Uncompromising Values

Hey ya’ll, sorry I’ve been dormant for a long time. 

As we navigate multiple public health crises - racism (yes, it’s a public health crisis), COVID-19, and the countless tragedies and compounded hardships of 2020 so far, it’s difficult to know how to move forward with a sense of purpose. 

We cannot ignore the ongoing inequities in our country, in our world - and at the same time it’s also important to recognize the recent achievements of organizing efforts. To name a few: The Dakota Access Pipeline has been shutdown, Minneapolis pledged to dismantle its police department, and the Black Lives Matter Movement is changing public opinion and mobilizing more people toward equitable policy changes than ever. 

As I’m reflecting on my own way forward, I took some time to revisit my Values & Purpose Statement for my freelance work.

I realized that I don’t think I’ve ever shared this Statement publicly, aside from with clients, and I need to make it transparent for personal accountability. Plus I’m just really happy to share it!

Looking at this statement with each new client tells them what I stand for, and reminds me of my commitment to anti-oppression in every single aspect of my process. 

Even if your place is not on the frontlines, we all have a role to play in fighting injustice, and one facet of that is to get clear about what you stand for. I hope this inspires others to examine your own uncompromising values and how these values inform what you support and what you don’t.

MY VALUES & PURPOSE STATEMENT

I am a filmmaker, photographer, audio engineer, and vocalist.

I come with a unique perspective to media production as a mixed-race womxn with years of experience working in and alongside youth arts nonprofits. As a visual storyteller, I have a responsibility to disrupt white saviorism in depictions of youth of color and uplift authentic representation of everyone’s stories by partnering with them in the storytelling process. 

I do this to bring people joy and authentic representations of themselves and to engage organizations in a powerful storytelling process that shows the impact of their programs.

I work with individuals, with a focus on uplifting womxn, BIPOC, and multiply marginalized identities, as well as organizations with a lived commitment to anti-racism and restorative transformation. 

I acknowledge that I live and work on the unceded and traditional territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, specifically the Duwamish Tribe. This acknowledgement is a personal commitment to continue to educate myself and to honor the history of Indigenous Peoples, and serves as a first step in honoring the land I occupy.