Chirpstory - newcenturywoman's Stories

Divine Intervention stepped in and made the call. Pressure which had built up in Demetrius’s lungs from the internal injuries evoked an involuntary reflex, and he coughed.

The rest is history.

On Friday, May 25, 2012, Demetrius will graduate from Sumter Central High School exactly two years after he—then an 11th grader—would have finished had he not suffered a severe spinal cord injury which made him a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down. Trauma to his brain would also slur his speech and impair his vision.

He would spend three months after the accident on life support and the following two years in critical care with numerous setbacks. At one point in his recovery, doctors had urged the family to consider removing Demetrius’s life-sustaining support.

But Demetrius had other plans. He chose to live.

“It was my choice of destiny,” he beamed recently as he labored to pronounce each word so that his speech could be understood.

Demetrius returned to finish his schooling during the Fall of 2011 as a student with a disability. Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services fitted him with a motorized wheelchair and a detachable communication device called the Dynavox to help him learn how to use a remote control attached to his forehead to do simple typing and make commands, such as turning the lights and computer on and off. Speech therapy, physical and occupational therapy, homebound services, and transportation have been provided by the Sumter County School District’s Office of Special Services.

In the story that follows Demetrius tells his own story in his own words which have been posted as Tweets on a Twitter account created for him. He has not yet mastered the skill of typing with his forehead, but he hopes to become an active Twitter participant soon and learn how to connect to the world in spite of his disability.

The President’s decision to “drop the mic” at the end of his TV performance represented a creative approach to bringing attention to a critical issue and reaching out to young voters who are familiar with the popular culture gesture.

"Unless Congress acts before July 1st, interest rates on federal student loans are set to double—forcing more than 7 million students to pay an average of almost $1,000 more over the life of their loans. That’s simply unacceptable," according to President Obama.

Whether on the big screen or on TV, in musical recordings or stage performances, before studio or live audiences, black women have historically been on the receiving end of the most unflattering roles and the most undesirable stereotypes of any race of women worldwide. Sadly, the stereotypes often spill over into real life negative perceptions that all too often affect how black women are perceived and treated on a personal level.

But in the wee hours of Thursday morning (EST), a creative blogger out of London initiated a most unlikely hashtag, surprisingly prompting a worldwide Twitter trend by midmorning: #WhyILoveBlackWomen.

The London-based YouTube vlogger DearRobTV, who also has a blog and a Twitter account under the same name, started the effort late Wednesday night as a challenge for black men, in particular, to give more positive comments for black women on Twitter, particularly those living in the U.S. and Europe.

As promised the night before, the blogger who sports a Twitter avatar of a faceless black male hottie, delivered on his promise as his #WhyILoveBlackWomen went viral on Twitter before the afternoon in the U.S. and trended throughout the day.

Meanwhile, a public protest on Twitter and beyond is mounting against FOX News analyst Geraldo Rivera's recent comment that blames the hoodie Trayvon was wearing at the time of his shooting death for being the cause of his death.

In his KABC radio show, Rivera responded to a caller's concern that Rivera's comment blames Trayvon, the victim, such as one might do in a rape case: "It’s like blaming a female rape victim because she dresses provocatively."

Geraldo's response to the caller: "It’s different because the sexy girl . . . is no threat to anybody. If you see a girl dressed in a provocative way, she’s no danger to you. If you see someone in a hoodie . . . you’re going to walk to the other side [of the street]."

During a Friday morning interview, President Obama reiterated the importance of standing up for the parents of Trayvon Martin and addressing the "seriousness" of the case at hand.

In responding to the reporter's question, President Obama was careful not to overstep his bounds as head of the Executive Branch, but he remained firm in his message that the tragic murder and untimely death of Trayvon should concern all parents in America, and that the case itself should be investigated to the maximum extent possible by the law.

Clooney's arrest drew a rapid response from the Twitter community as tweeters joined in a massive effort calling for the Hollywood actor's release.