AWARENOW
ISSUE 23
T H E AWA R E N E S S T I E S ™ O F F I C I A L M A G A Z I N E F O R C A U S E S
OBEY GIANT
SHEPARD FAIREY
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
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CHIDIEBERE IBE
THE SCIENTIST
DR. NICOLAS BAZAN
ARTISTS FOR TRAUMA
LAURA SHARPE
BEAUTY IN BROKENNESS
EUNICE NUNA
MOVING ON
DR. MEAGAN COPLIN
TIME TO REWRITE
THI NGUYEN
THE POWER OF ONE
JOEL CARTNER
RIGHTING WRONGS
PAUL S. ROGERS
THE RIGHTS EDITION T H E
W R I T I N G
O F
W R O N G S
Proud to share the work of Shepard Fairey on the cover of AwareNow. Honored that the piece he chose for ‘The Rights Edition’ is of none other than Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Below is a post Shepard shared about this phenomenal piece:
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a hero of mine because she was a low-key radical. She encountered gender discrimination in her personal life which she overcame with perseverance and professional excellence, allowing her to infiltrate the male-dominated system and change that system from within to benefit women's rights and equality under the law. Ginsburg's accomplishments are inspiring, including founding the Women's Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union before being appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993. Ginsburg was a champion of justice philosophically, but she worked tirelessly to manifest her ideas about justice in real-world policies. RBG was legendary for her work ethic, getting by on only a few hours of sleep and prolifically writing important opinions, often dissenting powerfully. Justice Ginsburg always stood up for equality with a degree of dignity and civility that was unassailable. I admire her ability to work with people she disagreed with and attempt to win them over rather than react with anger. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, thank you for being a role model in both style and substance.” - Shepard Fairey
THE RIGHTS EDITION ON THE COVER:
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OBEYGIANT.COM
PHOTO CREDIT:
PHOTOGRAPHER:
JONATHAN FURLONG
AwareNow™ is a monthly publication produced by Awareness Ties™ in partnership with Issuu™. Awareness Ties™ is the ‘Official Symbol of Support for Causes’. Our mission is to support causes by elevating awareness and providing sustainable resources for positive social impact. Through our AwareNow Magazine, Podcast & Talk Show, we raise awareness for causes and support for nonprofits one story at a time.
06 RECOLORING THE LINES
CHIDIEBERE IBE
54 BEAUTY IN BROKENNESS
EUNICE NUNA
92 A SPORTING CHANCE
CRAIG GRAHAM
12 ARTISTS FOR TRAUMA
LAURA SHARPE
58 VILLAGE IMPACT
SONJA MONTIEL
96 HAIR FOR CARE
20 TO OBEY OR NOT TO OBEY
62 LETTER TO MYSELF
100 THE 28TH AMENDMENT
38 PHENOMENAL WOMEN
64 GROWING FORWARD
102 THE ART INTERSECTION
40 THE SCIENTIST
66 MOVING ON
106 RIGHTING WRONGS
PAUL S. ROGERS
46 UNTITLED
ARIYA
72 TIME TO REWRITE
THI NGUYEN
110 CREATOR’S CALLING
CHIEF OGIMAA
48 I WISH THE WORLD WAS BLIND
82 GOOD MOURNING
114 WE ASKED ‘WHAT IF’
52 THE POWER OF ONE
88 RENOVATION
116 A HUMAN INTENTION
SHEPARD FAIREY/EDDIE DONALDSON
WOMEN OF AWARENESS TIES
MATTHEW WALZER
JACK MCGUIRE
DR. NICOLAS BAZAN
DR. MEAGAN COPLIN
LEX GILLETTE
JOEL CARTNER
KATHY KISS
LORI BUTIERRIES
CARLY GORTON/TANITH HARDING
LUKE GIALANELLA
AALIA LANIUS
AWARENESS TIES
KATHERINE HUDSON/TANITH HARDING
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Always aware. Always free.
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“You can disagree without being disagreeable.”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“All children should be taught to unconditionally accept, approve, admire, appreciate, forgive, trust, and ultimately, love their own person…” - Dr. Asa Don Brown
The right to believe in one’s self is a fundamental step needed to love, respect and honor others. At this time, our love and respect is needed by every person, animal and environment on this planet.
We do not have the right to destroy, as we’ve done in the past. What we do have is the right to build a better future. We have the right and privilege to serve others. We have the right to heal this world, one decision, one choice and one story at a time.
ALLIÉ McGUIRE
Editor In Chief & Co-Founder of Awareness Ties
Allié is a Taurus. She started her career in performance poetry, then switched gears to wine where she made a name for herself as an online wine personality and content producer. She then focused on content production under her own label The Allié Way™ before marrying the love of her life (Jack) and switching gears yet again to a pursue a higher calling to raise awareness and funds for causes with Awareness Ties™.
JACK McGUIRE
Production Manager & Co-Founder of Awareness Ties
Jack is a Gemini. He got his start in the Navy before his acting and modeling career. Jack then got into hospitality, focusing on excellence in service and efficiency in operations and management. After establishing himself with years of experience in the F&B industry, he sought to establish something different… something that would allow him to serve others in a greater way. With his wife (Allié), Awareness Ties™ was born. DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in AwareNow are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Awareness Ties. Any content provided by our columnists or interviewees is of their opinion and not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, political group, organization, company, or individual. In fact, its intent is not to vilify anyone or anything. Its intent is to make you think. www.IamAwareNow.com
@AWARENESSTIES
@AWARENESSTIES
@AWARENESSTIES 5
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…change cannot stay with me alone. CHIDIEBERE IBE
MEDICAL ILLUSTRATOR, MEDICAL STUDENT & ASPIRING NEUROSURGEON 6
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www.IamAwareNow.com
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CHIDIEBERE IBE
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MEDICAL ILLUSTRATIONS & INSIGHTS OF A DIFFERENT COLOR Chidiebere Ibe is a Nigerian medical illustrator, a future pediatric neurosurgeon and currently admitted as a medical student at Kyiv Medical School in the Ukraine. It was Chidi’s passion for medicine and art that sparked his interest for medical illustrations that led to several global recognitions and features in medical journals and textbooks. His illustrations are the first of their kind, as they depict dark skin. Instantly iconic, his illustrations remind us of what we’ve never seen but should have.
ALLIÉ: The largest organ of the human body, skin, has traditionally been illustrated in medical course books and publications without melanin. The subjects in medical illustrations have always been white. Chidi, what implications does this have on medical students and their future patients?
CHIDI: This has a big role to play in medical students and healthcare outcomes. Education is our foundation, and if our eduction is not inclusive or diverse enough to carry everyone along, there is something wrong somewhere. When medical students in training are exposed early enough to drawings of people of color, they are much more aware of how skin conditions represent on black people. When they are aware of this, their approach to treating people with dark skin will be a good approach. When the approach is made with experience and knowledge the outcome will be much better. The reason why there have a lot of issues with disparities and black people being devalued is because
RECOLORING THE LINES
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CHIDIEBERE IBE
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Artwork: Chidiebere Ibe 8
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“Outside of those in the health sector, people understood what the drawing meant. It’s about people…”
CHIDI: (continued) the physicians were not exposed to this early enough in their training. This is why there is a lack of technical know how on how to approach conditions like this. I strongly believe that if more of this (diversity in visual illustrations) was included in the future or now, our health outcomes would improve because there is far too much disparity where black women are not receiving equal health value as white women. In turn, there is an increased mortality rate - an increased infant mortality rate. This is because of our foundation in education has not been diverse.
ALLIÉ: Your illustrations are very telling regarding how far we’ve not yet come as a society in terms of visual representation and inclusion. For the road ahead and the work that needs to be done to have all races seen, how do you feel? With the work that you do and will do in the future, are you optimistic and enthusiastic? Or do you feel the work is a burden you bare?
CHIDI: To me, it was a burden, because I felt it was something that needed to be addressed as quickly as possible. I was able to use my art to speak up for that. I’m very optimist because the change is already here. The wave of change is already here. I can’t tell you the number of publishers that have reached out and want to include my drawings in their textbooks. That is the one goal I needed, because if these illustrations are included in medical textbooks, the change is happening. I’m so optimistic that it’s happening in 2021. I’m so hopeful that in 2022 it will be even more received and there will be an astounding change that we can see very well. I’m so optimistic. I know it’s going to happen.
ALLIÉ: I cried when I first saw your work, Chidi. Instant emotion came when I saw your illustration of a black pregnant woman and the black fetus in her womb. As a woman of color who has given birth to three children, during my pregnancies I saw many drawings to help me understand my body and my baby inside. Looking back, never once did I see a sketch where I saw myself. Your work serves not only the medical community but humanity in general. Did you have any idea that your work would provide such a wake up call? That your illustrations would remind us of how ‘unseen’ so many still are?
CHIDI: I have been drawing for one year and five months. I’ve been doing this consistently. I’ve been speaking up for what I believe in. I did not expect this to go viral. When I did that drawing, I spoke in that saying, “I’m black. Black is beautiful. More of this should be seen in medical illustrations.” That’s been my focus when I’ve produced these drawings. I didn’t know that it would go viral, but it’s something that I really had to sit down and comment on and have calls. All of media is telling me how so many people are blessed by this drawing. I myself… I did cry, because I did not expect that. Outside of those in the health sector, people understood what the drawing meant. It’s about people; it’s not just about the health sector. I felt so aware and so humble. It’s about the people. I felt so blessed.
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ALLIÉ: For those now awoke by your work, what would you say to others who would like to be part of the needed change in representation? For those of us without talent like yours, like myself who can’t draw very well, what can we do to be part of the change we want to see?
CHIDI: I’ll start by saying, you talk very well. Amazing! You have a voice you can lend to the world. That’s how the change will happen. We all have different skills and different talents. I’m an artist, so I speak with my art. For those who can talk, speak up with your voices. For those who can sing, create songs to advocate for what you believe. That’s how the change happens. That’s how we can be a community of people who are working toward being that change. I’m happy about people being excited about what’s happening, but it’s not just about excitement. It’s about making the change stay. And of course change cannot stay with me alone. The change will stay when people like you and I and others out there working together, working as a community.
ALLIÉ: You are already a talented artist. After you complete your education and required training, you also hope to be a talented surgeon. Not just any surgeon… a pediatric neurosurgeon. What was it that drew you to this specific path?
CHIDI: First of all, I love children a lot… I feel a lot of pain when I see children suffer. Also, I lost my mom to cancer. As a young child, I was unable to help her. There was no one around. There was no one around when she died. The pain was excruciating. It’s something I don’t want any child to go through. I want to be able to take away the pains of children through surgery, by giving them hope… by giving them peace and happiness again. To provide that healthcare to children, because of their innocence. They’re just so innocent and shouldn’t have to go through that pain in life. I want to give them the opportunity to live a peaceful ife. That’s why I chose pediatric neurosurgery.
ALLIÉ: Thank you for sharing that story. There is no doubt that your talent will manifest itself in so many ways throughout your career, both as an artist and a surgeon… and just in general as an inspiring human. I cannot thank you enough for taking this time, and for helping all of us become a bit more aware now. ∎
Support Chidi and follow his journey on Instagram:
@ebereillustrate
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People need hope… LAURA SHARPE
FOUNDER OF ARTISTS FOR TRAUMA 12 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH LAURA SHARPE
ARTISTS FOR TRAUMA
THE ARTISTRY OF HEALING
From her work with esteemed artists in the areas of photography, film, dance, sculpture and music, Laura Sharpe was able to rise above and beyond her pain and trauma from a near death experience. She found a way to dramatically improve the quality of her recovery through the creative interaction between herself and the artists. Here enters the inspiration and beginning of Artists for Trauma, dedicated to enriching the lives of both civilian and military trauma survivors by pairing recovering patients with established artists from various creative disciplines.
ALLIÉ: Just as storytelling serves as a salve for pain, art is an application for healing trauma. Laura, please share how Artists for Trauma builds a bridge between creating art and surviving trauma.
LAURA: That is definitely our mission and always has been, though I might word it a lil differently, Artists For Trauma builds a bridge between surviving trauma by creating art.
I know to look at me, it’s hard to imagine I could have been so completely decimated…yet I was-physically, mentally, and emotionally. A helicopter carrying a small group of family, friends and helicopter staff left for the 14-minute flight
THE LAURA PROJECT
‘Re-Membered' Interpretations of Reconstruction
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LAURA: (continued) departing Long Beach, CA. destined for Two Harbors, Catalina Island, CA. on May 24, 2008. 9 minutes into the 14-minute flight there was an engine malfunction and we subsequently exploded on impact. 3 precious lives never got out of the burning inferno; 3 lives miraculously survived. All our family members saw at that point was huge billowing black smoke rise from behind the mountain, moored their boats, jumped in their dinghy’s, and hustled to the crash site not knowing who was alive or dead.
Though completely shattered and on fire, I was one of the survivors, pulled from the flames by our eldest daughter whereupon first responders took over, beating out the flames on my burning body with my melting purse.
I was in a coma for weeks, hospitals and rehab facilities for months and years. I felt like a structureless, disfigured rag doll. This rag doll concept manifested into original, collaborative sculptural pieces with one of the 6 artists of The Laura Project – Re-Membered, Interpretations of Reconstruction. Organically, this personal healing through art experience became the template for activation of Artists For Trauma.
So to answer your question, how does art bridge that process? The power and empowerment is in the creative process itself. It was all I could do. My body was completely shattered yet my mind was still active. I was diagnosed with serious traumatic brain injury, 43 fractures from head to toe, including spinal cord injuries, a decimated left eye orbit that no longer held my lacerated eyeball in my face, so it dangled out of my charred head by a single tendon, disfiguring 3rd degree burns over 40% of my lower body and a near completely severed left foot which resulted in a partial amputation due to MRSA infection following the crash. For three years I was so grateful for the invention of the wheelchair as it provided me the 24/7 ability to move myself.
It’s just amazing to look at the combination of these injuries and how I saw everything through these distortions. Because of these distortions I would see things differently and I felt really blessed that for some reason I was able to see the beauty and the trauma. I can’t answer why, and I don’t feel I necessarily need to know why. I think that in reality, sometime for things that don’t make sense, you don’t always need to know the reason. I just know that I was very, very grateful. I wasn’t angry. I just started to adapt and saw everything through this lens of simultaneously occurring beauty AND the depth of destruction and trauma. I feel is the bridging opportunity to healing, creative reinvention. The opportunity to have these altered perspectives and the blessing to have appositive attitude created this bridging concept of adapting all diverse creative disciplines into a healing platform to reassociate the trauma, the tragedy, the destruction to find the beauty in it, repurpose and reassociate it into the required reinvention of your new self. Actually, trauma and destruction have always been a part of the life process and new creation. It is the cycle of life.
I continue to be infinitely grateful to those six amazing humans and artists – Co-creators Judy Starkman and Bill Lagattuta, the remaining inspirational collaborators Cheryl Ekstrom, Zari Wigfall, and Christopher Reutinger. None of us get anywhere alone. Without them, Artists For Trauma would not have happened. Maybe their creative, collaborative support was their way of expressing love in the face of feeling powerless. This is how Artists For Trauma aims to pay my and our gratitude forward through artistic expression and human connection.
I am a former athlete, a kinetic mover. It always helped me process the range of human emotions that we all havepositive and negative. How important it is, especially in reinventing, recovering, and rehabilitating from trauma that one allows themselves to release those emotions especially the negative emotions in healthy way. In a way that you hope to not harm yourself further or others. That is why all the artistic, creative disciplines I found to be a really positive way of release. Artists For Trauma focuses on cultivation relationship and trust with trauma survivors providing an expressive platform that speaks to their heart, their mind, that fuels the spark that drives them , that will positively distract them and help them rise above e and transcend their physical mental and emotional pain, even if just for a moment and then build on that. I know this was truly transformative and transcending for me. I’m as human as the next yet after surviving my near death, disfiguring and re-abling experience I will always somehow try to pay it forward by activating, participating, and collaborating with the broad community of diverse art disciplines, artists, and creative medical providers, surgeons, estheticians. Life is wonderful and full of miracles if you allow yourself to see and participate in and with them. Trauma and tragedy is happening simultaneously as miracle are happening. I think it’s important to remember that.
There are multiple causes why people like me have to reinvent themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally whether from injury or illness. You know, AWARENESS TIES is a cause related organization that brings awareness and healing creative resources to the greater public honoring that it truly takes a village.
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ALLIÉ: Founded in 2011, over the course of 10 years AFT has helped and aided healing for so many. Of the many events you’ve conducted, is there one that you can share that was personally moving?
LAURA: To give you a few examples; it is an honor and privilege to share with you the very first trauma survivor we were blessed to provide healing through art service to in July 2011. His name is Ford and he and his lovely wife, Lauree, continue to be very important in my life and Artists For Trauma. Ford came to us through a physical referral, to me that was incredibly important and powerful that my highly esteemed critical care concierge physical would trust me and our new organization in joining her as a non-medical community bridging partner and healing integrative health service intersection for one of her patients.
Ford had suffered a severe car crash and his own near-death experience. Btw…Ford provided permission to AFT to share some of his story otherwise I would not share. We honor the trust that other trauma survivors gift us. (I call them ‘fellow travelers’.) We do not share information they do not authorize as we never want to make them feel vulnerable or uncomfortable.
With Ford, Artists For Trauma (AFT) paired him with a professional voice coach, who musically rehabilitated Ford’s lung functionality by gently guiding him how to sing Italian Opera. This healing through art process assisted him in rebuilding his lung functionality, breath capacity and confidence in retrieving his capacity for various vocal and tone inflections. Ford as a professional creative, a producer, director, filmmaker, and actor. He has since fully returned to his profession as a highly successful creative.
A second example was a creative collaboration in 2014 that educated and entertained approximately 6,000 visitors. Artists For Trauma (AFT) installed a catwalk at the amphitheater in Warner Park located in Woodland Hills, California. We collaborated with Macy’s Topanga Plaza, Susan Koziak a professional stylist, singer/songwriter, Rickie Byars Beckwith and several musician friends of hers joining us to empower our collective communities of citizens and to empower and present 18 extraordinarily inspiring adult trauma survivors no matter their gender, sexual orientation, color ethnicity, culture. These trauma survivor models were an inspiring combination of humanity; a blind young woman, a quad amputee, several quadriplegics, and paraplegics, burn survivors who rocked the catwalk representing that trauma does not discriminate. This event also represented a trauma resource community to educate the public of the many
ARTISTS FOR TRAUMA
AN INTRODUCTION BY LAURA SHARPE
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LAURA: (continued) resources one might need and that there is great opportunity for quality of recovering following life altering trauma.
The third moving example, in Century City, California at the California Rehabilitation Institute, Artists For Trauma (AFT) represented approximately 10 diverse trauma survivors by installing approximately a 4,000 linear art installation representing these artists’ work and the trauma patient demographics the rehab hospital serves. 10 diverse, adaptive artists were represented in this project while also reflecting that California Rehabilitation Institute provides priceless value to the Los Angeles rehabilitation community by providing state of the art trauma rehab services and staff while also sharing and inspiring relatability and positive recovery to its patients, their families and hospital staff through artistic expression and human connection. Those are three strong examples of the wide variety of the diverse types of creative expression, disciplines and integrative health that we engage with to empower trauma survivors and work in concert with the medical community.
Through integrative health, not only is AFT a community partner to trauma rehab hospital networks, we also work in concert and complement with world renowned plastic surgeons and high skilled, talented scar revision estheticians. The artistic talent of compassionate plastic surgeons and the professional medical prowess of reconstructive surgeons, along with the finishing scar revision treatments such as breast cancer survivors and disfigured burn survivors, prove that trauma survivors have a greater opportunity to thrive as a result of these comprehensive healing collaborations.
A last powerful example is a 2017/2018 collaboration originated by Senior Producer Sharon Levin and her outreach to facial plastic surgeon, Dr. Andrew Frankel of The Lasky Clinic in Beverly Hills, CA., who then partnered with Artists For Trauma and Grossman Burn Foundation and Ruth Swissa Medical MakeUp. Collectively we worked with this amazing young woman to complement the excellent reconstruction services she received from previous surgeons due to a tragic plane crash she was in in 2005. Her name is Kechi. In 2018 she sang on America's Got Talent and through Grace and Gratitude representing through her heart and voice, she was a gold buzzer winner and one of the 2018 finalists. While she engaged in that exciting AGT competitive process, our collaborative team were providing healing through reconstructive surgery and scar revision treatments with her. It was really a powerful moment to watch her, hear the frequency of gratitude and empowerment in her voice and how she pays it forward through her leadership as an influencer and grateful trauma survivor. You could feel it when she sang! And while you're watching this young woman, so authentically expressive and singing from her soul, she was wearing the surgical gauze on her body from our collaborative community service to her. Knowing your organization and team is authentically part of an integrative healing community continuing to support and empower this woman and other trauma survivors is difficult to translate. Being of service to others is healing in its own way. Artists For Trauma provides a platform of facilitation of diverse, creative expressions and healing disciplines. We are a community of mindful artists and best practice medical providers, intentionally collaborating to empower trauma survivors. There is no cost to the trauma patient yet to remain sustainable as a 501c3 non profit business we operate through partnership and collaboration based on shared costs.
ALLIÉ: Of the many examples of trauma that you’ve seen transformed into art, what is one of the most powerful pieces you’ve seen?
LAURA: I’ve been privileged to personally participate and observe in awe and gratitude the impact of mindful fashion and its messaging worn with pride, exhibiting inclusivity and empowerment. Human form is displayed by a wide range of diverse, body types, configurations, disfigurements, visible and invisible disabilities, mobilities and immobilities… ALL impacting our self-body imaging in addition to our sensitives as to how other people see our imperfections. Some fashion designers, difference-makers, and artists through intentional fashion design and messaging, and intersecting with governments, vendor operations and providers of quality sustainable fabrics and respectful labor practices build and grow awareness, educate the individual and public on the healing power of positive messaging. This type of quality messaging is critically importantly to all our physical, mental and emotional wealth. A few months ago, Artists For Trauma (AFT)in partnership with Karen Michelle, founder of LoveYourBodyEvents, and active AFT board member presented our recent bi-annual fashion show and celebration of inclusivity and respect for all human bodies at The Luxe Hotel Sunset in Los Angeles, California. In community collaboration we highlighted women of all ages 8 – 80 of various local to global cultures, ethnicities, body shapes, disabilities and re-landscaping.
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LAURA: (continued) AFT and LoveYourBody take great responsibility in representing positive body imaging and inclusivity for all through fashion. We were honored to represent the powerful messaging of Shepard Fairey and his OBEY clothing designs; as well as artists, Dave Navarro and PADHia, multi-talented artists and mental wealth activists who created Duel Diagnosis to speak to the importance of mental wealth and how “Shame has never healed anyone.” Here are a few photo examples from this recent fashion show representing the beautiful and empowering messaging of OBEY and Duel Diagnosis fashion messaging. With inclusivity and respect for the whole person, body, mind, heart and spirit, Shepard Fairey’ OBEY fashion and Duel Diagnosis messaging speaks to the visible and invisible traumas of mankind. Their designs and messaging celebrate the diversity of the physical, mental, emotional, sexual and asexual fashion messaging respecting the wide range of diverse human body shapes, styles, presentations and perspectives. Love Your Body Event on October 3, 2021
AFT Fellow Travelers and trauma survivors, Jen George, Laura Sharpe, Inclusivity Model Teal and Jasmine, her loving mother and caregiver. Teal wearing OBEY clothing.
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Tween Model wearing Shepherd Fairey - OBEY Clothing
Young adult trauma survivor and AFT Inclusivity model
Twen model wearing OBEY clothing
Model wearing Duel Diagnosis fashion messaging
Model wearing OBEY clothing
Tween model wearing Duel Diagnosis fashion messaging
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“I remember being that swaddled rag doll and learning through my other senses because I couldn't see…"
ALLIÉ: Society is so quick to label a diagnosis and assess a cataloged treatment. When it comes to trauma, the solution to the problem needs to be more personalized. Do you think that’s why art is the answer to the questions that come from trauma?
LAURA: This is such a powerful question. It really blew me away because it took me back to the beginning. And when I say the beginning, I mean, those early days, which were really weeks and months for me and for my family. I feel there is such great room for growth and comprehensive sensitivity toward a more respectful, mindful approach from the medical community based on how physicians and medical treatment providers communicate trauma diagnosis and prognosis to the patient, trauma survivor and their families.
I remember being that swaddled rag doll and learning through my other senses because I couldn't see... by the vibration and the way that when we hear people voices and the sound of their energy, of their footsteps, et cetera. And I remember this neurosurgeon who had come into the room. It's 7:30 in the morning, and a booming voice. "Well, it doesn't like anybody's gonna be dancing around here anytime soon." They don't realize that you're hearing and feeling. It’s important - the way that you deliver the message that you provide a range of hope - not hopelessness.
So to your point, I feel that the medical providers and treatment communities should be forthright, yet could and should share that there are many positive examples of excellent rehabilitation and re-invention. Compassionately, noting it irrefuteable that currently the patient is in this incredibly challenged position right now, there is great opportunity you for quality recovery. Encourage them to take it slow, listen to their bodies, mind, heart, engage in consistent physical, mental and emotional recovery and rehab, consider creative expression as a healthy outlet, allow themselves to feel and expressive all the ranges of human emotion.
In my experience and many people I've met who share a similar story, physicians don't communicate a diagnosis or prognosis with hope. They might hear something more like you'll probably never walk again, or you'll have to get used to it.” I believe it is equally important to manage patient expectation, be real provide the scope of possibilities or probabilities…yet please, provide this patient, this human, this family member, this friend…HOPE.
While I'm sharing this reality, I also want to recognize with love and respect the majority of medical professionals, I have been blessed to be a part of my dream team are incredible human beings. This is the profession they consciously chose and spent years of their life to train for, to help save people's lives.
I think the medical community might consider differently training new doctors, surgeons and medical providers in such a systemic approach that better reflects a kinder, more compassionate and respectful diagnosis and prognosis communications.
At Artists for Trauma, part of our goal is to help fuel a trauma survivors spark through artistic expression and human connection. The next part of our goal is that they will then allow their joyful self and Grace take over. People need hope. Without hope, we as energetic beings in this body vehicle becomes suppressed and depressed. That is very dangerous energetic place to be. Sometimes a peron never comes out of that rabbit hole.
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“So, we start with awareness…”
ALLIÉ: For those who have suffered in silence with trauma for so long, what advice would you give? How does one begin on this journey to experience healing through expression?
LAURA: I will share with you authentically, transparently. 13 years later, I sometimes still find myself challenged and suffer in silence. I think of the many, different examples of invisible trauma. How do we communicate with that person? Are we sensitive and allowing our energetic tentacles and dendrites to pick up on another person's suffering?
So, what would I say? How would I say it? First, I'd feel it. I'm reminded that we communicate subconsciously in both verbal and nonverbal ways. A gentle way to consider is maybe I would begin by sitting quietly with them, letting them know its okay if they do or do not want to talk right now. Would they like to create something? Listen to music? Share with them that I as a fellow traveler I may not know what is actually going on with them yet I’m feeling they might be in pain or discomfort. I would share I don't know what it is, and I don't necessarily need to know if they're not comfortable sharing. But if they are…We’re here. We care.
We're Artists for Trauma. We hope people never need us, but if they do we're here and they can trust us. We will honor their confidentiality, and we're here to support and creatively empower them. If they're comfortable, please reach out to us. I just hope that that they do. If we might not be a good fit for them we are happy to share other healing resources with them. So, let’s start with awareness… Start at the beginning, a new beginning, be kind, sensitive, mindful, gentle, show you care… share HOPE. ∎
Awareness Ties is honored to recognize Artists for Trauma as a ‘Partner In Cause’. We proudly stand beside them to raise awareness one story at a time. We support their mission and support trauma survivors with integrity and authenticity through artistry.
AFT is dedicated to enriching the lives of both civilian and military trauma survivors by pairing recovering patients with established artists from various creative disciplines. Learn more online: www.artistsfortrauma.com
Artists For Trauma…where Recovery is an Art
#Creativity.Connectivity.Community
19 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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I’m willing to work outside the system and bend and break the rules. SHEPARD FAIREY
ICONIC STREET ARTIST, GRAPHIC DESIGNER, ACTIVIST, ILLUSTRATOR & FOUNDER OF OBEY CLOTHING 20 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
Photo Credit: Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong www.IamAwareNow.com
‘THE WRITING ON THE WALL’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY EDDIE DONALDSON
TO OBEY OR NOT TO OBEY
A GIANT QUESTION & AN ARTIST’S MISSION What started with a sticker has become a global empire of iconic expression through the artistry of Shepard Fairey, as he uses his platform, Obey Giant, to make public statements with passion and purpose. As we explore ‘the writing of wrongs’ in this edition of AwareNow, Eddie Donaldson (aka GuerillaOne) speaks with Shepard about his work.
EDDIE: We're here with the world famous Shepherd Fairey. Thank you for sitting down with us today. I came up with a couple questions. So, let's start with this. Why 'Obey Giant’?
SHEPARD: Obey Giant evolved out of a sticker that I made as a spontaneous joke to teach a friend how to make stencils of Andre the Giant. But then when I saw the reaction that people had to that sticker, the broad number of interpretations and the fact that because it was placed in a public space mysteriously that it was disrupting what people usually assumed public space should be filled with, I started to think about Orwellian control, governmental control, and corporate control. That evolved the campaign from just Andre the Giant as a posse sticker to something a
21 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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22 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
Photo Credit : Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong www.IamAwareNow.com
“To confront them with the word 'obey' was really important…”
SHEPARD: (continued) little more serious about the way that people decide what laws, rules, and societal principles they'll submit to or adhere to and which ones they are going to question. I felt that people follow the path of least resistance without thinking. To confront them with the word 'obey' was really important as part of the process to take something in the ether and make it concrete so that people would have to talk about what they want to obey and what they don't want to obey.
EDDIE: How long have you been on the Obey Giant mission?
SHEPARD: I started the original Andre sticker in 1989. So, that's 32 years now, but it really started to come together as a fully realized street art, social, and political poster art campaign with t-shirts as a fully realized concept a few years in. I wrote a manifesto in 1990 that talks about phenomenology and some of the other sociological principles, but then how I was going to employ connecting those ideas with people took a little while because I was figuring things out by trial and error. Also, I was broke.
“In many cases, I felt like I was too street for the corporate world and too corporate for the street world…”
EDDIE: What are your thoughts on how you and your movement have influenced culture has at times have created a backlash from the establishment?
SHEPARD: Initially, I was just seen as a vandal and a public enemy. I even made a series of prints that were joking around called the Urban Renewal Series, when I knew that I was looked at as somebody that was a vandal. Ironically, later street art started to be embraced. Now, I could be considered more part of the establishment. In many cases, I felt like I was too street for the corporate world and too corporate for the street world because I employ what I call the inside-outside strategy. I'm willing to work outside the system and bend and break rules. I've been arrested 18 times. I'm also perfectly happy to infiltrate the system and try to use its machinery for my ideals, my beliefs, and change the culture for the better from within. I think that very little happens purely in the margins. You have to infiltrate the system. I get backlash from every direction, and I'm cool with that because I think through my strategy on things, it's all underpinned by my ethics and my belief system. I don't do anything without thinking it through. 23 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
Photo Credit : Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong www.IamAwareNow.com
24 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
Photo Credit : Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong www.IamAwareNow.com
“…I still choose to do a lot of street art because that connects directly with people who aren't tuned into the fine art world.”
EDDIE: You said 'no' a few times for good reason.
SHEPARD: It's important to be able to make a living and a lot of artists are desperate to just find any way to pay the bills. I'm very lucky that I'm at the point now where I get to choose the kind of projects I do. It's working with a partner like Levi's. We then also partnered with the ACLU. This is a perfect example of getting within the commercial system, and then proliferating my ideas, in this case supporting the ACLU with the help of Levi's who actually happen to be on the same page philosophically. So, it's not even that subversive. Even though I now have lots of opportunities within the fine art world, I still choose to do a lot of street art because that connects directly with people who aren't tuned into the fine art world.
25 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
Photo Credit : Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong www.IamAwareNow.com
26 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
Photo Credit : Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong www.IamAwareNow.com
“I love that every bit of graffiti is an act of self expression and self empowerment.”
Photo Credit : Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong
EDDIE: Do you view graffiti as a form of social activism?
SHEPARD: I see graffiti and pretty much all public art as a form of activism, simply in the fact that it's mostly an act of defiance, which means that people are saying there should be room for expression in public space, whether it's political in the content or not, the medium is political. It's saying this venue for expression should not just be isolated to government and deep pocketed corporations. I love that every bit of graffiti is an act of self expression and self empowerment. I also think that when I have the opportunity to talk to people about this, it's an opportunity to say, "If you care about things going on in the world, you can use it for more than self-promotion. But I do think that we all have this impulse to just say in a vast and intimidating world where we feel anonymous that I exist right here. Graffiti is one way to do that. Street art is one way to do that. But then I think that taking that further is important.
When people, 'the powers that be' if you will, are criticizing street art and graffiti, I always say, "Do you know that these impulses to combat powerlessness frequently have far less positive manifestations than street art and graffiti." You really need to be thinking more about what the big issues are for a lot of people feeling frustrated that the American dream doesn't include them.
EDDIE: You were originally fascinated by the power of propaganda in all its forms. Do you find it fascinating that you have now become one of the most respected cultural propagandists of our time?
SHEPARD: My work has always been both critiquing and in some ways creating propaganda. I called my work propaganda out of an understanding that there's an irony, because every piece of visual communication has an agenda. Any of it could be called propaganda. Being honest, in the war for persuading people to look at things the way you'd like to have them look at them, there can be a very sinister side or a very benevolent side. I'm asking people to digest everything they're confronted with in a thoughtful way, as well as being aware that I'm playing the same game. 27 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
28 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
Photo Credit : Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong www.IamAwareNow.com
29 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
Photo Credit : Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong www.IamAwareNow.com
30 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
Photo Credit : Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong www.IamAwareNow.com
31 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
Photo Credit : Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong www.IamAwareNow.com
32 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
Photo Credit : Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong www.IamAwareNow.com
33 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
Photo Credit : Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong www.IamAwareNow.com
34 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
Photo Credit : Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong www.IamAwareNow.com
35 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
Photo Credit : Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong www.IamAwareNow.com
36 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
Photo Credit : Courtesy ObeyGiant.com
Photographer: Jonathan Furlong www.IamAwareNow.com
AwareNow Podcast
TO OBEY OR NOT TO OBEY
Exclusive Interview by Eddie Donaldson with Shepard Fairey
www.awarenow.us/podcast/obey-giant
EDDIE: If you could name one mural that you've done or building, which one is your favorite? What is your favorite outdoor project that you've ever done?
SHEPARD: All the murals are really rewarding. I love doing them because it changes the cityscape. Watching it unfold, even though it's really hard blue-collar work, it's rewarding. At the end of the day, you step back from the wall and it's moving. It's coming together. The whole block looks different. Each one I'm proud of as I'm doing it and when I'm finished. But I have to say that when you're first figuring out how to do this stuff, it's very rewarding. The Peace Elephant I did in 2011, which was one of my earliest, really big painted murals over in west Hollywood, was 70 feet high by 110 or 120 feet wide. It was big. Figuring out my stencil system, grid and taping, when I'd never done anything that big was incredibly stressful because I had a five day window to do this massive mural. I was figuring it out as I was going. The stress of that was the highest and the feeling of satisfaction upon completion was also the highest. But for me, it's always the next one. The next one's gonna be the best.
EDDIE: Let’s close with a song. if you're a superhero, what is your superhero song?
SHEPARD: I'm definitely not a superhero... There's so much that gets me motivated, but 'Rise Above' by Black Flag has always been what I'd consider my anthem because the lyrics... "Jealous cowards try to control what we do because they can't do it themselves... They distort what we say." It's just that Black Flag had all of that attitude, and they were really fighting against the cops trying to shut their shows down. And then Henry Rawlins is a major inspiration for me because he had all that anger with Black Flag, but then channeled that into writing, publishing, acting, music, and into all these different creative endeavors where he's helping to shape the culture. Anger is only valuable if it fuels something meaningful. ∎
EDDIE DONALDSON
GuerillaOne x The Seventh Letter www.awarenessties.us/eddie-donaldson Louisville, Kentucky native Eddie Donaldson moved to Los Angeles in 1986 and became involved with the graffiti movement as an alternative to the turbulent gang activity of his generation. Immersed first as an artist amongst diverse L.A. crews like TCF, AWR, and The Seventh Letter, Donaldson had the vision to develop their homegrown graffiti movement into something beyond the streets. His loyalty and business sensibility transformed the graffiti scene and he evolved into the point person for producing art events and exhibitions that inspire and spread the stylistic of southern California art into the world.
37 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
I’m a woman, phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman, that’s me. MAYA ANGELOU
POET, AUTHOR, EDUCATOR & MUSE 38 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
SPECIAL FEATURE
PHENOMENAL WOMEN
LADIES LIFTING VOICES & INSPIRING SOLIDARITY ‘Phenomenal Woman’ was the first poem I ever set to memory and stepped on stage with. Maya was (and is) my muse. However, my list of muses has grown to include the women of Awareness Ties our ambassadors, columnists and advisors. They are sisters who stand with us and beside us as we work to wake the world.
In honor of Maya Angelou, this recitation of her poem, 'Phenomenal Woman', is dedicated to the valued voices of women around the world. In 'The Rights Edition', where we explore the writing of wrongs, we look to the heroines of our time such as Maya Angelou, RBG, and countless others leading with word and deed.
In this piece, we give thanks to the women of Awareness Ties who help us raise awareness for the causes we're all tied to. Each one of these women works to inform and inspire to support the changes we want and need in this world. One story at a time, together we rise. ∎
Join us as we change the world…
www.awarenessties.us/tribe
PHENOMENAL WOMEN
A RECITATION OF MAYA ANGELOU’S ‘PHENOMENAL WOMAN’ BY THE WOMEN OF AWARENESS TIES
39 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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There is hope to be found in the knowledge that research brings… DR. NICOLAS BAZAN
NEUROSCIENTIST, AUTHOR, EDUCATOR & FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF THE NEUROSCIENCE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE AT LSU 40 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
‘BEING BAZAN’ A SPOTLIGHT SERIES FEATURING DR. NICOLAS BAZAN
THE SCIENTIST
NEW DISCOVERIES IN NEUROSCIENCE FOR NEW HOPE Nicolas G. Bazan, MD, PhD, has been called “a true renaissance man”. He’s an innovative research scientist, inspiring teacher, effective mentor, generous community leader, creative author, screenplay cowriter/executive movie producer, patron of the arts, entrepreneur and above all an exemplary family man. In the ‘Being Bazan’ spotlight series, Dr. Nicolas Bazan’s work as a research scientist in neuroscience is our focus today.
Dedicating his life and career to matters of the mind and sight, Dr. Nicolas Bazan as a world renowned neuroscientist has uncovered fundamental mechanisms over the years to advance our understanding of the human brain and retina that compromise the central nervous system — the least understood and most exciting organs. Today, he shares his most recent discoveries…
DISRUPTION OF AGING BY WESTERN DIET
Discoveries from diet setting neurodegeneration into motion
A report from Song Hong, Nicolas G. Bazan, and colleagues from the LSU Health New Orleans, School of Medicine, Neuroscience Center of Excellence reveals for the first time that Western diet combining high saturated fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS) reduces the motor-muscular grip strength and sensory responsibility in aging mice. At the same time, it triggers neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, phosphorylated Tau, and Aβ deposition in motor and sensory cerebral cortexes. Metformin counteracts HFSS effects, eliciting neuroprotection.
This discovery addresses the knowledge gap of neurodegenerative consequences of HFSS diet and uncovers cellular and molecular insights that could lead to effective interventions and a better understanding of chronic neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. Their findings are published online in CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics, available here: https://doi.org/10.1111/cns.13726
UNRAVELING ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND AGING
Findings from a genetic disease model, lipidomics, and other molecular tools
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease and the most common form of dementia, accounting for 60–80% of dementia patients. The major risk factor for AD is age, although the exact cause of the disease and pathogenic mechanisms are still unknown.
This is an ongoing, far-reaching project in collaboration with the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden where Dr. Bazan is appointed as a Professor as well. They uncovered lipidomic profiles, including biosynthetic pathways and inflammatory factors in relation to increasing age and pathology of the App KI model compared to age-matched wildtype mice.
Their results demonstrate that the brain lipidome is modified preferentially during aging as compared to amyloid pathology in the model studied here. However, alterations in phospholipids signal early pathological changes in membrane composition. The findings of this study open avenues to uncover aging and disease mechanisms and the potential use of the pro-resolving lipid mediators discovered to blunt inflammation onset at an early disease stage before inflammation becomes chronic. See the published paper in the outstanding international journal, Acta Neuropathol Commun, with the latest discoveries on AD from Dr.Bazan and collaborators:
https://actaneurocomms.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40478-021-01216-4 41 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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Then an unexpected discovery evolved… DR. NICOLAS BAZAN
NEUROSCIENTIST, AUTHOR, EDUCATOR & FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF THE NEUROSCIENCE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE AT LSU 42 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
CURBING THE METASTASIS OF BRAIN TUMORS
Taking on Tumors with a Multi-pronged Approach
Nicolas G. Bazan and colleagues at the LSU Health New Orleans, School of Medicine, Neuroscience Center of Excellence uncovered a multi-pronged approach by targeting key signaling pathways to curtail tumor invasiveness, opening new therapeutic avenues for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
GBM is the most invasive type of glial tumor with poor overall survival due to the molecular heterogeneity and genetic instability of these tumors. Here, Bazan and colleagues use Suramab (anti-angiogenic), LAU-0901 (a plateletactivating factor receptor antagonist), Elovanoid (ELV; a novel pro-homeostatic lipid mediator), and their combination as potential alternatives to contain GBM growth and invasiveness. A commentary on these findings is published online in Cancer Metastasis in Review, available here: https://rdcu.be/cxPZE
Led by Dr. Bazan, research reports that in an experimental model of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a combination of approved and novel therapeutics improved survival and reduced tumor volume and growth: Avastin, LAU-0901, and Elovanoids (ELVs). Dr. Bazan’s lab discovered both LAU-0901 and ELVs. This is the first study that demonstrates the efficacy of these novel therapeutics in a model of GBM and may provide the basis for future therapeutics in GBM patients. Findings are published online in Frontiers in Pharmacology: https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.746470
A COMPLEMENT TO THE COVID-19 VACCINE
Learnings in the lab for fighting back COVID-19 and the evolving mutants
Research lead by Dr. Bazan at LSU Health New Orleans Neuroscience Center of Excellence uncovered that Elovanoids (ELVs), messengers made from omega-3 very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids discovered by the Dr Bazan in 2017, block the virus that causes COVID-19 from entering human cells and protect the lung alveoli.
The idea to explore this issue came in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. Because the compounds are protective against damage in the brain and retina of the eye, and because the COVID-19 virus clearly damages the lung, the initial experiment was to test if the compounds would also protect the lung.
In Dr. Bazan’s lab, human lung alveoli was set up in petri dish cultures. Compared to other demographics, elderly men are more affected by COVID-19. That said, lung tissue from a 78-year-old man who died of pulmonary causes unrelated to the virus was used in the experiments. They made the astounding discovery that the compounds antagonize damage mediated by the virus and counteract lung-damaging consequences.
Then an unexpected discovery evolved. The alveoli protection was a response to the compounds that triggered enhanced expression of a set of protective proteins. Their findings are published online in Scientific Reports, available here: www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-91794-z
Based on these findings, Dr. Bazan began CurVir Biotech (www.curvirbiotech.com) focused on preventives and therapeutics against viral infections, particularly SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 spreading to other organs including the brain.
FINDINGS AND PATENTS TO WORK
Moving discoveries from the lab bench to the patient
Dr. Bazan’s discoveries became patents licensed from LSUHSC to the startup companies that he co-founded. They are NeuResto Therapeutics (www.neuresto.com) that focuses on Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, retinal degenerations, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and other brain and retina diseases and South Rampart Pharma (www.southrampartpharma.com) for the development of a non-addictive and non-toxic painkiller.
43 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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Through our research we work to find answers for questions that don’t yet have answers for the conditions that don’t yet have cures. DR. NICOLAS BAZAN
NEUROSCIENTIST, AUTHOR, EDUCATOR & FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF THE NEUROSCIENCE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE AT LSU 44 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO HONOR DR. NICOLAS BAZAN
In 2022, Dr. Bazan will be recognized with the Exceptional Contributions to Human Physiology and Translational Medicine Award.
Over the course of his career, his research has focused on understanding cellular/molecular mechanisms to prevent and cure Alzheimer’s disease, other neurodegenerative diseases, and other neurological conditions. This is reflected in over 500 peer-reviewed publications (PubMed), in addition to monographs, books, and chapters, an h-index of 102 (Google Scholar), an i10-index of 441, and greater than 42,920 citations to his work (Google Scholar) as of December 6, 2021. He is also the inventor of over 130 patents/provisional patents.
As the academic community commends his work in the field of neuroscience, the Awareness Ties community celebrates Dr. Nicolas Bazan for his endless efforts to raise awareness for matters of the mind. Through science, literature and film, he has dedicated his life to the serving others. We are honored to have him part of our family as our Official Ambassador for Alzheimer’s Awareness. ∎
Stay tuned for features to follow in the ‘Being Bazan’ Spotlight Series, as we share the life of Dr. Nicolas Bazan as a teacher, mentor, community leader, author, film producer, arts patron, entrepreneur and above all family man.
Born in Argentina, MD, at the University of Tucuman in Argentina, trained at Columbia University P&S, NYC, and Harvard Medical School. He was appointed faculty at age 26 at Univ. of Toronto/Clarke Institute of Psychiatry. He is Founding Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence, School of Medicine, LSU Health New Orleans, inaugural founder of The Ernest C. and Yvette C. Villere Chair for Research in Retinal Degeneration (1984-), and appointed to the highest academic rank in the LSU System, a Boyd Professor (1994-). He is also a Foreign Adjunct Professor of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Learn more about Dr. Bazan: www.awarenessties.us/nicolasbazan
45 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
Artwork/Photo Credit: Ariya 46 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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‘DIRECTION DECODED’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY ARIYA
UNTITLED
NO WORDS TO BE FOUND And then you feel you don’t have a right to give a piece a name, as any words prescribed or title assessed would only underserve what’s already so eloquently said without words. When artwork exceeds translation, it’s best left unbound and unrestricted by titling.
This is one of those pieces as defined above.
ARIYA
Artist & Awareness Ties Official Ambassador for LGBTQ+ Awareness www.awarenessties.us/ariya I am a creative intuitive artist sharing the universe I see and experience beyond the boundaries of our planet. My creations come from inner awareness that is heart centered and does not rely on analysis or head-based questions. It is a way of creating that reflects the connection into your emotions and responding to what feels right. This intuitive space is a place of trust that opens doors to my imagination that I would never find by reason and sensory perception.
47 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
I wish the world was blind. LEX GILLETTE
5X PARALYMPIC MEDALIST, 4X WORLD CHAMPION & KEYNOTE SPEAKER Photo Credit: Future’s Past Photography 48 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
‘NO NEED FOR SIGHT WHEN YOU HAVE VISION’ BY LEX GILLETTE
I WISH THE WORLD WAS BLIND
A LONGING FOR SOCIETY TO SEE (AND LOVE) BEYOND SIGHT Well, I’d like to start by saying my English teacher from high school would not be thrilled with the title of this article but in this case, the message outshines my grammatical hiccup.
In September of 2020, I entered the Toastmasters International Speech Contest. This is a contest that involves speaking at a few levels. First, you must outlast the members of your local club. If you’re fortunate to win over the judges in the club level, then you move on to the area level. If you surpass that stage, then you head to the division level. Once you conquer that, you’ll then go to the district level. If you win, you’ll then go to the regional level, and when I say region, I’m now talking about different regions of the world. The club, area, division, and district levels are all held domestically. Once you get past those stages, you go on to the rest of the world.
I was fortunate enough to make it all the way to the regional round, and that is where I was eliminated. Had I won that, I would’ve made it to the semi-finals, and from there it would’ve been competing for the title in the final round.
Now that you understand the gist of things, here’s the important part. With everything that has gone on in the world over the past couple years, I felt that there needed to be a “real” message. As we think about rights, I want you to read the speech that I presented. It was entitled, ‘I Wish the World Was Blind’.
Why that title?
Well, I believe that our rights are compromised a lot, and a large reason why is because of eyesight. We’re judged by our physical stature, the color of our skin, and the things we wear. People allow their eyesight and what they see to dictate how they act and behave. It’s so sad at times.
The international speech contest was an opportunity to share a message to the world, to encourage people to be guided by a genuine care and appreciation for others. Once we adopt that type of love, I believe this earth will be a better place.
So, as I share the speech, I want you to realize that we must transcend beyond what our eyes see, and move toward a space that is not guided solely by what the eyes reveal. I hope you enjoy!
Imagine the silhouette of two people.
A young boy and his mother standing inside of a small bathroom.
The high pitch voice of the boy fills the air.
“Mom, I don’t know what’s happened. I can’t see as clearly as I could earlier today.”
The mother cradles his chin in her hand as a slow stream of tears slowly falls down his face.
She gazes in his eyes and can see nothing wrong,
But with each doctors visit, the vision chart became harder to read.
Each time in the operating room became impossible to handle.
With every blink of the eye, it all vanished right in front of his face
Until one day he felt alone in a small cramped space.
That young boy was me. 49 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
Tears once streamed down my face because I lost all glimpse of light
But today, tears fill my eyes because the world has too much sight
As outlandish as it sounds,
I wish the world was blind.
So that it can taste every morsel of a nourishing palette
Comprised of a starch chalk full of steady passion for personal growth and development
A healthy dose of carbs full of understanding and care for others
No meal is complete unless it has protein
The type of protein that provides courage and strength to navigate through any dark corner of this country that we live in, but don’t forget to wash it all down with a wealth of wisdom because wisdom is what reduces our chances of failure. If at any point you taste the bitterness of ego and deceit, I suggest you spit it out before it negatively effects your inner being.
I wish the world was blind
So that it could smell the pungent odor of pride
And if you dare to take a deep inhale of this awful aroma
I pray that you cough and sneeze profusely in hopes of ridding your body of such infection.
I want you to embrace the scent of solitude
Spend a bit of time alone and learn about yourself. Your attitude, your behavior. Your purpose for living.
Do you like yourself?
I hope you do, especially since you’re the person that you spend the most time with.
Please don’t fall victim to what society thinks.
In their world you’re liked by the number of taps you get on Twitter, Facebook and IG.
Solitude is the sweetest smelling fragrance
for those who separate themselves from the raging influences of society.
I wish the world was blind
So that it could hear the harmony in helping others
Realizing that we come from diverse backgrounds and cultures,
we look different, talk different, walk different, and act different
But no matter our circumstances, all our ears should hear a similar tune
And that’s to connect with, love, and protect every single man, woman, and child under the sun and moon.
Maybe there’s a disconnect that’s keeping you from having this type of love for the world.
Audit your fears and discover what may be creating this gap
Is it trusting others, remaining loyal to others, empathizing with others?
Keep your fears from beating on the head of your ear drums
Because you may eventually lose hearing and fall deaf to the voices of those who need you the most.
I wish the world was blind
So that it could touch the hot coles of hate and feel how much it burns.
Still standing on racism, sexism, ableism?
Some people just will never learn
I want you to feel my warm blooded being as we embrace in a hug
And understand that the color of my skin shouldn’t be an issue if you’re a true believer of love
I need you to feel where I’m coming from
Our hearts and souls are more precious than any amount of gold
But it doesn’t appear that our world believes this.
That story is getting old. 50 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
There’s a flavor of fulfillment. Taste it.
A scent of solitude. Smell it.
A tune of togetherness. Hear it.
And a touch of love. Feel it.
But one thing’s for sure.
You can look high, look low, look left, and look right,
But the true beauty of life is something our eyes can’t find.
And that’s why I wish the world was blind. ∎
LEX GILLETTE
5x Paralympic Medalist, 4x World Champion & Keynote Speaker www.awarenessties.us/lex-gillette LEX GILLETTE has quickly become one of the most sought after keynote speakers on the market. Losing his sight at the age of eight was painful to say the least, but life happens. Things don’t always go your way. You can either stay stuck in frustration because the old way doesn’t work anymore, or you can create a new vision for your life, even if you can’t see how it will happen just yet. His sight was lost, but Lex acquired a renewed vision, a vision that has seen him become the best totally blind long and triple jumper Team USA has ever witnessed.
51 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
The power one person can wield is immense. Never underestimate what they can do regardless of how the world might see them. JOEL CARTNER
LAWYER, AWARENESS TIES OFFICIAL ADVISOR & COLUMNIST 52 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
‘UNYIELDINGLY HUMAN’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY JOEL CARTNER
THE POWER OF ONE
THE LEGACY OF A LEADER WHO SOUGHT RIGHTS FOR ALL A ruling from the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is one of the most singularly powerful events in modern society. For example, look no further than Bush v. Gore1. That singular decision, reached by nine individuals, unquestionably changed the trajectory of the United States and the world. It’s Justice Ginsburg’s famous “I decent” opinion. As someone with a law degree who reluctantly does practice law, I can tell you I disagree with the majority in this opinion. What I can’t tell you, however, is that I don’t see how the majority got there. The aftermath we are left with is left up to our leaders. Justice Ginsburg was one of those leaders.
I in no way, perhaps for my sanity, consider myself acting as a leader when writing these articles. This article has made me, in some ways, more nervous than anything else I’ve written here. The reason for that is that I’ve been nervous about letting something go into the world every other time,2 it has been because I was exposing some fundamental part of myself. But here, I wasn’t sure that talking about Justice Ginsburg’s legacy in the context of rights and wrongs could be useful for exactly the reason above. I can generally see how legal minds I disagree with interpret the law. For as much criticism as I could at the feet of the American justice system (and there are a lot), one thing I cannot criticize is its plasticity. That changeability is incredibly important. It’s how people like Justice Ginsberg create change.3
Justice Ginsberg probably penned some judicial opinions that if we could ask her, she would want a second look, but a leader’s job is not to make the right decision 100% of the time. A leader’s job is to come to the best decision they can for the entities they are responsible for, given all of the information and resources they have access to. To borrow from Aaron Sorkin’s “The West Wing” again, “Every once in a while there is a day with an absolute right and an absolute wrong, and those days almost always include body counts.” Having listened to countless oral arguments and interviews and having read a great many of her opinions, I can say, with confidence, she did the best she could, which given her standards, is pretty incredible. Yet, within such a titanically powerful system, Justice Ginsburg managed to affect change against all odds.
Full disclosure this article has been rewritten a lot of times from many angles that bear no resemblance to this one. The one benefit to writing in that many directions was that I rediscovered so much information about and around Justice Ginsberg. One that stood out to me particularly was her recounting of her conversation with Justice O’Conner when asked if she had any regrets. She said that Justice O’Conner once told her, “Suppose we had come of age at a time when women lawyers were welcome at the bar. You know what? Today, we would be retired partners from some large law firm, but because that route was not open to us, we had to find another way, and we both ended up in the United States Supreme Court.’4 Justice Ginsburg used every one of those obstacles to her advantage. This is something she would continue throughout her career. She opened the door to advancing women's rights by first defending men's rights.5 Justice Ginsburg fought against generalizing the abilities of all people throughout her life. One particularly good example from early in her time on SCOTUS was in the U.S. v. Virginia (1996). In the opinion (which I would recommend reading)6, Justice Ginsburg states the necessity of not generalizing people based on what society thinks they can achieve. This very sentiment epitomizes Justice Ginsburg’s leadership for us all. The power one person can wield is immense. Never underestimate what they can do regardless of how the world might see them. ∎
JOEL CARTNER
Lawyer, Awareness Ties Official Advisor & Columnist www.awarenessties.us/joelcartner JOEL CARTNER is a lawyer and public policy professional with Cerebral Palsy Spastic Diplegia and Retinopathy of Prematurity. Cartner has a background in public health, disability, and education law and policy. He received his J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law and his B.A. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Cartner currently lives in Washington D.C. where he works as a Document Review Attorney while seeking legislative employment.
1 https://www.oyez.org/cases/2000/00-949
2 and yes, I have a power ranking of the articles that have scared me the most.
3 It’s also how rights are stripped away as well, see, voting rights and abortion.
4 https://www.npr.org/2019/07/28/745304221/does-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-have-any-regrets-hardly
5 https://www.scotusblog.com/2020/09/ruth-bader-ginsburgs-fight-for-gender-equity-was-for-all-of-us/
6 https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/94-1941.ZO.html
53 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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We are all on our own healing journeys… EUNICE NUNA
PSYCHOLOGIST, LIFE COACH, SPEAKER, GLOBAL GOODWILL AMBASSADOR 54 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH EUNICE NUNA
BEAUTY IN BROKENNESS
T H E S A LV E O F S H A R I N G Y O U R T R U T H TRIGGER WARNING: RAPE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Eunice is a psychologist, speaker, Global Goodwill Ambassador, and life coach. A survivor of sexual violence, she shares stories of other women survivors who are thriving, liberated, and passionate to end the cycle of sexual violence. She equips survivors to grow in self-dependency, leadership and healing through her gift of counseling. Eunice is dedicated to giving all children and women the confidence and ability to protect themselves against all types of violence.
ALLIÉ: At 18 years, you wanted to go to college, but the society you were living in wanted you to settle for less. Because you couldn’t change the lack of opportunity where you lived, you changed your location. You went to Nairobi in search of a better life. What did you find there?
EUNICE: I was lost, and I was raped. It was the year 2007. Kenya was in the election period that had caused so much tribal war. I was to work as a nanny to get school fees to clear my school fees balance with the hope to go to college. I quickly trusted the perpetrator, simply because he was from my tribe and was a government officer. He promised to protect me, but instead, he lured me to his house and raped me with his friend. He said he was teaching me how to live in the city. Months later, I realized that I was pregnant.
BEAUTY IN BROKENNESS
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH EUNICE NUNA
55 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
ALLIÉ: In addition to the trauma you endured, to add insult to the injury, you had the stigma to deal with. Abortion was a consideration. Please share the choice you made and why.
EUNICE: I was more traumatized by being pregnant than being raped because I worried more about society's words. I was scared of stigma more than how I felt inside. Everyone I met was always quick to judge me for being pregnant. My society accused me of promiscuity. In my thinking, I knew if only I got rid of the pregnancy, then I could deal with the trauma of being raped silently. Abortion was illegal in Kenya. The few places where they did it illegally were costly, and I did not have money. I did all the jobs I could, begging men for money and even having sex for cash. Finally, I got the money, and when I went to the abortion clinic, women ahead of me were screaming from inside. Abortion was physically painful. I was starving and scared. I had not eaten in days trying to save money for abortion and, in fact, didn't know what to I’d eat after. While in the waiting line, God spoke to me. He said the child I was carrying was a blessing. It was hard to believe, so I changed plans that I would throw him away when I gave birth. I never went for prenatal care, and I did not have anything prepared for the baby. But I am happy to say that my son is the best thing that has happened to me.
ALLIÉ: Some dream of fancy homes and fancy cars, your dream was one that fancied providing support for others. “I began dreaming of supporting survivors of sexual violence and helping them see beauty in their brokenness.” After all that happened, you dreamed of being of service. Tell us how you made that dream a reality.
EUNICE: After I gave birth, my sister, who is barely 2 years older, looked for me. She was also struggling to even feed herself, and her education dream had been shattered as well by the same culture. She took care of my son, so again I did not get a chance to throw him again. Instead, I started working in the slum we lived in. I washed people's laundry, cleaned houses, fetched water at roadside car washes to feed my child. Somehow after four years of hard work, I saved $15 and enrolled at the Kenya Polytechnic School. With the help of my mother, a tea farmer in the village, and well-wishers, I defied all odds and emerged top of my class with Distinction in Counseling Psychology. I was forced to look deep within myself when my life began to change. I started to accept that I needed help sharing my trauma and becoming a loving mother to my son. I began dreaming of supporting survivors of sexual violence and helping them see the beauty in their brokenness. I walked back to the slum, telling the girls I knew that they could dream, get an education, and we could all challenge the beliefs and cultures which made us feel unworthy. Today, I continue to offer free counseling services to any rape survivor worldwide. In Kenya, I have an emergency rescue center for the girls we rescue from the abusive environment before they transition to school. I invest in girls education, especially girl survivors of sexual violence. I’ve also trained 1,000 boys and girls about sexual violence,
ALLIÉ: Sharing your story has helped many women open up and share about their own experiences of sexual violence. Has speaking about your life helped you heal as well?
EUNICE: Healing is a lifelong process. I heal every day, especially whenever I share with someone who shares similar experiences. Speaking out and being vulnerable has brought amazing people close to my life and helped me make great networks of people who really encourage me and make healing possible
ALLIÉ: For those who live with unhealed trauma and unyielding shame, what words of hope would you offer?
EUNICE: You are not alone. Even when you do not have words that can explain your trauma, someone somewhere is thinking of you. Speaking out is not for everyone, and it's okay if you don't feel like talking about your experience. We are all on our own healing journeys, and we shall all make it to liberation. ∎
We are proud to announce that Eunice Nuna has recently be named as an Awareness Ties Official Ambassador for Gender Equality. Learn more about Eunice and her work: www.awarenessties.us/eunice-nuna
56 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
AD
We want to plant seeds of possibilities, of hope… AMY MCLAREN
FOUNDER OF VILLAGE IMPACT 58 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
‘THE DECIDED HEART EFFECT’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY SONJA MONTIEL
VILLAGE IMPACT
THE RIGHT FOR AN EDUCATION “Let’s just build one school…”
According to the 17 Global Goals of the United Nations, quality education will contribute to ending world poverty and hunger, increasing health and well-being, and protecting the deterioration of the planet. Yet, as reported by Village Impact, there are still 258 million children around the world who are not provided an education— more than half of these reside in sub-Saharan Africa.
Village Impact is currently building its fifteenth school in one of the most rural locations in Kenya. What makes this school particularly special is multifaceted.
First, after learning from the Kenyan government that many girls dropped out of school during the pandemic due to high pregnancy rates, this will become Village Impact’s first all-girls school, home to over 600 students.
Second, the school is the first to offer a high school education in its region. Third, it is the first to be a double decker facility providing more classrooms to lower the current average 1:110 teacher to student ratio.
Finally, the location of this school is walking distance to where students live, cutting down their vulnerable walking commutes in dangerous areas from hours to minutes. And since this school is closer to where people live, it has become a symbol of community and hope where others will use the school after hours to gather, plan, and innovate on ways to improve the community and overall economic development.
“She was unapologetic for her passion…”
Meet Amy McLaren, who cofounded Village Impact with her husband, Stu. Amy’s background as a school teacher remains the beating heart of creating something impactful within education. They advocate that education is a right for everyone, committing to building one school at a time. However, their starting point didn’t come easy. It took two years for Amy to establish Village Impact as a charity in Canada. In fact, she developed a tenacious reputation from the government office with her daily calls and requests for action. She was unapologetic for her passion, being persistent, purposeful, and assertive to get the charity approved. It worked.
Amy’s commitment to building schools throughout Kenya was rooted by a deep belief that “no child should be forced to study outdoors in unhealthy weather conditions or in dangerous environments. Above all, no child should be denied access to school at all. With a good education, children can escape poverty.” Once Village Impact officially became a charity in 2006, Amy and Stu started building their first school. However, the commitment required the assurance of sustainable change.
59 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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Keeping to their standard, Amy and Stu made it a requirement that they would establish partnerships with the Kenyan government, and local organizations and charities. “We didn’t want schools to depend on us to continue surviving if we couldn’t be present. If we were to walk away tomorrow, those schools would still run, and the 5,000 students would still be able to attend school. That was critical for us.”
Along with the support from Kenyan entities, Amy assigns a designated Kenyan team that facilitates every decision when it comes to construction, curriculum design, supplies and materials, and the hiring of local teachers, staff, and administrators. For Amy and Stu, every school must be managed by Kenyan locals who understand that the investment in talent, resources, and time leads to a greater quality of life for the entire school community, and the area it serves.
The mission of Village Impact is not only to provide access to knowledge through education, but also to provide entrepreneurial skill-building opportunities. This part of the mission came after assessing the job market and hearing from Kenyan teachers who asked children what they wanted to learn. Although the knowledge that children will learn is important, Amy, Stu, teachers and community leaders placed equal value on the schools providing engagement with the people within it, from peers and teachers to staff and community members. Amy reminds us that “education can change lives not solely on what they learn, but also in the relationships they gain.”
The entrepreneurial program was put on hold during the pandemic, however once it returns, children will take field trips to the city and other attractions to inspire them on what can be possible. They will also hear from Kenyan entrepreneurs about what it takes to problem-solve and run your own business. The older children will participate in a two-week summer camp learning entrepreneurial skills while being mentored by business leaders. Amy emphasized, “We just want to plant seeds of possibilities, of hope, so that students become influencers in creating better futures for themselves, their families, and their communities.”
60 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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AwareNow Podcast
VILLAGE IMPACT
Written and Narrated by Sonja Montiel
www.awarenow.us/podcast/village-impact
What’s next for Village Impact? After they complete the building of their fifteen school, Amy and Stu will build a coed double-decker school to begin lowering those overwhelming teacher to student ratios of 1 to 110.
When I asked Amy about what she felt was RIGHT, she shared this message:
“You can’t take away education from anybody. Once you have it, the knowledge rightfully belongs to you forever. That impacts families, communities, and overall quality of life for everyone.”
As you read Amy’s story about change, about taking action, about creating belonging that will become a ripple effect to impact entire communities, I am curious. What resonates with you when it comes to what you feel is “right”? Amy and I urge you to reflect on this, and take one step in making someone else’s life better. Maybe it’s a word given, companionship, a donation, or simply showing up to support. Maybe it’s giving time to learn and become more aware about one thing.
Whatever it is, the act of giving, in however that looks for you, might lead to something you are passionate about, and perhaps that passion will improve the world in some amazing way, like it did for Amy and Stu McLaren. ∎
Learn more about Amy McLaren and Village Impact:
www.villageimpact.com
www.amymclaren.com
SONJA MONTIEL
Co-Founder of The Decided Heart Effect www.awarenessties.us/sonja-montiel Sonja has served more than twenty-one years in the college admissions profession, having extensive experience in the areas of freshman, transfer, and international admissions. During her time working with thousands of teens and young adults worldwide, she began to witness many societies creating an unhealthy college-bound culture that misguides our young people in their pursuit of living a life of fulfillment. In 2021, Sonja met Hilary Bilbrey to begin something amazing. They created The DH Effect – The Decided Heart Effect with a mission to guide individuals, schools, and organizations to build high-trust relationships and belonging through self-discovery and personal accountability.
61 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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Dream big, Matthew. MATTHEW WALZER
PUBLIC SPEAKER, ADVOCATE FOR UNIVERSAL DESIGN & AMBASSADOR FOR DISABILITY AWARENESS 62 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
‘TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY MATTHEW WALZER
LETTER TO MYSELF
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR MY YOUNGER SELF Dear Matthew,
Congratulations, you’re a high school freshman.You made it through middle school and all of the awkward stuff it comes with. Everybody is trying to fit in and find their friends and not rely on their parents to arrange their social life for them.
Now, you are more on your own, but fair warning, this could be a little more nerve-racking. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is quite large. For the first time, you are going to be pushed around school in a wheelchair because it is impossible for you to walk across campus with canes and carry your backpack full of too many books and other stuff that you’ll never even need. Trust me, though, there is much to look forward to. You’ll have the opportunity to join plenty of clubs and meet new people, have some great teachers and really leave your mark there. Who knows, you may even meet one of your best friends when you least expect it. Over the next few years, you will work to get your driver’s license, which will be an interesting challenge since you are blind in one eye and wear glasses. When all is said and done, Dad will turn out to be your best driving instructor. Your parents are the ones that believe in you the most, but Dad is the one with enough patience and courage to get behind the wheel with you. You will have to go through a lot of red tape to get your license, but you’ll see. Things will work out the way they are supposed to in the end.
You will excel academically, so go ahead and apply to every college you want. A word of advice: Stay in Florida, where it’s warm. CP and walking with canes through the cold and snow don’t mix. I know you’ve always dreamt of going away to college and living on your own; you can do it. It could be scary at first, and you may even be tempted to give in and go home, but you also may thrive.
I also know that after reading what I told you, you’re staring down at your sneakers right now, those beautiful LeBron 8’s that Mom just tied for you this morning. The same shoes that you dream about being easier to get on and without laces. I know you have a lot of great ideas about that. Dream big, Matthew. A lot of good stuff to come. Best of luck!
Yours truly,
Myself
MATTHEW WALZER
Public Speaker, Advocate for Universal Design & Ambassador for Disability Awareness www.awarenessties.us/matthew-walzer Catalyst in helping Nike develop and design its FlyEase line of adaptive footwear. MATTHEW WALZER is a strong public speaker and advocate for universal design and the disability community. Having accepted numerous awards for from organizations such as The ARC and United Cerebral Palsy, Matthew has also spoken at the White House at an inclusive design event under The Obama Administration. Matthew currently serves as an Official Columnist for AwareNow Magazine and an Official Ambassador for Awareness Ties where he works to raise awareness.
63 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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There are moments in time that align perfectly with desire, wants and needs… JACK MCGUIRE
CO-FOUNDER OF AWARENESS TIES 64 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
ORIGINAL POETRY BY JACK MCGUIRE
GROWING FORWARD
THOUGHTS IN CONSIDERATION OF TOMORROW To look inward while moving forward
The obligation of these words can make you feel heavy, sometimes too heavy to move.
There are moments in time that align perfectly with desire, wants and needs
That time is now.
We stand at the very cusp of tearing the fabric from the foundation
That we have always known was too weak to hold our aspersions,
To hold the essence of us.
How do we grow in all directions?
To realize the burden of evolution lies squarely on our shoulders,
By logic you can only control your own actions,
But together we can move mountains,
Correct wrongs, build bridges of hope,
Create an entirely new future.
Together.
65 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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By the age of 12, I was diagnosed with clinical depression, PTSD, anxiety, an eating disorder, OCD, along with other behavioral and emotional disorders. Thanks, mom. DR. MEAGAN T. COPELIN
SUPPORTING US CHAIR OF ACCELERATING MENTAL WELLNESS & FOUNDER OF MENTAL RICH 66 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
PERSONAL STORY BY DR. MEAGAN T. COPELIN
MOVING ON
FORGIVING PAST TRAUMA WITH CLEAR & PRESENT PURPOSE TRIGGER WARNING: RAPE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SELF-HARM
As a young girl, growing up in the city of New Orleans, I was always determined to be the very best and to never give up despite my obstacles. In fact, my aunts and uncles nicknamed me “Maybe Tomorrow” as they saw determination and grit from the moment I was born. However, being born with grit, determination and fight doesn’t always matter when you’re born to teenage drug addicts.
My great-grandmother, Anna Copelin, who we called Mother Anna, holds a special place in my heart. Mother Anna passed away when I was 3 years of age, and although I do not remember much about her, I do know she still guides me and watches over me daily. She has truly been my guardian angel.
My mom and dad were teenagers when I was born. I was primarily raised the first 3 years of my life by Mother Anna and my great grand-father, Daniel Copelin (Granddaddy Copelin), not because they wanted to but because they needed to.
My great grandparents were full of love. The greatest memory I shared with Granddaddy Copelin was us sitting at the kitchen table eating stale ginger snaps and cold hot dog links. For some reason, my granddaddy loved giving us grandkids stale snacks. I still smile thinking about how my granddaddy enjoyed sharing a snack that I found very unpleasant, while I enjoyed sharing time with him. He was the first man that I ever loved, and he showed me the love I lacked and needed, as I didn’t grow up with my dad in my life. My granddaddy and certain uncles were there for me.
My birth mom was in and out of my life and was extremely unstable. I remember when I was around 6 years old, she was involved in an unstable relationship with a man. He got so mad at her that he hit her in the head with a car jack. She needed over 200 stitches. That was very scary to watch. I really think I started to experience mental health issues around that time or maybe earlier, starting around the age of 5.
My dad disappeared when I was around 7 years old. I didn’t remember him and never cared to find him. I did start asking about him later but remembered that the other men in my life made sure I was good. (I’m happy with that. I never had daddy issues thank goodness.)
“No child should ever have to live through this kind of hell.”
My mom and dad were both crack heads. I mean, call it like you see it. They abused drugs heavily. I saw my mom take drugs, snort crack, and sell her body. I was so young when I saw all of this. WTF?! No child should ever have to live through this kind of hell. My mental health was spiraling out of control. I was starting to act out and cut myself. I was a child. Why was I seeing this sh!t?! 67 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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At the age of 8 years old, I was raped multiple times by my mom’s boyfriend. DR. MEAGAN T. COPELIN
SUPPORTING US CHAIR OF ACCELERATING MENTAL WELLNESS & FOUNDER OF MENTAL RICH 68 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
“He was a pimp and would have sex with prostitutes before and after he raped me.”
At the time, I never realized this was a sickness my mother possessed, and for years I did not like her. I hated her. I didn’t want a relationship with her. I even told people she had died.
I was angry. When I said anything I said at that time, I meant it. She was f*cking up my mental health. I was depressed, had PTSD, was wetting the damn bed, experiencing an eating disorder, etc. I was a child. No child should ever have to experience this, no matter what. I was mad at that time.
My mom had lots of men in her life, and I mean LOTS of men. She would meet a man on Wednesday, and we would be living with him on Friday. I watched my mom experience lots of pain from men, from being abused to being assaulted. She was on drugs and gone for days. There were times I didn’t see my mom for days, even weeks. This was traumatizing for myself as well as my brother and sister.
My mental health was spiraling. I was cutting myself and biting my nails down to the skin. I was going through hell. Getting held down, raped and pimped out by your mother when you are eight years old seriously f*cks with your mental health.
At the age of 8 years old, I was raped multiple times by my mom’s boyfriend. I think he was boyfriend number 500 of that year. I loved school and would go there right after being raped by that ugly old @ss monster. He smelled like grease and molded bread. He was a pimp and would have sex with prostitutes before and after he raped me.
My mom was aware of this, but when drugs take over your life, your addiction is your focus and not anything else around you. He told me not to tell anyone. He even told me that he would tell my mother and that she wouldn’t do anything. And he was right. Then I told her, and still nothing was done. These two were really messing with my PTSD. Severe depression was kicking in. Crack and cocaine are truly a hell of a drug.
By the age of 12, I was diagnosed with clinical depression, PTSD, anxiety, an eating disorder, OCD, along with other behavioral and emotional disorders. Thanks, mom. School was my safe haven and even though I was bullied daily, I still went with dirty clothes and cuts on my body. I should have been playing with barbie dolls and eating dinner at the table with a normal family, but I was facing severe trauma at 8 and 9 years old.
I eventually moved in with an abusive aunt, who would beat me with a broom and make me sleep in my own urine, as I was still wetting the bed from severe trauma. I was suffering and going downhill. After two years or so, I had an opportunity to move in with another aunt who changed my life. That aunt saw that I needed help and sent me to see a licensed psychiatrist. I was provided a prescription for mental health medication as well.
For years, I did not like my mom. I did not see her again until I was 20 years old. I had to really learn forgiveness and it was hard. I sought counseling and joined a church to help me learn how to forgive her. I finally forgave her about 7 years ago. I am now 40. 69 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
I realized that forgiving her was not about her, but about me. It was about freeing me. To move on and succeed in life, I had to learn the power of forgiveness. That was truly a process for me. I had to be open and understanding. I had to place myself in her shoes in order to understand her struggles.
I didn’t have to have a relationship with her to forgive her. It felt good to rid myself of that baggage that was holding me back for years. The acts that hurt me will always be with me as I have that right, but forgiveness has lessened its grip on me. Forgiveness has allowed me to live with understanding in my personal life and show empathy and compassion for my parents, as well as others around me.
When I share my story with others, I always say that I am happy I have been through the things I have been through. My reason is because I believe God knew I could handle this. I am not my parents and never inherited any of their traits or habits. I was placed on this earth to help young girls and women all over the world share their story. Speaking up regarding the stigma of mental health is my gift. I was called and meant to do this.
“Your child needs to be a child…”
What can be done to improve your child’s mental health? One of the best things you can do to keep your child mentally healthy is to take care of your own mental health. As a parent, it is important that you protect your child and never allow them to be placed in situations that may harm them and scar them for life. Your child needs to be a child and do things that children do. Your child deserves that. ∎
If you're thinking about hurting yourself, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the Lifeline network is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Dr. Meagan T. Copelin is the Supporting US Chair of Accelerating Mental Wellness, a social-justice campaign to co-create stigma free workplaces built on a foundation of empathy with needed mental health supports and programs. Meagan is also an international speaker, author, empowerment coach, blogger, contributing writer and podcaster. She is also the Founder of Mental Rich, a mental health company and brand, dedicated to helping young girls and women who suffer from mental illnesses, steaming from abuse, abandonment, and rejection. Meagan’s passion is to become a trailblazing voice for young girls and women worldwide. Drawing on her own experiences of mental illness due to abuse, rejection, and abandonment, Meagan uses her words to encourage others to build a home within themselves; to love, live, and create fearlessly. Her tremendous projects and efforts have helped her to be featured on several platforms for the purpose of empowering women to tell their story from struggle to success and to live up to their full potential.
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WHEN IT COMES TO AWARENESS,
WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK.
TOGETHER WE RISE. JOIN THE TRIBE.
WWW.AWARENESSTIES.US/TRIBE
Rewrite your own wrong. THI NGUYEN
NONPROFIT CONSULTANT, ENTREPRENEUR & PHILANTHROPIST Photo Credit: GoGreenDress 72 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
‘GO GREEN DRESS’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY THI NGUYEN
TIME TO REWRITE
NO TIME LIKE NOW TO RIGHT YOUR WRONGS Traveling and adventure sparks an interest in people.
Usually curious but not willing, some relive the life of others while fantasizing how one day they too will have these experiences. Yet the interesting thing about travel is through social media you tend to post the ‘perfect’ photo and seldom the hiccups, accidents, lost moments or instances where things go astray. Why is it that we choose to only share the good and not the bad side of travel? Why don’t we discuss the moments of doubt during our trip?
I feel it stems from our own fear of being judged by those who warned us of travel. Or perhaps it is a way for us to capture those beautiful moments and focus on the most memorable instances where we want to look back on. As for me, I think it stems from a desire to share the good in the world. The possibilities for those who are unable to travel and to take them on the journey with me. I want to create a world where dreams can become a reality; where all it takes is for you to make a choice and decide what you want more. I want to show people that with so little you can truly experience so much.
Through multiple conversations from friends, acquaintances, loved ones and even strangers the most common response is 'now is just not the right time'. When is the right time? Should you wait until you finish school? Perhaps after you’ve started your first job? Maybe better yet after meeting that perfect person, start a family, have kids and then grow old? Whenever you think the time is right, it is. When it comes to time, only you can decide how you spend it, with whom you spend it and what impact, experiences or memories you will use your time to create.
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Do what is right for you right now.
Time to me is one of the most prized currencies we have. It is something that we cannot get back once it’s gone. It is something we are unable to borrow should we need more. Time is not something we can exchange with others, and time is sometimes out of our own control.
We have a finite amount of time in this world, and at any given moment our time can cease to exist. So why is it that we put off the things we want to do, dream of doing or wish that we could do until later? Why won’t we make time for ourselves, whether that is to travel, go on an adventure, relax, workout, see a show, have a nice dinner or take that vacation? Why is it that we seem to have multiple reasons to not do what we actually want to do? When is it the right time to invest in yourself?
Being a woman, it is sometimes difficult to discuss my lifestyle with certain individuals. There is this idea that I should be married, I should have kids, I should start a family, I should own a house, I should do this and I should do that. Why is it that we should be doing any of this? Who set up these parameters to begin with? Why are females expected to bear children or look for a partner by a certain age? Why is it frowned upon if you live your life on your own terms? Why do I sometimes feel outcasted when I march to my own beat?
I want to write this wrong and I want to share this here that we as women should be able to do whatever it is that we want to do and live our life in whatever capacity that makes us happy. We should not feel pressured into society's ideas of what we should do with our body, how we spend our time or how we should act. It is our own right to do as we please just as long as we are happy and it does not cause harm to another individual, right?
I have witnessed too many people who passed away young before they were able to truly experience life, parents who worked their entire life only to realize they are now physically unable to take that dream trip, and friends who are stuck in the life cycle of the corporate world feeling unhappy and unfulfilled. The choice is yours. You have the power to make the change. You have to decide to choose yourself first, and slowly everything will fall into the right place. Let kindness be your compass and make happiness be your key. Use it to open whatever door that warms your heart and makes you smile. Isn't it time you start choosing yourself first?
My wish for you this holiday season is the ability to choose to invest in yourself. Rewrite your own wrong. Do what is right for you right now. May the new year bring changes beyond your imagination as you shine a light on what truly matters in your life, YOU. Follow my adventures of the @GoGreenDress on Instagram and please share with me your happy choices using the hashtag #GoGreenDress. ∎
THI NGUYEN
Nonprofit Consultant, Entrepreneur & Philanthropist www.awarenessties.us/thi THI NGUYEN brings with her over 2 decades of non profit experience as a participant, advisor, board member, consultant, volunteer and research and development specialist. Her expertise combining technology to further advance the vision and mission for philanthropic causes has allowed her to serve as a trusted partner with many notable organizations large and small. Thi has experience working with organizations focusing on combating various global issues such as: human sex trafficking, homelessness, poverty, fair wages, global warming, malnutrition, gender equality, humanitarian assistance and human rights. She's currently developing an app to connect individuals and corporations to assist nonprofits in furthering their vision and mission.
81 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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Mourning requires honouring… KATHY KISS
EDUCATOR, WRITER & HEALER 82 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
PERSONAL STORY BY KATHY KISS & A TRIBUTE TO PAPA JOE
GOOD MOURNING
GETTING THROUGH GRIEF
Finding good mourning… in a world of grinding grief is one of the greatest challenges in the world today. Mourning is a very universal human response. We must find ways to mourn our lost loved ones even when we find ourselves in a world of people dealing with various stages of grief.
Yes, it grinds. Grief wears more deeply than losses at any other period in my life. I think we need to talk about it and find ways to both mourn and celebrate the lives who have touched our own and have moved on for any reason.
This feels like a responsibility for me. It began before COVID approximately a year ago. I work in an academic setting. I was given this assignment by a truly brilliant friend, whom I was honoured to work with on an academic publication. The work firmed up a new friendship. He wasn't well and I believe was being given some insights into the future. He said the next project needed to be on grief and mourning, in a very global context.
My response was, “How do we do that… in a multicultural technology infused world?”
He responded with, “This is going to be more important in the future. Time to be thinking about it now.”
The discussion that followed included the research of Kubler Ross1, and pointed to how difficult this can be in a more globalized society. Through the conversation he often shifted from ‘we should’ to ‘you should’. That in itself made me more attentive, as I thought it would be a great project and an honour to do this together.
When he passed away, within days of this conversation, I felt it was his insight, his vision and my assignment.
So, dear friend, I begin and I feel your presence. I would encourage everyone to look at the work of Kubler Ross, which illuminates the stages or phases of grief for loss. It's helpful to know for ourselves and to recognize these and others. However, on this planet at this time, grief is grinding within ourselves and between ourselves. The loss of loved ones, relationships, roles, freedoms and even physical contact, and more impact each of us.
Within recent times, I struggled to share the loss of a niece whom I loved as a sister. I could not even visit her because of COVID restrictions. So, we text messaged as she died of cancer. As she is biological family, I felt justified that I could share some of my journey of grief for a while.
But how do I share the deep grief of the loss of a friend who was such a shining light in the world? How do I celebrate his legacy when sharing is such an important part of the mourning process?
I found myself unable to talk with biological family, friends, and colleagues, because it seems everyone is so injured by loss. How can I talk about a friend who became ‘soul family’ with people who lost spouses, children and relatives? Do they have a more valid accumulation of grieving at this time? I find myself thinking about the causes of loss. Does the cause make a deeper cut if you're grieving because of murder, COVID, cancer, accidents, overdoses, suicide?
83 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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He was electric… KATHY KISS
EDUCATOR, WRITER & HEALER 84 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
AwareNow Podcast
GOOD MOURNING
Written and Narrated by Kathy Kiss
www.awarenow.us/podcast/good-mourning
“Mourning must be shared.”
All this makes it that is impossible to assess, and so I try to carry this quietly within my heart, together with other losses. However, what I have found since my assignment is that we must find listeners. Mourning must be shared. That means I have to respectfully take a chance to celebrate the people I've lost and remind the world that we need to hold hands and listen to each other.
Mourning deeply the loss of a friend who lived far away and would be considered by many as a celebrity has challenged me. Papa Joe had a very influential multi-dimensional life and deserves to have his legacy continued. He taught everyone so much. He was electric. He recharged everyone he encountered with relentless determination, whether it was a celebrity or a stranger. He really was as he named himself, “the Electric Negro”, a black superhero who rocked L.A. That is what people saw and felt… he carried and cared for everyone he encountered for his whole life. He taught us determination and persistence in overcoming adversity… with a ‘race blind love’ of others. I've included a link as a tribute from those of us who feel we are soul family. It may seem like bragging about knowing such an amazing person, but it is what I need and what he deserves. That is the key to getting through this time. Mourning requires honouring.
We must celebrate the legacy of every person. This gives us all the responsibility of listening and of grateful prayer. The life of all, every single one, is important. Each one is an equal part of the “US” that is everything.
The legacy of those we lose is not determined by status, relationship or means of departure, but by what we learned by sharing their Earth journey. The circumstances of their departure don’t diminish their journey. In this passage, I hope I move others to share and listen without judgment or fear of awakening the very pain of loss in others, since so many of us are living it.
Humans have developed cultural and spiritual ways to deal with loss. These methods have developed over thousands of years. Now that we are unbounded by distance, race or religion, we’re needing to allow ourselves and others the freedom and camaraderie of holding hands as we pass through this global grief of world events, sharing stories and letting the light of loved ones stay with us. Listen, even, to the stories of strangers. The legacy of every soul is important.
Learn to have a truly ‘electric day’, as Papa Joe would have us do, where we honour our connections to the next world and lift each other up in this world with relentless persistence. ∎ 1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_K%C3%BCbler-Ross
85 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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Learn to have a truly ‘electric day’, as Papa Joe would have us do…lift each other up with relentless persistence. KATHY KISS
EDUCATOR, WRITER & HEALER Photo Credit: Name 86 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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See the promise of the person beneath the surface. LORI BUTIERRIES
AUTHOR, NAVY VETERAN & MOTHER OF 2 WITH SPECIAL NEEDS 88 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
‘SCARRED NOT BROKEN’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY LORI BUTIERRIES
RENOVATION
A POETIC REQUEST FOR THE RIGHTING OF WRONGS The World was not designed with the disabled in mind. Do not be deceived by those in power. Preaching inclusion to all who listen, Selling the fantasy of accessibility, Fulfilling the requirements to come off as tolerant. When nothing changes, it’s deceptive and disheartening. Stop the lip service. Honor your promises! It says a lot about the state of a society when it refuses to meet the needs of its most vulnerable citizens appropriately. When nothing and no one is sacred, then everything is worthless- like the American Dream. Once upon a time, it meant something. Offering success and upward mobility through hard work, Removing barriers associated with class, race, etc., Feeding the belief that EVERYONE can prosper if given the same opportunities. Was it always just a lie? If not, prove it. Make the necessary adjustments or modifications. Provide the disabled with resources and accommodations that will permit them to function at a level equal to, or as close as possible, to the non-disabled populace. Destigmatize disability. Right the wrongs of many. Put an end to rhetoric that increases fear, shame, hate, abuse, neglect, and misconceptions. Ask questions. Don't turn a blind eye. Instead, look beyond a person’s handicaps & limitations. See the promise of the person beneath the surface. 89 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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Provide those with disabilities realistic and tangible means to carve out a place for themselves in a world that wasn't built with consideration for their needs. Be part of the solution, not the problem. Get your hands dirty. Take control of the tools and blueprints- it’s time for a renovation. The world is a beautiful place. Everyone deserves a chance to see that. ∎
LORI BUTIERRIES
Author, Navy Veteran & Mother of 2 with Special Needs www.awarenessties.us/lori-butierries LORI BUTIERRIES is a full-time caregiver to two children with special needs, one child being terminally ill and physically disabled. Lori uses her life experiences and the medical knowledge she gained while serving as a Hospital Corpsman in the United States Navy to help others facing similar hardships. Lori focuses primarily on advocating for and educating others about the special needs, mental health, and veterans communities. Her long-term goal is to reduce the stigma associated with disability by talking about it with people of all ages, thus minimizing the fear and the mystery attributed to the unknown in this regard.
90 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
Throughout history,
sport has acted as an agent for change… CRAIG GRAHAM
PERSONAL TRAINER & FOUNDER OF ALT MOVEMENT 92 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
‘ALT MOVEMENT’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY CRAIG GRAHAM
A SPORTING CHANCE
THE RIGHT TO COMPETE, THE MERIT TO BE AN ATHLETE “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” - Nelson Mandela
The unique ability of sports to transcend linguistic, cultural and social barriers makes it an excellent platform for inclusion and diversity. Sport has acted as an agent for change throughout history, allowing for the disabled community to prove that they are and always have been more than capable of achieving greatness.
If we look back only around 100 years ago to the early 1900s, the stigma attached to those deemed as “disabled” was still very much prevalent. It was believed by the British Eugenics Society that offering medical treatment or social care to people with disabilities would lead to the degeneration of the human race and it was often the common practice to have them segregated, forcefully sterilised and tragically, lobotomised.
Sadly, the Society went even further to eradicate those with disabilities and women who were deemed to be at risk of having a child with a disability could also face sterilisation. Thankfully, over the years these practices have been abolished and the Society’s ideologies are not widely accepted in the Western world. The catalyst for this turning point, however, may not quite be what is expected.
Towards the end of the second World War, a doctor named Dr. Ludwig Guttman started to explore the use of recreational sport to aid rehabilitation. Opening a spinal injury centre in Stoke Mandeville hospital, patients that attended were not generally expected to survive for more than 2 years after being admitted. Guttman had other ideas. He began by taking his patients off sedation and made sure they were turned in their beds every two hours to avoid infection. Once they showed signs of improvement, he insisted that they became mobile and eventually take part in craft and sporting activities. Although Guttman’s treatment and methods were viewed as highly controversial, he is now viewed as one of the most revolutionary figures in shaping the care of paralysed individuals. He not only improved their condition, but helped boost self esteem and restored their personal dignity.
It was exactly four years later, on the day of the 1948 London Olympic Games, that Guttman organised a demonstration with lasting effects. He arranged for 14 men and 2 women to compete in an archery event, thus becoming the world’s first 16 Paralympic athletes.
The Paralympic Games is now a staple event every four years in our calendars; however, it is not the only event for disabled athletes. Competitions specifically aimed at celebrating those with disabilities are now multiplying with force. The CrossFit Games is just one example, where athletes compete for the title of The Fittest Adaptive man and women in their own respective categories. Other events include the Invictus Games, an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans. Taking inspiration directly from Guttman’s original missions, the games use the power of sport to inspire recovery and support rehabilitation.
93 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
“…disabilities are something to be celebrated rather than eradicated.”
Having the ability to reflect on past events allows us to learn from our mistakes, but it also allows us to learn from our achievements. Dr Guttman’s pioneering methods and 1948 demonstration gave rise to the Paralympic Games and all that came after them, as well as an idea that disabilities are something to be celebrated rather than eradicated. The CrossFit Games Adaptive category is the most anticipated event of the year for me and I can’t wait to celebrate those individuals doing amazing things and their disabilities. ∎
CRAIG GRAHAM
Personal Trainer & Founder of Alt Movement www.awarenessties.us/craig-graham CRAIG GRAHAM is a Personal Trainer based in the UK, as well as the founder and creator of Alt Movement, which aims to provide individuals with disabilities alternative and adaptive ways of exercising.
94 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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It was shocking that in 2020 people couldn't make wigs out of Afro hair. They told us that it was unsuitable for wig making… CARLY GORTON
11-YEAR-OLD ACTIVIST & GLOBAL YOUTH AWARD 2021 WINNER OF THE EMPOWERING INNOVATION AWARD 96 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
‘GLOBAL GOOD’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY TANITH HARDING
HAIR FOR CARE
A GIRL GIVING LOCKS WITH LOVE Carly Gorton is an 11-year-old activist and Global Youth Award 2021 winner of the Empowering Innovation award. She was recognised at the awards for her tenacious work campaigning for a UK charity to find a way of making afro wigs for children of afro and mixed heritage who have hair loss due to illness. Her campaign saw the first ever afro hair wig be made by the Little Princess Trust after she cut her own hair and fundraised for costs to make the trials possible.
TANITH: Carly, you are so inspiring! What was it that made you want to donate your hair to charity in the first instance?
CARLY: In January 2020 my friend cut her hair for charity and donated it to The Little Princess Trust and it really inspired me to cut my own hair. She had really long hair, it was really inspiring, so I asked my parents if I could cut my hair for charity. When I contacted the charity I was told my hair was unsuitable for donation.
TANITH: It must have been a shock to be told your hair was unsuitable for donation. How did it make you feel and what was your response?
CARLY: Yeah, definitely. It was shocking that in 2020 people couldn't make wigs out of Afro hair. They told us that it was unsuitable for wig making, that it would break and that they simply couldn't use it to make a wig, but they are doing it in America. I asked my mum to help me put an appeal in the local paper to look for a freelance wigmaker and my story was picked up by many wigmakers willing to help find solutions.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CARLY GORTON
CONDUCTED BY TANITH HARDING
97 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
TANITH: Your campaign is the reason behind the first ever afro hair wig being made by the Little Princess Trust. How long did it take you to make that happen and what were the steps that you took to get there?
CARLY: It took a while to convince my parents because I had this lovely big afro that everybody loved. But in September my mum got in contact with the Macmillan charity who then referred her to the Little Princess Trust as they specialise in children's wigs. She sent the request and they replied to say that afro hair wasn’t suitable for wig making, so that was definitely a set back!
We decided to post about it on Facebook and some American people started commenting and saying how strange it was that English charities didn't take Afro hair. One of the ladies that commented put us in touch with five different charities in America, but I really wanted my hair to go to somewhere in England because if it's going to America, it's going overseas, and you can't keep track of it. So we kept on trying with the Little Princess Trust, and they finally agreed to do trial runs with my hair. Through Just Giving I was able to raise £2700, five times more than the standard fundraise for the trials and then I shaved all of my hair off in a school assembly on the 17th of December 2020. At the end of February, my hair was made into the first afro wig in this country. Since then The Little Princess Trust can now accept hair of all types. Thanks to sheer determination, Cynthia Stroud’s expertise, Raoul Wig Makers, who made the first wig, and The Little Princess Trust we were able to make this vital historic breakthrough.
TANITH: What would your advice be to other young people that are passionate about making change in the world?
CARLY: Don’t give up! You need to persist and keep on trying and if you want it badly enough then it will happen!
TANITH: You have just won a Global Youth Award for your amazing work and have access to a Global Youth Network via RoundTable, but what are your hopes and dreams for the future?
CARLY: I really want to work with and help people and families who have children that are going through illness and have cancer. One of my friends had cancer in May last year and it was really scary. She's all better now, but it made me realise how much I want to help people who are going through things like that. I also hope to fundraise for all types of charities and I’m really excited to learn more about fundraising. ∎
TANITH HARDING
Director of International Development, The Legacy Project, RoundTable Global www.awarenessties.us/tanith-harding Tanith is leading change management through commitment to the RoundTable Global Three Global Goals of: Educational Reform, Environmental Rejuvenation & Empowerment for All. She delivers innovative and transformational leadership and development programmes in over 30 different countries and is also lead on the international development of philanthropic programmes and projects. This includes working with a growing team of extraordinary Global Change Ambassadors and putting together the Global Youth Awards which celebrate the amazing things our young people are doing to change the world.
98 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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I chose to craft a new amendment… LUKE GIALANELLA
FOUNDER OF GOVLEARN 100 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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‘GOVLEARN’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY LUKE GIALANELLA
THE 28TH AMENDMENT
A NEW AMENDMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION In my time studying laws and rights in the United States, I found that young people were severely neglected and disenfranchised in this country. Not only do we not have the right to vote, but our right to assemble, right to bodily autonomy, right to make our own educational decisions, and right to work are all not protected by the United States Constitution. With this in mind, for the “Rights” issue of Awarenow, I chose to craft a new amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing these rights, and giving young people the respect and sovereignty they deserve in the “freest nation in the world”.
An Amendment to the United States Constitution
To Protect the Rights of Young People
PART I
Effective immediately upon ratification, the voting age for citizens of the United States of America,
for federal and state elections, is sixteen years of age.
PART II
Effective immediately upon ratification, the voting age for citizens of the United States of America,
for local (city & town) elections, is fourteen years of age.
PART III
Effective immediately upon ratification, the right to freedom of speech for citizens of the United States between the ages of fourteen and seventeen, on-campus and off-campus, is hereby protected by the United States of America.
PART IV
Effective immediately upon ratification, the right to bodily autonomy and integrity for citizens of the United States between the ages of fourteen and seventeen is hereby protected by the United States of America.
PART V
Effective immediately upon ratification, the right to make decisions on education for citizens of the United States between the ages of fourteen and seventeen is hereby protected by the United States of America.
PART VI
Effective immediately upon ratification, the right to work and earn money for citizens of the United States between the ages of fourteen and seventeen is hereby protected by the United States of America. ∎
LUKE GIALANELLA
Founder & President of GOVLEARN www.awarenessties.us/luke-gialanella LUKE GIALANELLA Founder & President of GOVLEARN Luke Gialanella founded GOVLEARN when he was 11 years old, in the summer after the 2016 presidential election. Finding that there was a lack of substantive civics education for elementary and middle schoolers, he went on a mission to correct that. Creating a website and YouTube channel, Luke is obviously extremely passionate about government and politics and has participated in many mock governments, Model UN, and debate programs outside of school.
101 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
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Art is a source of empowerment that can offer an alternative narrative… AALIA LANIUS
NOVELIST, SPEAKER, PODCAST HOST & SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR Photo Credit: Aalia Lanius 102 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
‘UNSUGARCOATED’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY AALIA LANIUS
THE ART INTERSECTION
MESSAGES FOUND WHERE HUMANITY & ADVOCACY MEET Many artists, like myself, create works that intersect with political activism and social good causes. Throughout history, we have been using art as an accessible tool for communication, raising awareness about social issues and affecting positive change. In honor of Universal Human Rights Month, I knew Art Basel Miami 2021 would serve as a great source of inspiration, education, and opportunity to relate my experience to human rights, while sharing how it impacted me. After all, art is at the intersection of humanity and advocacy.
Art Basel, being an international art fair focusing on modern and contemporary art that puts artists from across the globe in front of the art world’s top curators, museums and collectors, it undoubtedly draws the best of the best from around the world. From the exhibit halls of the Miami Convention Center to the incredible pop-up events taking place throughout different parts of Miami, I felt validated in my decision to make the journey from Los Angeles to Miami to attend the world-class fair making a return after skipping 2020 due to the pandemic.
I shared in depth conversations about how opportunities like NFT’s and Crypto are empowering creative communities. I hung out with my friend and artist, Sabet, who recently had NFT art that sold for charity in the amount of $55K.
While attending one of Nomad’s Blvd (nomadblvd.io) events, I spoke with their Jordan Sobel. Speaking on his time up to that point, he told me, “It is super rewarding to be able to hold a space where people could share their origin story… why they are making this art, how they’re expressing themselves, for the different reasons.”
Because art does come with a message, especially if you’re paying attention. These are some of the social messages I got as I perused the art fair:
You don’t get to control my narrative.
One of the basic human rights is the right to freedom of thought, religion, opinion, and expression. Art is a source of empowerment that can offer an alternative narrative for those of us marginalized by society.
There was one such exhibition (artist unknown) of two dated ornate style chairs flanked by a free-standing wall with colonial style wallpaper. Upon closer inspection, the off-yellow paper and matching chair fabric is covered a pattern that depicts the lynching of Black-Americans in a very casual manner.
For myself, this was a representation of the contrast in which American families see our history and the painful truth that refuses to be ignored until we see true change. 103 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
There’s beauty in my pain.
I’ve observed friends of mine in the breast cancer community that have posted images of their breasts in an artistic fashion to gain self-confidence again, or to create awareness about breast cancer on social media. These images are often taken down because they “violate policy”. Yet, we know from experience that plenty of skin gets shown on social media that aren’t flagged or removed.
In an art setting, like Art Basel, these scars are no longer something one is ashamed of, but rather celebrated for their healing and recovery. It’s presenting their scars as flowers that have grown through concrete cracks, fighting to show the world their beauty and resilience.
Consider a perspective other than your own.
An art-based approach is a positive alternative when trying to relay social issues because it stimulates empathy. Empathy is necessary to achieve social and environmental justice and no where do you see this than in the art world. A favorite example of this is with a blockbuster film called, “Blood Diamond”, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which impacted the way people consciously buy diamonds.
When an artist can create an experience that leads to accountability, which then translates into action, that is moving the needle forward towards solutions and using art for its full potential.
Photo Credit: Aalia Lanius 104 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
Photo Credit: Keith Hinton
My ability to conquer challenges is limitless.
My potential to succeed is infinite.
One such story out of Art Basel is the whirlwind of press surrounding the sell-out artist, 10-year-old, Andreas Valencia, who learned how to paint over the course of the pandemic. His is a story that reminds us that anyone can create impact and achieve dreams that others would think impossible.
As I began my exit of the convention center, I noticed a young girl about the age of 10, kneeling on the ground, coloring away on a notepad. Seemingly, to be drawing her own interpretation of the large painting she sat beneath. My very first thought was, “and this is how art impacts.”
Wondering if the child was part of the exhibit or not, I turned back to find out. After asking a couple of people in the small crowd that had formed, I met her mother, Dana Vignale. She confirmed that the child was not part of the exhibit and told me about how over the course of the pandemic they began taking her to different museums, along with some paper and pencils, encouraging the girl to draw. The child has since fallen in love with the practice and her mother says her skill is improving. In conclusion, art is many things, including an exhibition of human rights and in attending Art Basel Miami, I’m reminded that social cause driven art doesn’t just serve the artist, but it serves people who need to experience it. ∎ AALIA LANIUS
Novelist, Speaker, Podcast Host & Social Entrepreneur www.awarenessties.us/aalialanius AALIA LANIUS is the Founder and President of Unsugarcoated Media, a 501(c)(3) media organization. Dedicated to helping survivors of trauma lead mentally healthier lives, Lanius' focus is creating media and events that empower, educate, heal, and inspire another the way it has for her. Lanius is also a multiple awardwinning American novelist, social entrepreneur, and advocate with over 20 years of sharing her personal experiences with audiences of all age groups and diverse backgrounds. Executive Producer and host of the award-nominated seasonal podcast show, “Unsugarcoated with Aalia”, a visual and audio experience that features conversations intended to bring value and amplify voices that create more empathy and understanding of one another.
105 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
The beauty with the ‘no fault system’ is there is nothing to be righted, no one to fight and beat. PAUL S. ROGERS
TRANSFORMATION EXPERT, AWARENESS HELLRAISER & PUBLIC SPEAKER 106 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
‘RELEASE THE GENIE’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY PAUL S. ROGERS
RIGHTING WRONGS
THE SECRET CORRECTION
Release the Genie fact: A Genie Can Order a Big Mac at Burger King.
Let me set the scene. We have all been given the gift of Free Will. Dr Wayne Dyer beautifully said that “Life’s great paradox is that we are all doomed to make choices.”
A choice means that we are going to get things wrong, on average, at least half of the time. We live in a universe of cause and effect. Despite the gift of being free to make our own decisions, wrongdoings will always remain an unavoidable consequence and natural byproduct of being human.
I am a great believer that, in life, the same lessons keep coming around in various situations until we have learned what life is trying to teach us. Here lies the secret of righting the wrongs; It is by learning the lessons contained in the wrongs that we can make things right. Life sends us course corrections. If we don't pick them up to start with, they come back in a louder form.
When we look back on the meandering paths our lives have taken, we see how each choice, right and wrong, has led us to where we are now. It is very unlikely that you are doing exactly what you expected you would be doing when you first planned and decided to set out on life's great adventure. The fascinating thing is that if you remove just one of those steps or choices, then you, the reader, would not be reading this article, and you and I would have never met.
To make life even more interesting, we all have a couple of inbuilt challenges to face on our journey!
The fundamental need for humans to be right means that someone else needs to be wrong. It is this need which is the cause of most of life’s problems and stress. If you are not persuaded by this argument, then just look at the divorce rates. We are entering one of the most difficult periods of the year, namely, the Christmas holidays.
As cynical as this will sound, each year, when it came to fixing our annual law firms department fee targets, we would always factor in a large boost in numbers in late December and through January for the matrimonial and family department. As one of the junior partners, I used to work that really annoying short gap of days between Christmas and New Year. As a commercial lawyer, it was as if an unspoken unanimous cease fire had been declared for that period. Battle would recommence at 9 o'clock on the first day back of the new year. Downstairs, in the matrimonial and family department, the appointment book was full and the phones were ringing off the hook.
The other challenge we face is the need to apportion blame or fault.
When news spread of my accident, various people asked and still ask: “Why did you not sue the parties involved?” (The need to be right) Followed by: “It is an outrage! How could this be allowed to happen? Someone must be responsible.” (blame). The blame game is very seductive and it meets with popular approval. It has its own powerful, but ultimately destructive, energy.
107 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
AwareNow Podcast
RIGHTING WRONGS
Written and Narrated by Paul S. Rogers
www.awarenow.us/podcast/righting-wrongs
The problem about apportioning blame is that it is external to you and automatically gives your power away. You are effectively putting the key to your own peace and happiness in someone else's pocket.
By way of a personal story of which I am extremely proud. The driver of the train that hit us appeared at the hospital ICU just after we had been admitted. He was obviously distraught. By some chance, my wife had a rare moment of consciousness. She was able to communicate to him that he was not to blame himself, and we knew it was an accident. That brilliant flamed response of kindness set free someone who would have been drowning in regret and internal pain.
Just imagine what the world and its issues would look like through the lens of being kind. How does this process start? Awareness.
In Quebec, in the event of a road accident where a party or parties are injured, it is a determined as a no fault situation (no right or wrong). The government insurance steps in to cover the parties injuries. This is dramatically different to the adversarial systems in US and UK where the primary goal is to establish liability /fault /responsibility.
The beauty with the “no fault system” is there is nothing to be righted, no-one to fight and beat. Instead, the parties are left to recover and heal in relative peace.
So where does this leave us all? We only learn our lessons through some sort of wrongdoing, deliberate or otherwise. For some of us, and I include myself here appear to be somewhat of a slow learner, lessons have to come back many times! Maybe by learning the lesson to be kind, instead of being right and finding fault we can make our own and everyone else’s journey brighter and easier. ∎ PAUL S. ROGERS
Transformation Expert, Awareness Hellraiser & Public Speaker www.awarenessties.us/paul-rogers PAUL S. ROGERS is a keynote public speaking coach, “Adversity to hope, opportunity and prosperity. “ Transformation expert, awareness Hellraiser, life coach, Trauma TBI, CPTSD mentor, train crash and cancer survivor, public speaking coach, Podcast host “Release the Genie” & Best-selling author. His journey has taken him from from corporate leader to kitesurfer to teacher on first nations reserve to today. Paul’s goal is to inspire others to find their true purpose and passion.
108 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
FIND STORIES, STATS & SUPPORT
FOR THE CAUSES THAT TIE US ALL TOGETHER
WWW.TABLEOFCAUSES.COM
We must not only care for the world but each other… CHIEF OGIMAA
ANISHINAABE KNOWLEDGE KEEPER, CHIEF OF FOOTHILLS OJIBWAY ON TURTLE ISLAND 110 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
‘FROM THE BEGINNING TO NOW’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY CHIEF OGIMAA
CREATOR’S CALLING
FROM THE BEGINNING TO NOW: LESSON 12 Once again, I’m talking to you from here on what we used to call Kânata, it became Canada. It was one part of this world we call Turtle Island (this includes North America) the Anishinaabe people always maintain the connection to Turtle Island, in spirit. What I mean by that is there are spiritual ties, spiritual connection, in my leadership. People call me Ogimaa (Acha-Kooh-waay)…. which means ‘leader of the sky’. I maintain that, because it has to do with the Spirit. That’s how we had our connection to the beginning of the creation, for this part of the world, Turtle Island.
God, we call him Creator, created everything and the human rights that are a natural condition. Creator, himself, has given women the right to create a human being. Everyone in the world , in some way or the other came to be through mothers. There is no way that is going to ever change. Creator, himself created male and female from the environment…from the land. Every living thing that has female energy has a right to give life. It has been that way from time immemorial.
Women have this God given human right and responsibility. Creator gave human beings responsibilities to help living things throughout the islands of the world. God has given us the right to be in this world. No matter what island we are on today, we are still all human beings. We're still the same… We still are breathing the same air. We still drink the same water. We still appreciate the land we're given to live on. We still function the same way. God has given you women the responsibility to bring us to this human world. Later on, this part, was called Turtle Island, after the flood.
Someone decided to change how our first people were. It was decided for us if we are a human or non human, a long time ago. So today in 2021 we’re still not being treated like a human because somebody else decided for people what is our Right.
In the 1400s….1492 or ’93….. Somebody decided if we didn't believe…. What to believe and how to believe….That means we weren't human… and that's not Creator’s law. Creator has His own law. The creator loves everybody in this world and in his eyes we are seen as a human. We're all human beings. We're not animals or savages. We're all human beings.
In 1492 or 93… the others brought a law. It’s called “Doctrine of Discovery”, to this part of the world that we call Turtle Island. It was a man’s law. God has given us a right to be here. To be here as human beings…. to be here together… to coexist and have peace and friendship and respect.
We must respect the world. We respect each other and take care of one another as brothers and sisters. If somebody's not doing well…. always please help. We’re not supposed to put them aside…. not treat them as humans. Why would God put them in the world to not be treated as human beings?
Many places and ways they took what is called ‘Doctrine of Discovery’. The first peoples were treated as… “These are savages. Because they don't believe in God the way we believe in God”.
There is ‘the only God’ no matter how we believe in Him. He is part of the world, and as part of the environment, we must respect the water, we must respect the air, we must respect every living thing that was put here. It is all for a purpose. God has put that purpose here... Our Daily breath… oxygen… It was put here for a purpose. The sun was put up there for a purpose. The environment is what we’re connected to. It is what makes us function. We are God's creation and we need to take care of each other. Not to forget about each other.
When things happen, we're here to help each other whether it’s a tornado, flood, or a wildfire… or destruction of water. This impacts the whole world somewhere, and suddenly we feel it, because it is part of the whole world, connected by God given human rights. It's not only here from what we call Canada, human rights are important all over the world. We must treat each other like equal human beings. We must take care of each other, as human beings.
We must respect our children and our grandchildren, our great grandchildren yet to be born for their future… for their human rights. Some of them are too young to know the law. So we’ve got to think for them. What's going to be there for them in a future because they are humans? So many things I can be talking about… what's been happening to the children in the past? And what's happening with the environment as we speak, what's happening with the water? What's happening all over the world? All these Disasters are happening. We need to start looking at a spirit of this world, as we are part of it. No man or woman can say she doesn't have a spirit or say not everybody has a soul.’ Everything is connected to the whole world, or spirit. 111 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
It’s up to us and Mother Nature. All over the world we must help her, like we help our mothers. The world can stay healthy, but the next generation to come really needs to look at what's happening all over the world.
Our world is suffering, things are happening… because we forget the spirit of the world. We have to go through somebody, as a middle man, before we can believe God. God created us directly. He engaged the women with that responsibility to bring us here we must take care of the world. We must take care of the relationship of humanity amongst each other. We must not only care for the world but each other AND the spirit so the things that we enjoy today will be in the future.
Destroying the world is not only happening in Canada, it's happening all over the world. Here in Canada we are facing floods, fires and different disasters, but we must wake up and help Mother Earth. She is reaching out to us. Like mothers when they are struggling to breathe! They want to grab on to somebody to give support and help. That's what she's doing. Not only is mother earth a thing… She's a spirit and she can grow things. We can continue to prosper and to mimic what He has put there for us but we need the environment. We need the soil….. We need the water….. We need the air we need to look at each other with the God given right of humanity. In Canada, first people are not being looked at like human beings. Somebody else is deciding what we should believe or what we should follow. There’s a lot of kids out there, who were taken and never came back. And I think it’s like that all over the world, it's not only us here. Those children are human beings… they're no different! Like us they would have been old men or they would have been old ladies. They would have had children but lots of them never came back because somebody decided we're going to teach you what's right. I would never do that to anybody's child to go and take a child and to get no punishment. Those children never come back and we need your help. The whole world needs to help humans be as God intended us to be… caring about everything and that includes the environment, the spirit and the children of tomorrow, so they can have something in their future. Here, others decide what's best for first people. We don't decide for ourselves. Even some of those cultural sites that we have out there. They're 10,000 years old 9,000 years old, 6,000 years old… and not being respected. Others decide what's good for those cultural sacred sites and cultural historical sites. It is not the first people that decide what's good for them. Somebody else decides what's good for us and that includes the children and people. I'm pretty sure it's like that all over the world. That is not kindness. That’s not the human rights that creator intended to be.
In my own land, so called Canada, I can only speak for myself. I can't even decide for myself. Somebody else came from another country and by coming here decides what's good for me. I am first people here… And I don't think that's right. I would never go to any other country or Europe to decide what's good for those People or how they should live and how they should be. And that's not what creator has intended to be… especially for the children. Imagine if somebody came and grabbed them from your own hands and you never see them again. These are the things that happen. I cannot speak for other countries but it is what's happened.
I’m certain Creator’s given rights are not respected in other parts of the world and we must look at what law is being used. It is all up to us. Creator has provided what we need…
Thank you, to those who listen… Are we living by Creator’s law? ∎ Migwetch.
(Thank you.)
Chief Ogimaa
Submitted by Kathy Kiss
OGIMAA (ACHA-KOOH-WAAY), JIM
Anishinaabe Knowledge Keeper, Chief of Foothills Ojibway on Turtle Island www.awarenessties.us/ogimaa I am Ogimaa (Acha-Kooh-waay), I begin with words from my own language to say hi to everybody. My identity… which is… because God put me in this part of the world is my Annishinaabe language and name. That means “leader” for people and environment here. So I am not saying I am the leader of Turtle Island but that’s what that means. It is an individual’s name, which is a spirit name that we carry on from our traditional culture and lineage in this part of the world. We were put here on this Turtle. This Turtle Island is massive.
112 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
What if a story could change the world? AWARENESS TIES
SOCIAL IMPACT REPORT 114 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
SPECIAL REPORT
WE ASKED ‘WHAT IF’
SOCIAL IMPACT QUESTIONS ASKED AND ANSWERS FOUND What if one story could change the world? We believe it can. In fact, we know it can. And while one story may not change the whole world, it can change the whole world of one person.
As you may already know, Awareness Ties is dedicated to raising awareness for causes one story at a time. With our ambassadors, columnists and partners, we’re creating positive social impact. By asking the right ‘what if’ questions, we’ve been finding the right answers. We invite you to review ties Awareness Ties Social Impact Report.
You’ve seen over 500 personal stories and exclusive interviews published, now see behind the scenes as we share how we’ve converted awareness into actions that are changing people’s lives. ∎
www.awarenow.us/social-impact-report
115 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
It's looking at a space as an environment and giving it a personality. KATHERINE HUDSON
FOUNDER & DIRECTOR OF ARABIAN TENTS 116 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
‘GLOBAL GOOD’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY TANITH HARDING
A HUMAN INTENTION
THE 100% HUMAN CULTURE OF ARABIAN TENTS Katherine Hudson is Founder and Director of award-winning luxury marquee hire company, Arabian Tents, working with a dedicated events team who take pride in creating magical settings for special events. Katherine treats her team like a family and believes that work should be part of life experience and not just a job. She is role modelling a culture that is 100% human and believes people should not just be in an office but out on the ground.
TANITH: Katherine, you started the Arabian Tents Company over 17 years ago in 2004, what inspired you to start the business and how has it changed over the years?
KATHERINE: Back in the day there didn’t seem to be anything else apart from bog standard plastic white marquees. I was young and I wanted to put on a fun party but I looked through the yellow pages, which is what you did at the time, and I couldn't work out why everything over ten pages was identical. I knew that there existed different structures. Whilst travelling I had seen them in other countries, but there wasn't anything here so I thought I should do something about it.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH KATHERINE HUDSON
CONDUCTED BY TANITH HARDING
117 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
I’ve always thought of people as ingredients that go into making a cake… KATHERINE HUDSON
FOUNDER & DIRECTOR OF ARABIAN TENTS 118 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
TANITH: All of the marquees that you provide are unique and beautifully designed and furnished. Where do your ideas come from and which is your favourite?
KATHERINE: It starts off with an idea, for example the Bombay Boudoir started with me thinking, wouldn't it be cool if I could make a tent look like a mirror ball inside. The first tent I ever designed and made was the ‘La Rouge’ which was inspired by Moulin Rouge the film. It was 2004 When the whole burlesque thing was hitting the UK and events and festivals. I was so inspired by the film, it was so beautiful, such a simple storyline, but it's so captivating because of the way that it's shot and the beauty of the backgrounds that I thought I want to make a tent that looks like that. So really that's kind of how they all started, with an idea, with an inspiration. That's why they are named, for example the Purple Palace, is actually a homage to an ex boyfriend of mine that loved purple. The Rouge is obviously Moulin Rouge inspired. We have Bobby Boudoir, which is the Bollywood mirror ball interior and Cornish Cream which was inspired by Cornish Ware blue and white design. They all come from a spark of inspiration.
Picking a favourite is really tricky actually. I think, in the pale interiors, the Raj is my favourite because it took a lot of effort to print and it was the first one I ever printed. I did it myself with a with a team of block printers and we had to redo bits because it was wonky. It was really fun because I roped one of my friends in from Jaipur where they do a lot of block printing. My favourite dark interior is Bombay Boudoir because it is such a fabulous thing to be inside.
TANITH: In addition to Arabian tents you have multiple beautiful AirBnb accommodations that you have created at Rye Island in West Sussex. What made you want to expand in this area?
KATHERINE: I didn't really decide to expand to Airbnb at all. I bought my first home and it was a three bedroom house but I love having my friends for parties at the weekend and realised I need to do something about being able to accommodate them. It sort of happened by accident that I got the tiny house and then I got the dome because I couldn't resist it, it’s such a funky structure. Then I thought I'd like to do up an Airstream so got one from America and brought it over. It's really all about creating different environments. That’s what we're doing at Arabian Tents. It's looking at a space as an environment and giving it a personality. It's such fun and what I love doing.
TANITH: As mentioned your team are like a family, what does 100% human mean to you and how should businesses be embedding it?
KATHERINE: I’ve always thought of people as ingredients that go into making a cake, for example, putting up a tent you need all of the ingredients. You need the flour, the butter, the milk. We all bring something different to the team.
For example we have a lot of girls on our crew. It’s been a male dominated world and also when you come to the finessing side, plumping cushions, positioning furniture and tying drapes, and just making sure everything looks immaculate, it's amazing how well women do. They have a really good eye, although we do have men on the team that we call fluffers. Very tongue in cheek.
100% Human is really about embracing your abilities. It's compensating and not needing to have to call on your negatives or weaknesses. We come together as a team, we all create the 100% experience of energy and skills that you need for a job. I believe in people bringing their whole selves to work. If you have crew or staff that are trying to hide something or pretend they're good at something and they're not, it actually doesn't help anyone. It's much better to be open and to put people into positions that they enjoy and relish because they'll always do better at that than something they don't like doing. It's acknowledging openly what we're good at, what we're not good at, what we like, what we don't like, and playing to our strengths.
119 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
TANITH: 2020 hit events companies really hard, how did you adapt the business and what are the lessons learned?
KATHERINE: It was very hard. It was extremely stressful with essentially your entire calendar of work going over a couple of weeks. Lots of difficult conversations. I actually used it to downsize because for a number of years I had been aware that I had a big operation, which I wasn't that comfortable with. It meant all I could do was answer enquiries and do site visits. I didn't have any time to build tents anymore. I used it as an opportunity to fit myself back into the picture, go back on site and and do the whole thing from beginning to end. I did a lot of clearing out dusty shelves in the warehouse, things we had stored away because we are all hoarders in one way or another in my team. You have to tear up your terms and conditions at a time like that. People may have signed but it's not really fair to hold them. I learned a lot about flexibility during that period of time and literally worked human to human with each client with their concerns and issues.
TANITH: What plans do you have for Arabian Tents and what is your personal vision for the future?
KATHERINE: We’ve been going for 17 years and in the last two we grew and grew as that’s what we're told to do, that’s the capitalist model; be bigger, better, faster, stronger. I think COVID was a really good time to analyse doing what makes you happy, what is sustainable in life and to mould the business around those factors. It was partly to do with the un-sustainability that was getting out of control. The future for Arabian Tents is to continue doing what we do really, really well, to continue innovating each year and designing new interiors and making props. Having a happy crew that enjoys working and being involved in our installations and clients events. ∎
See Katherine’s incredible creations here:
www.arabiantents.com TANITH HARDING
Director of International Development, The Legacy Project, RoundTable Global www.awarenessties.us/tanith-harding Tanith is leading change management through commitment to the RoundTable Global Three Global Goals of: Educational Reform, Environmental Rejuvenation & Empowerment for All. She delivers innovative and transformational leadership and development programmes in over 30 different countries and is also lead on the international development of philanthropic programmes and projects. This includes working with a growing team of extraordinary Global Change Ambassadors and putting together the Global Youth Awards which celebrate the amazing things our young people are doing to change the world.
120 AWARENOW / THE RIGHTS EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com
AWAKE YOUR
INNER BODY SECRET CERES IS A WELLNESS WAND DESIGNED
FOR WOMEN TO NOURISH AND HEAL THE BODY.
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U S E C OD E ‘ AWA R E N O W 1 0 ’ F OR A 1 0 % D I S C O U N T
THROUGH THESE STORIES WE SHARED
I AM AWARE NOW.
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R E A D , L I S T E N & WAT C H
T h e M a g a z i n e , T h e P o d c a s t & T h e Ta l k S h o w