“Are you with me now?” AJ Ryder
In NYC right now and last night I had a meeting at Grand Central Station with Jonathan Raymond, Superintendent of New Rochelle. We have known one another for way over a decade. Designing a new BPL school around Blue and Green concerns is on the table as well as running B-Unbound through My Brother’s Keeper and BPLiving city/ districtwide. All great news. It is the kind of meeting that happens only through trusted relationships.
There’s money in prevention but no money in prevention
The irony here is that prevention around lifestyle medicine saves lives and saves dollars but the system is set up as an intervention system and that is where the money is i.e. Big Pharma and procedures. How do our youth develop communities of prevention rather than intervention? Same is true for education. Prevention is a major shift in education and BPL has always been in the midst of that work with advisories and engagement around youth interests and what gives your life meaning.
As most of you know. I was waiting on our school and students in Barbados to finish their research on Shirle Chisholm’s life in Barbados for the chapter I’m honored to write in a new book on her legacy. The following students put together an amazing PowerPoint on their research that will go into the book. Many times I have had youth authors write with me and this time like they others they did an incredible job researching. Here’s the team - Kai Hamilton, Ethan Moses, Nathaniel Barrett, Ndidi Otiji, Roshan Patel and Meela Patel
More on last week’s LEGO Idea Conference
At the LEGO conference last week I connected with the group doing LEGO Braille Bricks. This is a perfect partnership for Project InSight to get young people engaged in low vision and eyecare.
Here’s a photo of the meals you could get 80% of the food serve was plant-based and low in fat, sugar and salt. All delicious. Yes, it can be done! Much gratitude to LEGO on all fronts of healthy eating and the environment. An interesting not is that most of the attendees were from Africa and South America. Everyone thought the food was delicious.
Clodagh
Here’s another life story that fits one of the patterns I discovered a long time ago in talking to people about their lives and reading their bio’s - You find yourself when you are sick or ill because we are not doing the things we normally do. . In this case, the story is Clodagh’s the leading interior designer in the world. A horse-riding accident as a teenager forced Clodagh to take time out from her Dublin boarding school to recover at the family home.
“So I lay on my back for months,” she says.
During her convalescence, she spotted an ad in The Irish Times. “It said, ‘Why not be a dress designer I thought, ‘Why not?ʼ So as soon as I could walk I confided in my mother and she said she would help me.
And the rest is the journey…. As Reverend Ike stated: “Once you figure out who you are, it don’t matter where you been.”
I believe in bringing the outside in and the inside out as much as possible."
“I left school at intermediate [level] and started my own business so I don’t know very much at all — so since I don’t know the rules I can break them all the time,"
“I’ve never felt I’ve arrived — ever. I’ve always felt there’s a lot to do.”
Allan Harris is a jazz singer and guitarist I’ve followed and seen perform for a very long time. Staying true to his own unique style, he has a manner closer to Nat King Cole than anyone I’ve ever heard. One of his latest forays has been as a playwright getting rave reviews for Cross that River The story of a runaway slave riding West. Given our celebration of Juneteenth and its Texas origins, Allan’s play fits perfectly for this week’s celebration.
Happy Juneteenth!
Be Well!