By elevating these young women who are the
heirs to ushering in our change, we have to
make sure we give them proper platform to
grow and yet be themselves. And that’s
exactly what Gullah Daughters of Purpose
does. I wanted to bless them in that way so
more of the community knows about their
work and what they are doing so we could
help them sustain their efforts.
The other charity is Mission A to Zed, which
we actually honored and recognized last year
and gave a platform again this year—they
utilized the sales of their clothing to help fund
their mission trip to Zambia. It was a 21-day
trip where they assisted the villagers by
bringing in professional educators to help the
local teachers to grow their curriculum with
the children there.
The third charity I found about is here, and I
learned how they use fashion for good. It’s
called Little Dresses for Africa. The idea is
that they sew these pillowcases into dresses
for little girls in Zambia. The whole premise is
that young girls in that country who are
potentially orphaned are vulnerable to people
who may take advantage of them. But when
these girls are seen in a nice dress, it shows
that they are taken care of and, as a result,
men are less likely to aggress them. It’s
showing how fashion can not only transcend
the material factor, but also transcend into
the humanitarian effort of society by using
fashion as function to help solve social ills and
using fashion as a mechanism to usher in
social change.
So then, what would you describe as your
bread and butter of the entire week?
Oh, that’s a hard one. I think for me it’s the
reaction of people when they see the work that
goes into it, when they understand what it’s
about. It’s not about the fashion. Fashion is just
the hook and the sinker. People are actually
inspired when they see that there is local talent,
regional talent, and international talent that are
actually interested in making clothing at home
and afar. And they are being produced by young,
upcoming professionals or even seasoned
professionals. Our fashion show inspires models
of all colors, generations, the whole nine---the
youngest model was probably five and the eldest
was aged fifty-four. So, we represent all body
types, shapes, colors. We had two Caucasian
males in our show this year. It’s showing the
diversity and the inspiration that people get as a
result of being involved with the fashion show
—either directly or indirectly. It really inspires
people, and that’s the biggest wow factor for me.
Because that is exactly what it was designed to
do: inspire people and give them a platform to
showcase their artistry and their talent and
gifts.
At our last meeting, you briefly touched on
your life goal of penning and publishing a book
about some of your life’s experiences and
setbacks. What would you say are some
defining moments that have molded you into
who you are today?
That’s another good question. I would say that a
defining moment for me was when I had to make
a decision to leave something and someone that
was no longer serving me. When I made that
decision almost three years ago—I left Atlanta,
Georgia. I left a situation and a marriage that
was just not conducive to my well-being or my
family. I had to make that decision to leave.
Once I did that, so many doors opened because
I was no longer held back by fear or held back by
any doubt or insecurities or any of those things.
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