Voice Matters Blog

We Are All Troy Davis By: Llenda Jackson-Leslie Troy Davis was buried on Saturday and several thousand people gathered to pay tribute and promised to continue the fight to abolish the death penalty. Mourners chanted,        “ We are All Troy Davis.”  A lot has... Read More

PR Tips: Managing Expectations and the Consequences of Failing to Do SoBy: Ryan Duncan If you missed last week’s Friday video post, “Teachable PR Tips from Howard University's CapComm Lecture Series” one of Gwen’s PR Tips was about “managing expectations,” an important lesson for all public relations work. ... Read More

What’s In A Name...A Heck Of A LotBy: Shannon Mouton Whether Governor Rick Perry saw the stone, whether he or his father had it painted over or whether or not it was done before or after he got the lease is really inconsequential to me. What does matter is... Read More

Where Will We Go From Here?By: Tamara Braunstein As the global technology community collectively mourns the loss of one of its greatest visionaries, Steve Jobs, many are already wondering what lies ahead for his brainchild company and mobile technology in general.There's no denying the impact and reach of Jobs' innovation... Read More

Millions of Americans Fear HungerBy: Pam TaylorFood insecurity is on the rise. More than 17 million Americans, 14.6 percent of US households, are fearful of going hungry. Alright, so maybe US hunger doesn’t present like the gruesome pictures we see of starvation in the Sudan, for example, but it is... Read More

One Nation, United?Protest marches against Wall Street's infamous greed continue to spread throughout the country as the movement marked its 20th consecutive day this week. ... Read More

The Prison Industrial Complex Hurts The EconomyBy Llenda Jackson-Leslie Lately, some surprising folks have been talking about what needs to change in the criminal justice system. There have been repeated calls for a national conversation. But at the moment, people are understandably preoccupied with the worst economic... Read More

Committed People Move a Message By Nicole Hayes For more than three weeks, Americans have witnessed a collective increase of committed people joining in a movement to highlight wealth inequality in the United States. “Occupy Wall Street,” which protests corporate tax avoidance and Wall Street bailouts,... Read More

Awesome Nik! Very well written! "We're not going to take it anymore!"... Read More

Go Forth And OccupyBy: Shannon Mouton     @ShannonRenee  "Occupy____" seems to be popping up all over the United States and Canada, yes, our presumably docile neighbor to the north has awakened.  The original, OccupyWallStreet, is still going strong and OccupyDC doesn't ... Read More

“We’re not taking it anymore” United we stand !... Read More

Video: 'Occupy Wallstreet Protesters' WON'T Go Away!By: Ryan Duncan If you've been following all the OccupyWallStreet news from around the country, you probably heard about NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's failed attempts to "temporarily" move all the protesters in order for the park they've been occupying to be cleaned. However, the Mayor... Read More

October 24th is Food Day! Food Day "seeks to bring together Americans from all walks of life...to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way." McKinney & Associates is proud to support this effort as we know that a well-nourished citizenry is a more productive one.... Read More

All Myths are not Created EqualBy Llenda Jackson-Leslie Lately, there’s been a contrarian movement afoot arguing that the government shouldn’t be encouraging people to eat better and live healthier lives… seems that some believe government support for better nutrition leads straight to socialism. Others argue... Read More

What’s in a Name? Get Educated About FoodBy: Nicole Hayes What’s in a bag? What’s in a box? It’s a surprise, but not a gift. Most bagged, boxed, canned and pre-packaged foods contain “surprises”—called additives.  They are names you can’t pronounce and whose affects can harm our bodies. For... Read More

Confessions of a Foodie: We Are Not What We EatBy: Gwen McKinneyWhen Team McKinney decided we’d dive into National Food Day by raising our voices in the blogosphere, I immediately proclaimed, “I’m in!” As an evangelical member of the Weight Watchers (WW) Lifetime circle, I have forged... Read More

Food for Thought... and WellnessBy: Pam Taylor More than 150 nation’s celebrated World Food Day this week—a good thing.  However, the ongoing dialogue about food, hunger and production is fraught with emotion and opinion and arguably even some good “science.” See: (http://www.fooddialogues.com/2011/10/14/come-to-the-table-on-world-food-day-and-food-day-our-values-and-our-perspective). ... Read More

Photo caption: Map showing percentage of households throughout the nation currently living in a food desert. Diversity: How Are Food Deserts Really Affecting Us? By: Tamara Braunstein If you’re following our blog, you know that this week we’re doing a series to... Read More

Video: Spices of Life - Welcome to Food Day We hope you enjoyed our week long series devoted to covering food related issues in celebration of National Food Day! Remember, to celebrate healthy food & healthy living this Monday, October 24 and hopefully continue all year long! For our weekly Friday... Read More

By Shannon MoutonToday was the first annual Food Day. It was a day to bring attention to our need for "for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way." There were any number of ways you could have participated in Food Day, what did you do?Did you attend a... Read More

False: All Around the World Same SongBy Nicole HayesCutbacks. Higher prices. Lost jobs, closed businesses. Foreclosed homes. For more than three years, we’ve been bombarded with these words. For some of us, this may be true of our current situation. Others may consider the possibility “contagious” and assume they’ll soon... Read More

Equality By The Numbers Byline: Shannon Mouton Twitter: ShannonRenee If a society is judged by its leadership, then what do these numbers say about the us? How do they speak to our being the "land of the free and the... Read More

Gardasil is currently the only FDA-approved HPV vaccine for both males and females. HPV Vaccine: A Diversity Issue?   By: Tamara Braunstein This week, a CDC panel endorsed males ages 13 to 21 receive the HPV vaccine, previously recommended for females between the ages of nine to 26.   Backlash against the Advisory Committee on Immunization... Read More

Show Your Sponsor Some Love!By: Joyce Taylor, with David LathamBehind most unemployed job hunters is a working spouse, parent, partner or friend. Someone you live with who is supportive during your ongoing search, but who has their own fears about the endeavor. Most sponsors become overwhelmed with the financial load... Read More

Occupy Wall Street—A Timeline The Occupy Wall Street protest, which began in September as a small encampment of mostly young activists with more emotion than clearly stated objectives, was mostly ignored by the media. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the protests quickly became a subject of ridicule. But then something happened: Occupy... Read More

See Something, Say SomethingBy: Ryan DuncanWe've been following the Occupy Wall Street protests around the country and the world, and are inspired by the passion and bravery of these Americans who have seen injustice and decided to stand up and do something about it. So often, we are accustomed to... Read More