Awareness

There is so much happening in the world. The ‘times are changing’ and a new way of life is emerging. I always get hopeful around this time of year when the leaves come back and the sun starts to hang around just a little longer in the evening. During the walks we steal on unexpected warm afternoons, my girlfriend enjoys smelling the first, new blooms of the coming season. She literally "stops to smell the roses" or, in her case, the daffodils and honeysuckle. She’s great like that…I, on the other hand, am the news hound. I watch the news at least twice a day and I regularly skim the daily and weekly papers. 20/20, 60 minutes and the World Report are priorities for me. I’m weird like that… But, whether it’s changes in nature around the neighborhood or current events happening around the world, the important thing is to notice these events. I know too many people who are closed off and don’t care what’s happening unless it’s happening to them. I guess that’s why I do what I do the way I do it. Did that make any sense? Let me explain.

As most of you know, I released "Radio Doria" on Presidential Election Day. Honestly, I thought it would be fun to combine my art with my personal/political views. But, after the news started pouring in about Florida and other voting mishaps, I thought, "I’m so glad I made a point of having my voice heard because so many people are not being heard." Although I was incredibly disappointed with the results, I hoped all the problems would encourage citizens to learn more about the voting process and would somehow make them less apathetic about their role in it.

Exactly one month after my release on December 7, 2000 my 21 year old cousin Natalie Williams was raped and shot in the head by her ex-boyfriend. Also shot was her stepmother (who survived) while Natalie’s 3 year old daughter witnessed the crime. Natalie was kept on life support for about a week and was released from it after the ex-boyfriend was found. My family buried her 3 days before Christmas.

I spoke to a friend who works in the city where it happened right after it happened and she had heard nothing about it. Nothing on the news, nothing in the paper. I was confused. A man accused of a double shooting, car theft, and rape was still on the loose, yet, no one was reporting on it. It was only when the local chapter of the NAACP stepped in to accuse the local police force of being slow to respond to Natalie’s three distress calls did her death become newsworthy. Now, there was a scandal to report. I never realized how it worked. I started to imagine how many stories are left untold. After all these years of pouring my energy into social issues, there stood in front of me an injustice of the highest degree in my own family and I was temporarily immobilized by it. There weren’t enough lyrics in the world to express my grief, disappointment and rage.

When I finally spoke about the incident to a few close friends and then to an audience at Florida State University during a "Stop Rape Week" program, I was surprised by how many times people said, "I can’t believe that!" I thought to myself, "Why can’t they believe it?" Why can’t people believe things like rape and murder and classism go hand in hand everyday in this country? Maybe because it’s the year 2001 and we think things like this shouldn’t be happening anymore. Or, maybe because stories like Natalie’s are passed over and never see the light of day until someone decides it’s "interesting" enough to put on the 11 o’ clock news.

I’m telling you this because I want you to be aware that things of this nature still happen. We grossly overestimate how far we’ve come and how far others have come. Some people and groups of people are still not being protected and honored fully as citizens of this country or as inhabitants of the Earth. More importantly, our children are in trouble. (Note: There have been two school shootings since I first started writing this last month.) It has been my goal in some of my more topical work and through my participation in benefit concerts or awareness programs to inspire compassion and to increase awareness in others, in YOU, the people who support my creative efforts. My sentiments do not come out of thin air and my concern is not gratuitous.

So, this Spring I’d like to encourage you to "stop and smell the roses", to get out of your own neighborhood or town, to take a look around and see what you can do to help bridge the gaps and heal some wounds. Get mobile! There’s plenty of work to be done still. Everything you need to know about the world isn’t reported in the newspaper or on television. Sometimes the answers are just around the corner…you just need to take the time to look around the corner.

Now that you know what can you do?

I don’t want you feeling powerless after reading the above Address so I’d like to suggest a few things that might help ease the "uneasiness" so to speak.

• You can donate a teddy bear to your local YWCA or independently run Rape Crisis Centers. They give them to abuse/rape survivors and their children.
• People have been making donations in Natalie’s name to Womanspace, Inc. Call (609) 394-0136 M-F 9am-5pm for details. Also visit www.womanspace.org for more information.
• If you are in need of assistance with recovery or feel you are in a high risk situation, call their national hotline: 1 (800) 799-SAFE

Thanks for your support!