Show notes –
Join Shannon & Christine as they chat about social wellness with their special guest, I AM Soteria, about the need for reciprocal relationships, and the fact that you are the hero you’re looking for!
This week’s resources and references:
- My Why
- Poetry
- Turning The Tables
- Video Summary (Original Project, 2020()
- Artist Videos
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- Earth Day Project (April, 2021)
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- Example: Positively Driven Video
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- Instagram: @iamsoteria
- Facebook: facebook.com/iamsoteria
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Show Transcript –
NOTE: While it’s not perfect, we offer this transcription by Otter.ai for those who are hearing impaired or who don’t find listening to a podcast enjoyable or possible.
Christine Gautreaux 0:08
Let’s do this.
Shannon M. 0:08
Okay ladies, welcome to our podcast. I am Shannon Mitchell, a black female, millennial entrepreneur, the founder of shallow glow, a handmade shea butter company. I am a champion for your self care, business care and intentional wellness.
Christine Gautreaux 0:25
And I am Christine Gautreaux, a white social justice advocate, an international speaker, coach and published author who helps you upgrade yourself in community care.
Shannon M. 0:35
Yes. And together we are women connected in wisdom, a podcast grounded in the eight dimensions of wellness. Welcome, welcome to our show. Right.
Christine Gautreaux 0:45
And today we’re talking about social wellness
Shannon M. 0:47
right on time. Always.
Christine Gautreaux 0:50
You know, this is the one right, absolutely, especially as we’re emerging, especially is this is the week that yesterday was the anniversary, was it? It was Tuesday? Yeah, it’s Wednesday. So I’m like, What is yesterday? So yesterday was the one year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. And so when we talk about social wellness, you want to throw out the definition. So our listeners can be reminded what we’re working from.
Shannon M. 1:18
Yes. So like she said, What is social wellness, right? It is about nurturing ourselves, others and our relationships. social wellness consists of not only balancing our own physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health, but also actively participating as an interdependent piece of a bigger puzzle of humankind. Right.
Christine Gautreaux 1:40
That’s the piece that interdependent piece Exactly. That I think is huge. When we talk about social wellness, when we talk about social justice. When we talk to our guests today, who I can’t wait to introduce everybody to a little later and their work in the world. Um, yeah, when you? Well, let’s just check in with each other. How’s your social wellness going?
Shannon M. 2:03
My social wellness, it’s been interesting. But it’s been good. Again, this is a category that I talked about with my therapist pissed about when I was seeing her at the beginning of quarantine. And actually, it was a it was a therapist before that therapist that I was talking to in quarantine. And we talked about my lack of definition in my social support. So I said, You know what, I should be more intentional about it. So, I’ve been good. I’ve still been celebrating my birthday went out a few days ago and have some dates for June. So already know what June is gonna look like for what I want to do for my circle. So it’s good. What about yours?
Christine Gautreaux 2:44
I love that. Well, since the last time we’ve chatted, yeah, you know, I’ve had some outdoor gatherings, I have traveled to Colorado and then Texas to be with my family who I haven’t seen in 18 months. So I’m feeling very connected. I’m feeling very interdependent. You know, I’ve been traveling with my nibbling who are my 21 month old nephews, and, boy, they’re talking about interdependence. When you talk about traveling cross country, we did a 12 hour road trip. So yeah. Having a moment to just do some self and community care with you today and take a deep breath. And you know, you know, me reminding ourselves to breathe is important. So yeah. And and I wasn’t with my usual folks, my activist folks for the big anniversary yesterday, you know, did a little bit of chatting about it. And the class I taught but didn’t do the things I would normally do, I think because I’m on the road, and our schedules are dependent on tiny, tiny humans right now. Right. But yeah, I’m, I’m grateful things are opening back up as far as from the pandemic. And it’s weird, just to be honest, it’s weird. But it’s fun. You know, I love traveling, and that getting out and seeing the world, I think, is one of the best things for people. So yeah.
Shannon M. 4:25
And you know, it’s really interesting, because I’ve done a few personality tests in the different positions that I’ve been in, right. And when we talk about introvert and extrovert, and if we don’t know who that is, if our listeners don’t know what that is, the way I think about it is people who like to talk to people, and it’s an extrovert when you get your energy from being around groups of people in social settings, right? And then an introvert is when you get your energy from spending time with yourself and doing whatever it is that you like to do. That’s how you recharge yourself. And I am directly in the middle.
Christine Gautreaux 4:58
Right? Well, that’s an ambivert Yeah, that’s called an ambivert when you both and I am too and my sister and I were having this awesome conversation on the road trip about now we are both either ambiverts or extroverts, like we’re out there. And we’re like, we’re really socially awkward right now, as we reemerge, and we’re like, how are the people that were socially awkward before the pandemic handling getting back out there? Right? Because it’s, it’s awkward. It’s like you forget how to do this thing called social interaction and wellness, because it’s been so different for a year and a half, right? Well, one of the things I’m excited to talk to our guests about is they Well, I can’t I’m gonna have to read their bio and tell you all about them. But they have a community place that they will talk about where they gather artists and, and it to me when we when we talk about this with our guests, I I want us to do a road trip and I want us to do a social wellness podcast from their location. Okay, one day in the future, because the Are you up for that?
Shannon M. 6:11
I already told you Yes. And I need to go see my petition for Shayla glow in North Carolina so we can go
Christine Gautreaux 6:17
okay, we’re gonna Shayla glow. Can you see what I’m doing? Because you know, you know, for all our listeners, if you’re listening and not watching, I’m holding up a tiny sample package of shea logo because I traveled with it. I wasn’t going to travel with my big container. I traveled and can I tell you how grateful I am for it my friend because Colorado is desert dry. And then we drove through New Mexico all desert and then we’re here in Texas and it is hot. Like we went. We went to the arboretum, we went to the big Dallas Arboretum the garden outside. And I don’t know what we were thinking because we rolled up there about we rolled up there almost at noon, and then we’re out there from like noon to three that was not smart planning at all. But so All right, I know we’ve been chatting but are you ready to bring on our guest?
Shannon M. 7:10
Oh, let’s introduce her. I’m so ready to see. I want to ask her some questions. So yeah, let’s bring her
Christine Gautreaux 7:15
on. Right. Are you ready? Well, I’m gonna read I can’t wait, y’all because this guest I met at a recent conference. We were both that. And I knew immediately that I wanted to ask her to come on women connected in wisdom because just ridiculously cool. So here we go. Soteria Shepardson, known as I am soteria is a first generation college graduate graduating from George Mason University. She is a woman of color who identifies as espresso she finds herself paving lanes in concrete, identifying as an archivist which is an art plus activist, a culture shifter and sustainer sheperson anticipated basketball to be her ticket out, but began sustaining physical injuries in high school that ended her career. Poetry became a therapeutic tool that she used to get out of hardships connecting early on with the legacies of influencers, such as Milan, Maya Angelou, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nikki Giovanni. Her work centers purpose, not in what one is able to do, but in who one was born to become. She challenges stereotypes of colorism, sexism, racism, and stigmas of criminality that she witnessed in her life and through the experiences that have been that have been lived by others, inviting herself and others to be the heroes they’ve been waiting for. Her recent work encourages courage to move from a place of outraged witnessing to courageous participation in dismantling unjust systems. She uses spoken word music and printed work to engage audiences using her platform to elevate marginalized voices and perspectives. Through her I am soteria and friends events also offering artists compensation, resources and coaching services as a part of this work. In addition, this one I’m so excited to tell you about to Shannon. In addition, she and her partner co own present day on Maine, which is a local coffee shop in Carrboro, North Carolina that infuses social justice, equity and hope by diversifying their customer base being intentional about using art to invite community and justice law making sure things like coffee and tea are served. They work to transform narratives renaming the business in January of 2021 to present day on Main in hopes that we all learn that the past can help us live in the present. They also created a drink called the good Karen to celebrate the white woman who truly We believe white women who truly believe in equity in justice. This drink was named to also honor their assistant managers mom whose name is Karen, for her role in equity and justice. In addition, they were recently awarded by the Orange County Human Relations Commission with the Pauli Murray award for their business, which you can find out more about and we’ll put it in our show notes. So I want to welcome to our stage I am soteria
oh my god I was reading about interesting. I’ll take it. Alright. Well, it’s
fabulous. And Shannon, we got to go have a good Karen drink.
Shannon M. 10:44
I don’t know if I’m gonna have the good Karen. I like the idea. I want to look at the menu. You know, I’m like a connoisseur, so I’m picky.
Soteria 10:53
That’s really cool. We have two other cool drinks. We have a drink named after my mom. Her name is Snyder. And then my partner’s mom. We have Jan so it’s a really fun specialty drinks.
Shannon M. 11:05
Yeah. I love that you titled them after Moms. My shea butter company is about the moms to both me and my mom are sick. And we gotta we gotta honor the ladies. I love it.
Soteria 11:17
Yeah, moms are what got me here random moms in my life. My friends who have kids connected me to the event where I met Christine. So I mean, I don’t know the world is just so crazy. Shout out to all the moms. Auntie Juju here, but shout out to you lovely moms. Yeah,
Christine Gautreaux 11:37
it is. It is important it when we talk about social wellness, like when we talk about connection when we talk about the work you do in the world. I think about moms and Auntie’s and best friends as those social connectors that keep us all on track and going no matter who
Shannon M. 11:55
we are. Yeah. So yeah, well, I
Christine Gautreaux 11:59
can’t wait to jump in here and, and chat about the work you’re doing in the world and chat about just so many things. So I wanted to ask you first, What’s your why of the work that you do in the world?
Soteria 12:16
Um, commitment to self healing, and sharing my journey. Um, I think once I realized that, when I gave attention to myself through all the dimensions of wellness, that naturally, the things in the people and the environments around me start to improve. And, you know, growing up, I would think that was pretty selfish. And now I think it’s, it’s one of the most selfless acts I’ve seen people do is when they attend to their own healing in their own work, and then they can fully show up in the world. And so that that would be my wife because I don’t think though, we all know what healing looks like or what it can look like. And that’s been a journey for me and it’s been really dope to share it and explore it through basketball at one time and then you know, what was me happen and then art now, so it’s been moving.
Christine Gautreaux 13:11
I really resonated with that in your story. I thought volleyball was going to be my ticket and my senior year, I opening game varsity game. I went, we’re warming up, y’all remember, y’all may not be old enough, because I think I’m older in both of y’all. But Do y’all remember those in the old gyms where they had the poles that had the big bases on them that were above the ground? Well, I was so excited. And I was so pumped that day, I went to jump up to do a block. Well, you don’t have to do this, where you’re going across the net, you’re jumping up and blocking and warm up. And I jumped too high and too far over and landed on that thing and wrecked my ankle. So when you read that about basketball, I was like, oh, so resonated, because I thought I was going to be playing college ball and no, it shifted. Yeah. Tell us a little bit about your poetry and how you weave that into the world because that’s how I met you. I want to give a little backstory real quick before you do. Y’all I was signed up for this conference. And I was like, I’m not going to go not going to go I’m like got too much on my plate. I’m not going to go I’ve done enough conferences. And and I don’t even know I think I told him I wasn’t going to go and then I get this text the day of the event that says the live event is starting you need to go and I was like oh, I’ll just click on that whatever I’m not Stan I’m not gonna go and I click on it. And here’s the opening. I am soteria is doing this beautiful video and opening really talking about the Power of I Am and in I can’t even remember So Terry were men in video or was it all women? It was meant to? Yeah, see, I was focused on the amazing women that were in a video because they were like I am I am I am. And I stayed for the conference because of your work and your artistry because it’s so spoke to me and the power of that. So, thank you. You’re welcome. Yeah. And that poetry piece of it because you did a poetry work in the conference to poetry workshop. Yeah.
Soteria 15:19
Yeah, it was, um, it was such a beautiful opportunity. I got started because again, I was so, so excited about basketball and where I’m from, you know, the only way you make it out is athlete athletics, or, or the army and I was like, Well, I’m not doing the army, I can’t do it. You know, my grandpa did it. And I was like, sports, like I’m on, I want to be in a WNBA WNBA had just came out. So I was really like, frustrated. It was the days of like, Tina Thompson, Cheryl schools and Cynthia Cooper. So I just knew I got my platform, I got my way out. And so those injuries happen, and I have language for a lot of my process. Now, as an older adult, I say that as a millennial, but Sophie was older than what I was, um, but I started to realize like, Okay, this isn’t I have to shift where I’m going. And I really started writing my way out of harshness, and journaling a lot. And I had someone she liked some of my work, and they were like, you should share it. And I was like, nobody wants to hear this, like, this is me ranting and being all sad and woe is me. I swear, I was like, channeling my ideal, my Adele because every time Adele gets her heart broken, her music is lit. I’m like, I’m sorry. You’re working girlfriend. But what music I mean, her and Jasmine Solomon, I don’t know what happened. So that was like, a heartbreak. And then, you know, my life became lit in a way because poetry was something that no one could take from me. You know, having to use your physical being is one thing, but when you can just tune into your spiritual self. And my only job is to spend more time in that realm and create a community that supports and filters, who that person is like. Yeah, it took a while. It took a while. But I think I finally I finally started to get it. Huh.
Shannon M. 17:17
I love that. I love that. And it makes sense too. Because like, I feel like the way I think about a lot of messy environments, now we’re looking will do for their jobs. Right? When you’re applying for a job. I feel like it’s a list of characteristics. And can you how well do you fit into this list? Call it a box, right? How well do you fit into this box? And then the rest of the way will train you when you get here? You know? So yeah, when we talk about living your purpose, like your bio was talking about it, your only job is to spend time with yourself and see what that looks like. It’s a whole different world and it helps you come from a different place, like you said, when you start taking care of yourself is a beautiful thing.
Soteria 17:58
Yeah, yeah. Ashay thank you for that reflection and addition.
Christine Gautreaux 18:02
Yeah, right. That’s, um, poetry has always been I was angsty as a teenager. So I started writing poetry really early. Like it was like you said, like, it’s it was a way to deal with your feelings, right? Yeah. Oh, yeah. And I remember one of my first points being a feminist feminist point, because I was so mad at, at what was happening in my church, and in my school, and the women in the misogyny that was happening. And I remember writing this, like, it was a school paper, but I was like, oh, and I thought my mom was gonna be mad, cuz, you know, she was always kind of tucked in about some of that. So she was so proud of that point. And like, and I still have it somewhere tucked into drawer, but, you know, tell me, um, so Tara, you had some poetry around the Women’s March, right?
Soteria 18:54
Yeah, yeah. So, um, after after I realized like, early on, okay, basketball, I’m transitioning. It was such a beautiful thing. I remember the first time I think it was like, one of the first times but the the most memorable form I had, I was mad at people at church. And so I wrote this poem called when you pray for me, because I My mom was a minister when I was born, and I grew up very religious, I now identify as a spiritual person. Um, but I was so frustrating as a kid, you can’t ask questions. And I’m just like to kill someone’s curiosity. You know, um, that’s another reason I was writing because I had a lot of questions about the world about who am I about who is, you know, God, the Creator, like, what is the what is the role of the universe? And so I’m taking myself through this journey. And I remember Finally, I’m brave enough to not just do poetry at church, I do it at this open mic. And I I don’t do well reading. So I like to memorize my stuff, but I’m really really also enjoying everything about virtual because it’s allowing me to be in several places at one time. be more creative with videos and all these cool things. And so anyway, I’m up there open mic. I was like, I’m about to do it. I’m about to bring my Lauryn Hill out, you know, my, my about to come, I get always through the entire poem, I get to what I don’t know is the last line, and I’m on stage. Every emotion comes, I start sweating. I’m a sweater anyway. So I’m like sweating, I’m nervous. And then finally, I’m in the mic. I’m silent. And I was like, um, I’ll be right back. And I go, I run offstage, I go grab my notebook, only to have one line left. And it took me a while to just get over that. And I was just like, so like, anxious and have shame. And I’m like, I didn’t know what I was doing anyway, right? I’m expressing myself. So I’m really not a an artist that does, I think I’ve done three slams in my life. And that probably because my friends bullied me into doing it, or they would like, I think you’d be great. And that was cool. But I just don’t know how we rate somebody’s experience. Right? I don’t know how I tell you that what you what you have experienced and what you what you write is worthy of a 10, or a one. I mean, I think everything is worthy to be heard. And so I don’t do well with those types of things. I’m not the type of artist but I’m being impactful in my own transition and vulnerability. Like that’s my thing is like to not just learn a lesson in harbor it, but to learn lesson and share it, I am not the person where we go down the road, and you’re like, hey, Sotiria, don’t go left. And I’m like you me left, go left twice, or go left twice, you know, like that. They’re there. They’re experiential learners, they only learn through experience, I don’t want to be that person. I want all the advice, wisdom, knowledge that I can get. And that’s how poetry has showed up in my life, as well, and in every aspect of the work. And so I had picked on a lot of personal events like baby showers, birthdays, weddings, if you get a divorce, and you want to poem about that. I don’t care. I read everything. Isn’t it really cool to just see how poetry can help alleviate pain, but also invite in healing, right? And someone sees me, I had done some activism work. And I do a lot of activism work. And there was a woman there who said, Hey, I think you should do a women’s march here in Raleigh. And I was like, okay, cool. That’d be dope. And it was one of the most beautiful experiences I ever had. And that’s the, that’s the, the time that I wrote, You are the hero. And then the chorus is you are the hero you’ve been waiting for. And as a black woman, I would go to a lot of forums, a lot of the mentors in my life have been white. And so I’ve been very grateful for them. I was like, Where are the people who look like me. I mean, it’s still a different road from for me as a black woman, as opposed to just a white woman. And just as a black woman, period. Like we’re not a monolith, which I have to say all the time, because we’re individuals. And yeah, the Women’s March happened and changed my life. There’s a video we’ll share on the website about that. But one of the most impactful things was not necessarily the crowd, but it’s what what happened when I got off stage. And it was just one woman in particular, I say, Well, maybe she could have been a teenager. She came and she hugged me. And she’s like, I don’t even know who she was, or is and she hugged me. And she said, You don’t know how much I needed that. And she was crying. And immediately I said, you know, this is no, it doesn’t matter what I’m not who I am is enough. And having that self affirmation. I’m just learning that I was talking to a guy today. Amazing guy, he’s white. And you know, a lot of my white people got shame around what’s happening in the world. And I’m like, Listen, you can have shame, but we got to use that privilege. Use it for the good because, you know, there’s these elements of fight, flight and freeze. So you know, people in the world who just want to do good, we freeze because there are a lot of hardships. And and even with him, you know, I said, I can work with you similarly to how I did the last time around poetry and how to share your message. But some things is more powerful coming from you for a nature of how you were created, you know, and so, the work is about sharing, you know, my vision, but it’s also empowering people like if we use what we have y’all like, really? That’s enough, right? Nothing else from this moment. And we literally use everything that we gave up into this moment, this moment. I am 100% Sure we would start impacting the world in ways that we had never imagined before.
Christine Gautreaux 24:54
Oh, absolutely.
Shannon M. 24:57
The show can be over. We’re done. I’m dropping by.
Christine Gautreaux 25:02
She didn’t forget, today, lady. Thank you, but I wanted to, I wasn’t at your Women’s March. But I was at a women’s march. My daughters are now 19 and 23. They looked at me, I was planning on marching in Atlanta, where I’m from where we live, right? And my oldest looked at me and said, Mom, this is important. We need to go to Washington. And I’m originally from Texas, like, Y’all, I’d never been to Washington, DC. And I was like, okay, because you know, when my daughter say set, like I listened and, and I knew, I felt it was one of those things when somebody said something to me, and you feel it in your bones like about how important than this. So we load it up in wind. And one of the most impactful things about that whole experience was the art artists like you soteria because there was the art of the protest signs. There was the art, I belong to a group called interplay. And we’re an internationally an international organization. And we did Interplay on the National Mall. And we did art on the National Mall. And so like, the power of art, and activism, and the combination of it, I don’t know about you, but what I have found in it is community and joy, and connection. And it really feeds my social wellness, like what we’re talking about today. It is like, I did a poetry workshop this week with an incredible poet in Atlanta, Theresa Davis in seven stages. With an organization I’m a part of reforming arts. And we were doing it talking about how you look up the year you were born, or you look up impactful things that were happening in the world. And I’ve done this in some of my activism work to and some of my anti racism work, like pay attention to what was going around you when you were born, or what was happening or things that changed, and incorporate that into your art and your poetry. Because I was always taught from a very well meaning mom, to not speak out and to not not be seen because that’s dangerous. Well, it took me years to figure out that the reason why was when I was in her womb, all the activists at Kent State were gunned down. That happened when when she had me in her womb. And it was like, Well, no wonder she was terrified of me being an activist. Right. And working through that. I was just like, that was powerful to figure out. Oh, you know, in addition to the backgrounds, we come from what was happening in our world, it’s influenced what we do or what we don’t do.
Shannon M. 27:51
Yeah, yeah. And Christine, that point is like, of course, it’s relevant. That’s what we can talk about a lot. You know, that’s why we decided to do this podcast. But I think is really interesting. With Corona with us opening back up in the work that we need to do like to tear you said, that’s literally one of the rules I would take to the senior. So before Corona, shut everything down. I was going back to my high school was shout out to Hiram High School. This Friday is 10 years, I graduated high school, y’all. But one of the rules again, was you have everything you need. So I know a lot of times it looks like we don’t you we remember and a lot of times we run through and ruminate on what we wish we had or who we should be. But if it like you said, if it’s not about who we’re not, if it’s not about the things we don’t have, you already have everything in your hands to get to that next step. So a lot of times when let’s talk about environmental wellness, social wellness, and how they can be interdependent, since that’s what our definition says today. And when we talk about our parents and guardians and the people who are mentors and teaching us how to be safe and how to carry ourselves as individuals, a lot of times it is their fear of things that the person who told them was fear of love or the things that they saw before we got here, but we have to remember that’s not where we are. You know, now, however, many days later, it’s it’s right on time for Christina be exactly who she was supposed to be. Because that story that your mom was fearful of is not your story, thankfully, you know, right. And of course we should be aware of it. We have to know our history. We need to know the environment that we’re in, especially as women we talk about that. And so for me social wellness is handling both knowing the history and the dangers and what’s happened and how to monitor and carry myself but then also knowing that let me see I have a quote here it says it doesn’t matter who are not who I am is enough, right and having said that, too and no there we go I have a quote. I’m taking notes. I need these notes to write. But yeah, you know, it can be both so we can hear the the older generation and what they’re saying, but still not pick up stuff that’s not for us. And that can be interesting when it’s our parents when I saw that, you know, yeah, do those things. Yeah,
Soteria 30:23
I love my mom. I was a baby boomer and she felt she still says things like, so you you get paid to work from home, you get like a real payment. And I was like, Mom, yes, it’s called remote work good.
Christine Gautreaux 30:35
No, like,
Soteria 30:36
any let me my mom was on a zoom call y’all and I my mom is technology. And she was on her phone. But the woman that was facilitating could hear people talking. So she said, if you’re on your computer, I need you to mute yourself because we can hear you. My mom says to her friend, well, she’s not talking to me, because I’m on the phone. whatever device you’re on, my mom’s like I was panicking about the link, am I gonna miss it that I hit the wrong thing. I was like my mom, keeping me bound. The baby boomers, the baby boomer friends, a lot of my friends are much older than me, and I love them. And it’s this invitation, we talk about social wellness, to do something different. I tell it a local community college here for a while. And that was around a time where the job market wasn’t going well. And a lot of them were being asked to leave and retire so that they could basically, you know, the companies could pay people less money to do what they did. And it was one of the most heartbreaking things because for a lot of them, they were only able to identify with what they did and not who they were. And so I feel like this also is very cultural for America is we, we judge people about what they do, and not who they are. And I think you know, in and of itself, capitalism is a very privileged place to live and because even as a black person, and as an expressive person, you know, money does not give me peace of mind, certain environments give me peace of mind. And then on top of that, now I have an environment, I get to choose my people. One of the greatest gifts I got as an adult was understanding I could create my village, you know, and so, you know, to me, the people that I surround myself with are people who challenged me, but who also inspire me and they are inspired by me. Last year, it was a reciprocal relationship. I was I was unwilling to get into friendships, relationships, situation ships, any type of ship would be reciprocal. Because, you know, how can someone that is empty, pour out if they’re always empty. And I think being an artist or a person who wants to, quote unquote, do good, or you want to see the good in people, you know, that can easily move into this, this, this, this round of being naive about what is and I was so sick of having to have, you know, tough conversations with people, and then they abandon me. And I was like, Well, you were never my people. If I can’t be real, you know, we were just faking it for whatever reason. And so my partner and I both went through a period where we had like, no friends, like no real friends. And then all of a sudden, we got like so many friends. I’m like, Y’all got to schedule me get on my calendar. I got stuff to do. I got to talk this shandy Christina day, we got to do this stuff. And
Christine Gautreaux 33:33
Shannon just did that we got to get on her calendar to go to the coffee shop. I want to talk I don’t want to get out of here without talking about the coffee shop. And without talking about the turning the tables project because I am telling y’all I want to go do this. I don’t think I can do this around. I’ve missed the window. But will you tell us about this incredible project? And what’s up in this town in North Carolina?
Soteria 33:58
Yeah, so um, I am in Carrboro, North Carolina, my partner and I have a coffee shop called present day on Main. Um, it was a family legacy. And
her mom owned it like for a period of time and we took it over in 2019. It’s been such a beautiful awakening, because of the pandemic we ended up moving back to Carrboro from Durham. And I remember being on the land, and seeing that nothing looked like me nothing about this space. Even though I was a manager and part owner. I still didn’t feel like home. And I want to also note, too, that this is not Heartland this is Native American land. And so thank you for the work in the suffering that they had to do. I’m very grateful as a person to be here and to acknowledge that as well. And something that I talk about even from an identity perspective is someone asked me about my citizenship here and what I say And I will say my citizenship is forced, because my, my people were on willfully brought here. So I ended up here. So I want to talk about that a little bit. And so I’m thinking about all these things in my identity, I go outside one day, and I realized that there, there was a cemetery we will walk by, and if you stand in front of the coffee shop, if you look to the right, you can see this cemetery, when my partner is telling me it’s actually a slave cemetery. And I was like, get out. So I’m like, Okay, what’s happening? I’m walking on land, as I do very spiritual, just being thankful for the land and the people that come, and all of a sudden, I hear, turn the table. And and even though we use a table as a symbolism, it’s really how do you turn anything you already have into something better, and more intentional. And so we had broken down, some of the wood has already broken from the first project was old wood. And I heard spirits say turn the tables into murals. And so what I did is I read, I cannot draw a stick figure, by the way, my artistry is singing poetry. I can do an MC I can just corny jokes, I can’t draw. So I’m being vulnerable, because I’m like, oh, no, nobody that’s gonna come over here dressed up. And it was like the highway to business, my god that talks about that. If you are given an assignment, if you move forward, all the pieces will fall together. And so I did this project, I invited black artists, for the for the foundation of it to come and put murals on the picnic tables. And when you what you’ll see in the video is how the miracles became symbolic, to the songs that slaves would sing, to say, Hey, you are free here, when you are welcome here. There’s liberation here, within one week. And so I’ve really been talking to organizations about getting art on all of their walls and on a picnic tables and trying to make this thing national because within one week, we had black and brown people come and they haven’t stopped coming. And that has never happened the majority of our demographic for over 10 however long this, the coffee shop was here has primarily been white. And so it’s been so beautiful, because the polymorph award came, as we started moving more into this social justice realm. We also won an award through the health department COVID Safety Award for keeping our employees safe. So our faces on a bus around town, which is so no, it’s so dope, probably more and then this bus. And then we’re also through the Chamber of Commerce. We’ve been nominated for a community improvement or I don’t know some dope award. Sorry. All right. It’s an I named that because I, you know, you we try to tell ourselves that we have to live and be successful, based on what the world says, going back to social wellness, this will make you well Sotiria. This will make you well, Shannon and Christine, well, we’re all individuals. So what could bring me stress could actually make you well. And so this project has started we are in our second rendition now of this particular one, I’ve done seven total. The other word concert forms, you can find out more on my website, and I am sotiria.com. But I’m so grateful because we have a Latin X artists, we have white artists, we have an 11 year old, we have black artists, we have women, we have men, I mean people who identified different sexually like it. I just wanted the world to know that even though the black artists were the foundation, as America was already born, right, so it’s very symbolic, is the more we can engage together. In this process of healing and artistry, the more we can actually live in harmony, and not be in fear. I always tell the white parents I work with if I only saw black people on TV, I would be scared of me. I’m like they pick the worst stuff to talk about this the news about black people I’m not friends with, you know what I mean? To break this down the stereotypes, we have to be in relationship with each other. We have to be in unity. So Sunday, this Sunday from 11 to one we’re going to start that project you all are the first to know we haven’t even posted about it. Artists will be here we’ll have a videographer. We’re going to continue to Chrono chronicle is that word criminalize chronic that black people make up words y’all go when you put it to keep the date up? About everything I saw you I saw you on mute.
Yeah, that that works.
Like you had one job You had one job. Um, but yeah, so it please, please, please, we are looking for sponsors. I got to also think the town of Carrboro. Here they are our first sponsor outside of the coffee shop, to to get a table and they sponsored a table for Earth Day. So one of the artists actually painted a picnic table for Earth Day. And that table now lives in a public area with the town and so the goal is to sponsor these tables, because I know what happens when we get together over Food and community and music. It is transformative. I’ve been complimented by racists, I’ve been complimented by sexes. I’ve been complimented by white black people, people of color people who struggle with who they are. I’ve been complimented by wealthy people, people who are impoverished. And that is the power of art and community. And so that’s what I want to spread around the world and hopefully I’m so tear your friends is coming to a city near you.
Christine Gautreaux 40:30
Oh, I can’t wait it. So y’all, it’s not just tables either. So like at your coffee shop, you’re doing these giant concrete culverts? Yes. I tell you, that took me right now I’m sitting on the farm that I grew up on. It’s a little farmland outside of Dallas Fort Worth Texas in on our driveway. We have these giant concrete culverts that we were not supposed to be in these children. But like that was like our fort. It was like our secret place. And so when I saw this project, it took me right back there to that magic of how sacred being in that little container is and aren’t like we did it with chalk. And we did it with mud. And you know, but yeah, this whole project lights me up. So teria I can’t wait your road trip. And come sit on one of those beautiful tables and look at all the art in your community and drink. Good care and drink.
Soteria 41:28
Yeah. I’m so if you all are always welcome. We have we have coverts this time, we have tables. And we actually have this big storage structure. And so even though the project is called turning the tables, again, tape, the table is just symbolic of taking what you have. And using it and creating art with that very thing, whether it’s your voice, whether it’s actual picnic table, whether it’s a wall, the first project also included one of the first murals in the town that spoke directly to to be in black and predominantly white space as well. So I’m so stoked, and I can’t paint, but I can this is what I do. I don’t have to be everything to everybody. You know, I
Christine Gautreaux 42:16
love that. But making a way for those artists and those ARTivist. Like, I love that so much. I am kind of keeping a side eye on the time because I know we could talk to you forever. But one of the things I want to talk about is this work that you’re doing in the world, like how do people reach you because I’m going to tell you as a consumer, who was at that event like lean buddy, that’s listening, if you need an artist to come light up your event, I am soteria is the one. So talk a little bit about what you are doing out there in the world and how people can reach you like different ways you use your art to help other folks.
Soteria 43:00
Absolutely. So more information is on my website, I am so tyria.com You can also find out some information through Patreon patreon.com/i am so Tyria has talked about the ways that I try to use the the funding that comes to me to support other artists similarly to the project that we want to start on Sunday. But what I do is I can take your message and amplify it. I pride myself on that because I realize I am not everyone’s messenger. So right now my clientele has consisted of engineers, it has consisted of teachers of organizations that are in the forefront of education, nonprofits, I’ve worked with corporate entities, tech industries, there is no limit to to me and in what I can do not necessarily me because I look at a project. And if I’m not the best, you know, artists for it, if I can’t do it justice, I’ll say, Hey, I know somebody that knows somebody that probably knows somebody that can use it exactly what you have. So you know, I’m also one of those artists. I’m very intentional, because I know, there are so many things I kept myself from because I was afraid of how it sounded. Even if you look at a job description, sometimes you’re count yourself out because you’re like, oh, I don’t have what they need. That one thing that you don’t have you tell yourself you aren’t worthy of it. And so whatever your message is, if it’s to bring in more revenue, let’s have a conversation. If it’s to invite healing into the process of what you’re already doing. Let’s have a conversation. Um, there really is no limit to the consumer. If you have white walls in your house, if you have white walls in your business, I would I would love to come to you. And part of what I do is find local artists right where you are. And so artists don’t have to travel I really want to uplift the voices right in your neighborhood is what I want to do. So I’m I literally told somebody the other day, I feel like I get paid to be spiritual. Because it’s such a faith thing for me to trust that wherever I go, I’m going to find what I need. And I want to support my clients and my investors to do just that. And so when you invest in me, you you invest in equity, you invest in racial equity, you invest in communities, and unity and, and I’m happy to have conversations if you like, hey, Sotiria I don’t want to see you but I want to give you money.
Christine Gautreaux 45:29
Hey, find me on Venmo and
Soteria 45:34
Syria, you know, cuz they’re busy. They’re busy. Am I think it’s like, you know, I don’t want to tell people how to invest. Invest is not always money. It’s opportunities like this to be able to share with amazing people. It’s, you know, helping finding funding and taking time to talk to me as a new entrepreneur. I’m really, really diving into this. I’ve been doing poetry, you know, over 1520 years, I’m aging myself. But you know, this work, it takes something more it takes my village, it takes people like you to help spread this message. It takes people like, you know, the video ographers, David and Elizabeth who sold their time to help share the story of my partner, who has been amazing to take time to, to help with all the technical stuff. And so your gift is important. And so the invitation for what I do is to let me make you if you’re already good, let me make you great. And if you already great, let me make you greater stuff, I had little tagline. That’s all I want to do is help you get to not necessarily what you think supposed to you’re supposed to be but where you are already born to be.
Christine Gautreaux 46:49
I love that we will make sure and in our show notes, put a link to all of your social media, y’all check out so Terry’s videos of her poetry, check it all out. Because it is so worth your time. And you want to be connected to this amazing artist. Shannon, we usually wait until the guest is gone to talk about our wisdom and action. But I know soteria does. Does a little I don’t know that they call it a wisdom and action, but a weekly call to do something courageous. So I think we should do our wisdom and actions before we wrap for today.
Shannon M. 47:29
Okay, you go first.
Christine Gautreaux 47:31
Okay, so we do this every week. Soteria, we say like, what is like talking about the the category wellness, what are we going to do for our wisdom and action this week? What are we going to commit to each other and our listeners to do? So for my social wellness. This week, I think I’m going to keep on doing what I’m doing. I’m supporting my family, I’ve got you know, I’ve got an aunt that’s going through chemo right now that I’m supporting while I’m here, and I’ve got. So my social action is really being present with my family while I am here. And in connecting with each of them individually and then together as a whole. That’s going to be my wisdom and action this week. Yeah,
Shannon M. 48:15
I love that. I love that. Yeah, I’ll say that mine is doing our graphics or social media, we are in a new season. Right. And I would love to add more value online in between us having these talks. Right. So I’ve been thinking about what I want the the back of the graphics to look like I’m really intentional about that, you know that. And so Terry, of course, I’m inspired. I saw the covert, I didn’t know what it was before. But I saw the pictures and said, Oh, I know what those are. And they were great. So that’s gonna be my creative social way that I reached out this week.
Soteria 48:51
Um, so what I asked people, the target tables project happened shortly after George Floyd was murdered and a slew of other black Americans were murdered unjustly and and I was compelled by this thing, this notion of courage because people stood there and tried to intervene but there were some people who did not have what what I felt like they really wanted to have the stop it and so every week on Friday, around one o’clock, I will post on my social media. What’s one thing courageous you did this week? And I gave the example the first time it’s like, no, maybe you you still are not at the point where you can stop, you know, a person from being murdered in front of you. But you know, maybe like me, the first thing that I brought up was eating an avocado for the first time. Or an artichoke which looks crazy. And you dip it in butter and it’s amazing, but small things current starting, you know, to work muscle, slowly but surely, that’s how we get to even even modalities of what equity and community really looks like. Because, again, the social wellness to me I’m well outside of doing my own individual work, and I believe tapping into our courage can can help ourselves and even our communities.
Christine Gautreaux 50:09
I love that I know it’s not Friday yet, but what you’re working on for your courage and action or wisdom and action for this week. Goodness,
Soteria 50:18
um, you know, I, I have two amazing people that I hired that was they stay on me, I’m from there in California, shout out to Morgan and ebony. Morgan as a project manager. She’s a teacher as well, I call it a project manager. I don’t know what her role title is. She told me what to do really well with it, because Morgan had a teacher. And my partner, Sophie, continues to help. You know what I’m and I named these people, because I remember having to do everything by myself. Because he’s vulnerable, to ask for help. It is vulnerable to trust people with your vision to not, you know, think bad of yourself, because you’re like, can you do this? Can you do that, and I’m just so thankful. So I’m leaning in to my village and allowing them to hold me up, why I continue to hold other people up. And there is this, I think it’s called the knack ministry, shout out to them. Because there are so many people that don’t believe in rest. And I want to, I want to challenge that. And so the is that I can rest is by helping employ other people to help with this this movement. I want it to be a movement. And it’s so that we can move anything by ourselves and alone or as effectively as if we were all holding it together. So when I like talking to y’all, so my bad.
Christine Gautreaux 51:37
Oh, we love it. And we’re so glad that you came today like yes, I mean, that’s the reason we started this podcast is have these conversations, and to move it forward together, because we’re not supposed to do this alone. Like, that’s my belief is like, we’re supposed to do it together. So, you know,
Shannon M. 51:59
Christine, I’m gonna pull in the financial part too, because I’ve been working on my financial literacy Sotiria, it was talking about business, you’re only going to be a small business if you’re by yourself. So if you are the type of person and if you’re a woman who connects with woman, women in wisdom, and you’re, you know, delegating stuff, and you have this huge vision to help communities and you know, that you don’t have to go yourself. That sounds like a big business to me. So it’s actually necessary, just like self care, so that the finances make sense. If we’re gonna thank the community. Yeah, we got to be set up. So I make I’m so excited for you. I’m looking forward to which coffee I’m going to have when I come in which table I’m gonna sit at. So yeah.
Soteria 52:42
Yes, I can’t wait,
Christine Gautreaux 52:44
well, we are going to pop you back in the green room, my friend. It’s virtual. So there’s not good coffee and chocolate in there? Well, I have your
Soteria 52:56
opportunity. I’m so grateful. I never take these moments for granted. Thank you for seeing something in me and allowing me to be in your sacred space. And in your wellness, your wellness incubator. So I appreciate you all.
Christine Gautreaux 53:10
We’re so grateful for you. We’re gonna be connected for a long time, my friend, I can’t wait more soon. Oh, my gosh, blown away. So fabulous. All right. I feel like this could have been a two hour show.
Shannon M. 53:27
I feel like I need to watch it again. And again, yeah. Well, I
Christine Gautreaux 53:33
also can’t wait, because I am going to put in the show notes, like all the links to their incredible poetry and events and the project, the turning the tables project. And so we’ll put all those in the show notes. And y’all have fun with check in checking that out. Because that’s going to be incredible. I can’t wait.
Shannon M. 53:54
And there’s so there’s so much that she does. I was on the social media earlier. And there’s stuff about the marginalized community that’s been incarcerated, you talked about that with your reforming arts, you know, so you ladies have that in common and making sure that you give resources to well, technically what she does is, if I understand it correctly, wouldn’t if I’m wrong, so Tyria, but gives resources to the children of the individuals who are incarcerated. And that’s very important. You know, when I think about mass incarceration and the disproportionate incarceration of black men, let’s pause on that part. Okay. Not only do I think about the men, I think about the community, the opportunity costs, the actual money lost from the families that would have benefited the generations. And of course, how it affects all the other categories of wellness, you know, so to do that, and art and creative outlets and make sure that you’re well, it makes a lot of sense.
Christine Gautreaux 54:49
Well, and I’m we I’m sorry, we ran out of time to talk to her about that. Because you know, the other thing is how impacted folks that have been incarcerated this year have been because of COVID in You think about the social wellness piece of getting to go for visitation for the kids and the families. And that didn’t happen. That did that hasn’t happened in a year and a half. And here in Georgia, like the Yeah, we could talk about this a whole nother show. It’s a big deal, y’all. It’s a big deal. We need to have a conversation about this. So we can change it. Yeah. So but I know we’re almost out of time. I want to give a shout out to our sponsor. Yeah. Tell us tell us about Shiloh glove. What do you
Shannon M. 55:29
do though. Um, so right now with Halo glow, we have to so much. But what I want to tell you ladies about is the Shea row, right? We talked about the moms that it is the best friend, the ladies that connect you to the things that you need in your life. And that is who we want to honor. So if you have somebody like that in your life, email me at Shea lobo@gmail.com with the subject title, my shea row. And if you do that, by the end of this month by May 30. She’s going to go on to the nomination. And we’re going to announce that next week, we had Brianna as our Shay roll last time, she’s over nonprofits and went to school to make sure that the nonprofits do what they say they’re going to do, and that they’re cheating their community like they’re helping them and that life
by they shouldn’t be and that’s huge for us. You know, we’re women connected wisdom. And so that’s our Shea rose that we’re looking to honor so go on over and nominate her and you will see if you’re a person gets pig.
Christine Gautreaux 56:28
I love it. Thank you so much. Yeah, that’ll be exciting, and we’ll announce it on next week’s show.
Shannon M. 56:35
That’ll be fun.
Christine Gautreaux 56:36
All right, my friend. As always, I have enjoyed our conversation, our guest and I look forward to chatting with you more soon.
Shannon M. 56:44
Yes. And ladies, don’t forget to come back next Wednesday at five and don’t forget, be well be wise. And we’ll see you soon.
Unknown Speaker 57:01
Thanks for listening. This has been the women connected and wisdom podcast on-air live on Wednesdays at 5 pm. Eastern via Facebook and YouTube. Be sure to like share and subscribe be part of the conversation and get connected at women connected in wisdom.com.
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