There's only a handful of Black women in the political commentator game and one that you should definitely get to know is Abby Phillip. At 31, the Virginia native is among the youngest White House correspondents but she isn't new to this, she's true to this. And she's had previous reporting positions at Politico, ABC News, The Washington Post and now CNN to prove it. However, two very visible moments of her journalistic career happened only within the past year.
Many began to take notice of Abby last fall. During a presidential briefing, she asked Donald Trump a question and he responded that her question was "stupid," which the Harvard grad is far. And the night before Joe Biden and Kamala Harris filled the 46th slot for President and Vice President of the United States, the nation was watching Abby when she boldly proclaimed live on TV:
"Not only would Black women put Joe Biden in the White House but they would also put a Black woman in the White House, as well. And while Donald Trump's political career began with the racist birther lie, it may very well end with a Black woman in the White House. Black women did that."
Abby's comment landed in publications like The New York Times and her social media following quadrupled. Minister Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, shared her appreciation with a tweet of Abby's headshot. If a full circle moment had a face, this is what it would look like.
Last month, Abby sat for an interview with The Bakari Sellers Podcast where she talked about everything from her college experience to her future writing goals. And get this, she didn't even plan for an on-air position; in fact, she tried TV with ABC News, didn't like it and accepted a position with The Washington Post. But as life has it, it brings you right back to where you're supposed to be.
Here are five interesting facts to know about Abby:
Abby’s initial career goal was in medicine or law.
"I was going to be a doctor. And if that didn't work out, I was probably going to be a lawyer."
It turned out chemistry wasn't her ministry. She told herself that if she couldn't do math, then she had to learn how to write. She ended up not pursuing law, either. Abby decided to write for The Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper. She also became active in community service, ultimately getting her degree in government. What got her hooked on journalism was a school-sponsored public service trip to Oxford, Jackson and Sunflower County, Mississippi tracing the civil rights movement. She grew fascinated with it and wanted to be one of the journalists who brought the Deep South to the rest of the country.
Abby’s peers describe her as being more “reserved” than the typical reporter.
Abby describes herself as being a quiet child. After returning to the U.S. from Trinidad and Tobago at age nine, she was self-conscious about her accent so she didn't say much in class. Abby's teacher would send notes home to her parents saying that she needed to speak up. But that didn't deter her from excelling in a field dominated by more vocal peers who don't share our gender and/or look like us.
Today she still stands out from the crowd for her "poise" and "self-possession." John Harris, co-founder of Politicotold The New York Times that Abby has always been "very quiet and ambitious, but she doesn't present in a flamboyant way like some ambitious people do."
However, that makes her observant and means she can be very analytical in her approach to her questions and she can offer profound but relatable commentary. CNN's political director David Chalian said:
"Abby has an intellect that is unmatched and she has a pretty unique ability to synthesize information quickly both in her reporting and her analysis, and deliver it in a way that meets the viewers where they are."
Abby never wanted to be on television.
As much as she loves Oprah, Abby doesn't have Oprah goals, meaning there's no talk show in her future. Abby didn't ever want her job to be about her appearance; she simply wanted to write the stories.
"Being a Black woman as a print reporter was not always front and center. Before Twitter, people wouldn't have really known I was a Black woman. The thing about being on TV is that, that becomes a part of who you are."
She’s writing a book on Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Abby wants to remind us that Black political power is still growing and that it didn't peak during the Obama years. In her book, she talks about the origin of Black political power beginning with Jackson's presidential candidacy and his place as a civil rights and political figure. She'll also produce some old receipts such as the one where he was once an international hostage negotiator. How many of us forgot all about that?!
"Political history is rarely told by Black people. His story deserves a retelling."
Abby's book is scheduled to be released spring/summer 2022 in time for midterm elections.
Abby may indirectly credit 45’s administration for making her an even better journalist.
Abby covered our forever POTUS' time in the White House but what she finds with this administration is that she spends so much time – sometimes days! – trying to get to the facts and she does want to be fair. She also wants to be accurate and on-point with her questions because she also notices that questioning from Black women seems to set 45 off quicker than questioning from other reporters. He'll go back-and-forth with reporters of other genders, who again don't look like us, but when it comes to Abby, Yamiche Alcindor or April Ryan, things go left immediately.
Of course, we know that 45 will gladly take credit for Abby's journalistic prowess and say the rest is just fake news. Let him tell it, he answers all questions politely and thoroughly. But what we do know to be true is that come January, Abby Phillip will still be covering the White House. And 45? Well, he'll be ushered out of it.
For more of Abby, follow her on Instagram at @abbydphillip.
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Again, the answer never changes because, if there is one thing that Shellie Reneé Warren is gonna get, it’s 6-8 (sometimes nine) hours of sleep. However, since my chronotype (check out “Ever Wonder What Personality Traits Make Someone A 'Morning Person'?”) means that I like/prefer to write in the wee hours of the morning, sometimes I will sleep for the night for five hours and take a nap in the day. And y’all, that is just fine with me because I am well aware of the fact that napping does everything from give me more energy, heighten my alertness and even make me more creative to decrease stress levels, strengthen immunity, and reduce my chances of experiencing a heart attack or stroke.
My problem is I will oftentimes go “overboard” with my daytime zzz’s. What I mean by that is, in order to get the most out of a nap, they say thatyou shouldn’t sleep for longer than 25 minutes or so; otherwise, you could wake up feeling sluggish (I don’t but…). Also, it can make resting, soundly, at night a bit of a struggle.
So, what are you saying, Shellie? We should get quickies in? Yeah. And it’s funny that the word “quickie” would come up because just like a sex quickie can do wonders for you (and it can — check out “12 Super Solid Reasons To Have A Quickie Every Single Day”), it’s a full-circle moment when I say that something that can improve the quality of your sex life is to have a power nap (a nap that lasts between 10-30 minutes).
Wanna know how the two things correlate? Honestly, it’s no secret that sleep and sex work together to optimize both (check out “6 Fascinating Ways Sex And Sleep Definitely Go Hand In Hand”). Today, though, we’re going to tap into how a nap, specifically, can have you partaking in some of the best sex that you’ve experienced in a minute. I’ll explain.
Naps Reduce Stress
GiphyIf you’re feeling super stressed out right now, you are not alone. There is plenty of data out here that says that most of us are stressed for at least a couple of reasons at a time — and that can impact your sexual health on a few levels. For one thing, it can bring about feelings of depression and/or anxiety. Stress can also throw your hormone levels off (including your cycle) which can weaken your libido. Stress can make you want to put distance between you and your partner (yes, literally).
Stress can also make it challenging to get aroused or to have an orgasm. And just what can help to decrease stress? Taking a nap. Since sleep has a way of helping you to “get off of the clock” and relax a bit, that can lower your stress levels and “reset” your body so that you are calmer — and that, in turn, can do wonders for your sex drive and ultimately your sex life.
Naps Improve Your Mood
GiphyThere is one person in my life, and fairly 80 percent of the time, she’s in a super good mood. Oh, but let that girl go without sleep, and…who is this woman? LOL. There’s research behind why this happens. When a person is sleep-deprived, it messes with their brain chemicals, and that can amplify emotions like anger, restlessness and sadness. In fact, one study revealed that people who had their sleep disrupted throughout the night, they ended up having their positive outlook on life reduced by about 30 percent.
And geeze, who wants to have sex when they’re not feeling very good? Anyway, since serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate your moods, your sleep patterns, and your libido and sleep is what helps to keep it in balance — by taking a nap, not only can it help you to feel better, it can also increase your desire for sex (it can also build up your endurance which is also…sexually beneficial).
Naps Increase Your Focus and Concentration
GiphySomething that some of my clients bring up is how, when it comes to having sex, sometimes the flesh is willing while the spirit is weak because, although the desire for intimacy is there, so much is going on that they aren’t able to get still enough to focus on experiencing copulation with their partner. This also tracks because, when you don’t have enough rest, your brain finds itself not working in harmony and that can make it hard to do everything from approaching life with a sense of flexibility to making necessary decisions.
Certain data also reveal that a lack of rest can cause you to have a really poor attention span and not process things in context (the more you know). So, if you really want to get some yet it’s hard for you to focus long enough to make it happen, ask your bae to lie down with you and take a nap. Between the sleep and the snuggling (check out “Fall's Coming: 8 Wonderful Health Benefits Of Cuddling”) — you may wake up with your mind and body totally on the same page. #wink
Naps Can Make You Feel Better About Your Body
GiphyEven if, overall, you feel really good about your body, I think that we all have moments when we feel less attractive than others — and who wants to have sex when they don’t really feel…very sexy? Well, something else that sleep, in general, can do is increase your confidence in your body.
For one thing, if you want to lose a few pounds, sleep can actually make that happen by helping your body metabolize the glucose (sugar) that’s in it so that you can better manage your appetite. Other studies go on to share that since sleep deprivation can impact one’s mental health and emotional stability in a negative way, of course, getting enough rest would increase body positivity.
Shoot, science even goes so far as to say that insomnia can cause people to have an elevated level of dissatisfaction when it comes to their body image. Don’t take their word for it, though. Look in the mirror before a nap. Then look in a mirror after waking up from me. Do you feel better? I’d be surprised if you don’t.
Makes Your Brain Bigger…Which Could Make Your Orgasms Better
GiphyI saved the best for last by design. Now if you’re wondering how in the world a nap can improve (and possibly increase) your orgasms — oh, there is a method to the madness…trust. For starters, the saying that your biggest sex organ is your brain? That isn’t a myth. Long story less long, the brain is what houses your central nervous system and that is what controls how men and women sexually function (yes, literally).
And since the brain also releases feel-good chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin during sex and brain activity significantly increases in women during sexual activity (especially right before she orgasms) — well, would it trip you out to know that when you take a nap, your brain actually expands? A bigger brain (that’s healthy) can potentially intensify your sexual experiences (and your climaxes) — and who doesn’t want that to go down?
____
Like I said earlier, I never have to be convinced to get a nap in. However, if your sex life has been a bit stagnant lately, you’ve been feeling a little sluggish and you’re not sure what to do — I’m hoping that a nap can get you right.
There’s enough science to prove that it can. All you need to do is give it a shot.
Now where’s your pillow and sleep mask, chile?
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