James Meredith, NashInspired & the Epicenter

STRIVING TO SEE WORLD CHANGE

James Meredith, NashInspired & the Epicenter

By Terryann Nash, MAPL

Over the course of the past three years, I have had the honor of reviewing books by diverse authors in the African diaspora—books that inspire, inform, engage, entertain, empower, uplift, and encourage, to name a few. Unlike generations ago, there are more books out there, especially children’s books, with characters/people who look like us, and each unique voice shares a story.

Inclusion is key to moving forward, and that includes those of us who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing. Such are the stories in Terryann Nash’s anthology Striving to See World Change: James Meredith, Nashinspired and the Epicenter.

Nash is the founder of NashInspired, a company “that works to empower underrepresented community leaders who want to build and bridge their brand.” Her motto: I work every day in the community to create bridges between the Deaf and Hearing communities.” As an influencer, many of the values she holds dear were taught by her grandparents, William and Katherine Nash. William Nash, in fact, bought 55 acres of land back in the day, the only Black farmer in Minnesota owning land, defying the odds of racism and discrimination. One of the ways she has paid it forward is with her tireless service to and work with the Deaf community.

In her commitment to create change for those who are both Black and Deaf/Hard of Hearing, she and the authors in this anthology took a trip in 2021 to Mississippi to meet James Meredith, a civil rights leader and the first African American to integrate the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in 1962. Each participant came away from that meeting with valuable knowledge and perspective of the systemic racism, discrimination, and the varied disparities that yet exist. To move forward, it is important to know your history.

The following brothas and sistahs in this anthology bring to you the reader their powerful and inspiring stories as influenced leaders:

Shayinnia McCoy, Mary Kay Cosmetics business owner and Deaf Minister

Rebecca Demmings, Community Educator, Executive Director of Diversity Alive!, ASL (Instructor, Consultant, and Specialist)

Jawaun Jackson, Presenter, Undoing Racism Conference, Diversity Alive!

Lasheria Murphy, ASL Interpreter, Handz Up Interpreting Services

Samuel Yeboah, Librarian, Ghana, Africa

Duane Johnson, Founder/CEO, DeafRYDE

Dennis Roberson, President, DeafRYDE

Sharia Denise Stripling, Ms. Black Georgia, Ms. Black International Ambassador Pageant

Emmanuel Osei, Jr., Singer/Songwriter, Ghana, Africa

Kay Comeaux, Educational Specialist, Paralegal, Orientation Facilitator

Musa Darboe, Jr., Actor, Moviemaker

One of the reference points Nash makes in the anthology is Langston Hughes’ poem, What Is A Dream Deferred? All too many of us have experienced the consequences of the first question, so now it’s time to defy the odds and go forward in success and economic equity. In reading the ways Nash’s writers influenced her, I also noted the parallels between Black, Deaf, and other marginalized communities who experience the systemic discrimination of a mentality that was laid down some 400 years ago. Those who stand at the intersectionalities of said communities remind us that what happens in one can happen in the others.

Kudos to Nash for sharing the 10 Principles of Independent Living and her advice to young people.

Striving to See World Change is available through Amazon and her website, www.NashInspired.com.

Thank you, Terryann, for being a wonderful vehicle for your writers to share their stories and give us more understanding and insight to bridge the Deaf and Hearing communities. Again, world change is about inclusion, and if we don’t share our stories, who will?