On March 26th, 2013 we celebrated the tenth annual Be Good To Women Day with a prayer vigil at Bryant Temple AME church. Many of the women in attendance expressed their appreciation for the moving spiritual outpouring of love and respect from the men towards them and the children who were with us in the sanctuary. One woman who was there with her three children said, “I feel hopeful. This has given me hope”

However, on that following Sunday, March 31st, Resurrection Day, two women had their cars broken into on the parking  lot, while attending Sunrise Service at the very church where the prayer vigil had taken place, and it was evident by the timing of the “smash and grab” that the women had been watched as they went into the church building. “I went back to check on my car after realizing that I had rushed out and left my purse in plain sight”, one of the women said,” but I was too late. Two men who are members of our church said they’d noticed a couple of strange guys hanging about but why didn’t they say anything? Why didn’t they have our back?”

Why didn’t they have our back. It has been said quite often that there are two times you can depend on satan, [the small S is intentional], to rear his head: right before you are about to be given a Blessing so that he can distract you from receiving it and right after receiving a Blessing so that he can steal your joy. It has also been written that we are most vulnerable after winning an important victory because we let our guard down and become lax.

Both of these statements ring true but there is a more pressing realization. We must come to understand that being good to women, i e,  giving women respect, appreciation and LOVE is not a special once a year event. It must become as naturally occurring as sexism, physical and emotional abuse and mental cruelty are presently. Unless there is a paradigm shift where the treatment of women is concerned we will continue to have an increase of violence in our homes, our communities, our cities and our world.   Being good to women must become the new normal.

Brad Sanders, Co-Founder

Be Good To Women Day

Thank you to Bryant Temple AME Church for opening your doors to the Tenth Annual  Be Good To Women Day prayer Vigil. Reverend DR. Clyde W Oden JR pastor, and the BT-AME church family have been instrumental in making the event a success and furthering the movement for change in the diminution of, and violence against, women.

Special thanks to Nicole and Barbra Curry for all of your hard work and to Reverend Joyce Kitchen of Emmanuel Turner AME and her son Reverend Charles Johnson of Corona Community AME for bringing a powerful word of hope. The Holy Spirit moved in a major way.

As a result of your work we have been encouraged to press on toward the mark of the High calling of blessing our communities by Blessing our women.

Thank God! And Again, THANK YOU,

Deya Smith And Brad Sanders Co-Founders