It can be difficult to stand up for what you truly believe in  at times but Hannah Spivey is a perfect example of making her voice heard. Not only is she a strong advocate against domestic violence but she is the  author of “Ebony the Beloved” which discusses the trials of domestic violence abuse as well.The main character, Ebony is a young girl who endures phases of abuse and just wants to be loved.

This talented writer and woman empowerment supporter  is originally from south Florida. Overcoming bullying at a young age, Hannah found comfort in writing. She currently works as a ghost writer and freelance writer. And is also working on 2nd novel and 4th ebook!

Let’s get to know Hannah Spivey a little better…

What originally motivated you to step out on your dreams and become an author?

When I lost my job as a student worker at a University I never graduated from, I discovered my real niche in writing. In addition to that, my love for fiction and reading also prompted me to become a professional writer.

Pursuing the path of a writer comes with many triumphs and some trials as well, what has been the biggest challenge you’ve overcome so far in your career?

Finding a publisher was hard, because I didn’t know much about the publishing industry at the time, and I had no money to publish my book. Once I found a publisher to invest in my book, I had to wait a year for the book to be published. Then after the book was published, I was querying people about interviews and everything. It has been a very tough journey, especially while not having any money. These triumphs have taught me so much about being an author and how to market, research, promote, and sell myself.

Your book “Ebony the Beloved” discusses domestic violence, what made you want to tackle this topic?

We constantly hear about women being battered, but of their stories go unheard of. I wrote Ebony as a way to cleanse my soul and give more women the inspiration and courage to become a voice in the domestic violence community.

What advice would you tell a young lady who is dealing with domestic violence?

I’d tell her seek help and advice and RUN for the hills. But she’d have to be serious about escaping her abusive relationship. Unfortunately, many abused women who leave their abusers end up running back to them. If these women are serious about leaving their abuses, I’d give them a plethora of resources.

Being a teen can be tough when you’re growing up, what was the most vital lesson as a teen you learned that carried into your adult life?

I was taught how to manage my money wisely. I can’t say I always followed the money management advice, but I can say it still works wonders. And the second most vital lesson I learned is never envy what a person has because you don’t know what they could have done to obtain it.

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

I see myself as prosperous author and speaker.

We’re all about EMPOWERMENT at C.O.R.E Mag, what does empowerment mean to you?

Empowerment means self-sufficiency, diligence, resilience, self-respect, and humility.

Fun Faves!!- Food? Song? Artist?Celeb Crush?

Lol, my favorite food is Cheese Pizza, Turkey and Roast Beef Sandwiches, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pistachio Ice Cream, and grapes. I have too many favorite songs and I have too many favorite artists. Umm…my most favorite artists would be Jackie Wilson, Bobby Womack, and Lloyd. My celebrity crush is Lloyd, of course. Lol

Check out  more Hannah Spivey here..

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Ebony the Beloved

Be Inspired!

It isn’t a hoax or a myth that one changes when they go to school. The transition of college to “casa” is even harder than the college transition itself.

With transitioning into college for example, you are from one stagnant location. The culture, people, and ways of life aren’t greatly changing at a rapid pace. You can visit Miami, Baltimore, Chicago, and Oakland and in 30 years you can feel as though nothing has changed. Yes, people may have grown taller and a neighborhood may have grown wider but those cities did not progress to the extent in which an active, young, mind can expand to. Because of this fact, when learning at a college out-of-town and especially out-of-state, you will exceed your hometown, or rather, the people in it.

Once you’ve gotten into college, you will begin to be yourself; you find people who look like you, think like you, share more than one interest, or simply are attracted to you just for being different! All out-cast find an in-crowd in college… too often are we subdued or perceived to be or act a certain way with hometown friends and fam. We are expected to always do something or take care of something that has been made routine for your life even if you haven’t felt that it was right for you to take on this responsibility. Someone may have always been the “mother figure” while at home but preferred to be the college student once they’ve gotten back. Some dynamics of the household totally change! Someone may also dislike the over-protective parent(s) who act the same way after their daughter has come back home. After we have lashed out in a suitable manner, partied hard, hung out late nights, stayed up till early mornings, slept over at a friends dorm or house, we don’t want to circum to the same boundaries, curfews, and restrictions we respected back in high school. Our parents are NOT understanding, NOT willing, and NOT RIGHT!

So you know what you do? You run way!

Ok, not literally, but you engage yourself into projects. If staying at home for any lengthy amount of time seems detrimental to your emotional, physical, and psychological well-being, you have the ability to stay away completely. Finding an internship with an organization, company, union or old high school allows you to stay busy and active. Simply studying abroad or going to your best friend’s house in another state can give new experiences, fun, and a big break from your fam. Do something to stay sane and satisfied.

9 times out of 10 if you do these things, including getting involved with sports in order to travel, compete, and stay fit you will A) gather the emotion you need in order to miss your friends and family at home or B) stay busy and leave maybe a cleared week where you spend time in your home town before going back to your internship or job and increase the power of your absence; allowing people to spend time with you which they will essentially value more. People love high maintenance.

Even if your situation is like mine: you get to leave the house at any time, drive, club, party, sleep over your friend’s house, speak freely, and date freely, college will still alter the connection you have with your friends, siblings, and parents.

If you’ve taken a course on “African Appreciation” with a friend, for example, you can come home, tell your mom, sisters and brothers and they will never learn to truly appreciate the class as you have. The connection between the people you love and your new friends for life, then, fall under the category of understanding. Your friend who has taken the class with you has partially gotten the same experience and digested the same concept of the classroom that you received. Therefore, they are more likely to connect with you as you both work towards intellectual progression. While our parents, siblings, and friends may grasp all you can tell them about a certain subject, at the end of the day they haven’t experienced your learning, trips, and environment for themselves.

The lack of experience is what tears all of us apart; jealousy, boastfulness, rude comments, advice, hate, joy, acceptance, denial, all come from specific experiences in our lives. The one’s who don’t go through the same thing or recognition of the same journey will ultimately grow apart from you out of disconnection.

This change and  expansion is something we all must respect to be true and real.
College to Casa can be a challenge, but always remember, home is where your heart is.

Iyanna James-Stephenson

Check out fly actress Amandla Stenberg’s FRESH STYLE!!!

School has officially started! Yikes! Ok, so now instead of getting to prance around the bathroom in the mirror for an hour before heading out you know barely have 10 minutes before you miss the bus! So what should you do?? Check out these easy and QUICK styles you can rock this school year!

Good Morning Talented Girls!

Check out violinist Sinnyclair rockin’ it out!

Good Morning Fly Girls!

Check out Jacob Latimore’s new single “You Come First”

Name:
Darryel Patton

Age: 12

City: Nashville, TN

Grade: 7th

What is your dream job and why?
I want to be a veterinarian because I love animals.

Which hobbies do you enjoy?
I like to draw.

Who is your biggest crush?
Princeton from Mindless Behavior

What’s your fave song to jam out to right now?
Tonight we are young

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
I would change global warming.

What does empowerment mean to you?
Empowerment means to strengthen others and your self.

What are your plans after high school?
I plan to attend college.

How have you helped someone in your life lately?
Yes, I have helped my mom because she always supports me.

Who is your role model and why?
Yes, my brother because he went to college and I want to follow his foot steps.

Check out fly actress, Imani Hakim’s Fresh Style…

Recently, while updating family and friends on the progress of The Knowledge Bank, I was flabbergasted by a statement made by a man who I have always admired for being a progressive thinker in regards to personal finance as it relates to black people. For the sake of this article, I will refer to him as Rob. Rob is 80 years old and was a college graduate during a time where graduating from college involved a lot more than four years and earning passing grades. The topic of our conversation turned awry for me while discussing the indecent behavior displayed by members of the Jackson family over Michael’s estate or the money and property he left behind after his death. Rob stated that the Jackson’s behavior is exactly why you should not leave money to your family after you die. To make matters worse, he added that he did not have any life insurance that would cover more than the cost of his burial. I about fell out of my chair!!! I felt like I had been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led a stray, run a muck. Who was this person that just made these absurd comments? It couldn’t be the man who I had admired for his professionalism and his intelligence? Despite my disbelief, it was.

Prior to the conversation with my family and friends that included Rob, I had been disturbed by a statistic I read regarding the wealth disparity between whites and blacks. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, on average, Caucasians have 22 times more wealth than blacks. The usual suspects that contribute to the wealth disparity are underwhelming statistics related to the education, the employment and the income of African Americans. I would like to add the failure to prioritize leaving an inheritance to future generations to the list of contributors to the wealth disparity.

An inheritance is the passing of assets including property, titles, debts, rights and obligations to love ones upon the death of an individual. A “will” is the legal document created by the deceased that officially identifies the individuals who should receive certain assets. For example, after T.I. dies, his money, cars and jewelry more than likely will be distributed amongst Messiah, King, Domani, Major and possibly one of the OMG girls if they are all included in his will. Inheritance statistics for the U.S. population are dismal across all demographic profiles. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, only about 10% of Americans receive money due to the death of a family member. The average inherited amount is $64,000, not nearly enough money to build generational wealth. In fact, only 1.6% of the population receives more than $100,000 after the death of a family member. Ironically, despite the problematic statistics mentioned previously, black families have one advantage over other ethnicities in their potential to leave an inheritance.

African American families are more likely to have life insurance than any other race in the U.S. Most African American families feel that life insurance is their only means of leaving an inheritance to their love ones. Unfortunately, African Americans are also the biggest consumers/spenders in the country, so insurance money like our pay checks doesn’t last very long. What can last for a long time is $469,000. Where does this figure come from? If a person is left $64,000 after the death of a family member, invest the money earning 8% interest, never touch it and pass the earnings down one generation, over a 25 year period, that $64,000 will be worth approximately $469,000. If that $469,000 is reinvested under the previously mentioned terms, the initial $64,000 will be worth over $3.4 million. Three million dollars, managed properly, changes the scope of the financial health of a family.
You may be thinking that 50 years is a very long time and it is, but remember this is money a family can earn without doing anything outside of periodically evaluating their investment strategies over time. I challenge our readers to be the person responsible for generating wealth in your families. Encourage your parents to develop a will. If you really want to be progressive, tell your parents they need to consult an attorney to create a living trust. A living trust protects your inheritance from a lot of taxes and fees you may incur while going through the legal process to obtain your funds. Building wealth requires patience, time and a commitment by someone in your family. You can be that person.
So what did we learn?

Leaving money for future generations is very admirable.
Life insurance is a good instrument to build wealth for future generations.
Your parents should create a will or living trust ASAP.
Your parents should be saving money and/or have a life insurance policy with you as the beneficiary.
Do your research on the people you look up to.

C Hale