PEOPLE WHO MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE…LET’S BE ONE, TOO!

Had a wonderful opportunity to spend some recent time with Carol “Mama Carol” Bebelle, New Orleans cultural activist/leader/healer/musician/speaker/writer/teacher and walking inspiration. Carol came to town to interview Annette about a project they had worked on at New Orleans’ Contemporary Arts Center back in the ‘9os. What a delight to experience Carol’s commitment, wisdom, and lifetime of experience in constructive community building. A humbling experience for yours truly, as the mostly quite observer.

Community Building Lessons From Bryan Stevenson

Carol related stories gleaned from inspiring colleagues and role models fighting the good fight. One of her favorites is Bryan Stevenson, attorney, Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative. He’s a gifted speaker and teacher, and has a great Ted talk presentation.

Five of his guiding principles are:

—IDENTITY MATTERS…”There is power in identity.” “When we create relationships that are rooted in identity, that are meaningful to those individuals, we can change the world.”

—NEED FOR PROXIMITY…Need to be directly/personally involved…not just sideline critics/observers…

—CHANGING THE NARRATIVE…Our priorities and belief systems are too often shaped by faulty narratives, without our input…We can remedy that…

—REMAINING HOPEFUL…”Hope is your superpower. Don’t let anyone or anything make you hopeless. Hope is the enemy of injustice.”

—WILLINGNESS TO BE UNCOMFORTABLE…By acknowledging and embracing the discomfort, we can best summon the strength to improve situations.”

THANKS, CAROL!

Among Carol’s many achievements was the development of New Orleans’ ASHE Cultural Art Center. Bebelle saw the need for quality programming space for NOLA’s African American creative community, and worked with city-wide cultural leaders to realize that goal. She believed in “using art and culture to support human, community and economic development.” It’s working. The original single building has become a thriving campus.

I asked her for any parting words of wisdom. She quickly answered, “KINDNESS!”

THANKS, CAROL!