Uphold Voices in Family

Uphold Voices in Family is an archive honoring and preserving our stories, from this present moment with the aim for generations to come. It is an intentional passage through past-present stories of childhood and parental experiences.

 Welcoming Amani Reid to Episode 4 full of gratitude sharing reflections:

• How does she see reflections of herself through the people who are close in her life from career explorations and personal characteristics? How does the intimacy of finding oneself connected to knowing her family history?
• What are the narratives that she would tell herself as a child that held her back from expressing her voice in the ways that spoke to the freedom of her being?
• Instead of her own voice throughout the years, whose voice and which relationships had a deep influence as to how she navigated through the world? 
• When did she give herself permission to see her own voice and to express herself?
• What were her childhood hobbies and interests? How does she strive to reconnect with her inner child today and give her space to speak?
• What does it mean to have multiple passions at the same time, and how is she navigating the process of giving them all space to be free?
• What roles do her parents have in her life and what is she immensely grateful for?
• How does her grandmother impact her life? How does she channel their memory and how do they live through her each day?
• Where does her love of the environment root and flourish from? 
• How is the myriad of cultures in her lineage? What was her trip to Ghana like the first time she visited and what is she dedicated to upholding as part of her memorable legacy?

 Amani Reid is a wonderful and radiant human being who speaks about the influential power that we have by simply being who we are and expressing our voices! To love ourselves, to know that we are good enough by exploring what speaks deeply to our inner beings. Today, we honor the gift of listening to Amani sharing her being, her voice, her heart, her truth with us. It is this prayer of who she is and continuously growing into that we honor today. May we know through listening to her story that we too, can choose to do the same. To express ourselves whenever it aligns best with our journeys.

Amani has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with an Environmental Studies minor from Temple University and is a former U.S. Army Reservist. She is also a Temple University Diamond Award Recipient. She is currently serving as Policy Engagement Manager for Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light and Legislative Assistant with State Representative Donna Bullock. 

Amani is dedicated to stewardship and advocacy work including climate justice, environmental justice, and equality. She is a New Jersey native, however, she loves to travel and has been to London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, and Accra, Ghana. She is the founder of Black Butterly, an initiative rooted in environmental justice and creative expressions. She is a writer, musician, and environmental advocate guided by faith. 

This archival dialogue with Amani is an honor to having faith in ourselves and reconnecting with the passionate creative expressions of the inner child. As you listen in today, we invite you to reflect on your own childhood experiences and how you find your voice growing today.

Connect with Amani below:

LinkedIn: Amani Reid - Legislative Assistant - State Representative Donna Bullock | LinkedIn
Black Butterfly Instagram Page: Black Butterfly 🦋 (@black_buttterflyyy) • Instagram photos and videos
Amani's Personal Instagram Page:Amani Reid (@mani._.xoxo) • Instagram photos and videos

Uphold Voices in Family is an archive honoring and preserving our stories, from this present moment with the aim for generations to come. It is an intentional passage through past-present stories of childhood and parental experiences.

 Welcoming Nana Ama Addo or Asiedua to Episode 3 full of gratitude sharing reflections:

• What are the ancestral origins of her name and what is the daily legacy that she strives to embody through her name each day? 
• Why does she identify herself, amongst her many multidimensional identities, as a hood princess? What is the reflective power that breathes through that?
• When she thinks of her voice, what are the words or stories that come to mind? 
• When did she start speaking and expressing her thoughts as a child? What are the activities or hobbies that cultivated her voice? 
• What is her relationship with the delicacies of food and the cultural memories formed through them?
• What are her hopes for her inner child? 
• How did love seek her and embrace her during childhood? From where and to whom does she pay homage to? 
• What comes to mind when she thinks of her mother and step father? What are the similarities that she finds when she thinks of who she is today? What’s a phrase that her mother would repeat to her that she continues to remember? 
• What is a message that she would like to share for future generations? 
• What led to move abroad from the US to Ghana — and connect with her lineages?

Nana Ama Addo or ‘Asiedua is a Ghanaian-American storyteller and the founder of Asiedua’s Imprint, a lifestyle brand that provides creative and repatriation resources for people of the African diaspora. As her brand’s tagline ‘Finding Beauty Between Worlds’ suggests, Asiedua is the product of a Ghanaian father and an African American mother, and has always danced between these two cultures. While visiting Ghana for the first time in 2014, where she met family members and connected with the creative energy of the country, she was inspired to spend more time in the land. After a series of prolonged stays in Ghana, Asiedua finally packed her journal and repatriated from her home city, Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, to Ghana, to contribute to the country’s growing creative economy.

Today, she lives in Accra, where she is a full-time entrepreneur and artist. In addition to
managing Asiedua’s Imprint and her creative agency ‘Chi: The Agency’, Asiedua is
gearing up to release her debut single ‘All In’, which tells a story about Ghana repatriation,
and the short film ‘The Return’, an experience that explores the mystical journey of a
goddess who escapes the concrete jungle and reconnects with her ‘Warrior King’ Ghana.

This archival dialogue with Asiedua is an honor to the inner child, to finding beauty between worlds, to our voices and all the expressions that derive from our being. As you listen in today, we invite you to reflect on your own childhood experiences and you find your voice growing today.

 Connect with her brand on social media:

IG: @Asieduas_Imprint

FB: Asiedua’s Imprint

TikTok: @Asieduas_Imprint

Website: www.asieduasimprint.blog

YouTube: Asiedua’s Imprint

 Uphold Voices in Family is an archive honoring and preserving our stories, from this present moment with the aim for generations to come. It is an intentional passage through past-present stories of childhood and parental experiences.

 Welcoming Jimmy Champagne to Episode 2 full of gratitude.

• What were his childhood experiences like? 
• What was it like for the mother of his daughter to pass away a couple of days after giving birth? What did the grieving process look like, what does healing mean to him today?
• How did he navigate through guilt and how did he shift his mindset to be in the present moment?
• What did the mother of his child teach him? Who are the master teachers of his life that helped him become who is continuously growing into?
• What did have to unlearn from relationship-building with others and with himself that led him to be more present for his daughter? What did I have to let go of, to release and become?
• As a father, how does he strive to give space for the humanity of his daughter to grow and bloom and be? What does fatherhood mean to him? What are some of the activities that they do together?
• How did he have to work on himself in order to be present for everything else around him? What is the role of meditation, discipline, and all the wellness practices that he strives to embody each day?

 Jimmy Champagne is a life coach, motivational speaker, qigong instructor helping people incorporate wellness practices into their livelihoods. He believes in the power of connecting with the life within us and in the transformative power of meditation.

Jimmy is the father of his beautiful 9-year-old daughter, striving to parent consciously by being in tune with himself and becoming the best that he can. He believes that children learn from what they witness, and coming back to himself, connecting with his breath has been a beautiful experience.

Tune in to his story! Jimmy Champagne hosts online and in-person meditation classes. You can connect with Jimmy Champagne on Instagram  @lifecoachjimbo and Facebook @JimboMotivation. Grow along with his inspiring Talk Show airing every Sunday called Jimbo Talk Show. The recaps are also available on Youtube. 

 Uphold Voices in Family is an archive honoring and preserving our stories, from this present moment with the aim for generations to come. It is an intentional passage through past-present stories of childhood and parental experiences.

 Welcoming Zazou to Episode 1 full of gratitude.

Zazou describes herself as a multidimensional human being with infinite possibilities. She is a mother, a chef, and a nomad by spirit. Zazou practices conscious and intuitive parenting while valuing the importance of honoring and caring deeply for self. She believes that children learn actions, from what they witness each day. Therefore, her devotion is also to be her most authentic self to the best that she can. Zazou loves to travel, create,  and of course, eat, develop recipes and cook delicious food. 

She dives into reflections of including:

• What are some of her childhood memories? What have the people in her lineages taught her throughout the past years and how does she ground herself in that connection?
• How does she strive to incorporate plant-based living and eating with her 4-year-old dear child, herself, and family? What are some of her practices?
• What does it mean to not be a self-sacrificing parent while not having the shame of doing so? How does she strive to honor her motherhood, her humanity, her womanhood?
• What was her pregnancy experience like, and what are the mindful practices that aligned best for her well-being?
• What was her breastfeeding experience? How does she strive to honor her womb and connect with her womb still, today?

You can connect with Zazou on Instagram @lakouzazou

Welcome to Season 2 of Uphold Voices in Family! Stay tuned for upcoming episodes to be released biweekly on Sundays. Grateful for this journey. 

Our voices are vital and richly alive. What flows through your voice today?

Website: www.upholdvoicesinfamily.com
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upholdvoicesinfamily/

Season 1: Motherhood

In honor of the multidimensional ways that mothers are striving to remain aware of the influences that their humanity and surrounding environments have upon their children while cultivating their growth.

Episode 12: Nagiarry is joined by a beautiful human being and dear mother named  Barnica "Nica" Hosty who is a loving wife, director of education, podcast host, a trailblazing entrepreneur for the past years. Nica has a passion for helping others, and for leading them to foster the impact that they were meant to create in this world. 

This episode includes her breastfeeding experiences, self-appreciation, the values that she is instilling into her daughter, the vitality of communication while married, having a village by her side, the journey in leaning into the value of asking for help, navigating through feelings of not being good enough of a mother, and her own childhood experiences. Highlighting love, she opened up about how her view on love looks like, and what she learned about what it means to love people equally. Nica also shared with us how she is striving to take care of herself while being lovingly present for her children and family.  What is the mindset that she cultivated when things are beyond her control? How does she learn to trust in her journey? In her experiences, the transformative roles of self-awareness, boundaries faith, community, radical authenticity, surrender, and trust have been essential. 

Congratulations! Nica is expecting another wonderful baby blessing in this world! In this fruitful episode, she shared with us her pregnancy journey alongside a special message that she has for her children whenever they may listen to this episode years from now. 

Let us continue to uphold voices in motherhood and humanity that thrive because they are all interconnected. Happy Holidays!

Music Credit: Song of Mother by Benson.

Follow & Connect with Nica, our special guest below:
Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/nica.lovhosty/

___________________

Connect with Nagiarry - our host, and friend below:
Instagram: @upholdvoicesinfamily

This episode is in Haitian Creole. Moving forward, there will be episodes in Haitian Creole or English to connect with various people, cultures, and ways of being. Thank you so much for being on this journey with us! We each have a voice, and at Uphold Voices in Family: we value the ability to create accessible spaces for people of multidimensional identities to the best that we can. 

Season 1: Motherhood

In honor of the multidimensional ways that mothers are striving to remain aware of the influences that their humanity and surrounding environments have upon their children while cultivating their growth. 

Previous episodes, so far, in English.

________________________________________________________________

Sezon 1: Matenite

Episode 11: Nagiarry te pase y'on bel moman ak y'on manman, e Limye ki rele Christina Beauboeuf Marcelin. Li identifye tankou manman, imen, pwofesyonel, madan mari'l ak anpil lot idantite lavi a pote <3

Nan epizod sa Christina diskite ak nou: PCOS, jounen gwoses li an, relasyon ak mari'l nan gide pitit li, anfans premye pitit li, sa'l ta renmen aprann pitit li ak enpotans sipo li kontinye resevwa nan jounen li ye an. Christina pataje avek nou kijan li kreye kominote, kisa kominote vle di pou li. Anviwonman y'on timoun vreman enpotan, e Christina te pataje avek nou jan paran'l ak jenerasyon nan fanmi'l enflyanse moun li ye jodyan. Li pale avek nou jan y'on manman se y'on imen, e fason l'ap eseye fe sa li kapab pou onore tet li nan jounen li ye kounyean. Eske lavi y'on manman fasil? Kisa Christina gen pou'l pataje sou nou a pwopo de sa? E depresyon matenal? Koute, tande istwa'l ak sa ki ede'l nan chemen li chak jou. 

Ann kontinye defann ak onore vwa manman, imanite manman paske tout sa konekte ansanm. 

Mizik: Song of Mother by Benson.

Konekte ak Christina, manman ki pataje istwa'l avek nou:
Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/mbchri7
___________________

Connect with Nagiarry - our host, and friend below:
Instagram: @upholdvoicesinfamily

Welcome, inspirational voices. Let us continue to uphold voices in family!

Music Credit: Song of Mother by Benson.

___________________

Connect with Uphold Voices in Family -
Website: www.upholdvoicesinfamily.com
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @upholdvoicesinfamily

Chrystien has a special message for all medical professionals.
Sharing her premature birth experience as a first-time mom, raising her daughter who healed from brain cancer and now journeys through with cerebral palsy. See below for more details.
 
Season 1: Motherhood

In honor of the multidimensional ways that mothers are striving to remain aware of the influences that their humanity and surrounding environments have upon their children while cultivating their growth.

Episode 10: Nagiarry is joined by a beautiful human being, black woman, and dear mother named Chrystien Guyton who is a brand stylist, graphic designer, and amazing photographer for the past years. She is also the podcast host of the Moxie Stride Podcast. It is a podcast for millennial entrepreneurs to share inspiring stories that can help people step out of their comfort zone. Chrystien has a passion for helping others, and for leading them to foster the impact that they were meant to create in this world. She has a special focus on heart-centered and purpose-driven entrepreneurs. Recently, Chrystien created a 7-step personal brand photography blueprint available for downloads.

This episode includes her premature birth experiences and her young daughter's healing from brain cancer, and now, journeying with cerebral palsy. Chrystien also shared with us her hospital experiences and what she desires that more medical professionals do especially in regards to first-time mothers. Highlighting the importance of black maternal health: Chrystien touched upon her depression diagnosis, to trusting her intuition regarding communication with medical professionals. In her experiences, the transformative roles of self-awareness, faith, community, radical authenticity, surrender, and trust have been essential. 

Let us continue to uphold voices in motherhood and humanity that thrive because they are all interconnected.

Music Credit: Song of Mother by Benson.

Follow & Connect with Chrystien Guyton, our special guest below:
Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/mschrysguyton
Personal Website: https://chrystienguyton.com

___________________

Connect with Nagiarry - our host, and friend below:
Instagram: @upholdvoicesinfamily

Season 1: Motherhood

In honor of the multidimensional ways that mothers are striving to remain aware of the influences that their humanity and surrounding environments have upon their children while cultivating their growth.

Episode 8: Nagiarry is joined by Ta'lor L. Pinkston who is a self-love activist, speaker, and therapist. Ta’lor is the founder of a virtual support group, centered on self-love, mental health and healing on Facebook with more than 1,300 members and counting: for all individuals, ages 18+. Healing Over Healing offers writing prompts, weekly sessions for truth-sharing, venting, and giving advice. She is a beautiful human being full of identities and interests that keep on blooming every day all while helping individuals use self-love as a coping skill for mental health and healing. Based in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and connecting with people around the globe, Ta’lor is the host of various programs under the umbrella of the non-traditional therapy practice named Our Heart Advocate which also includes guides, templates, and journal entries. It is about encouraging human beings to become their own Heart Advocates along the way.

 In addition to such beautiful offerings, Ta’lor is a full-time therapist at Healthy Start specializing in prenatal and postpartum mothers especially online sessions. Within her offerings to the world, through all of them, Ta’lor is a cherished black woman, honorable human being, and mother to her beautiful daughter named Xael.

This episode includes:

• Parenting mindfully and incorporating her mental health journey in building a healthy relationship with her daughter
• Healing from a past toxic relationship and choosing self-love for her dear daughter and herself
• Defining her values and identities as single mother, learning how to co-parent
• Navigating through guilt and arbitrary timelines predicting the ‘right time’ to get pregnant
• Embracing body positivity, freeing self from inner bullying and healing from being bullied at a young age

Let us continue to uphold voices in motherhood and humanity that thrive because they are all interconnected.

Music Credit: Song of Mother by Benson.

Follow & Connect with Ta'lor L. Pinkston, our special guest below:
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/theheartadvocate
Website: https://ladyhoodjourney.com/
Facebook Group, Healing Over Everything Support Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/305046589974713/

___________________

Connect with Nagiarry - our host, and friend below:
Instagram: @upholdvoicesinfamily