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Seven years. 

The ticking Metronome clock in the downtown of New York City delivers a jarring, but inescapable truth about the Earth and those who care about its preservation: we are running out of time. This message, however unsettling, is a reminder that the resources and beauty that we often take for granted from our planet could all vanish in the span of less than a decade. 

And we have No Planet B.

However, this also presents us all with an opportunity to wake up, speak up, and take action.  

Tomorrow, on April 22nd, the United States will be celebrating the 51st Earth Day, a day to recognize the progress of the environmental protection movement and to acknowledge the work that remains to be done. Throughout the month of April, or Earth Month, Pavé The Way has been sharing knowledge about the environment and the changes we can all make. 

What is Earth Day and its origins?

Earth Day began in 1970, the year the National Environmental Policy Act was passed into law, following the efforts of activists fighting against air and water pollution, and for the preservation of nature. The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22nd of that year, organized by Senator Gaylord Nelson and Dennis Hayes, and millions marched to demand continued action.  

Who are some of the leaders Paving the Way for Environmental justice today?

The face of environmental activism today is diverse, with young people using their voice and their power to demand change. These young changemakers are doing work all across the country and the world. They are speaking up and making a difference in their communities, and leading the way for us to follow in the footsteps.  

Quannah Chasinghorse, a 17 year old from the Han Gwich’in and Lakota Sioux Nations has been speaking up to protect native lands and their people. She has been taking action to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which faces erosion due to oil drilling and rising temperatures.  

Kulsum Rifa, a 19 year old from New York City, advocates for climate refugees in her home country of Bangladesh, where rising tides are causing floods, killing and displacing countless families, and submerging parts of the country underwater.

Helena Gualinga, a 17 year old from the Sarayuku community of the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador has been a voice for protection of indegenous land against wildfires, which are becoming more prevalent with climate change.

Vic Barrett, a 20 year old of the Afro-indigenous community of St. Vincent is suing the U.S. government for pushing native people from their land, and the exploitative practices that are threatening to submerge this land underwater. He is outspoken about the intersections of the climate crisis, institutional oppression of marginalized groups, and Indigenous land dispossession.

There are so many other activists, both young and old who are part of this urgent movement. 

The effects of climate change impact communities of color and poor communities at a disproportionate rate. Even across the globe, countries who least contribute to the climate crisis are facing the most negative consequences for the actions of countries like the U.S. However, with the pollution of our own waterways, with the wildfires across our Western coast, with increasingly disastrous hurricanes across our Eastern coast, it is clear that the threat is at our doorsteps as well. 

Therefore, it is up to all of us, to continue to uplift the work of these changemakers. Without action, the world that young people like myself will inherit will be an uninhabitable one and we refuse to accept this. So with every action we take, we seek to be a force for change in a positive direction.  

Why do we care?

At Pavé the Way, we are committed to sustainability and celebrating Earth Day as we recognize the impact of environmental issues and their intersection with larger issues in our country and around the globe. As a sustainably sourced and conflict-free jewelry company, we hope to continue to play our part to protect the planet and uplift those doing the work to preserve its riches. 

What are some ways you can wear your values with Pavé The Way this Earth Day?

With every purchase, we encourage our community of customers to put purpose behind their purchase. You can start a conversation with a unique piece from one of collections to show how you care for the Earth. You can wear our No Planet B pieces to tell others how you “Reduce Your Carbon Footprint”, or to say that “Plastic Straws Suck” and that we should all take part in "No Lid'dering". You can also rock some of the amazing fruits our Earth produces to tell your own story through our Food for Thought collection. Or you can choose a piece from our Empower Tools collection and “Use Your Voice” and “Wield Your Power” to speak up and take action on these important issues. You can “Unlock Your Passion and Purpose” for environmental issues and encourage all those in your community to stand “Stronger Together” against the climate crisis and do it “Loud and Proud”.

No matter what pieces you choose, you have the power to have 100 percent of the profits from your purchase go to an organization that supports your values! 

As we celebrate Earth Day, we hope you will join us and share your stories of how you are paving the way. The work ahead requires all of us to take action, to pave the way in our communities, through the purpose we put behind our purchase, so that we can continue to enjoy the Earth for a long and bright future. 

Sources:

Earthday.org, Environmentalhistory.org, New York Times, Vice , Nasa Climate

I would love it if you could just start by introducing yourself for me and just telling me who you are and what you're all about. 

Well, my name is Devin Marie. I am a wellness advocate and practitioner as well as a brand architect, as I like to call myself. I like helping people build relationships, healthier ones, happier ones.

How would you say you define wellness?

Wellness for me is mindfulness and being mindful of self as well as having that be its core value. However, a result of being mindful of what your needs are and acknowledging those and meeting those needs directly corresponds to how we're able to show up for our community. So tending to self for the hope of bettering oneself will translate naturally to those that we care about and the communities that we are involved in. 

Could you speak more to your journey of becoming a wellness advocate?

You know, wellness, advocacy and health coaching, if I'm being completely honest, it was motivated by the lack that was in my own personal life. I find that when we deal with traumas and when we're faced with real life situations that challenge us beyond our capacity to support ourselves, we are constantly looking for ways of surviving. And I have been through this journey of healing in my own personal life from trauma that I don't want to survive anymore. I want to really enjoy life.

I don't want it to constantly be like putting out fires and like, “Oh there's another trigger, there's another trigger.” I need some context behind why I respond the way that I do. So I ended up going to an  integrative nutrition school and took courses to understand why certain things show up in my life the way that they do, why certain habits exist, why certain patterns are the way that they are and how I could potentially challenge those and improve myself. As a result, I was filled up, and when there's an overflow it's natural to just want to share it.

How would you say your identity plays a role in how you show up in the world?

I'm very mindful of a quote by this incredible force of nature. Toni Morrison. She says you are not the work you do. You are the person that you are. So when I'm, when I am thinking about how I want to lend my time and my perspective to different rooms and with different people, I am constantly going back and asking myself, is this what I believe in? Is this true to me? And is this aligning with my core values?  

And when it's a yes, I know that regardless of what it is I'm doing, uh, it's going to be authentic. So that really matters to me and is something that I'm constantly reflecting on. 

I’m wondering if there’s ways that you'd like to express yourself, vocally or through your clothing?

I've learned to simplify my life quite a bit. In terms of acquiring things, if we're talking about fashion, for example, I've worked in the fashion industry for over 10 years being a model. And I'm used to people putting things on me, decorating me and I'm on the canvas and I am the person's muse.

And I'm being manipulated and shifted, and formed into a character and it's fun and it's exciting and sometimes challenging. On a personal level, I realized that I live my life much more simply, and when it comes to acquiring fashion, my  taste and preference is always that less is more because life is already chaotic. A lot of the worlds that I work in are very chaotic and very demanding, so my sense of style is rather understated. But I express myself or where I feel my soul really is resting in the most grounded way through simple modes of style. 

So, simple statement pieces, not too overwhelming. I think that reflects where my core values stand: quality versus quantity.

How you work on achieving balance when you are in these roles where you are able to pour so much into others, to make sure you're continuing to feel poured into.

I always get kind of frustrated by the notion of finding balance. I think balance is not always that easy to acquire in life. Sometimes life demands you to prioritize things, responsibilities that you just have to take care of.

My finding balance is being much more intentional about boundaries. We speak about this a lot in the wellness community, but that's been an ongoing practice for me. Yes, I want to care for my community, but no I don't want to take that phone call right now because I don't have the emotional capacity to have a conversation. Sometimes we don't have the luxury or the privilege of being able to say no to certain things because of set responsibilities. You have to show up for those things and for those people. But I'm a constant lever in showing up for yourself. If that means I need time to myself at some point in the day, sometimes that means waking up an hour earlier than I would like, just so I can have some silence, which feeds me and simulates me.

So my last question is why you chose the “Break The Rules” necklace, and what that means to you.

This one is my new statement piece and I'm absolutely in love with it. I remember actually asking a friend of mine, “which one do you feel like speaks to me the most?” And they didn't give me an answer, but this was my first choice and they immediately said this one and it's kind of ironic because I'm a very Type A personality. I live by structure. I'm a time manager for myself as well as multiple people. I thrive in that space, but my spirit is asking for the complete opposite most of the time, and there's a freedom and there's even a grounding in being less restrictive. 

I've been limiting myself too often in my life. And I think in this season in particular, “Breaking the rules” doesn't mean I'm being careless, but I'm being conscientious of the fact that there is more abundance for me. And I would hate to limit myself with being so structured or too practical. In certain regards I value structure, but I also value space for spontaneity which I'm inviting more of.

So it's a bit of a challenge, but this is a reminder for me to challenge myself more and remember that just because I can thrive in structure doesn't mean I can't thrive in freedom and I want to learn to do both. And this is the perfect testament to breaking the rules. Don't always stick to comfort. There's something beautiful that happens in the unknown. So I'm trying to lend myself more and more to that every day.

Can you start by introducing yourself?

My name is Claira Janover. I am 23 years old. I am an off-cycle senior at Harvard, graduating in May 2021. Something that's always been very meaningful to me is being opinionated, outspoken, and having conversations that I think a lot of people don't have because it's draining, exhausting, and sort of provocative to reconcile with. And I don't mean that I'm the type of person who tries to initiate really controversial or provocative conversations. But just being someone who has a willingness to speak up, when things come up that I think should be addressed, and it has been a huge learning process for me to just not let ignorance slide by. And I think that a lot of people are still learning about that and everyone to each their own, but it's been something that's been very meaningful to me.

I want to just ask in your own words, what you would say are the parts of your identity that are kind of most central to your being.

Aspects of my identity, well gender, race, religion. I'm a mixed race, Asian Jewish girl, obviously frames me a lot. I'm so outspoken on racial and gender politics.

It's something that is super important to me. But I also feel like I would want to think that I would have that independently of being a person of color. The values that are true and important to me, like speaking up, in instances of injustice or not tolerating, inexcusable, offensive bigoted behavior and not letting the world decide who I am.

Having that agency over who I am and who I want the world to consider me as is so crucial because I didn't even for a second question whether or not I was going to correct a lot of the disinformation about me that was being spread to millions. 

Can you tell me more about the role that creativity plays in your own life, and the role it can play in moving movements forward?

Yeah, I think creativity, artistically, is something that I grew up with. I grew up going to a performing arts school. So I kind of grew up with more creativity than not. And I think that my direction out of that really just became part of the conventional lifestyle, where you prioritize keeping your head down and working. And even we see this now, like the fact that, you know, I got so much criticism [this past summer] was because I wasn't being this head down, polite, quiet girl. And I think creativity oftentimes stems from that, indirect dissent and indirect rebellion against constructs of conformity, as cliche as that sounds.

And so I think to be creative and ambitious towards something that is what you want to do creatively or artistically, whatever it is, is its own act like a beautiful defiance. And so I feel as though I've gotten really creatively stunted sometimes, and then sometimes I'll feel really motivated. But it's something that I personally can't force, but I get so much out of watching other people's ongoing creativity because there's so much of it everywhere.

I see you have some awesome earrings on, so how do you present yourself to the world, are there any other ways that you express yourself?

Yeah, it's really, when I was young, I wanted to be an artist. I played six instruments, I danced etc. it was so much of my life. And then as I got older and kind of transitioned into the conformist mentality, I really found myself being numbed in terms of my creative mindset.

I still love listening to music. I have such a fascination and interest in really most genres of music. And since college, I have quite often altered my appearance. I’ve modified it in ways that were just fun, like haircuts and dyeing my hair or piercing my ears or getting tattoos. Ultimately, things are just really inconsequential. They don't fundamentally change me, but are just great. But mostly in terms of expression for me, it has just been largely either finding out or reminding myself who I am outside of what other people think or cultivate, which has been really helpful.

What do you think is the role of just fashion or beauty as an industry? What do you think is the potential of it to intersect with just empowering people?

Well, I mean, I can say a heck of a lot about how messed up the beauty industry is and how Eurocentric and skinny centric and unhealthy it is to the body and racial images of especially young women, but also, everyone growing up.

But there's also a lot that I think is very powerful about it. It's been interesting for me to exist in a culture, an industry, with social media, where so much of it stands for everything that I stand against. But so much of it also promotes what I'm for.

And then you have incidents with Victoria's Secret which is so narrow, and basically says skinny, gorgeous women sell, and that's legitimately proven by advertisement and data collection. Right, but then you have people who are really branching out of that like Rihanna and Halsey and Dove.

So we need to shift, right? And seeing these pioneers for empowerment have been so remarkable like trans people or people of color that are models or actors and actresses.

But I have been in the mindset of we can have these small victories and still recognize that there's more to be done. Similarly with Harry styles on the Vogue cover, things like that, yes, it's remarkable, but also noting that this isn't new. A man dressing in feminine attire has not been new. But also is a very meaningful transition in terms of the Vogue industry to have this man with a dress on a cover.

So I think having these discussions is wonderful and purposeful and something a lot of people don't do and reflect on, but I think for a lot of young girls, seeing women that they identify with in terms of their gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religion, it does so much more than I think people were originally aware of.

And I just want to keep seeing those shifts towards not only brands that promote essentially people of color that are wider people of color, like mixed race or like light-skinned people and promoting and internalizing colorism. Again, that's not the fault of light skinned or mixed girls, speaking as a mixed girl, you know, but it is something that's, I look at crazy rich Asians and I wish that more of the cast were full Asian. And then I look at these, you know, black female pioneers in the acting and entertainment industry. And I wish that there were more dark-skinned or fully black women. And I think that that's something that you can acknowledge, but also realize how tremendously of strides it is to have Kerry Washington and Zendaya being part of this.

You know, the idea that people and characters and fame can exist, right, without your race being the token in it. You can exist beyond just your race. And I think that that's been a really great, great thing about ideally progressing within the beauty and fashion industry.

Thinking about by the time you're the age of our grandparents, what do you hope that you perhaps have helped to change?

I mean a weird goal of mine is to be a grandma and to have my grandchildren or my children explaining some sort of progressive movement to me, where I'm that adult who's like, wait, what, I’ve never heard of that. You know, I remember when my mom was first trying to understand sexuality, she genuinely did not understand bisexuality. She was a very liberal woman, and she supported it entirely, but she was like, I don't get it.

And I think that I want to have one of those, “Whoa, my entire construct of how a society should exist is being changed and altered because of this transformative and evolving societal standard over time with new generations.” I think that I want that. I hope my grandchildren will be alive --given the global warming climate--but it's something that I want.

I don't need my kids or my grandkids to be politicians or activists, but I think that being outspoken and passionate is something that I want to be an example for my children and the people in my life. Kids always come back to their roots.

If you grow up understanding what justice is and what is needed to achieve it, you're going to come back to it. And I kind of trust that'll happen with my kids and grandkids, hopefully. 

So I'm hoping that in generations to come, we look back at this really messed up series of events of the last few years and are just like that was the equivalent of the McCarthyism Red Scare. That was just such an unfortunate episode of history that no one wants to acknowledge and we’ve moved far enough past. 

From the experiences you had last year with your social media following, and seeing disadvantages and challenges that come as a result, how has that shaped how you move forward? 

I don't know how to answer this without either sounding bleak or pretentious. But I think that a lot of crappy things have happened to me in my life. Just like a lot of great things have happened. And although I’ve had a wonderful support system throughout my life, I kind of grew up in instability and tumult, and I think that resilience is something that just, unfortunately, I never really had another option to be. 

My mom was a single mom. She was a huge, radical liberal union organizer, high school teacher and we grew up very low income with a lot of housing instability and moved around a lot, and so for me, like getting into Harvard was such a dream come true. And so all of the plight that I've had throughout my time at Harvard, I've tried to maintain the understanding that at the end of the day it will be okay.

I have this huge cushion and this huge privilege, right? Like, even though I'm not a white, wealthy man, who has that to fall back on, I have a Harvard network now. I have the Harvard experience and education, and I have this pool of people that have come to my rescue and really supported me. I think that that's been something that I've been trying to remind myself of to continue to push through.

This week I spoke with Award-winning director, writer, digital storyteller, and startup advisor, Rylee Ebsen.

I would love for you to tell us who you are and how your passions have led you to where you are today.

I'm Rylee Jean Ebsen and I am an LA born and raised filmmaker and startup advisor. I went to Crossroads High School with Evan Spiegel, worked at Snapchat for many years, and then left to pursue Live Action Directing full time, but I'm still in the startup world. I enjoy it all-- writing, filmmaking, creative directing, & advising startups on strategy, creative, and marketing.

I have this startup side to me which has really been a surprise having gone to NYU film school. I don't find a lot of people who went to film school in the tech world, so bringing storytelling to the tech space has been fun. 

I work with a lot of startups and I just talked to an engineer who said, “Wow, I've never met a tech minded person who really cares about tech and is equally passionate about creative. It's hard for me to understand how you do both”. And I think it really is just because I went to film school, learned how to tell stories the traditional way, but then got an honorary MBA by being at Snapchat from when it was 10 people to then well over thousands of employees. My experiences shaped me to love both.

What kind of storyteller would you describe yourself as?

I've watched a lot of really depressing films lately. I feel like in 2020 a lot of filmmakers and storytellers were in a tough place, just as the whole world was.

I don't want to make things that shield away from the truth of the darkness, but I really love comedy. The only way to get through tough times is to laugh. My family, who's very dysfunctional and really insane actually, laughs when we're going through tough times. My grandfather was a really famous satirist and comedian in the fifties and sixties. He made fun of a lot of current events and that's how he kind of got through some of the tough times that he lived through in history.

I think that we all need to look at ourselves and laugh and have perspective about pain, trauma and trying to get through it. Otherwise, what's the point? If you can't have a good time and laugh, I don't know how anyone makes it through.

The stories that I want to tell have a foot in truth and are grounded stories, but are also sort of magical and fantastical and funny. They take you on a journey and take you a little bit outside of yourself, but then hopefully bring you back to yourself because I'm tapping into universal truths.

That's so beautifully put, I love that. And having seen a lot of your work I definitely think that humor and that vulnerability and authenticity and that magic is definitely there! So, what would you say is one of your passion projects that you would love to take on if given the resources?

I have a lot of passion projects. I definitely would love to make a female superhero movie. That would be a dream come true. There's so many great diverse comic books that haven't been told yet.

So that would be fun, especially because I like when the traditional sort of mega comic book movies are really funny these days, and there's a sense of humor within them. And I think Taika Waititi, all props to him, he kind of introduced the new type of superhero movie. These movies influence so many young kids. They all go see it with their families and I think it's great to be able to influence culture that way. 

I would also love to recreate one of my grandfather's films. Honestly, directing the remake of Breakfast At Tiffany's would be a dream come true because my grandfather was in it. He played Audrey Hepburn's husband. I've been thinking about this movie for many years and I think it needs a redo, for many reasons!

Thinking about both the startup world and the film and directing industry, what do you feel are some of the biggest challenges that are facing both of those industries?

Look at the Golden Globes this year: Regina King, Chloé Zhao, Emerald Fennell--three people out of five were women who were nominated for best feature film directing. I’m seeing the numbers shifting and it's really exciting.

I do feel like studio executives and people who are in charge of making the big financial decisions are really thinking about who is telling stories, how do we read different scripts? Really rethinking how content gets made. And it's so great because there's so many platforms, there are so many opportunities to have a lot of different voices making content. 

I think where we can still grow absolutely is in advertising. It's funny because commercials are the number one thing that we consume more than any other content. This is why I’m so excited to be at Girl Culture, an amazing production company run by Lauren Greenfield, she's a bad-ass director in her own right and has been such an advocate for diversity and inclusion.

We need DEI in tech too. We need to slow down. Because tech has to innovate and grow so quickly, we forget to go outside the referral pool. It’s important to make sure there’s a good amount of seats at the table for a lot of different people with different experiences, who grew up in different places. And when we do that, it makes the product even stronger and better in my opinion. 

I think with tech we definitely need more funding for new startups created by people with all kinds of different backgrounds. I always say “Try to give someone their first shot.” Everyone who is successful was given a first opportunity by someone who took a chance on them.

I would love to know more about how you have been able to use this passion for activism?

I directed the first voter registration campaign with Snap in 2018, and after learning that 400,000 people signed up I was really inspired to continue this work. I was shocked to find how low voter turnout numbers are and, to me, it’s the number one way we can change things. When people show up and participate, our democracy actually works.

I got connected to a super inspiring group called I Am A Voter, which was started by a group of incredibly smart and talented women. The goal of I Am A Voter is to help people register to vote, to stay informed about elections coming up, and to find easy ways to show up. VOTING IS COOL! We should all do it.

Can you tell me more about the people who have really shaped how you view the world and empowered you as you made your way to who you are today?

I think my parents have done such an incredible job and they've worked so hard and they've really shown me what hard work and perseverance is.

My mom is such a role model to me. She has worked so hard and she was the Vice President of this Human Resources department. And in the nineties being a woman with all these men she would show up to meetings and they'd give her the coffee order and she'd be like “No, I'm sitting here.” 

She'd be the only woman there and just her progress and how much she's been through as a business woman is just so inspiring to me and it makes me proud to be a woman. And she's such a boss lady and she's one of my biggest inspirations and she makes me feel so empowered. 

You have accomplished so much already, but is there an area in which you are hoping to have impact, or a cause that is really close to your heart where you want to make change?

Well I've been doing so much charity work for children's hospitals. That means so much to me. Right now I've been doing it virtually but usually I'll go to different States and just visit all the children's hospitals in the area. And just making them smile is the best thing in the entire world and giving them any sense of normalcy is one of my main priorities. 

And also about mental health as well because I've been struggling with my mental health my whole life. And recently during this pandemic, during the summer, I feel like so many people have been stuck with themselves in their house.

And they've been starting to realize that maybe they're struggling as well. I feel like this is the most prevalent time where the mental health conversation has been going. And that's something that's so important to me because I've been really scared to share my story and open up about my experiences. But if literally one person hears my story or hears what I have to say and it makes them not feel lonely, that would mean everything to me.

I wonder if you could tell me just more about what your journey dealing with your mental health has been like, and some of the difficult moments you’ve faced and how you navigated them?

Yeah it kind of started when I was around seven or eight. So when I started to realize the pattern and it was so funny because performing and music has always been there for me, but performing on stage in front of people is something that relieved my anxiety but also caused it at the same time, which was this really weird thing. And with my panic attacks and anxiety attacks, sometimes they would just happen out of nowhere for no reason. 

So I saw them as a battle so if it was withholding me from something that I wanted to do and I overcame it and I got to do something I wanted to, then I won that battle.

So that's how I kind of saw that. Helped me a lot. It's been a journey, it's been hard having to battle coming to work and dealing with having to memorize so many lines and like maybe memorizing dance moves and going on stage and then talking to people and then having like five people talking to at the same time, it's like really difficult, but it's been a journey.

One of the positive things that have happened during this pandemic has been I really have been able to stay at home and work on myself and really listen to myself. So there's a little positive light in all of this craziness.

When you feel overwhelmed, do you have something that you personally like to do to get through that moment?

If I'm at home, and during these times something that has really helped me is writing in my journal. Sometimes, you have intrusive thoughts or you obsess over one thing and then it kind of just spirals and it can feel really overwhelming and you start panicking.

And I noticed that when I write it down and I have it like just there and I can read it sometimes I’m like “Woah that's what I was thinking about.” And I’ll think “Oh, actually not that bad.” Like I can get through this or even just saying it out loud or just saying it to like a trusted friend or parent or guardian is really helpful because it kind of helps you collect things and it doesn't get lost in your head.

So that's helped me a lot and then also you can look back at your previous years and just see so much progress that you've made.

So when it comes to different forms of expression, would you say that there's a name you would give your own personal style?

I mean, when it comes to fashion and stuff, just the more jewelry, the better. Like sparkly jewelry, anything is great. Definitely like go extra or go home. When I’m with my friends and just in public, we just act a fool and are very extra. 

Music wise, definitely Aaliyah just kind of like mindset wise. Like Bob Marley has always been a huge part of my life. Like every time I have something going on and I'm like, yo, I need some guidance. I need someone to tell me to just calm down. Like I always listen to his music. It's so incredible.

Is there something that you wish the world would know about you that you don't think that they do?

I guess now that I've started talking about mental health and stuff, just learning that every day is not perfect. It's not even really just about me, but just people in general who have a quote unquote social media presence is that what you see on social media and what you see in interviews, on TV, film, red carpets, or whatever is not at all what any of these people's lives are. And it's funny because I feel like people would know that but a lot of times you just get so insecure and you start questioning your worth. Because you say “These people are doing this and they're okay, why am I not?” But we're really not. Everyone is going through their own thing, everyone's struggling. And I just feel like it's really important for people to know that social media is not even 2% of someone's life. 

So I want to shift gears a bit and go back to when you were younger and just more of your background and some of the things that shaped you as a child and if you could just speak overall to what it was like growing up and becoming who you are.

Yeah, I feel like New York and New Jersey definitely shaped me as a person just because of the energy there. And just the work ethic that everyone has and the mindset. It's just so incredible. I feel like my parents definitely shaped me to who I am today but also the music, I feel, had a huge part in it.

You know, growing up my parents would play all types of music, from Rock to R&B. Like my mom would always be playing like Lauren Hill or like Erykah Badu, or India Arie and they are huge inspirations to my life now and such powerful women and their music is just so incredible.

And I feel like that definitely gave me a sense of all different types of music and all different types of people just because it's so many different sounds. So, I'm really grateful for that and I feel like so much of who you are comes from just other people. So I'm really grateful to be influenced by and be around such amazing people all the time. 

Photo Credits: The Riker Brothers

Layla:  So to start off, I would love if you could just introduce yourself and just say a little bit about what you do and what the things you care about are.

Ian: My name is Ian Manuel. I am a poet activist and the things I care about is juvenile solitary confinement, any solitary confinement period, but particularly for juveniles and changing the way juveniles are sentenced to hard sentences particularly life imprisonment and term abuse sentences that equal life.

Layla: Great. Thank you.  I mean, there's really so much I could ask about you've gone through so much in your life I don't think we could fit it in, but first I think I just kind of want to dive further into your career as an author and as a poet. Obviously you decided to write this book, My Time Will Come, and I just  wanted to ask how you got into writing and how you made the decision to share your story with the public?

Ian:  Writing has always been a part of me.  It is my belief that God gives each and every one of us a gift. Some of us are good nurturers, some of us are good with numbers, some of us are good problem solvers.  It just happens that one of my gifts is the ability to compose words in ways that move people. I remember when I was going to Catholic school as a child, I talk about it in the book, where they was handing out awards at the end of the year. And my name hadn't been called and the ceremony was almost over. The teacher Ms. Fort, a black lady, finally called my name and she said "for reading and for writing I present these certificates, awards and achievement to Ian Manuel." And I got up there and I got my certificates and I came back to my seat. I remember my mother's friend, Linda, Linda White saying, "Ian let me see those certificates." And I gave them to her. She said, "reading and writing. Baby. That's all you will ever need in this world and you could be anything you want to be."

Layla: That's so great. On the topic of your book, in your book, you do talk a lot about Debbie and the relationship that you formed with her, which was kind of a constant throughout your time in confinement. For those who don't know, how were you able to reach out to her and why did you decide to reach out to her? Also, because it's kind of like an "unconventional" relationship how did it impact  your experience?

Ian:  First of all, the crime I committed, I wasn't raised like that by my grandmother or my mother to hurt people , and it was only due to peer pressure and just being caught up in the moment and that one bullet changed both of our lives.  I had always wanted to apologize for what I did and the opportunity never presented itself or I never had the opportunity to quite do it. Then one day I received some legal documents in the mail and it had Debbie's address and phone number in the police report. This is something I want to say because, every human being on this earth , I believe this, I don't know this, but I believe this, we all get these strong urges that compels us to do something, whether it's to talk to the pretty girl in the classroom or  take a chance on this job interview.  We usually push those ideas aside and say, she won't ever give you a number or she'll never accept my call,  we come up with these excuses, these stumbling blocks, these obstacles, and we put them in our own way. I've learned that every time I've listened to that little voice inside of me some great things have happened.  This particular day, it was around Christmas of 1999, and something was compelling me to call Debbie.  I listened to the rotor voice went out there in the open compound and we had live operators. You could just press zero and it would come on. I don't know if that's still available these days , I haven't tried it . I told the operator, I have a collect call from Ian and Debbie, the operator press the call, placed the call through, and a woman answered the phone and on the other end she said, "can you ask him his last name?" and I just remember being stuck, but then saying, Ian, if you really want this to work, you just got to tell the truth. And I just said Manuel, my last name's Manuel. And Debbie said, yes, and we talked and I just remember the first thing I said was Debbie, I called to wish you and your family, a Merry Christmas, and to apologize for shooting you in the face. Then she asked me a question that no 14 year old should ever have to answer. She said, "why did you shoot me?" And I just said, it all happened so fast. It was a mistake. And we talked for like 15 minutes. Then the phone call was over and I asked, could I call back? And she said, yes. I called back. And I don't remember much about that second phone call, except one thing I asked her, could I write? And she said, yes. And that's how our correspondence started.

Layla: Thank you so much for sharing, it's so great hearing that you were able to  form this relationship with her after everything.  The things you went through in there were truly  insane, especially for a child . I'm about to be a senior in high school, and I know we never  learn about any of this stuff. So I was just wondering if there's anything you think young people like me can do to  educate ourselves on incarceration laws and become advocates and learn kind of just what we can do to raise awareness about this topic .

Ian: I would say follow organizations like the Equal Justice Initiative, the law firm that got me out of prison with Brian Stevenson, read his book, Just Mercy, I don't know if you've read the book or seen the movie, but if it wasn't for Brian Stevenson,  Ian Manuel, wouldn't exist inside of society. He was fighting my case all the way to the United States Supreme court, convincing five of nine justices to overturn juvenile life sentences was a heroic act. And another thing is, even though it's not taught you can get involved several ways. One way is to not give into peer pressure, to  get involved with crime in the first place. Peer pressure is real. That's how I ended up in a situation with a life sentence at 13. I would also say study and re-read articles about the incarceration, like my op ed in the New York times. I wrote an op ed that came out on my birthday this year, March 29th , in the New York Times about solitary confinement and about how the treatment of juveniles in prison is just horrendous. So those are some of the things I would say.

Layla: Kind of going off of that, you were so young. I have a brother who's about to turn 13 and I just can't even imagine how he would handle this. How were you able , if you were at all, to comprehend what was happening at such a young age? And kind of with your activism now why do you think it makes zero sense that children at this young age should be sentenced for life?

Ian: Well, a couple of things I want to say, the way I survived that was, I didn't comprehend what was happening to me, but the way  I survived it was by diving within the depths of my imagination. My imagination sustained me for a long periods of time. Especially a solitary man, there's a thin line between imagination and schizophrenia in solitary. The way I want to explain that is:  imagine a fish on the water, even if a fish comes up for air every now and then when you dive into the depths of your imagination, which people do to survive solitary confinement, some people get so comfortable under water that they never come up for that breath of air. That's where that develops and  translates into schizophrenia. On the other hand,  reality was too painful for some people and just imagine oxygen as reality coming up for that little breath of oxygen was too painful for people to bear and so they just stayed submerged minds and never returned to reality and sadly developed schizophrenia. One of the greatest thinkers of our time, Albert Einstein, said imagination is more important than knowledge. I totally believe that. As far as why it's important that children don't be treated in a similar fashion. It's because a child's mind isn't developed yet; he shouldn't be treated as an adult. You can't drive until you're a certain age. You can't drink or smoke cigarettes until you're a certain age, but you could be sentenced  to life and sentenced to an adult prison, as a child. Florida has a law that's on the books that I want to fight so bad to get it overturned. It's a law that says a child of any age that's indicted for a life or death felony shall be treated in every respect as if he were an adult. That law needs to be changed because you can't make a child and adult just because you say so he has to fully grow up and become a fully formed, evolved human beings.

Layla:  So kind of the opposite side to that question is when you came back into the world after 18 years, and obviously share only as much as you're comfortable with, but what was it like to kind of adjust to that? And did you have a support system that really got you through that period?

Ian: So, great question. I'd been in 26 years of prison, 18 years in solitary. Yeah. 18 was in solitary. And I'm still adjusting believe it or not. I've been out going on five years now, in a little bit it will be five years. And again, I have to give all the credit to Bryan Stevenson. and the equal justice initiative because they had a reentry program set up for me to reenter society, to teach me how to open a bank account, teach me how to apply for apartments, teach me how to wash and dry clothes, teach me how to cook, even though I still don't know how to cook , they tried  to teach me the everyday learning. I grew up around hardened criminals for 26 years. See, some of the things I've heard in prison are helpful in society, you can assess where a person is coming from, you have to make split second decisions because your life is literally on the line every day of the week in there.  So some of that comes in handy out here but also just not thinking  everyone's trying to run a game on you is also helpful, you know what I'm saying? Relearning, rewiring your brain because I had been conditioned, growing up in prison as a child, conditioned me a certain way. So I had deconditioned myself, so to speak in order to learn how to behave in society, even learning how to cross the street again, I wasn't used to moving objects coming at me like cars. When I first got out, I was terrified of crossing the street cause I thought I was going to be hit by a car. I had to relearn how to ride a bicycle. It was, it was crazy, man.

Layla: I mean, I can imagine this might take a toll on your mental health afterwards. What are the ways that you were able to cope with that?

Ian: I wrote poetry, man. Poetry became my therapy , cause the therapy programs other counselors they have in prison, they're not adequate. It's very inadequate mental and medical health  inside the prison. So I had to develop my own therapeutic techniques and one of them was putting my pain on paper. I wrote poems about things that I was experiencing: the loss of my mother, the loss of my dad, I lost my entire immediate family during my incarceration. In prison, you couldn't cry because you weren't supposed to. I cried every now and then, but mostly I kept my pain pushed down inside and wouldn't bring it to the forefront. So I cried through the ink of my pen and I wrote poems like My Time Will Come , Every Time I Breathe,  Bloody Mirror. Things that I felt would actually get the pain out of me a little bit and put it in paper. Then I'd share with my fellow prisoners and they started asking me to write poems about them and their situations then, write poems to their girlfriends. And it made me feel something of value that I had to offer the world and they started paying me to do it. And so that's how I cope. I cope through my poetry.

Layla: Thank you so much for sharing that. That's beautiful. Actually, this is the last question, just to wrap up and it's kind of a broader one, but I was wondering if there's anything you  want people to take away; either from your poetry or just from your story as a whole and anything you wish people knew?

Ian: How difficult my life was to live. And how much of a miracle it is for me to have survived what I went through. Most people don't make it out of their lives; I seen a lot of people ki** themselves. I seen a lot of people be killed by guards, the correctional officers, or other inmates. Just how improbable my story is . And I don't think I'd get enough credit for surviving it, man. And not to toot my own horn or whatever, because  it's all by the grace of God that I made it, but I just really wish people would recognize how improbable me being alive in society today with my sanity, humanity, and talent intact, because you can survive but if you don't have one of those two things. That means you didn't survive whole. I kind of wholeheartedly survived my circumstances with my sanity, talent and humanity intact.

Layla: Well, thank you so much for sharing that and it's been so nice speaking to you, and I just thank you for giving all of us the opportunity to kind of learn about your story through your literature it's just, it's incredible. And it's incredible that you were able to survive. So thank you so much.

Ian: Thank you. Bye.

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Can you tell us who you are and what you care about?

My name is Ishmael Mayhew and I am a serial entrepreneur, Digital Media strategist, and I really just care really about people knowing who they are and really navigating through life and pursuing the genuine meaning of happiness.

I've spent a lot of time in my life not being happy and not knowing what joy really looked like and thus not really feeling like my life had a purpose. So I think what I care about the most is people knowing what their life's purpose is and taking the time to discover that because I don't think it's something that's easy to come by. 

So can you tell me just more about what your own journey towards finding your mission and purpose was like? 

My journey has not always been easy throughout life. I think like I'm still always uncovering and unpacking. What my true purpose and meaning is. I don't think that it's something that you find out right away. I think it takes your entire life to really experience the fullness of why you're here.

I started that journey by just really seeking a higher power. And I don't say that to encourage anyone to ascribe to any specific faith or anything like that but I definitely know that my journey was absolutely rooted in really finding out who my higher power was for myself. To me, that's God, and that can be anything for anybody else.

I do believe that God shows up differently for everyone. And it was important for me to create that unique connection for myself and really find out who this is. Really what it was was me finding out who I am, and really loving who I am and that's really how I discovered it and how I am still discovering it. 

I wanted to know if you could speak more on some of the communities that you take part in. 

Yeah, absolutely. The biggest community that I'm a part of is the black community. The reason why I think that's the number one community that I want to mention first and why it's so important to me is because that is the one area of my life and the one community that I feel like has been impacted in a way that has been so unresolved and still so unheard.

And when I say unheard I mean ignored. Because it doesn't matter how loud a black person's pain is in this world, literally the entire world has turned its back on black people. And not until recently have we seen it to become trendy, among companies, among leaders, among other thought leaders, including thought leaders in the black community to speak out about these things.

And this is something that has always existed since we've known that we were black, right. And so it's just one of those things where it's like, I would love to see Black people really be heard, and racism really be resolved and actually addressed and not us doing it by ourselves because we didn't do it. 

It’s not a problem that we created by ourselves, it's a problem that we experienced though. 

And I would also say that I consider myself a member of the LGBTQ community. To me, it's an important part of me, but the way that I approach that part of me is so unique and different than I think most people would, because I still can't wrap my head around identifying myself based on the way that I choose to love someone or choose to have sex with someone. Because those things, not that they're not important, but those things are, for me personally, so low on my priority list when it comes to my overall purpose in life and what else I have to offer and give and what else God has gifted me with to contribute to the world. 

I just feel like those are things that are so minor, um, in that, in that sense, right? They're not minor as far as it does matter that people feel represented and seen and respected and safe. Those things are important. But as far as my identity goes, that's a community that I'm a part of by default, simply because of who I am and the way that I am. But it's not something that I feel encompasses all of me.

I think that's really what a lot of LGBTQ plus people want to be seen as: they want to be seen as people and human first. They don't want to be seen as their sexuality. They don't want to be seen as just the way that they love someone; there's so much more to them than their bodies and their dating dynamics.

There's so much more to us, and so for me, my form of activism in that way and my form of revolution, is to actually not amplify that. See me first as just a human. See me first as as somebody, see me as a son, a future husband and maybe a future dad, as a grandson, see me as a coworker.

So that's kind of how I see it. One of the things I always remind myself of is that the biggest form of activism is to show up as yourself. Show up as yourself, show up as your authentic self, don't hide yourself. Don't become someone else to hide who you are. That, in and of itself, is a form of activism. That's very important. 

I would love it if you could take a step back then and tell me how your upbringing influenced who you are now. 

Yes, absolutely. So I was raised by my grandmother, I was not raised by my mom. It was me and my sister and we were raised by my grandmother. I did develop a relationship closer with my mom in my teen years. My mom was previously incarcerated, right around the time of the drug war and all of that and we know how that impacted black families and my mom was caught up in that. And so she didn't get a chance to nurture me in the beginning. But we have an amazing relationship now, but a lot of the way that I see the world I realized was defined by my grandmother. And some of those things are good and some of those things aren't good.

Throughout that process, I've obviously grown over time to see the world and see my own community in different ways through my own experiences and how I've learned. But, I did grow up in that broken family concept, some form of it. And I think we have to come up with a different name for it because “broken family” just sounds so disparaging.

But that's what people would think, if they heard the way that I grew up. But also my grandmother made amazing sacrifices. I was afforded a lot of opportunities. I was grateful enough to come into a family that did not terrorize me for being homosexual. So my experience about that is different. That may contribute to why I don't feel the need to amplify it as much as others. I haven't been deprived of that expression as much.

I definitely understand the feeling of feeling like you need to hide it: being teased, being bullied, I definitely understand that. I've experienced that, but when it comes to my family unit, I never felt terrified, or like scared for my life or ostracized or put out or homeless or anything like that. So it's definitely a different experience that I realized I am grateful and blessed to have because a lot of people did not have that experience, especially young black men. So I totally understand that.

I think that that blessing has given me a unique perspective as a gay black man in society. And I'm hoping that it's a positive one and I'm hoping that it's a way to give me space to learn from others who have had different experiences and also show other people and show the world a different version. Because no one is monolithic. No group in the world is all the same. So I love that I can show another flavor of a guy who just wants to make the world a better place at the end of the day. 

I guess that makes me sort of think about and define sort of wellness and wellbeing or what that looks like for you.

That is my favorite thing. Wellness is literally to me, the most, all encompassing state of being that I think most people want to have. Wellness is physical, it's mental, it's spiritual, it's materialistic, it's supernatural, and it's superficial. To me, wellness is everything to do with elevating who you are as a human, elevating your spirit. Like Pavé The Ways is a perfect example of that, because wellness plays a role. Pavé The Way plays a role in wellness because it's not just jewelry, but it's something that uplifts your spirit, it's something that makes you feel better. 

That's why art is a billion dollar industry, that's why fashion is a billion dollar industry.

These things do matter; these are the things that make us human. This is what makes our species so unique to other animals and other creatures throughout the world is that we have the ability to create things that give us an emotional response that can heal us emotionally, that can heal our minds, that can heal our hearts and our spirits.

We already know that jewelry is a symbol of affection. Sharing jewelry as gifts and sharing it with your loved ones; we know the meaning behind memories when it comes to jewelry and heirlooms and family things being passed down through the family, and jewelry exchange between lovers.

The symbolism is an international global symbolism. And those are the types of things that bring us together. And I think wellness is rooted in that. I think wellness is enjoying music, enjoying a concert, enjoying music on your headphones, you know, working out of course, as well as eating is wellness.

But so is self care. So it's skincare and spa days and massages and lotion and all of those things great. And also small things that we do everyday that we just think are habitual hygiene things, but also things that we indulge in that we consider additional luxuries.

It's all rooted in wellness. That's why I love the word wellness. I love what it represents. I love what it means. It's a huge part of who I am now that if I had to describe myself, that's what I would describe myself as a wellness ambassador.

This week I spoke with Chloe and Maud Arnold, Founders of The Syncopated Ladies as they shared their journey and vision as Tap Dancers, Choreographers, educators, entrepreneurs and philanthropists. 

I would love for you to tell me who you are and one part of your identity that's really integral to who you are.

Maud: My name is Maud Arnold and something integral to my identity is my joy. 

Chloe: My name is Chloe Arnold and something integral to my identity is my determination.

Could you each expand on that for me? 

Maud: For me, I live my life and I utilize joy as the barometer for the macro and micro aspects of my life. And anybody who knows me knows that I am pretty much always joyful. I'm always happy. And I want to share that with other people. But it's not like a shallow happy or me just smiling and running around. I really feel good. And one of my goals in life is to make other people feel good about themselves and just all around about their lives. 

Chloe: I think actually I would change my word from determination to love.

And then I'll say that my love for things drives this undying determination to achieve that which I love and to share that with others. So from very young I always knew that I loved tap and that I loved art and that I wanted to share it. And I knew that nobody cared about tap, but I didn't care because I loved it.

And I knew with this fierce determination that I would one day make this dream of mine come true. And that will, and determination is honestly something I apply to everything that I love: people, my activities, even silly things like interior design. When I get my mind set on something I love, I am determined to complete it.

So I know dance and your love for tap is a big part of both of your lives, and how did you set out on that journey?

Chloe: So I’m older than Maud so I started the journey earlier and honestly, the first thing was inspiration. I think everything that you love starts with this seed planted of inspiration. And I just felt it in my core and I felt I loved the community. I loved the art form, being a musician and a dancer. I love that it was part of our heritage and culture, something for us to be proud of as black women. 

And I really saw my mom's supportiveness in seeking out the communities that would really lift us up and invite us in and make us feel loved and supported and inspired. And so now that we have the ability to be leaders in the field we do the same to make sure that we're creating a community that makes people feel that love that I felt as a kid with our company and our teacher Ms. Tony. This way, whether you become a tap dancer, like we did, or you become a doctor, like one of our best friends did, you're infused with what it feels like to love something and to be in a community of love.

Can you tell me more about the rich history and heritage of tap?

Chloe: Yes, so a lot of times when people speak of music and dance of the diaspora, a lot of times people skip over tap and they don't understand that it is an extreme part of the lineage. Tap dance dates back to plantations and Africans being enslaved and having music and dance and rhythm and percussion as the language of freedom. So the necessity for survival is what created tap dance. It was a tool for freedom. And so that's what we think of when we're dancing. We're dancing from our souls and that necessity for freedom that is innate in our lineage, history and present reality.

You can see the syncopation that's innate in tap in the poly rhythms of African music all across the continent. You see it in swing dance, you see it in  hip hop, you see it in Dancehall, in afrobeats and all the footwork. But it's not something that we take for granted and we appreciate and enjoy realizing how much this art form has been passed down over hundreds and hundreds of years. And so our drive and determination also has to do with our love for our people and our culture.

So having created that space, where you are seeing more people get access to tap, I’m interested to know if there are any favorite memories or times that have stuck out to you where you had an opportunity to work with a group of students and it inspired you to continue doing what you do.

Maud: I would say one of our most important and incredible performances was December 2019. And we performed at Folsom state prison for about 800 inmates as a part of a campaign for the movie, Just Mercy, that Michael B. Jordan was in. And that performance was life changing. It reaffirmed everything that we believe in and it reaffirmed that art saves lives. It reaffirmed that art is for everyone. It is the universal language. And it reaffirmed that dance makes you feel free because a lot of the men after we danced told us, 

“When you ladies danced, I felt free.”  

And that just solidified all of the hard work and all of the things we fight for, and all of this stuff that we fight to represent. I feel like that was like an all encompassing moment.

Chloe: So I feel like we live multiple lifestyles, right? So we're performers, but we're also choreographers and we're also educators and entrepreneurs and philanthropists. So for me, the performance part is where you, as an artist, are speaking a language to the audience and at that moment, you have the opportunity to change the way people feel and think for the rest of their lives. So we performed in Detroit for 2000 middle school children, black kids, and they got to come to our show for free. And middle school kids can be real special and they were honestly one of the greatest audiences of our entire career when we were performing. Honestly, there was a moment in which I was wondering did Oprah walk out on stage or like Beyonce or Chadwick? 

And it showed me again, the power of tap dance. And it just goes to show that when you make art that is authentic and real, there's no denying how people will receive it. And after that performance, we know that those kids will carry that feeling with them forever the way that we've carried the feeling of them in us forever. And those performances tend to be the catalyst for how we get a lot of new students because they get so excited from these moments and they feel it deep within. 

And then they're saying, “I want to try”. That is how we built our free after-school programs, Tap into Life, by performing first and then saying, “Who wants to do this?” So, it's incredibly special because a lot of artists don't take the time to perform in the hood or for the people that can't pay some amount of money to come see them. But quite frankly, our favorite performances are the ones that are for free because the people that come to those show up with so much open-heart and passion and there is a level of appreciation once it's over that money can't buy.

What have been some of the challenges you have encountered on your way?

Chloe: So the Syncopated Ladies are syncopated sisters and one thing that we have solidified is that we stick together. We don't hate on each other. We lift each other up. We show each other love. Sisterhood means we all can shine. We all want everyone to be as happy and fulfilled and rich as possible. 

We want to be able to be like, “whose jet are we taking today?” Not, “I’m the only one who can have a jet”. So, I think for me, the hardest part was this thought of “When we get this platform, everybody's going to be so happy for us and we're going to be able to change the community and lift it up.” And none of that. All the sudden you're like, whoa, misogyny and racism and sexism are real. Okay. Well, you know what? We're going to press on ahead and we're going to Michelle Obama, this thing: they're going low, so we go high and we go rock on.

So through your mentorship of others and through your classes you pour a lot into other people. Do you feel that there's ways that you're being poured into or ways that you wish you were being poured into?

Maud: Oh my gosh, yes! We are so poured into, Oh my goodness. We are so fortunate. We do give a lot, but we are so thankful we get a lot. We've had so many incredible mentors from Debbie Allen to Shonda Rhimes to Joan Hornig. And Felicia Horowitz. I mean, we are so blessed with the most incredible network of women who uplift us. 

And then we're also poured into, by our peers, by our friends, by the Syncopated Ladies and by all the kids that we teach. I mean, when a kid tells you,  “Ms. Chloe, I wear my hair natural because of you. I used to only straighten it and now I wear my hair natural because it’s beautiful and puffy”.

Chloe: Let me tell you something, this little white girl sent me a DM today. She said, “I love you. And your hair is just like mine, except it's different colors.” And her hair was literally stark blonde, but it was curly and big. And I thought she's that girl that gets made fun of for the frizzy hair. And she's now found a black woman role model for self love. And I just thought it was too precious. But that's the point, it's letting people know: be yourself, don't change who you are. Don't try to fit in. Don't adjust. And I think that's the greatest lesson I've learned in this whole journey of ours is being yourself always wins, period. If you're consistent in your purpose and who you are, it always comes around. And we learned that honestly from our mentor Debbie Allen. So when you talk about being poured into, we have to talk about her because without her, all these things that we're doing and understanding how you give and understanding how you succeed, we wouldn't have the same level of knowledge or success. She shared all of the beautiful, incredible company that she kept, which ranged from those, the likes of Stevie wonder and beyond, and she gave us an education for free and paid me to teach tap.

So, it doesn't get any better than everything I just said and we know how fortunate we are and that's why giving is such an integral part of who we are, because we know the direct effect of what happens when you open your arms or your home, or your heart, or your tools or access to others. And so it's not even a question that we help other people. It's not even like an option.

Maud: It’s just what we do.

As you think about the future, is there anything new on the horizon that you are hoping to accomplish, any new projects you want to take on?

Maud: So, I dabble in stand up comedy and I would love to be the host of my own talk show. I currently host something called the Maudcast, which is a podcast. And we want to executive produce and create film and television shows that focus on tap dance from a black woman's point of view and perspective.

Because that has never happened, ever in history. It's always been through the lens of a man and oftentimes a white man, but there's never been a woman, a black woman's lens.

We also want to open a community center. We want to have our after school program in every state and all over the world.

So we are executive producing our own Syncopated Ladies concert, which in 2022 is going to have a nationwide tour. We are going to be the first black women to be executive producers on our own show that tours on this kind of scale. And especially for tap, this a massive change. 

We want Syncopated Ladies Live to be something that stays around for decades and decades. So all the little girls around the world who aspire to be Syncopated Ladies have a chance to audition and be a part of something and actually make a paycheck and know that their dream isn't just some elusive idea, but they can see a concrete result of where their skill can take them.

In this new spotlight series, we feature organizations that our customers have chosen to have %100 of the profits from their purchase go to in the past! These are charities and organizations that are Shining Through! 

This past week we celebrated Girl Scouts Leader's Day and the incredible work of some of the Troop Leaders of the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee who are paving the way! We feature Troop Leader Stephanie McDaniel and Tracy Rokas and the great work they are doing along with the young women they are leading! 

 Learn more about the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee and other organizations our customers have supported in the past on our Impact Page.

Hi Shahadi, I would love to know how you define yourself and what you are passionate about.

Well, I'm 15 and I'm an actress. I live in New York city and I go to a performing arts high school, which is a lot of fun. I love to play chess and I love to ride my bike. I think that what I'm most passionate about right now is acting and creating.

How have your parents influenced you and your passion and your ability to be creative?

Well my parents have always been a part of the arts. They own a dance company. So, when I was two, they put me into dance and that's kind of where I started out. And then I got more into musical theater and now solely focus on acting. So that's how they've kind of influenced me through that. But I've always loved to act. I feel like I've been a very dramatic kid ever since I was growing up, I feel like that's always kind of been my brand around the house. But I think that doing it professionally is something totally, completely different, but it's so much fun. And I think that it's something that I really want to do for the rest of my life.  

That's really amazing to be able to find something you love and are great at really early. What have you found to be some of the challenges that come with moving into your passion and also your profession so early on?

I feel like you really do have to sacrifice a lot. Some events you can't really go to. You have to skip out on some days of school, which I'm not mad about, but you don't get to be a normal kid. And I think that that's something that a lot of people take for granted sometimes, having that freedom. But I think that I've kind of signed myself up for this and I know what I was getting myself into. So, I'm not very worried about that and my friends are really understanding about it as well. 

I think it's really great to have a really good, strong support system. Taking a step back now, I want to know who are some of your role models? I know you've worked with some really awesome people already, but who are just some of the feel you look up to?

Oh my gosh, Regina King, I would say, Ava DuVernay. And of course, Cicely Tyson. I literally met her once and only one time. I wish that I could have actually spent more time with her, but she was such an inspiration to me and probably to all black girls in the industry. She was just such an amazing and positive soul.

As you start to pave your way in the world and in your industry, is there something that you hope to be known for? 

I feel like I've never wanted to be known as just one thing. I absolutely love writing and I would love to create my own project one day or projects. So I feel like I would want to be known for just being a Creative and being an actress and being a writer and maybe even a director or producer. That would be amazing. I feel like that's why I mentioned Regina King. I feel like she's really shown young black girls that you can be an actress and you can be amazing on and off the screen and I feel like that has a lot of power. So I would totally love to do that. 

So as it pertains to expression, how do you like to show up in spaces in which you find yourself?

I tried to present myself all the time as a really positive person. I never liked to spread negativity, especially on social media. But, I feel like I've always wanted to change people with my work, you know, and really affect people and inspire people.

I feel like that's the way that I really want to be known. Someone that someone can say: “This girl inspired me to start acting, or she inspired me to do this and to create this and to start doing this”. I feel like that makes me feel so good when people tell me stuff like that. It's amazing.

That’s really incredible, and I’m so happy you are able to have that influence. So we are now in an age where black girls are getting to see more representation little by little, which is so powerful. If you could speak directly to a young black girl somewhere who is looking up to you, what are some words you would love to share?

Let me think so that I can make this good. I guess this is a little bit like cliche, but I would really say to be yourself, especially in a world where people do not want you to be yourself. Being authentic is something that is really taken for granted and I feel like that's exactly what people aren't doing these days.

So I feel like truly being yourself is something really, really powerful, and it can really impact a lot of people. Like you said we're in a world where  people are actually getting representation, which I love. And I didn't have that when I was a kid. And I feel so old for saying that but I literally didn't. I'm pretty sure that the only black girls that I would see on screen were probably like Skai Jackson and Zendaya and China Anne McClain. But we didn't really have a lot of dark skin representation, nothing like that. 

It wasn't that broad and it wasn't that vast. So I feel like now I'm really loving what I'm seeing, and I feel like the next generation gets to have this amazing look for themselves and they get to see themselves on screen and it makes people feel so powerful and recognized.

Having worked on Them: Covenant recently and after your amazing performance in Us, I’m curious how you prepare yourself to be in that head space and kind of how you pull yourself away after you've been in those intense scenes.

I've never done any other horror so that was my first horror project. It was just such a new experience for me. And I think that's why I had that much fun. I think the process was so professional, especially with Jordan [Peele], just kind of leading me through everything and letting me ask questions and make my own input and create different lines if something didn't feel right.

He really gave us a lot of freedom, which is what I loved about him. So I feel like that experience is something that I'm never, ever going to forget.

I think that the preparation part has gotten easier over the past few years. Sometimes I need to learn that it's not me anymore. Like I'm not Shahadi once they say that they're rolling, it's not me. I'm Ruby or I'm Zora or I'm Nala or whoever else that I'm playing.

But I've learned to separate myself from the character, which has been great. And I think that it has helped my performance as just an actor, especially with the show, having such deep rooted racial issues in it. And me being a black girl and having experienced some of these things, it was absolutely insane just to see, and I love it.

As you think about projects that you hope to work on in the future, have you though about how you are hoping to create for the sake of creating, while also navigating your identity as a black creator?

I have and I think that's what I really liked about Us, because he never said that anything was really about race. I feel like everybody was just like, “Oh, it's Jordan Peele. It has to be about race”. But I feel like Zora was just a character and the whole family wasn't like, “This black family experiences racism.” It was literally happening to the entire world in the storyline. So I feel like that's what I really liked about it. Having a simple character where the black girl can just be herself, and she doesn't have to be specifically known as like a black girl, I think is great. And usually how I can tell when a character is like that is when I read the character description or the script and she can be replaced with somebody who's not her race and it could still have that same impact. 

Speaking of impact, I wanted to know if there is a cause or issue that is particularly close to your heart?

Yes, the foundation that I was talking about with my mom was the African American policy Forum. And they're specifically focused on black women's issues as well and black women's mental health. And I feel like that's really important because as much as black men are being seen in the media, which is incredible, I feel like black women are usually, we know they're probably the most disrespected people on this planet. So when I think of organizations to donate, I would love to support this cause.

I would love it if you could just start by introducing yourself for me. Tell me, who is Arianna?

The story of Jeannette is so important and so meaningful.  What did it mean for you to create the story of Jeanette, given your own identities? 

Being a woman of color yourself and then also being in these spaces where you sometimes have opportunities to showcase other people of color, but then you have this history that is often very white, how do you kind of balance that out in your work? What thoughts occurred to you as you’re considering it? 

I wonder when you’re not in theater spaces, how do you try to present yourself in the world?

 

I’ve been describing you as an artist this whole time, but do you ever feel like you don’t want to be boxed into just that?