THIS IS YOUR LIFE
LIFESTYLES
By Del Mattioli
DURHAM’S CIVIL RIGHTS MURAL PROJECT:
MORE THAN A WORK OF ART
OUR YOUTH
OUR YOUTH will be adults someday. Will they be
prepared for the following? Raising and financing
a family, spending time with their children, dealing
with teenage issues, giving back to their community,
volunteering and teaching their children to practice
healthy lifestyles?
The “in” things such as tattoos, negative
social media, hanging out, engaging in gang activities, avoiding church
activities, watching TV shows that reflect lack poor role models, dress
codes that reflect poor self-esteem and poor health practices is
destroying OUR YOUTH.
Even though society has embraced or enabled these “in” things,
OUR YOUTH are making decisions that are spontaneous and will impact
their lives forever. They are not mature enough to make decisions that
will remain with them forever. Studying, reading, volunteering, debating,
conflict resolution exercises, physical activities, working & spiritual
balance would benefit OUR YOUTH.
OUR YOUTH yearns to be loved and understood. They have
dreams of becoming successful. Parents want the best for their children.
Children deserve a fair chance to be the best that they can be. Society
has enabled our children to make decisions that they cannot unravel.
OUR YOUTH don’t choose to fail—they get caught up in the moment!
Early Education and Higher Education is the Path out of Poverty.
Children tell us their dreams and what they want to be when they grow
up. They may change their minds along the way. They have not said ‘I
want to go to jail’ or ‘I plan to be self-destructive’.
What happens during the formative years that destroy their dreams
along the way? They HAD a dream! Distractions, less boundaries, lack of
educational opportunities, stressed surroundings and feeling unloved is
harmful to OUR YOUTH.
Educational opportunities is paramount to the success of the
OUR YOUTH throughout life. Educational learning helps to build self
confidence and communication skills.
Thirty-seven million Americans live below the official poverty line
and are struggling each month for basic necessities. A family of four with
income below $19,971 is considered to be living in poverty (American
Task Force on Poverty). This information is disturbing but we are banning
together to stop the trend.Cutting poverty in the next 5 to 10 years is
possible with attention to issues such as providing an opportunity for all,
promoting decent work opportunities, reasonable wages, reinstating or
adjusting the Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, guaranteeing child
care assistance to low-income families, promoting early education, and
the opportunity to get training in areas of interest.
Let’s empower OUR YOUTH and CLOSE THE GAP OF POVERTY!
One option that is available to those living in poverty is FREE LIFE
INSURANCE On PARENTS program offered by Mass Mutual Financial
Group. The premium is underwritten (paid for) by Mass Mutual and
provides the beneficiary with Educational opportunities to benefit OUR
YOUTH with training to pursue their dreams for their future.
Del Mattioli
Contact Del Mattioli for more information about guaranteed FREE Life Insurance
to benefit children’s educational opportunities.
Del Mattioli, MBA, LUTCF, CLTC - Mattioli and Associates / MassMutual
Financial Group; www.massmutual.com/lifebridge; Telephone: 919-201-2404;
E-mail: [email protected]
30
DURHAM, NC - How do we honor those who
have sacrificed for us? How do we remember
and continue to tell their stories? In Durham
there is a new public art mural project that
hopes to do just that. Today when students are
taught about the civil rights movement they
learn about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther
King, Jr. who have both become larger than
life. And yet the movement was built by those
who live among us.
According to the Project Director
Brenda Miller Holmes, “The goal of this
mural is to celebrate the hundreds of Durham
citizens whose feet were on the ground and
to commemorate the incredible sacrifices
that were made to create social change in our
country.”
The 2,400 square foot mural will be
located in Downtown Durham near Durham’s
History Hub and a stop on Durham’s civil
rights history tour. The project is an innovative
collaborative process that is engaging the
Durham community, its historians, artists
and voices from the past. Long after the paint
dries on the wall, the education will continue
through a multimedia component that will
include a short documentary, a booklet and an
interactive website.
The mural project began with a series
of community workshops with historians
and Durham residents who were involved
in the civil rights movement. Then thirty
Durham residents ages 15 – 65 with diverse
backgrounds and varying degrees of artistic
SPECTACULAR MAGAZINE | June 2014 | www.spectacularmag.com
experience, came together to
design the mural. This summer
the community will be invited to
participate in creating the mural
itself.
Primary funding for the project
came from the City of Durham,
however, the size and scope has
grown and additional funds are now
needed. Since the work has already
begun, raising money has been
a race against time to ensure the mural is
successfully completed.
The mural project has already had a
significant impact on its participants. Hillside
High School Student DeMarcus Boone said,
“This project has aided me in building
character and artistic skills. I love the unique
feel of a community of various cultures
combining to develop a piece of art.”
Retired Art Educator Faye Brandon
observed, “I think it is powerful to leave a
visual legacy for the community. Hopefully, this
visual will spark curiosity from the ones too
young to remember and create an opportunity
to talk with the ones who do remember.”
The Durham Civil Rights History Mu