Pushingtheboundariesfortrue minorityfreedom .

NAÏVEMAY NOT BESEEN ASA GOOD THING, BUT THISNAEVE DUARTEISSHOWING JUST HOW AWAKESHEIS.

Naeve Duarte was born in Tampa, Florida to an afro mixed Hispanic family of Nicaraguan ancestry When we met, I instantly felt the warmth and passion for her purpose, and we immediately connected

Growing up with a single mom as an only child; her dad came later on in adulthood Going from Tampa to Los Angeles, CA; she started being surrounded by violence, gangs, and moments of poverty Duartefelt theonly way to survivewasto pursue the one thing she knew and loved Basketball! Her completefocusbecameon getting a scholarship; feeling that was the only way for her to go to college

Tragedy and hardshipsalwaysseemed to bein the air for Duarte Let me take you back to the most impactful day that her mindset changed for forever

At 14 years old, she would go through one of the most devasting experiences of her life One rainy evening Naeve was visiting her family and one truelove(her light in thedarkness) in Tampa On a car ride home with her cousin (the driver) and true love Gyzelle, they slid off a bridge while driving during the down pour In an instance the three were submerged under water Naeve in that moment thought of her mom With feeling the presence of God, she kicked the window as hard asshecould finally shattering it open In an effort to try to save Gyzelle, Naeve tried and tried but the seat belt wouldn? t give as she ran out of time and couldn? t save her Shortly after she would begin to experience the law with the state of Florida pursuing charges on her for manslaughter Throwing her into a world of chaos that most people at fourteen don? t experience whilestill tryingto grieve

Meeting Gyzelle at the age of twelve Simultaneously Duarte was forced to come out to her family about her sexuality along with adistant family member sexually assaulting her It was for Gyzelle who Naeve said, ?was way beyond her years,? gave her advice that she still uses today She was the person who told Duarte that being molested was not okay She was the one who saw the huge potential with Duarte?s basketball skills She truly loved and saw Naeve for everything she was It was after Gyzelle?s unfortunate death in the car accident that lit a fire under Duarte sending her on a mission of pursuing basketball and helpingpeople

During all the hardships at such a young age and feeling like just a number Duarte quickly started to realize how much minorities are in a failing system With her dreams to eventually go pro in basketball on top of understanding the reality of the sport industry She also plans to pursue law school for sports management knowing how minorities are treated by agents & lawyers In an effort to help minorities make better decisions with their contracts that will providealasting future

Though Duarte is working on various things, somehow, they link altogether to showcase an overall picture What?s her purpose you may ask? A voice for healing in the minority community Coming from a family heavy in the colorism mindset and beingpicked on for being the lightest To an environment wheregang life was prevalent and mainly minority driven To being a college athlete with mainly minorities and seeing the struggles being endured that is resulting in an increase of suicides To the pandemic and seeing the shift of marginalized communities understanding something wasn? t right with thesystem they direly depended on

Ultimately all these forces collided for Naeve which in turn pushed her to create ?The Power of being Mindful with Naeve: Docuseries ? A docuseries that is a voice of healing, encouragement for unity and the power we have inside to move forward Her goal is to help as many people as possible find their own path For them to pursue what they feel is their destiny This docuseries is her way of waking up our sleeping community and hopefully the start of ahealing

WRITTEN BY Victoria Lee