By Chadwick Phillips
Founder of production company Avant Garde
My dream for my community is for us to be in peace, love and unity. I truly feel that for all of us that is what life was intended for.
I spoke with my father who lived through the Civil Rights Movement in NYC during the ‘60s. He was fortunate enough to see Dr. King. He tells me that during those times, we as a people saw each other as relatives, whether it was genetically or not, because we knew that empowering each other would lift us up and keep us strong to overcome those times. If we all were on one accord in the modern day it would provide so much uplift.
There are so many issues in our society today, ranging from police brutality to senseless violence amongst citizens. But when you look at the history of our country, this is nothing new.
The only way we will get rid of it is to continue to be active in bringing awareness to these issues and to continue the legacy of greatness that our forefathers and foremothers laid down in order for us to have rights. It is very important that we keep them in mind, because without them sacrificing for us, things would be even worse for us right now.
With the beginning of the New Year it is a whole new beginning. I hope that as a country we can reflect on what has been happening and focus on bettering our society so we can improve on all fronts in 2017.
The youth are watching our every move and they are the future, so how we act is very vital to how the future will look. Love is the remedy. Love is the elixir. Love is the truth. We need to show more of it to each other as human beings. I am an optimist, so I will never give up on it.
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