The tragic reason Tamron Hall painted a fingernail purple to end domestic abuse.

Robbie Couch
09.23.16

In 2004, Tamron Hall's sister, Renate, was found beaten to death in the backyard of her Houston, Texas, home.

She'd had a history of relationships with abusive men.

As you can imagine, the loss was devastating to Hall, a co-anchor on the "Today" show. She was forever changed.

Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images for SiriusXM.

"No one deserves what happened to my sister," Hall told People magazine in April 2016. "For a long time I was hesitant about sharing our story. I didn't want to be another well-known person saying, 'Look what happened to me and my family.' But then I said, 'Screw that. I can save a life.'"

That's why Hall is sporting one purple-painted nail on her left hand.

New profile pic. Watch tomorrow #todaystake as we #putthenailinit @safehorizon 9et for more ...

A photo posted by Tamron Hall (@tamronhall) on

Hall stars in a new PSA for Safe Horizon's #PutTheNailInIt campaign aimed at ending domestic violence.

The PSA by Safe Horizon — a nonprofit aimed at empowering the survivors of and preventing domestic abuse — encourages viewers to paint their left ring-finger nail purple (the color of the anti-domestic violence movement) in a show of solidarity.

The campaign has been an ongoing initiative for the group, but Hall's latest PSA is bringing renewed interest to efforts to #PutTheNailInIt just days before the start of October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Domestic abuse is a topic that gets attention but not nearly enough.

1 in 4 adult women and 1 in 7 adult men will experience violence at the hands of an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime.

Those stats are alarming enough, but the prevalence of domestic abuse across the U.S. is even more sobering when you dissect the numbers behind the groups that affected even more.

Black women are nearly three times more likely to be murdered by an intimate partner than women from other racial backgrounds.

Women of color, and particularly black women, are disproportionately affected by domestic violence. Black women are nearly three times more likely to be murdered by an intimate partner than women from other racial backgrounds.

Although the issue remains under-researched within the queer community, the data we do have suggests partner abuse is disproportionately affecting all genders and sexual orientations across the LGBTQ spectrum, particularly transgender survivors of domestic abuse.

We need to be talking about this.

Those disturbing stats are why you'll see other celebrities speaking out in Safe Horizon's PSA too.

Stars like rock star Dave Navarro.

"When my mother's life was taken by a domestic abuser, I unfortunately was a witness to how domestic violence can not only destroy the victim's life, but the lives of friends and family members," Navarro said in a statement.

GIF via Safe Horizon.

And actor Alan Cumming.

"Domestic violence can affect anyone," Cumming said. "Whether gay or straight, we need to have zero tolerance for domestic violence, and I salute full-heartedly Safe Horizon’s #PutTheNailInIt campaign for advocating exactly that."

GIF via Safe Horizon.

And actress Kyra Sedgwick.

"As a woman and a mother of a young woman, the prevalence of domestic violence horrifies me," Sedgwick said. "Domestic violence is a secret, insidious, and rampant epidemic that is so often kept shamefully behind closed doors."

GIF via Safe Horizon.

To Hall, our unified efforts can end domestic violence. We just have to stand together.

"My sister’s memory is important to me and I want to uplift her name to help those families and victims who have felt alone," Hall explained in a statement. "Since opening up and sharing our story, I've been approached by countless people who have taken a stand. If we stand shoulder-to-shoulder we create a wall of protection."

Watch these stars and others support the #PutTheNailInIt campaign below:

domestic violence abuse partner girlfriend sbuxsafe spousal abuse purple fingernail tamron hall abusive relationships #putthenailinit safe horizon domestic violence awareness month october boyfriend husband wife
Family

Oprah's secret 1992 racism experiment on her audience is still incredible today

On an old episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in July 1992, Oprah put her audience through a social experiment that puts racism in a new light. Despite being nearly two decades old, it's as relevant today as ever.

She split the audience members into two groups based on their eye color. Those with brown eyes were given preferential treatment by getting to cut the line and given refreshments while they waited to be seated. Those with blue eyes were made to put on a green collar and wait in a crowd for two hours.

Staff were instructed to be extra polite to brown-eyed people and to discriminate against blue-eyed people. Her guest for that day's show was diversity expert Jane Elliott, who helped set up the experiment and played along, explaining that brown-eyed people were smarter than blue-eyed people.

Watch the video to see how this experiment plays out.

Oprah's Social Experiment on Her Audience www.youtube.com

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Culture

Cadbury removed the words from its wrappers to bring attention to a seldom-discussed issue

The candy giant said it "donated" the words.

via Cadbury

Cadbury has removed the words from its Dairy Milk chocolate bars in the U.K. to draw attention to a serious issue, senior loneliness.

On September 4, Cadbury released the limited-edition candy bars in supermarkets and for every one sold, the candy giant will donate 30p (37 cents) to Age UK, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for the elderly.

Cadbury was prompted to help the organization after it was revealed that 225,000 elderly people in the UK often go an entire week without speaking to another person.

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Teachers seek outside support to tackle today’s challenges in the classroom

Young people today are facing what seems to be greater exposure to complex issues like mental health, bullying, and youth violence. As a result, teachers are required to be well-versed in far more than school curriculum to ensure students are prepared to face the world inside and outside of the classroom. Acting as more than teachers, but also mentors, counselors, and cheerleaders, they must be equipped with practical and relevant resources to help their students navigate some of the more complicated social issues – though access to such tools isn't always guaranteed.

Take Dr. Jackie Sanderlin, for example, who's worked in the education system for over 25 years, and as a teacher for seven. Entering the profession, she didn't anticipate how much influence a student's home life could affect her classroom, including "students who lived in foster homes" and "lacked parental support."

Dr. Jackie Sanderlin, who's worked in the education system for over 25 years.

Valerie Anglemyer, a middle school teacher with more than 13 years of experience, says it can be difficult to create engaging course work that's applicable to the challenges students face. "I think that sometimes, teachers don't know where to begin. Teachers are always looking for ways to make learning in their classrooms more relevant."

So what resources do teachers turn to in an increasingly fractured world? "Joining a professional learning network that supports and challenges thinking is one of the most impactful things that a teacher can do to support their own learning," Anglemyer says.

Valerie Anglemyer, a middle school teacher with more than 13 years of experience.

A new program for teachers that offers this network along with other resources is the WE Teachers Program, an initiative developed by Walgreens in partnership with ME to WE and Mental Health America. WE Teachers provides tools and resources, at no cost to teachers, looking for guidance around the social issues related to poverty, youth violence, mental health, bullying, and diversity and inclusion. Through online modules and trainings as well as a digital community, these resources help them address the critical issues their students face.

Jessica Mauritzen, a high school Spanish teacher, credits a network of support for providing her with new opportunities to enrich the learning experience for her students. "This past year was a year of awakening for me and through support… I realized that I was able to teach in a way that built up our community, our school, and our students, and supported them to become young leaders," she says.

With the new WE Teachers program, teachers can learn to identify the tough issues affecting their students, secure the tools needed to address them in a supportive manner, and help students become more socially-conscious, compassionate, and engaged citizens.

It's a potentially life-saving experience for students, and in turn, "a great gift for teachers," says Dr. Sanderlin.

"I wish I had the WE Teachers program when I was a teacher because it provides the online training and resources teachers need to begin to grapple with these critical social issues that plague our students every day," she adds.

In addition to the WE Teachers curriculum, the program features a WE Teachers Award to honor educators who go above and beyond in their classrooms. At least 500 teachers will be recognized and each will receive a $500 Walgreens gift card, which is the average amount teachers spend out-of-pocket on supplies annually. Teachers can be nominated or apply themselves. To learn more about the awards and how to nominate an amazing teacher, or sign up for access to the teacher resources available through WE Teachers, visit walgreens.com/metowe.

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Walgreens

Fed up news anchor has the best response to a man who told her to dress ‘like a normal woman’

Women shouldn't have to dress for the male gaze.

via KGW-TV / YouTube

One of the major differences between women and men is that women are often judged based on their looks rather than their character or abilities.

"Men as well as women tend to establish the worth of individual women primarily by the way their body looks, research shows. We do not do this when we evaluate men," Naomi Ellemers Ph.D. wrote in Psychology Today.

Dr. Ellers believes that this tendency to judge a woman solely on her looks causes them to be seen as an object rather than a person.

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Culture