I’m writing as a curious citizen. The ideas presented are my own musings. They do not represent the beliefs of my employer or any other entity with whom I may be associated. I solely own these curious ideas.
Over the past several weeks Passport Health has made a series of troublesome announcements. The first heralded Passport’s insolvency by Summer 2019. The second announcement proclaimed a lawsuit against the State of Kentucky. Finally, the most troubling edict was the indefinite postponement of work of Passport’s new headquarters in Louisville’s West End. Why has Passport Health - a seemingly successful company, an anchor in Louisville - felt the need to share such devastating news? The cause is rooted in a Kentucky State government decision to adjust regional Medicaid reimbursement rates. Out of all the region’s in Kentucky, the region with the largest population was the only region to face a 4% decrease while all other regions received close to a 2% increase. Five managed care organizations handle all of Kentucky’s Medicaid claims. Four of those are private institutions. Private institutions are owned by individuals or stakeholders who share the institution’s profits. The “Big 4” are undergirded by the premiums individuals and employers pay for market-rate health insurance. I assume the revenues from these premiums far outweigh their earnings from Medicaid reimbursements. Passport Health Care is the state’s only nonprofit Medicaid provider. Their business only exists to provide health care to about 310,000 people with low income and disabilities living primarily in Jefferson County. Passport’s business model relies on Medicaid reimbursement. Passport was created in 1997 as an experiment to control the high cost of health care in Jefferson County and its 15 surrounding counties. In fact, they are the only managed care organization handling Medicaid claims in this region of Kentucky. The four commercial organizations divide the Medicaid claims for the rest of Kentucky. Kentucky has nearly 1.4 million Medicaid recipients and Passport’s 310,000 clients make it the state’s second largest Medicaid provider. There is definitely a demand for Medicaid in this region, but no other managed care organization chooses to operate in this region. I find it curious that the region where the only managed care organization choosing to serve the area was negatively impacted by the changes in Medicaid reimbursement rates. It seems to me Kentucky’s elected officials would want to encourage and support an entity already operating in a seemingly challenging region. It’s even more curious that a nonprofit organization had to be created to provide for the healthcare needs of people with low income and disabilities in Jefferson County. All five of Kentucky’s managed care organizations chose Jefferson County to locate their headquarters, but Passport was the only one who chose to serve its people for nearly two decades. What is it about this region that makes it so undesirable for managed care organizations? The primary Social Determinants of health are economic stability, neighborhood and physical environment, education, food, community and social context, and health care systems. Mathematically Jefferson County’s population only increases the probability of more of its residents experiencing challenges associated with these social determinants. Jefferson County also has the state’s largest concentration of black and brown residents. These citizens have been overwhelmingly impacted by Kentucky’s historically discriminatory and racist practices systematically denying or limiting their access to the social determinants of health. Only one managed care organization has chosen to assist this population by providing access to affordable health care. Passport was founded as an experiment to reduce health care cost. Did Passport raise the ire of Kentucky’s political leaders when they chose to impact health care cost by positively influencing the economic opportunities for black people in a historically disinvested community? Is Passport’s choice to invest $130 million of their earnings in Louisville’s West End to begin addressing the root causes preventing positive access to the social determinants of health related to the significant decrease in the region’s reimbursement rate? Unlike the “Big 4”, Passport’s nonprofit earnings are not shared with private individuals or stockholders. By definition, the earnings of a nonprofit entity must be reinvested in operations or the community it serves. Choosing to relocate their corporate headquarters from a flourishing suburb to a historically disinvested and underinvested neighborhood was unprecedented. During 2018, I served on Louisville’s Planning Commission, which makes recommendations to the Louisville Metro Council regarding land development. I heard testimony from Passport’s CEO, Mark Carter, stating Passport’s desire to relocate their headquarters where they could best benefit their clients. The majority of their Medicaid clients lived in areas near the site of the proposed new headquarters. Passport found that many people applying for their living wage hourly jobs lived near the proposed site. Passport believed investing in the community could spark additional investment. They saw their investment as a way to significantly increase opportunities for the families they served while positively impacting the social determinants of health. Passport proposed to work with existing West End neighborhoods to plan a development where Passport employees and the surrounding neighbors would feel welcome, safe, and included. As a member of the Planning Commission, I voted in favor of recommending approval for the Passport development. I believe Passport’s decision to initiate a process of equitable redistribution of resources made some people uncomfortable. As a curious citizen, I watch, listen and question. I’m an advocate for redevelopment in Louisville’s West End and all other neighborhoods where entire groups of people are excluded from opportunities to choose what is best for their lives. Wealth creation improves people's ability to make choices. Passport Health intentionally chose to use its profits to ignite wealth creation in a black community. One curiosity I noticed while serving on the Planning Commission is that people with significant wealth and influence will go extraordinary lengths to maintain their real or perceived status. My curiosity makes me wonder if that is what is happening to Passport right now. Is there some unknown individual or entity who believes Passport’s investment in the West End will disrupt the status quo? Is this silent puppet master working the strings of Kentucky’s elected officials to bring ruin to Passport simply to impede wealth creation in communities populated by black people? Was there some fearful Passport employee unwilling to work in the West End who called friends in high places to stop Passport from making a “tragic” decision? To some, my curiosity may sound like the beginnings of a conspiracy theory. However, over 400 years of history, blockading wealth creation for black people in America gives credence to these questions. Kentucky’s political leaders have made intentional decisions in the past to halt the equitable distribution of wealth to all its citizens. Is a Medicaid reimbursement rate that negatively impacts only one of five managed care organizations an orchestrated oddity designed to limit wealth creation? Is this a current day example of “redlining”? Will people who can speak-up and stand-up against such intentional manipulation of systems be silent once more as hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians are denied access to opportunity?
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What happens when your self concept is rooted in lies? When the truth is revealed, how long does it take to accept the truth? Is freedom from the the lie immediate or does it take ages to unravel the ties binding the lie to your reality? How do you destroy systems supporting the lie? What will it take to create new systems to repair the damage? These were my questions after learning that Africans who arrived in the Jamestown Colony of Virginia in 1619 were not what I thought.
The first Africans in Jamestown, Virginia most likely had a status equal to Europeans who chose to trade their freedom for the promise of land ownership in Virginia. Many Europeans entered into indentured agreements. Their freedom was based on who held ownership of their indentured contract. Like these Europeans, early Africans would provide labor for the gentry for a specified time. At the end of this time, they were promised land and freedom from forced servitude. Both Europeans and Africans comprised the labor class of Jamestown. Many of these Africans shared the status of indentured servant with European unfree laborers. In 1619, hundreds of Africans were taken from Angola in West Central Africa. Fifty of them were stolen by Dutch and English raiders from a Spanish slave ship. About twenty of them were carried to Jamestown, Virginia and became currency in a business transaction. These Dutch traders, who had been raiding Spanish vessels along the Atlantic Coast and Caribbean, were low on supplies. They stopped along the coast near Jamestown. Fate would have it that Jamestown’s survival depended on laborers to establish the settlement. Jamestown colonists had supplies but needed laborers. These Angolans could provide labor. A trade was negotiated between the colonists and marauders resulting in Africans living in Jamestown. Historians believe that some of these Africans were literate and many were most likely Christian. Angola became a Christian nation in 1491 through Spanish missionaries. For several decades these Africans labored alongside European indentured servants. Over time their lives intertwined. The labor class grew through new arrivals and births - European, African, and mulatto. Anthony Johnson, an Angolan, arrived in Jamestown around 1621. He served as an indentured farmer on a tobacco plantation. He married an African woman named Mary who lived on the same plantation. Sometime after 1635 they both earned their freedom by purchasing their indentured contracts and land. By the 1650’s Anthony and Mary owned 250 acres and indentured servants of their own. Anthony Johnson is an example of black wealth in America. He attempted to manipulate an established system to obtain and maintain wealth. There are lessons to be learned from Anthony Johnson’s experience and the extent to which greed can transform systems. My next post will begin to reveal the untold story of the roots of racial slavery in America. Historians have limited the American story to a single English European perspective. By doing so, we ignore a wealth of contributions. The predominant narrative in American history is that the first Africans came to the American colonies in 1619. Even though this is a historical moment in our history, it is not completely accurate. Many Africans arrived on the continent well before this date. Spanish exploration began in the Americas around the 1500s. They were ruthless explorers who undertook large expeditions requiring vast amounts of labor. The Spanish could not fill their needs solely from their ranks. They turned to forced labor from infidels or Non-Catholics. These “infidels” came primarily from Africa and indigenous people encountered during their expeditions. From the early beginnings of Spanish exploration free and enslaved Africans were members of expeditions. Their physical labor was used to clear land for plantations, mine gold and silver, and construct fortitudes. African intellect and courage were harnessed by using them as soldiers, sailors, interpreters, and servants. In June 1527, Pánfilo de Narváez set sail from Spain with five ships to explore the Florida region. His expedition included about 600 men, including some Africans. After landing in what is now Tampa Bay, the expedition experienced a series of missteps ending with the survival of only 4 crew members - Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, Alonso del Castillo Maldonado and the African slave Estevanico (Esteban). Estevanico was a Spanish-speaking African who learned to communicate with the indigenous people they encountered in the American southwest. His skills as an interpreter and guide were used in a later 1530s Spanish expedition of the Colorado Plateau in New Mexico. The Spanish sailed the Gulf Stream currents from their Caribbean colonies back to Spain. These currents took them past Florida. The Spanish ships which often carried gold were targets for pirates who attacked them along the Florida coastline. In 1565, a Spanish garrison was built in St. Augustine, Florida to provide protection for these ships. St. Augustine became the first permanent non-indigenous settlement in North America. Africans were heavily involved in building St. Augustine. By the 1600s nearly 100 mostly-Spanish speaking Africans were living in St. Augustine. Some had accepted Christianity and practiced the Catholic faith. Historical documents from the Catholic church in St. Augustine records the birth and baptism of the first African slave born in America as 1606. Juan Rodriguez was a free mulatto from what is now the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez was the son of a Spanish or Portuguese father and an African mother. He was the first person with African heritage to choose to live in America. In 1613, he was a member of a Dutch trading vessel that stopped in what is now Manhattan, New York to trade furs with the Lenape people before continuing to Holland. Rodriguez demanded to stay in the area and began a profitable fur trading practice. Rodriguez was the first permanent non-indigenous settler and merchant in Manhattan, NY. The African presence in the Americas can be documented even prior to the events mentioned here. The ancestors of today’s African-Americans made rich and significant contributions of skill, courage and resourcefulness to our American story. The foundation for black wealth is anchored in these historical realities with global significance. Susan Barry, President & CEO of the Community Foundation of Louisville (CFL), introduced her staff to www.MyIntent.org. She encourages each staff member to select a word at the beginning of the new year to guide their individual professional and personal actions. As a member of the CFL staff, I have chosen WEALTH as my intention for 2019. Wealth can be simply defined as the accumulation of resources. My expanded definition of wealth encompasses the resources of mind, spirit, body, and possessions. It is more than the balance in a bank account. Transformative wealth allows for the sustained and generational transformation of entire communities.
In 2019, my intention is to focus on the strategic acquisition and harnessing of various forms of wealth to positively impact the black community. The cultivation of wealth in black communities has been largely ignored, discounted, and halted by mainstream America. I desire to better understand complex systems impacting wealth. I want to delve into our collective American history, face uncomfortable truths, confront established norms, challenge white-privilege and form partnerships all with the intent of empowering black people to embrace their innate ability to harness multiple forms of transformational wealth. The transformation of my community begins with individual actions. I intend to cultivate the wealth of my mind by asking questions and seeking answers that ultimately replace ignorance with knowledge. I will consciously and consistently make choices to improve my physical and mental health leading to increased intrinsic wealth. I will grow my sacred wealth by nurturing my divine and personal relationships. I will commit to the responsible management of my personal possessions to increase my financial wealth. 2019 represents historic anniversaries of two significant events in United States and black history - the 400th anniversary of American Slavery and the 100th anniversary of the Red Summer of 1919. Both of these anniversaries are rooted in the acquisition of wealth. Over the next few weeks, I will share my reflections regarding the relationship of wealth to these historic events and implications for America today. These posts will be the musings of a black American ready to take steps to change her own attitudes and actions regarding transformational black wealth. Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His life was taken when his focus shifted from social injustice to economic injustice. Personally, I’m ready to take a prolonged look at the role of wealth in my life and American society. Confucious said, “To be wealthy and honored in an unjust society is a disgrace.” I desire for my wealth to bring justice, peace, and empowerment to society. Only then will the acquisition of wealth result in honor. It has been over one week since voters took to the polls to be heard in the 2018 Mid-Term Elections. Today, there are still states counting and recounting ballots in highly contested races. There is so much I could write about concerning this historic election, but today I’m choosing to focus on some “Big Mama Wisdom” to remind us of our next steps.
Andrew Gillum is an African-American man who is still attempting to be the first African-American Governor of the state of Florida. Florida is currently under a legally sanctioned automatic recount of votes triggered by the fact that the difference between the candidate's received ballots is .5% or less. On election night Gillum’s team projected that he would not win the election, consequently, Gillum made a very provocative concession speech. As he had throughout the campaign, he quoted his grandmother. To many his reliance on his grandmother’s wisdom seemed strange, but for many of us raised in working-class families with little economic privilege this felt very familiar. We spent so many hours sitting at the feet or around the table with grandmothers who cared for us while our parents worked at other people’s jobs that grandmothers’ words were deeply ingrained in us. Gillum told the story of how every school day his grandmother anointed his head with consecrated oil and admonished him with these words, “Go to school, mind your teachers, get your lessons, and one day bring that education home. Bring it home for your little brother and sister who don’t know what it is yet.” This midterm election placed in local, state, and federal government numerous leaders who will be the first to sit at the table of power. New Yorkers elected the youngest ever member to the U.S. House of Representatives. The first Latinx woman is headed to Congress to represent Texas. Colorado elected the first openly gay person to serve as Governor of any state in our Union. Harris County, Texas, the 4th largest county in the country, elected 17 African-American women to judgeships. These are just a sprinkling of the many firsts that happened on November 6, 2018. I hope each of these new decision makers will take to heart the words of Andrew Gillum’s grandmother when she sent him off to school. Each of them has been anointed by the votes of their constituents to consistently show-up to speak truth to power, to understand established systems, to learn how to use or disrupt systems, and share those lessons with those not sitting at the table. These new leaders have marked a path and are integral to preparing others to follow it. Their accomplishments of diversifying government cannot be a one time fluke but a new standard. Growing up as an African-American Catholic female, I was often the only person of color in my classroom, church, and extra-curricular activities. My grandmothers consistently reminded me that I was more than worthy to be in the places where I was the only, but they added to Gillum grandmother’s admonishment. They said, “Be better than the rest, work harder, study longer, and listen more. They expect you to be less, so you must prove that you are so much more.” As these new leaders take their rightfully earned seats at the table, I pray that they remember that the world is watching. Their character, words, and behavior must exude excellence and integrity. Many will be seeking flaws in order to destroy their status, influence, and power. Some will even make-up flaws. It is acutely critical to the future success of our democracy that the lives of these firsts withstand scrutiny and fabrications. Allowing yourself to enter into intimate relationships with others forever impacts your life. Intimacy comes with the honest, raw sharing of hopes, ideas, emotions, and experiences. These types of relationships are at times both rewarding and painful, but they are integral to shaping our entire being. I have allowed myself to have this type of friendship with many women throughout my lifetime, be it for a moment or a season. My second piece, Conqueror, in the Crowns: Royalty and Resilience Series, visually and symbolically represents what happens when you enter into intimate relationships with other women - their strength becomes your strength.
When you look at a woman the first thing you see is what she wants you to see. A woman carefully curates your experience as you enter into her presence. Her adornments send a message of how you should approach her. Conqueror clearly says, “I’m royalty; respect my status.” When you take the time to look beyond the adornments, you understand that she is deeply complex. Her wholeness is a multi-layered composite of many parts. Her skin is never monotone. It is a tapestry of varied she-stories woven together to serve as armor against attack. Her eyes reflect the skepticism of age and the hopefulness of youth. Her smile is warm, inviting, and approachable, but it masks a deep, lingering pain. The pain is rooted in a longstanding history of oppression. Her back stands firmly immovable against struggles while her gaze contemplates a better future. America’s Southern red clay soil induced both trauma and joy from the moment her ancestors stepped off of their abductors’ ships onto the land. This is the same soil that sprouted the seeds of back-breaking cotton blooms. Her ancestors’ wombs fertilized this soil as they took a break from laboring in the fields and squatted to give birth to a new generation. The strength, culture, and tenacity of this new generation came through the handed down stories, food, art and memories of the Motherland. The longer these descendants of abducted people thrived on American soil, the more this land became their birthright. Conqueror is the composite of all the women warriors who are preparing my daughter, and all African-American youth, for the sustained battle against multiple forms of oppression. Feminine memory wills them to never forget their royalty, to transcend through the pain, and to press forward into victory. The blossoms are for generations who thrived in spite of overt, legalized racism, sexism, and classism. The transition in colors recognizes our collective efforts to resist oppression. With each generation, the war against oppression continues, but there is a little less bloodshed in each battle. The bright green blossom symbolizes the yet unseen moment where future generations will have space to blossom with no hint of oppression or bloodshed. But until that day, feminine memory will propel us into battle where we will emerge as conquerors. I started this series of blog posts with the question, “What do you do when your loves are under attack?” The urgency to find an answer came with my daughter’s proclamation that the two things she loves most - black people and the truth - are under attack. If you’ve been following my posts for the past week, then you know this attack is not new for people of color, particularly African-Americans. Something has attempted at every point in history to destroy our spirits, minds, and bodies and at every point in history, our response has been to thrive.
So my response to the question is, "We will thrive!" Today, I present art that symbolically shows us how to be conquering rulers of our destiny. The Summit is the first piece in the Crowns: Royalty and Resilience series. In ancient kingdoms royalty often fought in battle. They established their authority on the battlefield. Before every battle, the commanders, leaders, and warriors gathered together to strategize. They found a location removed from the conflict. It was a space above the danger and provided an unobstructed view to see who’s coming and going. It’s a space that allowed them to get comfortable with each other. The summit’s environment was just as important as the strategy being discussed. The women are the royalty in The Summit and they have gathered in such a space. The garden surrounds them with God’s creation. It is a place of living, growing, and blooming vegetation. Imagine the richness and strength of the fertile soil fiercely grabbing the roots of every plant. Can you feel the comfort of the sun’s embrace on every leaf? Do you taste the relief of cooling rain showers that replace an undeniable thirst? Every member of the garden has access to all of this. In the garden are visual reminders that everything needed to survive is provided. This is the space where these women have chosen to gather. They’ve gathered to draw on the spirits of their ancestors. The feminine memory of the ancients reigns down on their gathering. It helps them to recall struggles, mourn losses, and celebrate victories. The feminine memory leads to restoration, rejuvenation, and resurrection. It empowers a dead spirit to bloom. What do you see in the eyes of these women? What do you hear in their voices? What do you feel in their presence? What message flows to your spirit? The 2000’s brought even more athletic, entertainment, corporate and political success for African-Americans. Forty-two years after Althea Gibson won the Women’s Singles in Wimbledon, Venus Williams won the same title which marked the beginning of a string of women’s major professional tennis titles for Williams. In 2002, Halle Berry became the first African-American woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress. Oprah Winfrey built on the entrepreneurial teachings of Madam C. J. Walker to become a billionaire as a media mogul. Around the same time four black men, Kenneth Chenault, Richard Parsons, Franklin Raines, and E. Stanley O’Neal became CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. The ultimate achievement for African-Americans came when then U. S. Senator Barack Hussein Obama was elected U. S. President in 2008 and again in 2012. As these achievements were happening, discord and hate were brewing in suburban and rural America. It manifested itself in the form of mass shootings. The first was Columbine High School in 1999, a 2007 gunman killed 32 people on the campus of Virginia Tech, 26 elementary school students were gunned down in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, and most recently in 2018, 17 were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Discontent was also brewing in urban neighborhoods. Thousands of people in the city of New Orleans died after Hurricane Katrina blew through the city in 2005. The massive death toll was a direct result of city officials’ neglect of needed infrastructure improvements in historically under-invested neighborhoods. Unarmed black and brown men and women were being gunned down routinely by police officers across the nations. An NFL player quietly knelt in protest during the ceremonial playing of the National Anthem to remember the lives of Philando Castile, Freddie Gray, and Laquan McDonald, a few of the unarmed people of color killed by American police officers. These stories spread effortlessly into the lives of our nation’s youth through their SmartPhones, an invention of the 2000’s. The WIFI enabled, internet connected devices are designed to connect people to information from around the world. For our nation’s youth, these devices have become both blessings and curses. Youth can acquire knowledge with a few finger taps while at the same time being harassed by psychologically damaging sights and sounds. Just like Faith, her final two models are products of this era. Lauryn Johnson is a recent high school graduate. Lauryn and Faith met a year ago through their involvement in youth programs sponsored by the Muhammad Ali Center (MAC). Lauryn’s parents gave Faith a weekly ride to MAC where the girls learned to be social entrepreneurs and social justice advocates. Lauryn was in her fourth year of participating in MAC programs and Faith was just getting started. She encouraged Faith to be actively involved in their school’s Black Student Union and to seek out opportunities to grow as a leader and scholar. Lauryn finished high school with enough college credits to enroll as a college junior. After graduation, with support from her parents, Lauryn decided to delay college. She is currently an Americorp Vista employee with the Muhammad Ali Center. Like most teens, my daughter is easily distracted and forgetful. Lauryn became Faith’s counterbalance. Lauryn’s maturity, perseverance, and dedication to advocating for others guided Faith successfully through her freshman year of high school. Kendal Rayborn has been a part of the Lindsey Family for nearly 4 years. Faith met Kendal in middle school. They are both now in high school. We parents take turns chauffering the girls around the city. I often eavesdrop on their conversations. They know I’m listening, but they’re comfortable enough around me to talk about what really happened at their outings. I overhear them talking about behaviors that make them uncomfortable to be around. I’ll never forget the outing that started out as a plan to attend some boy’s party and suddenly switched to meeting friends at the ice rink. I learned on the ride to the rink that the girls snubbed the party because the boys only invited specific girls. Faith and Kendal were invited but they refused to attend a party where girls were considered objects of pleasure and entertainment. They invited a lot of their friends to join them at the skating rink. The Instagram feed from the party proved their protest worked because hardly any kids attended the party, especially girls. Kendal is an aspiring actress with a very busy schedule designed to hone her craft. I remember Faith telling me she could no longer Instagram Kendal. Kendal had turned off the account. She decided it was a distraction from her goals and therefore wasn’t needed. That’s what I love most about Kendal, she knows what is truly important and will remove obstacles that get in her way. Every young girl needs at least one friend she can trust as a confidant. Someone who will be an extra set of eyes, ears, and hands in every type of situation. She needs a friend who will tell her the truth and challenge her when she is wrong. Faith is blessed. She has not only one but many. Lauryn and Kendal are two of the closest. It’s reassuring to know that young ladies like these are our future. In the 1980’s African-Americans moved from the projects of Chicago’s Good Times to the Brooklyn brownstones of the Huxtables. The enterprising Russell Simmons turned the Hip-Hop music of the Bronx into a lucrative music phenomenon through Def Jam Recordings. Spike Lee introduced the world to the culture of historically black college institutions through his big screen production of School Daze. In politics, L. Douglas Wilder was elected the governor of Virginia making him the first elected African-American to lead a U. S. state. While African-Americans were being positively portrayed on screen and making firsts in politics, a new caste-system was being founded based on the mass incarceration of black and brown people in a so-called “War on Drugs”. The New Jim Crow developed massive prison industrial complexes that reaped significant economic gains for its developers. In the 1980’s, FBI anti drug spending to fight the influx of drugs in neighborhoods of black and brown families increased from $8 million to $95 million while spending on things like education decreased. The main tool for controlling the spread of drugs was to jail both users and dealers. It was in this era that Faith’s next two models were born. These young women were born around the time that I graduated from high school and headed to Florida A & M University. I have classmates with children their ages. These are the young women that are shaping the future of our community. Angelique Johnson earned a doctorate in electrical engineering before the age of 30. She is the founder and CEO of MEMStem, an early stage startup that produces “implantable electrode leads capable of providing targeted electrical stimulation to highly dense and small nerve fiber groups” (I took that straight from the website). Angelique’s research led to the microfabrication of these devices that can be used to restore hearing, control Parkison’s tremors, and reduce chronic pain. Her devise can be completely manufactured through an automated process making her technology 1/10th the cost of similar technology created by hand. Thanks to her development this technology which was once only available to the affluent can now reach the greater population. Angelique is extremely intelligent, but what really impresses me about her is her passion for empowering young people through entrepreneurship. She understands the importance of education is not simply to be obtained but harnessed as a tool to transform lives. She is not educated to simply generate income for someone else, but to create a lasting legacy for herself and community. Even though she is probably one of the smartest women I have ever met, she is one of the most humble, approachable, and down to earth women I have ever encountered. Minda Reeves is a freelance writer whose byline reads as Minda Honey. I first met Minda after a talk I gave at Creative Mornings. During the talk, I mentioned that KMAC Museum’s education department, where I served as Director of Education, was looking to partner with artists to use our space to build community. Minda approached me immediately afterwards to discuss a partnership where people used memoir to respond to our exhibits. Minda was confident, assertive, and self-assured. We met later at the museum. Before our meeting I found one of her articles from the LEO Weekly, where she is the relationship advice columnist. I followed that article with an excerpt from something she penned while studying and teaching writing in Southern California. I realized Minda is a transparent spirit who embraces her joys, sorrows, mistakes and triumphs. In her writing I saw a raw honesty. Her writing screamed, “This is me and I have something to say. I might make you uncomfortable, but that’s not my issue!” I see Minda’s non-conforming spirit in my own daughter. Minda and Angelique are both young women who I want to support with my time, energy, and resources. I truly believe there is strength in intergenerational relationships. Older generations have experiences and insights that are often not found in youth, while younger generations bring a fresh perspective. We need each other. It is my desire that these two young women keep me in their lives and bring some of their peers along for the ride. The 1950’s saw a series of victories that forever changed how African-Americans would live and be heard in the United States. Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African-American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Segregated schools were declared unconstitutional in the 1954 ruling of Brown v. Board of Education. Through the signing of The Civil Rights Act of 1957, millions of African-Americans received federal protections to ensure their Constitutional rights, including the right to vote. These victories led to the legal integration of public schools, neighborhoods, and workplaces. People living in this era used organized public protest, marches, and demonstrations that led to legalized policy changes confronting systematic oppression. The 1960s brought the appointment of Thurgood Marshall to The U. S. Supreme Court, the rise of the Black Panther Party, the election of Shirley Chisholm to the U. S. House of Representatives, and Arthur Ashe’s men’s singles victory at the U. S. Open. Even though war raged in Vietnam by the 1970s, African-Americans were making significant gains in America’s political, military, educational, entertainment, sports, and corporate systems. African-Americans were becoming recognized leaders in America’s newly integrated society. Faith’s next two models bridged these two generations - the 1950’s Baby Boomers and the 1970’s Generation Xers. Marita Willis is a Baby Boomer born during the 1950s. I first met Marita while working at PNC Bank in 2012. She was a VP of Community Development Banking. I grew up in Louisville, KY, home of the Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby Festival (KDF) is a major production consisting of weeks of events leading to the Kentucky Derby Horse Race. As a black girl from a working-class family, I never knew anyone who looked like me who worked with the KDF. KDF officials always wore a special, uniquely equestrian jacket. Marita was the first African-American person I had ever seen wear this jacket, because she was a member of the KDF Board of Directors. In June 2018, Marita was elected Chair of the 2019 Kentucky Derby Festival. But her commitment to community stretches beyond the KDF. You can find her supporting such causes as The American Red Cross, Norton Childrens Hospital, and Cabbage Patch Settlement House. I’ve gotten to know Marita better over the years and I have always been impressed with her confidence, poise, and style. Our family sees Marita and her husband most often at church. Faith is constantly impressed by Marita’s fashion sense. She consistently demonstrates a bold confidence and seizes life. I’m always drawn by her smile. Marita has experienced traumatic losses. Marita was blessed with two beautiful children, Ra’Tonya Willis Friedman and RaShaan Roland Willis. In 1997, during torrential Louisville rainstorms, Rashaan’s car was washed off the road and submerged in water. RaShaan died at 16 years old as a result of the accident. RaShaan and Faith share the same birthday. Nearly twenty years later, Ra’Tonya, lost her battle with sickle cell disease. Faith worked with Ra’Tonya to style a fashion photo shoot where they quickly bonded. Marita has shown me how to find joy through pain. One of the funniest stories, Marita shared with me was how she returned her AARP card because she wasn’t ready to be labeled a senior citizen at the age of 50. She’ll probably never accept that label! Marita grew up in Louisville’s Park Hill housing projects, attended Catholic schools, and achieved considerable influence in our community. I believe this is partly due to her refusal to accept other people’s labels. Instead, she defines her own destiny and surrounds herself with supports that encourage her desires. I am the Generation Xer who Faith chose as her model. I don’t want to assume why a teen chose me as one of her honored women, but I hope it has something to do with the fact that I’m the vessel that God used to give her life. (By the way, I never received one of those personal handwritten notes from Faith.) If you ever see Faith, you’ll have to ask her why she chose her mother and art collaborator as a model. |
AuthorRamona Dallum Lindsey is an artist, speaker and curious citizen who finds strength in the wisdom of her elders. Archives
February 2019
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