This statement is relative of course according to her, but she feels that she has 101 reasons to toot her own horn.

So what makes her so amazing? What has she done that is so unique, different from what other single moms have done? Nothing and a lot. Samantha has always been an entrepreneur by nature. She's always wanted to own her own business and be there for her kids. When her daughter, now 12, was just two she acquired an old computer, desktop publishing software, a printer, and an internet connection. From these tools she started her first business, a desktop publishing service. Since that time she has done resume writing, administrative assistance (today called a VA), tax preparation, and currently freelance writing.

After working in numerous dead-end jobs Samantha decided to go back to college after a 10 year hiatus. She spent three years paying her dues as a combination single mom/full-time student/part-time employee. All the hard work paid off when she graduated Cum Laude with a degree in English (Professional Writing Emphasis). After graduation she had a job waiting at NASA as a technical writer. She went on to become a Senior Technical Writer before branching out as a freelance writer. She is also a motivational blogger at Rich Single Momma, where she offers wealth, health, and single parenting tips and articles for single moms.

If you're looking for legitimate ways to make money in this economy, check out Samantha's Side Hustle Series on her blog, Rich Single Momma. She's also available for hire as a freelance writer at Samantha Gregory Freelance Writer.

Alice Walker

2009-05-12T18:16:00.001-07:00

Alice Malsenior Walker, born February 9, 1944, is an American author, self-declared feminist and womanist - the latter a term she herself coined to make special distinction for the experiences of women of color. She has written at length on issues of race and gender, and is most famous for the critically acclaimed novel The Color Purple, for which she won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Walker was born in Eatonton, Georgia, the eighth child of sharecroppers. As well as being black, her family has Cherokee, Scottish and Irish lineage. Although she grew up in Georgia, she has stated that she often felt displaced there, and lives in Berkeley, California.

After high school, Walker went to Spelman College in Atlanta on full scholarship in 1961 and later transferred up north to Sarah Lawrence College near New York City, graduating in 1965. Walker became interested in the U.S. civil rights movement in part due to the influence of activist Howard Zinn, who was one of her professors at Spelman College. Continuing the activism that she participated in during her college years, Walker returned to the South where she became involved with voter registration drives, campaigns for welfare rights, and children's programs in Mississippi.

In 1965, Walker met and later married Mel Leventhal, a Jewish civil rights lawyer. They were Married on March 17, 1967 in New York City. Later that year the couple relocated to Jackson Mississippi. They are not the first legally married inter-racial couple in Mississippi.[4] This brought them a steady stream of harassment and even murderous threats from the Ku Klux Klan. The couple had a daughter, Rebecca in 1969, but divorced eight years later, in 1977.

Sonya Carson

2009-05-12T18:15:00.001-07:00

Sonya Carson, mother of Ben, put her total self into making sure her sons did their best in school. Oftentimes, she worked long hours and two to three jobs to keep the Carson family afloat. Her relationship and dependence on the Lord provided her with the wisdom to raise her boys to graduate from high school, college, and become successful men. She did this while living as a single mom in the inner cities of Boston and Detroit.

Sonya Carson's life motto is: "Learn to do your best and God will do the rest." She put this motto in practice for herself to motivate her while raising her sons. And, she used her philosophy of life to motivate her children to succeed in life.

A woman with only a third grade education, and who was raised in various foster homes, Carson needed to learn how to work hard to survive in a life that was surrounded by poverty, despair, and single-motherhood. Sonya Carson married at 13 years old to Robert Carson, who was 15 years older than she. He rescued her from her home life of poverty and abuse. Robert Carson was attentive to Sonya, treating her like his "little china doll," until they had children. Afterward, he became secretive and neglectful--- not often coming home, and having whispered conversations on the telephone. When Ben was eight years old and his brother, Curtis, was 10 years old, Sonya left her husband and Detroit. She and her sons moved to Boston to live with her sister and brother-in-law, William and Jean Avery.

Her life motto served her well while raising her two sons, coping with anxiety and depression, and trying to make ends meet. Sonya Carson chose God because "I don't have any friends. I don't have anyone else to turn to. God, you're going to have to be my friend, my best friend. And, you're going to have to tell me how to do things and give me wisdom, because I don't know what to do."

This relationship with God gave her the wisdom to put boundaries around Curtis and Ben. After Ben brought home an unsatisfactory report card in fifth grade, she made house rules to enable the boys to become better students. She restricted their television viewing to two programs per week. They were required to visit the library each week and to pick two books to read. Then, Curtis and Ben needed to write a book report for each book that was read. Afterward, the boys were required to hand in their book reports to their mother. Carson insisted on the book reports, library visits, and restricted television viewing because "... they were not living up to their potential."

SOURCE

Taraji P. Henson

2009-05-12T18:06:00.000-07:00

Single mom Taraji P. Henson is an Academy Award-nominated actress. She is best known for her roles as Yvette in Baby Boy, Shug in Hustle and Flow and Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Her first and middle name are of Swahili origin with her first name meaning "hope" and her middle name meaning "love." She attended Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill, MD. She first attended NC A&T, where she started a major in Electrical Engineering. She later transferred to Howard University. She worked two jobs—in the morning as a secretary at the Pentagon and in the night as a singing and dancing waitress on a dinner cruise ship The Spirit of Washington to pay for Howard University. She graduated with a degree in Theater Arts. Her son Marcel was born in 1995. Marcel is Taraji’s son with ex-boyfriend William Lamar Johnson, who died in 2004.

Rasheedah Phillips

2009-05-12T17:59:00.000-07:00

Gone are the days of dropping out of school or being shipped out of state to a relative because you've got a baby on the way. You can deal with it now, or deal with it later. But, at some point, you're going to deal with it.

A single mother at 14, Rasheedah Phillips graduated from Lincoln High School in Philadelphia, and finished her Temple undergraduate degree in three years. In 2008, she graduated from Temple's Beasley School of Law.

Phillips' story is the no-excuses approach to life after teenage motherhood. She's proof that with determination and a plan, life goes on.

Read Phillips' inspirational story here.

Kemba Smith

2009-05-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

Kemba Smith, the only child of professional parents, led a protective middle class upbringing in Richmond, Virginia. She had no criminal record prior to going off to Hampton University where she would fall in love with Peter Hall, who unbeknownst to her, was the leader of a $4 million crack cocaine ring and one of the FBI's 15 Most Wanted.

At the age of 23, this single mom was taken away from her newborn baby to unjustly serve 24 years in jail under harsh drug mandatory sentencing laws. She was a victim of physical and mental abuse. Being minimally involved with the crimes, Kemba was still sentenced to the full extent of the law.

Her story made headlines after Bill Clinton commuted her sentence.

Smith, founder of the Kemba Smith Foundation, graduated from Virginia Union University in 2002.

Fantasia

2009-05-12T17:44:00.000-07:00

Fantasia is an American R&B singer, Broadway and television actress who rose to fame as the winner of the third season American Idol in 2004. She has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards. After playing the part of Celie in the Broadway musical The Color Purple, she is cast to be in the film adaptation of the musical.

Fantasia dropped out of high school after she was raped by a classmate. She later became pregnant at age sixteen and gave birth to her daughter, Zion Quari Barrino.

Marie Osmond

2009-05-12T17:30:00.000-07:00

Olive Maria Osmondis an American actress, singer, doll designer, and member of the show business family, The Osmonds. Osmond has been married and divorced twice and has eight children in total from the two marriages.

She has one child, Stephen James Craig, with her first husband Stephen Craig; two children, Rachael Lauren and Matthew Richard, with her second husband Brian Blosil; and five adopted children, Jessica Marie, Michael Brian, Brandon Warren, Brianna Patricia, and Abigail Michelle.

Dr. Betty Shabazz, Coretta Scott King, Myrlie Evers-Williams, Widows of the Civil Rights Movement

2009-05-12T17:27:00.002-07:00

The late Dr. Betty Shabazz, raised 4 daughters as a single mother after the assassination of her husband, Malcolm X. Shabazz was pregnant with twins at the time of his assassination. She was a registered nurse, having earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Brooklyn State Hospital School of Nursing in 1958. She received a Bachelor of Arts in public health education and her Master of Arts in public health education from Jersey City State College. In 1975, she received her Ph.D. in education administration at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center, [The Shabazz Center] honors the lives and legacies of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz by promoting human and civil rights through knowledge of the history and culture of the African Diaspora; education and self-empowerment; family values; and racial and religious reconciliation.
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After the assassination of her husband, Martin Luther King, Jr., the late Coretta Scott King concentrated her energies on fulfilling her husband's work by building The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change as a living memorial to her husband's life and dream.

In 1981, The King Center, the first institution built in memory of an African American leader, opened to the public. The Center is housed in the Freedom Hall complex encircling Dr. King's tomb in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of a 23-acre national historic site that also includes Dr. King's birthplace and the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he and his father both preached.

She and Dr. King had four children before his murder.
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Myrlie Evers-Williams is an African American activist. She was the first full-time chairman of the NAACP and is the widow of murdered civil rights leader Medgar Evers. She and Evers had three children before he was murdered.

Sharon Sayles Belton

2009-05-12T17:27:00.001-07:00

Sharon Sayles Belton was an unwed mother and a student at Macalaster College when she gave birth to a brain-damaged and severely disabled daughter. She later became Mayor of Minneapolis, MN.

J.K. Rowling

2009-05-12T17:26:00.001-07:00

J.K. Rowling is the best-selling, billionaire author of the Harry Potter novels. She was divorced, unemployed and living on state benefits when she completed her first novel in many cafés, especially Nicolson's Café, whenever she could get her daughter, Jessica, to fall asleep.

Paula Deen

2009-05-12T17:25:00.001-07:00

Paula Deen is a Restauranteur (The Lady & Sons and Uncle Bubba's Oyster House) and an Emmy-award winning personality. She's the divorced mother of two sons.

Gayle King

2009-05-12T17:23:00.000-07:00

Gayle King, Editor-at-large for O, the Oprah Magazine, is the divorced mother of a son and a daughter, Will and Kirby. King hosts a daily radio show, The Gayle King Show, on Oprah's XM radio station, XM 156.

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York

2009-05-12T17:22:00.001-07:00

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, is the Founder of Children in Crisis and The Sarah Ferguson Foundation, a 2005 global ambassador for Ronald McDonald House Charities’ World Children’s Day, and a divorced mother of two daughters.

Debbie Phelps

2009-05-12T17:21:00.001-07:00

Debbie Phelps is a middle school principal. After her divorce, she raised her son, Olympic Gold-medalist Michael Phelps (the most-medaled Olympic athlete) and his two sisters as a single mom. She is also JOHNSON'S® Mom of the Olympic Games.

Kimora Lee Simmons

2009-05-12T17:20:00.001-07:00

Kimora Lee Simmons is a fashion icon (Baby Phat, KLS and Fabulosity), author (Fabulosity), model, and a divorced single mom to two daughters, Ming Lee and Aoki Lee.

Kimora also stars in her own reality TV show, Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane.

Princess Diana

2009-05-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

The late Princess Diana, Princess of Wales, a humanitarian, was very well known for her support of several charity projects. At the time of her death she was the divorced mother of Prince William and Prince Harry.

Iyanla Vanzant

2009-05-12T17:14:00.001-07:00

Iyanla Vanzant, law school graduate, best-selling author and Yoruba Priestess, is the former single mother of 3. (She's now married to Adeyemi Bandele.) Born Rhonda Eva Harris in the back of a taxi, she is a domestic abuse survivor. Vanzant is a graduate of Medgar Evers College (BA) and City University of New York (JD), and the best-selling author of Acts of Faith, In the Meantime, and many other books.

Vanzant is the founder of Inner Visions .

Dr. Donda West

2009-05-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

The late Dr. Donda West, Former Chair of the University of Chicago English department raised rap superstar Kanye West as a single mom.

Joy Mangano

2009-05-12T17:07:00.000-07:00

Joy Mangano is an inventor and entrepreneur. She was a single mother of three struggling to make ends meet when she invented the world's first self-wringing mop, the Miracle Mop®. But nothing could be more practicle than Joy's Huggable Hangers, which she premiered on HSNtv in 2000. She has sold more than 200 million hangers to date.

Check out Joy's Up from nothing story in ABC's 20/20 archives.

Katie Couric

2009-05-12T17:06:00.000-07:00

Katie Couric is a television journalist raising two daughters as a single mom. Her husband, Jay Monahan, died of colon cancer at the age of 42. As a result, Couric is a prominent spokeswoman for colon cancer awareness.

Dr. Maya Angelou

2009-05-12T17:00:00.000-07:00

Pulitzer Prize nominee, Dr. Maya Angelou, became the single mother of a son at the age of 17. In her latest book, Letter to My Daughter, Angelou states that her first experience of loveless sex paradoxically left her with her greatest gift, a son.

Susan L. Taylor

2009-05-12T04:38:00.000-07:00

Susan L. Taylor is the former editor-in-chief of Essence magazine. After divorcing her first husband, William Bowles, she struggled as a single parent in personal and financial crisis. (She's now married to Khephra Burns.) Her rise to the top at Essence took some ten years. She moved from the part-time position of freelance beauty editor, to the full-time staff position of fashion and beauty editor, and eventually became editor-in-chief in 1981.

Taylor has moved on from her magazine days to focus on her nonprofit National Cares Mentoring Movement. She's on a mission to sign up one million people to mentor at-risk children. To find a mentoring opportunity near you, visit her site here.

Cathy Hughes

2009-05-12T04:36:00.001-07:00

Media giant Catherine "Cathy" Hughes is the Founder and Chairperson of Radio One, Inc. She was an unwed mother at 17, who later married, and then divorced. She is the first African-American woman to head a firm publicly traded on a New York stock exchange in the United States.

She by Sheree Finally Makes Its Debut

2009-05-11T05:50:00.000-07:00

The Real Housewives of Atlanta came out for the launch of She by Sheree. If you're a fan of the show, then you're familiar with Sheree Whitfield, a socialite and divorced mother of three.

It looks like Lisa Wu Hartwell's wardrobe malfunction may have gotten more attention than the fashion show. I didn't see anything stunning or eye-popping about the line. But hey, that's just my humble opinion. What do you think?

Mompreneurs

2009-05-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

Britney Spears' perfume sales have topped $1 billion.

Having children not only instills maternal instincts, but business instincts as well. The skills needed to run a family also apply to the business world, including scheduling, budgeting, and management.

Many moms are taking those skills and launching new businesses. This is especially true in Hollywood, where no one is just an actress or just a singer. Aside from the typical clothing, jewelry, and perfume lines, there are some creative ventures headed by entrepreneurial moms -- or mompreneurs -- like bedding collections, kid's furniture, and even baby supply vending machines. (Read the full story on OMG!)

Homemade Mashed Potatoes

2009-05-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

Homemade mashed potatoes are super easy and way better than a box.

Ingredients:
Potatoes
Milk
Mayo
Butter
Chicken broth
Salt

Directions

Peel & rinse potatoes (I usually go with two medium ones per person)
Cut them into quarters or smaller (the smaller they are, the quicker they cook through)
Add them to cold water and then bring to a boil
Boil for about 15-20 mins.
Drain water and add a few tablespoons of milk, a tablespoons of butter, a few tablespoons of mayo and a dash of salt (optional), and a few tablespoons of chicken broth (Note: Chicken broth is salty, so adding salt may be too much for some people. So, you may want to add the salt last.)
Mash the potatoes using a wooden spoon or potato masher. (You can also use a hand mixer if you want a smoother consistency.)
Taste often and adjust ingredients accordingly

will.i.am's Gift for the Future

2009-05-06T23:35:00.000-07:00

Single moms are the strongest women on the planet. ~will.i.am

Jaiquann, Elijah and twins Darien and Barien are high school track stars and top students who also work to help support their single mothers. The boys keep each other motivated—on and off the track. "Darien and Barien are kind of keeping me on track with my grades and everything," Jaiquann says. "They're probably the reason why I got a 3.5 this year."

Grammy-winning Black Eyed Peas lead man will.i.am says that without the love and support of his single mother, he may have fallen into the negative influences of the housing project they lived in—which is why he wants to make four teens' futures even brighter.

The boys — Darien, Barien, Jaiquann and Elijah — will be the first recipients of will.i.am's i am scholarship — which will cover tuition, books and fees for four years. "The only thing you have to worry about is succeeding and showing the world that the youth is the future of America and the world," he says. "The only thing I ask for you guys is to prove that single parents are the strongest people on the planet."

Learn more about the i am scholarship at iamscholarship.org.

Bristol Palin

2009-05-06T23:21:00.000-07:00

Bristol Palin said she is using her fame to tell other teens to do what she didn't do -- abstain from sex. Bristol Palin joined Candie's Foundation as teen-pregnancy prevention advocate.

"Regardless of what I did personally, I just think that abstinence is the only ... 100 percent foolproof way to prevent pregnancy," she told "Good Morning America" today, backing away from a previous statement on Fox News that abstinence wasn't realistic, saying it was taken out of context.

How to Collect Your Final Paycheck

2009-05-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

Most states require employers to give departing employees their final paychecks in fairly short order — sometimes on their last day of work. In some states, these time limits vary depending on whether the employee quit or was fired. Some states require employers to pay out accrued, unused vacation days with the final paycheck; the chart below does not include these vacation pay rules.

In some states, if an employer fails to pay a departing employee within the legal time limits, the employer may have to pay additional penalties, interest, and any attorneys’ fees and legal costs the employee spends in forcing the employer to comply.

Here is a rundown of state laws regarding the timing of final paychecks:

~Alabama~
No statute.

~Alaska~
If employee is fired: within three working days.
If employee quits: next regular payday at least three days after employee gives notice. (Alaska Stat. § 23.05.140.)

~Arizona~
If employee is fired: within three working days or next payday, whichever is sooner.
If employee quits: next payday. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 23-353.)

~Arkansas~
If employee is fired: within seven days. (Arkansas Code § 11-4-405.)

~California~
If employee is fired: immediately.
If employee quits: within 72 hours, or immediately if employee has given at least 72 hours’ notice. (Cal. Lab. Code §§ 201, 202, and 227.3.)

~Colorado~
If employee is fired: immediately. (Within 6 hours of start of next workday, if payroll unit is closed; 24 hours if unit is offsite.)
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. (Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 8-4-109.)

~Connecticut~
If employee is fired: next business day.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. (Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 31-71c.)

~Delaware~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. (Del. Code Ann. tit. 19, § 1103.)

~District of Columbia~
If employee is fired: next business day.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday or within seven days, whichever is sooner. (D.C. Code § 32-1303.)

~Florida~
No statute.

~Georgia~
No statute.

~Hawaii~
If employee is fired: immediately or next business day, if conditions prevent immediate payment.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday or immediately, if employee gives one pay period’s notice. (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 388-3.)

~Idaho~
If employee is fired: next payday or within 10 days, whichever is sooner. If employee makes a written request for earlier payment, within 48 hours of receiving request.
If employee quits: next payday or within 10 days, whichever is sooner. If employee makes a written request for earlier payment, within 48 hours of receiving request.(Idaho Code §§ 45-606, 45-617.)

~Illinois~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. (820 Ill. Comp. Stat. 115/5.)

~Indiana~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. If employee has not provided a forwarding address, employer may wait until ten days after employee demands wages or until employee provides an address where the check may be mailed. (Ind. Code §§ 22-2-9-1 and 22-2-5-1.)

~Iowa~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. (Iowa Code Ann. § 91A.4.)

~Kansas~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 44-315.)

~Kentucky~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday or within 14 days, whichever is later.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday or within 14 days, whichever is later. (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 337.055.)

~Louisiana~
If employee is fired: next payday or within 15 days, whichever is earlier.
If employee quits: next payday or within 15 days, whichever is earlier. (La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 23:631.)

~Maine~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday or within two weeks after demand, whichever is earlier.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday or within two weeks after demand, whichever is earlier. (Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 26, § 626.)

~Maryland~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. (Md. Lab. & Emp. Code Ann. § 3-505.)

~Massachusetts~
If employee is fired: immediately.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday or the Saturday following the employee’s resignation, if there is no scheduled payday. (Mass. Ann. Laws ch. 149 § 148.)

~Michigan~
If employee is fired: next payday.
If employee quits: next payday. (Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 408.474 and 408.475.)

~Minnesota~
If employee is fired: immediately.
If employee quits: next payday. If payday is less than five days after last day of work, employer may pay on the following payday or 20 days after last day of work, whichever is earlier. (Minn. Stat. §§ 181.13 and 181.14.)

~Mississippi~
No statute.

~Missouri~
If employee is fired: immediately. (Mo. Ann. Stat. § 290.110.)

~Montana~
If employee is laid off or fired for cause: immediately. Employer may have a written policy extending this time to the next payday or within 15 days, whichever is earlier.
If employee quits: next payday or within 15 days, whichever is earlier. (Mont. Code Ann. § 39-3-205.)

~Nebraska~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday or within two weeks, whichever is earlier.
If employee quits: next payday or within two weeks, whichever is earlier. (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-1230.)

~Nevada~
If employee is fired: immediately.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday or within seven days, whichever is earlier. (Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 608.020 and 608.030.)

~New Hampshire~
If employee is fired: within 72 hours. If employee is laid off, employer may wait until the next payday.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday or within 72 hours, if employee gives one pay period’s notice. (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 275:44.)

~New Jersey~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. (N.J. Stat. Ann. § 34:11-4.3.)

~New Mexico~
If employee is fired: within 5 days.
If employee quits: next payday. (N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 50-4-4, 50-4-5.)

~New York~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. (N.Y. Labor Laws § 191.)

~North Carolina~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 95.25.7.)

~North Dakota~
If employee is fired: next payday or within 15 days, whichever is earlier.
If employee quits: next payday. (N.D. Cent. Code § 34-14-03.)

~Ohio~
If employee is fired or quits: first of the month for wages earned in the first half of prior month; fifteenth of the month for wages earned in second half of prior month. (Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 4113.15.)

~Oklahoma~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. (Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 40, § 165.3.)

~Oregon~
If employee is fired: end of next business day.
If employee quits: immediately, if employee has given 48 hours’ notice. Without notice, within five days or the next payday, whichever occurs first. (Or. Rev. Stat. § 652.140.)

~Pennsylvania~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. (43 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 260.5.)

~Rhode Island~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-14-4.)

~South Carolina~
If employee is fired: within 48 hours or next scheduled payday, but not more than 30 days. (S.C. Codified Laws § 41-10-50.)

~South Dakota~
If employee is fired: next payday or when employee returns employer’s property.
If employee quits: next payday or when employee returns employer’s property. (S.D. Codified Laws §§ 60-11-10 and 60-11-14.)

~Tennessee~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday or within 21 days, whichever is later.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday or within 21 days, whichever is later. (Tenn. Code. Ann. § 50-2-103.)

~Texas~
If employee is fired: within six days.
If employee quits: next payday. (Texas Code Ann., Labor § 61.014)

~Utah~
If employee is fired: within 24 hours.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. (Utah Code Ann. § 34-28-5.)

~Vermont~
If employee is fired: within 72 hours.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday or, if no scheduled payday exists, the next Friday. (Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 21, § 342.)

~Virginia~
If employee is fired: next scheduled payday.
If employee quits: next scheduled payday. (Va. Code § 40.1-29.)

~Washington~
If employee is fired: end of next pay period.
If employee quits: end of next pay period. (Wash. Rev. Code § 49.48.010.)

~West Virginia~
If employee is fired: within 72 hours.
If employee quits: Immediately, if employee has given one pay period’s notice; otherwise, next scheduled payday. (W. Va. Code § 21-5-4.)

~Wisconsin~
If employee is fired: next payday or within one month, whichever is earlier. If termination is due to merger, relocation, or liquidation of business, within 24 hours.
If employee quits: next payday. (Wis. Stat. Ann. § 109.03.)

~Wyoming~
If employee is fired: five business days.
If employee quits: five business days. (Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-4-104.)

Paycheck Calculator

2009-05-01T16:42:00.000-07:00

Do you know how much money you’re going to bring home next payday? If not, Paycheckcity.com offers a calculator that gives general guidance and estimates for hourly and salary paychecks. I use it all the time, and it’s always right on the money.

You can use this site to:

Calculate overtime hours
Calculate and track all tax withholdings
Break down your yearly salary into pay period
Estimate changes you may be considering to your exemptions or filing status

Second Chance Checking Account

2009-05-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

If you’re one of millions of Americans who can’t open a conventional checking account because of a ChexSystems report, you may qualify for a second chance checking account. I was listed there myself at one time, so I know how easy it is to get into their system, and hard it is to get out.

ChexSystems is an agency that collects and reports consumer banking incidents to member banks and credit unions. The purpose is to reduce fraud and account abuse. It also protects consumers against identity theft and fraud. The problem is, even if your account is paid in full, that won't necessarily remove your name from ChexSystems, although it will show paid-in-full.

Many banks are aware of the huge opportunity to service people that are considered unbankable. These banks offer Second chance checking accounts. Second chance checking accounts that are issued by US banks are safe because the funds deposited are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Note: You do NOT have to pay a company money to get you out of ChexSystems. They can't do anymore for you than you can do for yourself for free. Ask your local bank about a second chance checking account. (Just because it’s not advertised doesn’t mean they don’t have it.) You can also get an account online. Check out: GoChecking.com, NoChexBanks.com or GetChecking.org.

Salary Negotiation Skills

2009-05-01T16:36:00.000-07:00

If you've ever been lowballed at the salary negotiation table, you know it's no fun and only brings resentment later. On one side of the table is the employer, whose goal is to offer the lowest reasonable wage. On the other is the worker, who's aiming for the highest reasonable wage. The objective is to find a compromise that's satisfying to both parties. Otherwise, resentment over the details of the agreement might ruin any potential for a fruitful professional relationship.
Most employment seekers tend to set their salary negotiation skills aside, while focusing their attention on perfecting their resume and the job interview. However, you should always come prepared when it comes to discussing salary, because your initial salary sets the tone for all your subsequent compensations, including incremental raises and annual bonuses, both of which are typically percentage-based.

1. Do your research about the position. When you sit down at the proverbial negotiation table, you should know all about the services the company provides, what the position entails, the skills required, the industry average salary, and what the market will bear. Use all these to your advantage and be prepared to catch any curve ball an employer might throw your way.

2. Know your market value. Know your worth before you enter the room. Match how much you're asking to what you're worth. Prove to the employer that you know how much your skills are worth on the market.

Salary.com is an excellent online tool you can use to size up what the market in your area pays for your position and level of experience.

3. Know your minimum expected salary. Employers expect to negotiate salaries with new employees, and they usually start lower than what they're willing to pay. Figure out beforehand how low you will go. And if you see you're not able to match your minimum salary range, don't be shy to ask about employee packages, such as stock options, signing bonuses, expense accounts, profit sharing, and performance raises, or even turn down the offer.

4. Be flexible and in control. Although it might seem like you're not getting what you want in the beginning, your employer may have options that will sweeten the deal, like working from home or flextime alternatives. So, remember to keep an open mind.

An Alternative Work Schedule

2009-04-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

One of the main reasons single moms seek a flexible or alternative work schedule (also called variable work hours) is so they can have more freedom, flexibility, and time with their children. They want a lifestyle with less restrictions and more free time. Alternative and flexible work arrangements are ways to structure work in other than the traditional 5-day per week, 8-hour per day pattern.

Alternative Work Arrangements are anything other than five consecutive equal length work days in a seven day work week. Some examples are:

4/10 work schedule - An employee works four 10-hour days.
9/80 work schedule - An employee works five 9-hour days one week, and three 9-hour, and one 8-hour days the following week, with every other Friday off.

Flexible Work Arrangements have the following characteristics:

A fixed, core block of work time during which the employee is always at work.
A daily work start time that can vary within a specified range.
A daily work end-time that must be adjusted each day in accordance with that day's start time.

Job sharing is when two people share the same position in a company, each working a part of the week.

Does your employer offer a flexible or alternative work schedule? If so perhaps you can request to work remotely from home on Fridays, this way you can schedule time with your children. You may also want to inquire about telecommuting options. Given our current economy, many companies are willing to accommodate a more flexible work schedule for employees to help reduce corporate expenses.

If your company doesn't offer alternative work options, don't let that stop you from requesting it. You could be the first to forge a flexible work arrangement at your company, but you won't get anything unless you ask.

The best approach to take when asking your boss for a more flexible work arrangement is to make it a win-win by keeping your company's interests in mind. Think about how your request could benefit the company. Could reducing your hours help cut costs in a department facing budget constraints? Could shifting your schedule so that you come in earlier or stay later than usual allow your company to extend the hours that it provides service to clients? Could working from home reduce corporate expenses? Could allowing someone else to take over some of your responsibilities provide a developmental opportunity to a less experienced coworker?

When deciding which option is best for you, remember your goal and keep your personal situation in mind. Can you afford to job share and reduce your hours? Can you realistically get work done and take care of the kids? The option you choose may not be easy to juggle at first. But, given some time and adjusting, you'll make more room for you.

Tyra Banks

2009-04-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

Tyra Banks is a television host, actress, occasional singer, businessperson and former model who often attributes her success to the single mom who raised her.

Eleven U.S. Presidents

2009-04-12T20:29:00.000-07:00

If you think President Obama is the first U.S. President who was raised by a single mom, then check the facts:

Twenty-Five Percent of U.S. Presidents (11) were born to and/or raised by a single mom:

President Grover Cleveland - America's twenty-second president. Father died when he was 16.
President William Jefferson Clinton America's forty-second president. Father died three months before his birth.
President Gerald Ford - America's thirty-eighth president. His mother left his abusive father when he was 16-days old.
President Rutherford B. Hayes - America's nineteenth president. Father died 10 weeks before his birth.
President Herbert Hoover - America's thirty-first president. His father died when he was 6, and his mother when he was 9.
President Andrew Jackson America's seventh president. His father died a few weeks before the future president was born.
President Thomas Jefferson - America's third president, and primary author of the Declaration of Independence. His father died when he was 14.
President Andrew Johnson - America's seventeenth president. His father died when he was 3.
President James Monroe - America's fifth president. Both parents died when he was 16.
President Barack Obama - America's forty-fourth president. His parents separated when he was two, and divorced two years later.
President George Washington - America's first president. Father died when he was 10.

Oprah Winfrey

2009-04-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

Queen Midas Oprah Winfrey, Media Tycoon was born to a single mother

Judge Greg Mathis

2009-04-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

Judge Greg Mathis' mother raised four sons as a single mother. Mathis, star of The Judge Mathis Show, was the youngest elected judge in Michigan history. He is a former gang member (Errol Flynns) who was in and out of jail as a teen.

Sarah Michelle Gellar

2009-04-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar was raised as an only child by her divorced mother.

Tom Cruise

2009-04-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

Actor Tom Cruise's mother separated from his abusive, alcoholic father when he was 12.

Three Doctors - Drs. Sampson Davis, Rameck Hunt and George Jenkins

2009-04-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

Drs. Sampson Davis, Rameck Hunt and George Jenkins, also fondly known as The Three Doctors, were raised in the projects by single moms.

Dr. Sampson Davis' life has come gratifyingly full-circle. Born as the fifth of six children in one of New Jersey's poorest cities, Dr. Davis grew up in cramped living quarters, surrounded by fragmented families, crime, and drugs. Still, he was a good student, able to strike the fragile balance between being smart, yet socially acceptable on the streets. It was the skill, Dr. Davis says, most critical to his survival. While attending University High School in Newark, Dr. Davis met Dr. Rameck Hunt and Dr. George Jenkins, two fellow students who, together, drastically altered the course of one another's lives. The three bonded immediately and formed a tight-knit group, studying together throughout high school and later attended college together. All three were accepted to medical school, and they all succeeded in their shared dream to become doctors. Today, Davis tours the country speaking to youths about the opportunities available to them other than gangs. His immediate goal is to "become the Michael Jordan of education" so that learning becomes a glamorized trend throughout all communities.

Dr. Rameck Hunt was born in Orange, New Jersey, on May 1, 1973. His mother, only seventeen when he was born, worked hard to support the family, but they were constantly moving back to his grandmother's house. When he was fourteen, he moved to Newark to live with an uncle and attend University High in a rough neighborhood. The friends he made there would send him on a path to medical school and become an inspiration to many urban youth.

Once at University High, two other students, George Jenkins and Sampson Davis, recognized Hunt for his intelligence. The three soon bonded, spending their time together but still getting their class work done. When Hunt was sixteen, he was out with a different group of friends and was involved in the beating of an old man. He awoke the next morning in juvenile detention and vowed never to return. The opportunity to escape the ghetto came when Jenkins convinced Hunt and Davis to go to Seton Hall University, which offered a program for minority students interested in careers in medicine. Despite the obstacles they faced growing up, and even more when they were accepted to the program, the three graduated. From there, Hunt went on to Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and despite the fact that the three of them were split, they still saw one another frequently, providing support through the tough times. Hunt graduated in 1999, and his grandmother, with whom he had spent so much time growing up, attended despite her poor health. She died two days later.

Dr. George Jenkins Growing up in a rough neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, Dr. George Jenkins beat the odds and followed a dream. Born on February 6, 1973, he attended University High, where his life changed. At age thirteen, while at a dentist's office, Jenkins became curious about the process, and the dentist proceeded to tell Jenkins about his different tools and teach him about teeth. From that moment, he wanted to be a dentist.

In high school, Jenkins befriended Sampson Davis and Rameck Hunt, two equally bright individuals living in the same rough area. Jenkins had learned about a program at Seton Hall University that paid for minority students to attend if they enrolled in a pre-medicine or pre-dental program, but it would not be easy. Jenkins set about convincing his friends to apply. All three were accepted, with Davis and Hunt pursuing medicine. The three spent the next four years studying together to keep their grades and spirits up. After graduation, the three were split, with Davis and Hunt heading to medical school, and Jenkins remaining in Newark to attend the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey. They remained in close contact, however, visiting one another each week to study and boost one another's morale. In 1999, the three young men became doctors, and the following day, a local newspaper ran a front-page story with the headline, "Start of Something Big."

The three friends established a nonprofit organization, the Three Doctors Foundation, which provides scholarships to inner-city youth. They also tour the country speaking about their experiences and encouraging others to follow in their footsteps. The three wrote a critically acclaimed book, The Pact, about their experiences. They have made plans to appear in music videos and on billboards as an alternative role model for youth.

Michael Phelps

2009-04-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

Michael Fred Phelps is an American swimmer. He has won 14 career Olympic gold medals (16 total: six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008), the most by any Olympian. He also holds seven world records in swimming. He holds the record for the most gold medals won at a single Olympics with the eight golds he won at the 2008 Olympic Games. And Sports Illustrated has named him their Sportsman of the Year.

Phelps was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood. He and his two sisters were raised by a single mom, Debbie Phelps, after she was divorced from their father, Fred Phelps.

Phelps graduated from Towson High School in 2003. In his youth, Phelps was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He started swimming at age seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his energy. He excelled as a swimmer, and by the age of 10 held a national record for his age group. More age group records followed, and Phelps' rapid improvement culminated in his qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15.

In November 2004, at the age of 19, Phelps was arrested for a DUI. He pleaded guilty to driving while impaired the following month and was granted probation before judgment and ordered to serve 18 months probation, fined $250, obligated to speak to high school students about drinking and driving and had to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) meeting. Questioned about the incident later that month by Matt Lauer on the Today Show, Phelps said it was an "isolated incident" and that he had "definitely let myself down and my family down...I think I let a lot of people in the country down."

Phelps has made an estimated $5 million per year in endorsements. After receiving a $1 million bonus from swimsuit maker Speedo for winning at least seven gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games, Phelps used the money to create the Michael Phelps Foundation, a charity foundation to promote water safety and to advocate swimming for children. Speedo then donated an additional $200,000 to the Foundation.

President Bill Clinton

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William "Bill" Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas, three months after his father died in a traffic accident. When he was four years old, his mother wed Roger Clinton, of Hot Springs, Arkansas. In high school, he took the family name.

He excelled as a student and as a saxophone player and once considered becoming a professional musician. As a delegate to Boys Nation while in high school, he met President John Kennedy in the White House Rose Garden. The encounter led him to enter a life of public service.

Clinton was graduated from Georgetown University and in 1968 won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University. He received a law degree from Yale University in 1973, and entered politics in Arkansas.

He was defeated in his campaign for Congress in Arkansas's Third District in 1974. The next year he married Hillary Rodham, a graduate of Wellesley College and Yale Law School. In 1980, Chelsea, their only child, was born.

Clinton was elected Arkansas Attorney General in 1976, and won the governorship in 1978. After losing a bid for a second term, he regained the office four years later, and served until he defeated incumbent George Bush and third party candidate Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential race.

Clinton and his running mate, Tennessee's Senator Albert Gore Jr., then 44, represented a new generation in American political leadership. For the first time in 12 years both the White House and Congress were held by the same party. But that political edge was brief; the Republicans won both houses of Congress in 1994.

President Barack Obama

2009-04-12T19:24:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama, graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, elected to the Illinois Senate in 2004, and became the first African American to be elected as President in 2008.

Bookshelf

2009-04-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

Every single parent has a different story to tell, but a common thread of hope and comfort unites them all.

Being a single parent can sometimes seem overwhelming. But the joys and triumphs of this special responsibility are incalculable.

Whether you are a single parent because of divorce or widowhood, by choice or by surprise, you are part of an extraordinary club, shouldering the many obligations and responsibilities of parenting alone.

Chicken Soup for the Single Parent's Soul shares the joys, challenges and humorous moments of single moms and dads, who cope daily with the unique pressures, constraints and sacrifices this important role brings. From daily struggles to amazing triumphs, this book captures the breadth of experiences that define single parenting.

Within these pages you will find inspiration and advice for getting through the difficult times, reassurance for those days when you worry you're not living up to expectations and reminders of the unique influence you have on your children's lives.

There are more high-salaried women in the workforce today than ever before, yet most females remain seriously underpaid when compared to their male counterparts. Motivational speaker and financial journalist Barbara Stanny decided to find out why by identifying the differences between those who draw the big bucks and those who don't. In Secrets of Six-Figure Women she reveals what makes the leading edge tick, as well as how others can use the information to boost their own paychecks and self-esteem. "For far too many women, financial limits have become a fact of life. The thought of making more is like climbing Mount Everest, a colossal, if not impossible task," writes Stanny. "That's exactly how I used to feel." By examining scores of top moneymakers, along with dozens of those earning below their potentials, Stanny discovered what works and what doesn't. After analyzing the subsequent lessons (i.e., you actually can boost your income without selling out, the requisite traits to do so can be developed by virtually anyone, money really can't buy happiness), she proposes specific strategies for maximizing their impact (intend from the start to succeed, stretch yourself, manage any payoff with care). Stanny professes throughout that she desires to offer "insight, hope and guidance to any of you who aspire to earn more." With this surprisingly practical and ultimately inspirational guidebook, she delivers. --Howard Rothman

What I Know Now: Letters to my younger self
The unusual premise for this compilation is not successful in practice. Spragins, an editor at large for Fortune Small Business, persuaded 40 well-known women—among them Maya Angelou, Queen Noor of Jordan and clothing designer Eileen Fisher—to write short letters passing their current wisdom to their younger selves. But too many of the messages these women send themselves are overly familiar: designer Fisher says she should not be so frightened of being alone (i.e., without a man). Sen. Barbara Boxer admonishes herself to be less judgmental of people who disagree with her. More unusually, Ingrid Newkirk, founder of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) encourages her younger self to be true to the inner voice telling her not to eat meat. Madeleine Albright addresses herself at a more advanced age, 44, when her marriage broke down: "You will get through this fog and uncertainty.... You won't become cynical, stoical or hard-bitten...." While the letters reveal personal vulnerabilities, it reduces lessons hard earned through complicated lives to very brief, simplistic messages.

For a world of devoted readers, a much-awaited new volume of absorbing stories and inspirational wisdom from one of our best-loved writers.

Dedicated to the daughter she never had but sees all around her, Letter to My Daughter reveals Maya Angelou’s path to living well and living a life with meaning. Told in her own inimitable style, this book transcends genres and categories: guidebook, memoir, poetry, and pure delight.

Here in short spellbinding essays are glimpses of the tumultuous life that led Angelou to an exalted place in American letters and taught her lessons in compassion and fortitude: how she was brought up by her indomitable grandmother in segregated Arkansas, taken in at thirteen by her more worldly and less religious mother, and grew to be an awkward, six-foot-tall teenager whose first experience of loveless sex paradoxically left her with her greatest gift, a son.

Whether she is recalling such lost friends as Coretta Scott King and Ossie Davis, extolling honesty, decrying vulgarity, explaining why becoming a Christian is a “lifelong endeavor,” or simply singing the praises of a meal of red rice–Maya Angelou writes from the heart to millions of women she considers her extended family.

Like the rest of her remarkable work, Letter to My Daughter entertains and teaches; it is a book to cherish, savor, re-read, and share.

SUPER WOMAN'S CHILD: Son of a Single Mother by J. L. Woodson is a teenage boy's story and tribute to his mother and single mothers throughout the world. Sean Morris takes the reader on a journey throughout his life while being raised by his mother, surrogate grandmother and an aunt. Through his trials, tribulations and his joys, the one person missing from his life is his father. This is a painful subject with Sean, who goes to great lengths to get his father's attention. Sean must learn to accept and cope with the fact and accept that his father is truly an absentee dad, through no fault of his own.

Dear Self is the penetrating journal of Richelene Mitchell, a young African American mother of seven struggling to raise her children while wrestling with the burden of poverty, callous public policy, and both overt and subtle manifestations of entrenched, institutionalized racism America.

Mitchell was born in the rural south, the daughter of an African American sharecropper. She would venture to the northern ghetto of Philadelphia to enhance her educational opportunities. Hence, her early life was shaped by the twin forces defining African America life in the twentieth century: the rural south and the urban north. Mitchell's promising academic career was curtailed by an eventually failed marriage that rendered her a single mother of seven children living in a sprawling public housing project.

Forced to deal with the humiliation of public assistance, she chronicled a year of her life, 1973, in this penetrating journal. Though written over twenty years ago, her intimate experience with and intricate insights into the informing and penetrating light on race reality faced by an expanding American underclass are as relevant today as they were then. She sheds light on poverty, mothering, gender relations and many other pertinent issues. This book is a valuable resource for all of those seeking to understand the reality faced by millions of Americans whose plight rarely finds an informed and articulate voice.

The Black Male Handbook is a collection of essays for Black males on surviving, living, and winning. Kevin Powell taps into the social and political climate rising in the Black community, particularly as it relates to Black males. This is a must-have book, not only for Black male readers, but the women who befriend, parent, partner, and love them.

The Black Male Handbook answers a collective hunger for new direction, fresh solutions to old problems, and a different kind of conversation -- man-to-man and with Black male voices, all of the hip-hop generation. The book tackles issues related to political, practical, cultural, and spiritual matters, and ending violence against women and girls.

The book also features an appendix filled with useful readings, advice, and resources. The Black Male Handbook is a blueprint for those aspiring to thrive against the odds in America today.

Sheteka, one of six girls in a family headed by a single mother, is fifteen when she gives birth to her first daughter, Quionna. Having quit school, Sheteka works at Wendy’s to earn a living but encounters obstacle after obstacle in her journey to care for herself and her growing family.

Ridiculed, shamed, and ultimately kicked out of the house by her mother, Sheteka finds life by herself difficult despite support from her sisters and friends. She ends up in a relationship with a boyfriend who repeatedly brutalizes her and uses what little money she makes to support his addictions. In addition, she has four more children.

But with the steadfast love of her close friends, Sheteka finds the strength to leave the abusive environment she’s endured. Sheteka has two more children with another man, but because he loves his freedom more than he loves her, she finds herself alone once again. Ultimately, Sheteka realizes that each hurdle she jumps makes her stronger and stronger.

With heart-wrenching but triumphant moments, Abandoned but Not Lost is written by promising young author Devin E. DeWees. You’ll be inspired by the resolve, determination, and insight Devin brings to all of his characters.

Pigs in a Blanket

2009-04-10T01:25:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Lil Smokie Sausages or Brown n Serve Sausage Links
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Directions
Cut each crescent roll square into 4 pieces, wrap around sausage, cook according to crescent roll package directions. Serve with dipping sauces such as mustard, ketchup, sweet & sour sauce or whatever you like.

Single Mom Bloggers

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Get listed.

If you're a single mom with a blog, send us a quick email to todayssinglemoms@yahoo.com and we’ll include your site. To be listed, we appreciate it if you also subscribe to our mailing list and link back to us with either a static blogroll link or a button image.

Rich Single Momma
Single Mom and More
The Mama Spot

Resources

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Child Support Calculators

Child Support Enforcement

National Domestic Abuse Hotline

Help for Troubled Teens

Legal Aid

Legal Forms

About

2009-04-09T00:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Today's Single Moms, a blog for and about single moms. It's a guilt-free, judgment-free zone celebrating the sisterhood of single motherhood. We offer advice on everything from how to raise teens without getting a murder rap to how to date without losing your mind, how to stretch a dollar until it screams to how to maximize your time -- all filtered through the lens of a fellow single moms.

Children of Single Moms

2009-03-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

will.i.am - Lead singer for the Black Eyed Peas
Tyra Banks - Talk show host and former model
Oprah Winfrey - Talk show queen
Judge Greg Mathis - Star of the Judge Mathis show. Youngest elected judge in Michigan history.
Sarah Michelle Gellar - American Actress
Tom Cruise - American Actor
Dr. Sampson Davis - Emergency Room Physician. Founded The Three Doctors Foundation with friends, Dr. Rameck Hunt and Dr. George Jenkins
Dr. Rameck Hunt - Internal Medicine Physician. Founded The Three Doctors Foundation with friends, Dr. George Jenkins and Dr. Sampson Davis
Dr. George Jenkins - Dentist. Founded The Three Doctors Foundation with friends, Dr. Rameck Hunt and Dr. Sampson Davis
Dr. Ben Carson - World renowned neurosurgeon
Michael Phelps - Holds the record for the most gold medals won at a single Olympics
President Bill Clinton - 42nd President of the United States
President Barack Obama - First African American President of the United States