{"id":215,"date":"2018-02-26T18:43:56","date_gmt":"2018-02-26T23:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/diescoin.net\/?p=215"},"modified":"2018-02-26T18:43:56","modified_gmt":"2018-02-26T23:43:56","slug":"profile-lee-ann-graham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diescoin.net\/?p=215","title":{"rendered":"Profile : Lee-Ann Graham"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kiara Clarke-Knight<\/em><\/p>\n

Lee-Ann Graham has never lower her voice for the sake of others. The copper colored 29-year-old Undocumented and Unafraid founder and Sister\u2019s United re-launcher said that she was just born with a distinct voice.<\/p>\n

Her grandmother often said her mother created a monster that she didn\u2019t want to live with. The Kingsborough student has made a name for herself on campus as the point person for all things DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and women\u2019s empowerment. However, when she was younger, she was unsure that this is where she would end up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always liked to talk. My little sister, she used to dance. She\u2019s danced all over the states. My older sister drew. She\u2019s had work in galleries and stuff like\u00a0that,\u201d Graham Expressed. \u201cThe only thing I could do was talk. I never understood where this is going to benefit me, you know? How am I going to do anything with being able to put two words together?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her office seems to vibrate with the vibrancy of her wide smile and steady, booming voice. It was a voice that has always been loud, probably due to her poor hearing.<\/p>\n

Graham put her oration skills to use with a YouTube channel she started in 2012. Since the creation of the channel, called LilySweetz<\/em>, it boasts over 27,000 subscribers and 5 million views. Some of her most popular videos feature nude thumbnails and titles such as \u201cFat Naked and Worth it\u201d and \u201cLove Thy Body.\u201d<\/p>\n

The thumbnails and titles are meant to jar, but also to show solidarity with and encourage women from all walks of life, especially plus-size women of color. \u201cI am the best of you when you can\u2019t see it. I am you when you\u2019re crying in the shower, when you\u2019re contemplating of killing yourself. But I am also you when you are watching this video about you crying in the shower contemplating killing yourself; and\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 you didn\u2019t. Knowing that women watch my content and decide, \u2018today is not a good day to die\u2019, that is\u2026 the most insane thing. Giving someone hope\u2026 money can\u2019t\u00a0buy that.\u201d Her voice was steady as goosebumps dotted her forearms.<\/p>\n

This is the same reason she started Undocumented and Unafraid. This is an initiative that focuses on undocumented and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students. The aim of the initiative is to change the narrative of the undocumented students at KBCC, embolden them in everyday life, and provide useful resources for DACA and undocumented students. It takes place in a series of workshops.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will never be one of those people that doesn\u2019t understand [what it is like to be undocumented], because I\u2019ve lived it. So\u2026 being an undocumented person who now has the opportunity to bring light and awareness and hope; it solidifies my purpose. There is a narrative out there spun that undocumented people are afraid of Trump, and we\u2019re in fear and we\u2019re so scared \u2013 and not that we don\u2019t have reason to be. But I think that when you say that about us, you take away our power [by saying that] we\u2019re afraid. I\u2019m not afraid. What I am is nervous, cautious\u2026 but not afraid. We have been here way longer than any municipality, than any president. We have been here before them and we will be here after them. We will not cower.\u201d<\/p>\n

Undocumented and Unafraid is a\u00a0change-the-story initiative, but Sister\u2019s United has a completely different mission statement. Its purpose is to low women to explore themselves, each\u00a0 other and the world free of judgment. The meetings, which are regularly attended by about a dozen women, focus on different topics such as \u201cIs Black Girl Magic Real?\u201d, \u201cDream Big Fail Big\u201d and \u201cBe Kind Anyway.\u201d This is an idea she has been executing for a while, with an online workshop in 2015 named \u201cA Good Place to Start\u201d.<\/p>\n

Graham\u2019s effort at KCC have earned her the respect of some KBCC students and professors, such as Dr Katia Perea, a sociology professor at Kingsborough. The two met when Graham took Perea\u2019s sociology class in the fall. \u201cI truly believe [Graham] to be a future scholar,\u201d commented Dr Perea. \u201cI can see the beginnings of what I felt stirring inside myself as well when I was in college\u2026 I see in her that same kind of motivation and inspiration of asking those questions and challenging the\u00a0 structural institutions that have been complacent at best, and at worst are full of injustices against people who are marginalized. She\u2019s taking a stand and that is a courageous place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee-Ann Graham one piece of advice for young people is a phrase her mother used to say: \u201cDo it scared.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

article original publi\u00e9 dans l\u2019\u00e9dition Janvier 2018 de Reflets Magazine, en P. 20, \u00e0 :\u00a0https:\/\/reflets.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/RefletMagDec2017February2018.pdf<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kiara Clarke-Knight Lee-Ann Graham has never lower her voice for the sake of others. The copper colored 29-year-old Undocumented and Unafraid founder and Sister\u2019s United re-launcher said that she was just born with a distinct voice. Her grandmother often said her mother created a monster that she didn\u2019t want to live with. The Kingsborough
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