Welcome to the Village

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Welcome
Drum Call
Current Projects
Biography of the Publisher
Mission Statement

Welcome

Welcome to the Drum! Rhythm of the Drum has been established for the use of Africans throughout the Diaspora. An attempt will be made to establish some sections in which articles can be placed; however, since our categories overlap so much, it may be difficult. You may read an article and think it belongs somewhere else. But that's fine. The key is that you find something in it you needed.

The scholastic articles in these issues have been researched by the authors. The publisher is not responsible for the claims of the authors; however, for the most part if readers would like a copy of the bibliography for any of the articles in any issue, one need only request a copy by sending the issue and volume number, the title and author of the article, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Rhythm of the Drum, PO Box 470379, Los Angeles CA 90047 or e-mail us.

On A Personal Note

I came up with the idea of Rhythm of the Drum because of my intense love for African people. It's so important that we begin to examine our whole picture in order to become whole. Everything that has happened to us, is happening to us and is being planned for us plays an important role in our health. And ultimately everything affects our physical health.

Drum Call

Study. Study. Study. Something is going on on this planet. Earthquakes in Mexico and China. Tornadoes and hurricanes throughout the country. Fires destroying neighborhoods. Floods covering whole cities. They’re calling it La Nina. Well, the baby girl isn’t a cause of harm; she’s the result of harm.

All the harm we’ve caused the planet is coming back to visit itself on us. Okay! Let’s use an analogy. We’ve finally accepted that our bodies can’t digest all this junk we put inside it. And when our bodies are sick, they let us know in one way or another. That’s the whole purpose of pain, you know. It lets us know something is out of balance and needs to be adjusted or eliminated in order to be at peace again.

In addition to that, our bodies are made of the same minerals the earth is made of. The proportions are the same, even the water content. When we deplete our supply of minerals, we don’t manufacture the minerals our bodies need. We must replenish the minerals with the foods we eat. Our bodies don’t digest the minerals; it absorbs them into our system. However, in large amounts, most of the minerals are toxic.

Likewise, the earth has minerals in it. We use these minerals, and the earth doesn’t mind. However, when we use these minerals up too quickly, the earth can’t replenish them in time. And just like us, when the earth lacks her minerals, she gets sick. Just as we get out of balance, she too gets out of balance. When we get sick, our bodies have an immune system that naturally fights back, causing a fever as the battle rages on.

Similarly, the earth gets sick and develops a fever, too. Volcanoes erupt as the impurities are being burnt up and vomited out. Earthquakes take place when we dig too deeply too quickly and put mines too close together. Tidal waves and Tsunamis happen when the earth quakes under the ocean and throws water onto the shores. Tornados, hurricanes, typhoons and other wind conditions take place when cold winds mix with warm winds a certain way. When our scientists experiment with the weather, we develop unnatural warmth and cold where we wouldn’t normally, and storms break out.

We have a responsibility to maintain what we can of the earth’s health. The earth has gone through natural changes throughout its life. It goes from ice age to heatwave and back again. But that change is usually so gradually the effect can’t be seen readily. But we’re seeing whole species’ being wiped out by the devastation of our rainforests. We’re watching animals throughout the world becoming endangered by the earth’s conditions. And we have the responsibility and the power to make a change.

After you study, make your choice. Will you continue to use the resources of the earth irresponsibly? Or will you recycle paper, glass, plastic, aluminum and other reusables? Will you buy items made with recyclable materials? They are currently more costly, but the more of them we buy, the prices will come down. We can make a difference in this world. We need only make the choice to do so.

Current Projects

Book Promotions:

This Case of Emotional Rape

Biography of the Publisher

Jacquetta Y. Parhams, Ph.D. wears many hats. Among other functions, primarily, she publishes Rhythm of the Drum: Our Wholistic Magazine, and she is an author, teacher, life management facilitator, and she is a minister, metaphysician and Reiki practitioner.

Dr. Parhams was born in Los Angeles, California. Because her father was in the military, her family lived abroad for a number of years and she was exposed to other cultures, which gave her a broader worldview. At the age of eight, she read a story about Harriet Tubman, and that shaped her perceptions of race relations and human nature. She had a strong shero in Harriet Tubman.

When her father retired back to Los Angeles, Jacquetta Y. Parhams was entering California State University, Long Beach. It wasn’t until she took a Black Studies class that she really began to truly understand her heritage and culture. Consequently, she began to search further for her place in the “work” to be done for Black people.

In 1994, after majoring in Black Studies and English and earning a Master of Divinity in Theology from Fuller Seminary, she began Rhythm of the Drum: Our Wholistic Magazine to help disseminate much needed information about wholistic health throughout the Black community.

Currently, Dr. Parhams is a member of the International Black Writers and Artists, Black Women’s Network and Speakers Etc., a Black woman-owned speakers’ bureau.

Dr. Parhams writes for herself, edits for other people and speaks on topics relating to inner growth and spiritual health, especially with regard to wholistic life management. She has developed a Wholistic Life Management Seminar, which she tailors for specific groups. She is especially interested in uplifting and empowering Black people, and she speaks to all groups. She has recently published her first book, This Case of Emotional Rape.

Mission Statement

Rhythm of the Drum purports to advance the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health of Africans throughout the Diaspora. Because everything we come into contact with effects our being, we must focus on such areas as politics, economics, religion/spirituality, the environment, history, culture, etc. Many times these areas overlap so much that it’s difficult to delineate categories; areas of life cannot be compartmentalized so easily; thus, we are wholistic, addressing the health of our whole selves.

Rhythm of the Drum, therefore, is a vehicle through which information is disseminated throughout the African Community in order to help Black people across the globe to stay connected with the natural rhythm that keeps us healthy individually and as a whole. Without the community the individual cannot exist, and without individuals the community does not exist.

The talking Drum beats out a message of completeness, wholeness, correctness, righteousness, balance, truth, justice—MA'AT. Flow with the Rhythm of the Drum.