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I wanted to see a different world surrounding me. I wanted to see a deeper healing in my community for myself and my community. Because I am an artist of change, it became my mission to be the change I wanted to see in my world, my community.
My first step was to change myself in order to be a living example of change as a mirror for my community. I worked hard to get my degree in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Irvine after years of living in San Francisco as a hair stylist and model. I came back to southern California to complete my dream of being an educated writer and performer of change.
I had spent years marching for human rights, gay rights, and women’s rights. I put my body and spirit on the line because I wanted to see and live in a better world. I came out as an artist and I knew I had a gift of being an artist of sustainable renewal. I knew I had the creative energy to change myself for the better, so why could I not do it for my local and global community.
As a child, I struggled with being a man in the modern world I was growing up in. The men in my life, on the most part, were not the men who I wanted to emulate.I saw many levels of abuse acted out by men in my community. Too many men were prisoners of the man box and struggled to gain power any way they could. I wanted to be a better man, a man who contributed to his family and community. I wanted to be an example of how men could use their power in a positive and productive way.
I am not saying all men are bad, but too many men did not know how to use their positions of power to elevate themselves and their communities. I believe there is a thing called “shared power” where everyone has a voice and position in the story of life.
I am a person who wants balance and alignment in one’s everyday life. I would want everyone to feel important and empowered. I do believe empowerment begins at home, within oneself. I believe I am a person of worth and my voice and gifts have power. I feel it is my job as a person to ignite my voice and gifts for the purpose of supporting the entire world community. As a man in the society, I feel I need to learn how to facilitate power for myself in order to empower others.
I want to create a blueprint of being a man who empowers his family, friends, and community by being his full self.
As an artist and designer, writer, poet, father, brother, son, singer, educator, mentor and basic human being, I have a purpose and I intend to live it. I have the gift of creativity. I can make something out of nothing. I can create a story with a capital letter and a period at the end. Having that type of creativity allows me to be able to embrace many types of problematics of our society.
I understand the importance of the human story and its manifestations within the society. Every human story should be lived to its fullest and told with pride. My father’s story was one of struggle, but by the end of his life, he was a successful, accomplished human being. He addressed his demons and conquered them. I respect him as a man and a father. You can’t erase the past, but you can create a different future. What my father could not do for me, I had to learn to do it for myself. I watched his struggle and learned to never give up until the fat lady sings and I was always ready to put a sock in her mouth. The opera was not over until the story was ready to be shared and told with pride.
My father found community in his recovery community and when he died, I found out how much he loved and how proud of me he was. He used his community to grow and expand as a man and a father. I took his lead and began to create my own brand of community and support.
My grandfather was a gospel music teacher, as well as my grandmother. Those two people helped to build and support love while teaching music and personal empowerment. No one was beneath them and everyone deserved an equal opportunity to be more than they were yesterday. I found community in church activities, education institutions, and solid family values.
From those two men, I learned it was never too late to become a better man and human being. So, if I could change, so could so many others.
I have a history of teaching and mentoring the men, women, and children of my community. I believe there is unity in a community compassion. I believe in being an activist in my community.
Being an activist in my community meant I was a responsible member of my community.
Being an activist in my community meant I used my gifts to improve my community.
Being an activist in my community meant I had an active part in creating and maintaining change.
Being an activist in my community meant I would leave no one behind and all were included in body and mind count.
Being an activist in my community meant I was willing to share my time and energy to the improvement of my community,
Being an activist in my community meant I was willing to love and support the lives and goals of my community, as a working and active part of the positive development of my community.
Being an activist in my community meant I was working on the healing of my community.
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This post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: iStock