Episodes

When’s the last time you asked yourself the question, “what makes me happy”? I’d be willing to bet that the answer to that question is NEVER. Okay, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt — maybe you have asked yourself, but have you really sat in it? What does happiness look like for you? Do you even know? As Black women we are so consumed with making sure that everyone around us happy, til we forget that we deserve some Black Girl Happy in our lives too! Well, Randi Bryant is here to SHUT DOWN ...

Some of you probably know Gina Neely as the FULL OF LIFE celebrity chef on the Food Network’s Down Home with The Neely’s or Aspire TV’s Chop it up with Gina, but let me just tell ya, she is so much more than that. She’s an entrepreneur, a reality television star, New York Times Bestselling Author, she’s made guest appearances on Dr. Oz, Good Morning America and so many more. Gina Neely does ALL THE THINGS. She is the epitome of all that is STRONG, BLACK and WOMAN and I had so much fun recording ...

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” If ever there was a principality over this nation, it is definitely racism and white supremacy. What the heck kind of demon is that? Four hundred years later and we are STILL fighting for the right to be heard. We are STILL fighting for our right to JUST BE… …whoever we are, whatever we are in any given moment...

As Black Women, we don’t have the luxury (aka PRIVILEGE) of not seeing color because we’re constantly reminded of ours. In this episode your hosts, Shirley (Shirl) Hubbard and Natalyn (Natty) Bradshaw answer the question, “Why was Shades of Strong created specifically for black women?” YUP!!! Someone actually hopped in the Shades of Strong inbox to ask, “why not all women”. So, Shirl and Natty waste no time giving the inquiring mind the answer to her burning question. Shirl admits that she wa...

This episode is filled with poetry snaps and slow claps. Seriously, Angela Roulette peels back every emotional layer while sharing her story of releasing the pain of the past and taking her life back from circumstances that threatened to kill her. Some of the episode’s defining moments include: How her self esteem suffered as a result of not being wanted by her father How she overcame the guilt and shame of her father’s suicide Her PTSD and anxiety diagnosis having grown up in a community th...

I CHOOSE ME EVEN WHEN HE DOESN’T Pick me! Choose me! Love me! Remember that scene from Grey’s Anatomy when Meredith was practically begging Derek to choose her over his wife? Although there were some extenuating circumstances that led up to that scene, I have to say it was undoubtedly the one of most pitiful things I had ever witnessed in my entire life and I was disgusted by it. Which is why I LOVE Sanaa Lathan for speaking her truth and standing in it. She made it abundantly clear that she’...

Long gone are the days when being black women, single black women, single black women with children, strong black women was viewed as some hard to cure illness that we need to be rescued from… Black women are well educated, well accomplished individuals making things happen. We don’t need a Captain Save a Queen!!! We’re saving our dam selves! AND we look good doing it. As a matter of fact, nobody does it better In this episode we talk about Mary J Blige and her taking back the credit she ga...

Black Women residing in what we’ve come to know as the Strong Black Woman or Superwoman Syndrome often seek peace and refuge in retail therapy aka emotional spending. She seeks this refuge online, in a mall, or even at a car dealership—she’s just looking for something to comfort her mentally and/or emotionally and in more cases than not, that comfort comes with a hefty price tag. Her spending is directly related to her feeling overwhelmed, undervalued, neglected, angry, disconnected – the greate...

You asked! We answered! Our listeners want answers to some really tough questions and we’re here for ALL OF THEM How do you forgive people who are not sorry? How do you trust your child again after they break your trust? What are some steps to healing? We took each of them one by one sharing our experiences and imparting some wisdom. Do yourself a favor and tune in for our responses. ******* Forgiveness is probably one of THE most challenging things you’ll ever have to do when you’ve been b...

Does being a STRONG single mother for so long effect how you handle a new healthy relationship? Mailbag Episode Part ONE: Without even thinking about this question, it’s a HARD YES. As black women we have this thing where (in more cases that not) we want to be independent. We want to do things on our own. We don’t like relying on others to do things for us. That is multiplied times three OR MORE when you are a black single mom because you’re accustomed to doing things on your own. When you’re ...

Self-care is about taking care of you so that you don’t feel like you want to run away from home, aka your life. Michelle Goodloe, self-care blogger and author of the guided self-care journal, Self Explore, Self Restore stopped by the virtual studio to impart some wisdom on how to take care of you both in and out of “crisis season”. Michelle is a licensed social worker with experiences in providing clinical services, technical assistance and training on interpersonal trauma, domestic violence a...

How do you deal with LIFE when life happens? Here’s an even better question OR the one more frequently asked… Where is God when life happens? How many times have you questioned this very thing when when life turns your world upside down? I can’t even count the number of times I’ve questioned why God allowed this horrible thing to happen to me. For as long as I can remember, my life has been one traumatic event after another. Seriously, there have been so many days when I’ve been like, “Reall...

There’s so much freedom in finding yourself, owning your voice and standing in your truth. Tune in as Shades of Strong co-host, Natty shares her story of healing from an emotionally unhealthy,interracial marriage and how she developed a contingency plan to help her deal with trauma in a healthy and productive way. And when you’re finished, we’d love to hear from you. So, hop on over to Shades of Strong and share your story with us via voice message. OR Head on over to FACEBOOK or TWITTER, or IN...

I’ve been seeing this meme floating around on social media saying, “stop telling people how to heal from stuff you’ve never been through”…. Well, here’s a suggestion for ya… Stop telling people how to heal their [emotional] pain PERIOD! ヅ Recently, while standing in the middle of the aisle at Walgreens looking for Dove’s pear and aloe vera soap, I heard the words, “Girl, stop crying and get out of bed. Your life could be a lot worse. He’ll be back when he realizes what he lost….” I was a l...

… ♪♪ all the time they want to take your place ♪♪ We’ve seen a lot of the crab in the bucket mentality among African American females, and I’m not saying it doesn’t exist in other communities — I know it does, but like with all things that negatively impact us, the spotlight is often directed towards us more than others. Take for instance Nicki Minaj and Cardi B – I’m sure there are tons of other female singers and rappers that have beef with each other, but who’s names constantly show up in t...

The art of being a parent is to guide your children through life and to look out for their best interest; but contrary to what most believe, there is no parent-child relationship without some level of friendship. With that said, you MUST be your child’s friend in order for your relationship with them to work. However, in the African American culture, the overall consensus is that the parent should absolutely NOT be her child’s friend. The assumption is that we are stricter and less tolerant wh...

Rob brought the MEAT to the cookout in this episode. I’m telling you, he gets ALL THE WAY NAKED about strong black women and the black men who love them. He delves deep into why there’s such a huge disconnect in male and female relationships and how we can remedy that by mastering the art of communication. Baabbyy!!!! He is serving up all kinds of goodness — ribs, chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs..ERRTHANG!!!! Some of the episode’s defining moments include: What it was like growing up as a black ...

Rape Culture Within The Culture | The Silent Cries of Strong Black Girls Disclaimer: This episode is about sexual violence and may be a trigger for some. Please proceed with caution. Rape culture is not a group of people who are actively or openly promoting rape — that’s not to imply that that kind of thing doesn’t happen, but what we’re talking about in this episode is every day cultural practices in which sexual violence is treated as the norm and victims are blamed for their own assault and ...

Can we PLEASE stop apologizing for our blackness? It’s no secret that black women have been called every label under the sun — bitter, angry, too emotional, not emotional enough… …and the list goes on. Well, Natty and I are no longer ashamed to say that we have been AND sometimes still are ALL THE THINGS they call us and we’re not apologizing for any of it. In this week’s episode of Shades of Strong we’re embracing our blackness by taking all the negative and harsh things they call us when they...

Photo Credit: Clarke Sanders on Unsplash Feeling stuck is scary and uncomfortable… It often comes when we’re fighting against what we feel we’ve been born to do or when we’re fighting desperately to play a role that has been forced upon us. In this episode Natty and I talk about some of the habits that keep black women feeling stuck using the Le’Andria Johnson story as a point of reference. It is painfully obvious in Le’Andria’s story that feeling stuck is common among women, specifically Afri...

Photo Credit: Not sure. If you know, please tag them We Love Our Black Men — Sometimes to Our Own Detriment When we’re newly coupled up, everything looks like pink tulips and butterflies — we spend our days daydreaming about him and the relationship through a pair of proverbial rose-colored glasses. But as soon as the newness wears off, ish gets real and everything in us is SCREAMING… GET OUT!!! But for whatever reason, we find ourselves stuck justifying why we stay and why we continue to acce...

Photo Cred: Alvin Balemesa on Unsplash Black Girl Magic – the phrase coined to celebrate the beauty, power and resilience that is the Black Woman As much as I love the Black Girl Magic that is me and every other Strong Black Woman who graces the earth with her presence, I can honestly say that I don’t always honor and respect her; and I’m sure there are many others walking around [in shoes just as cute as mine] singing the same song. Correct me if I’m wrong, but here’s how a typical day goes...

Photo Credit: Ricaldo Donaldson from Pexels “Black women ain’t out here angry for nothing!” Ife Madzimoyo hit the nail on head with this one. As a matter of fact (in my honest opinion), no truer words have ever been spoken. So, Natty and I invited the Queen of emotional wellness [for black women] to join us at the table to see if together we could shed some light on why black women are so angry. …and boy did we! Y’all know how Iyanla Vanzant is always saying “call a thing a thing”? Oh! My Gosh!...