00:00The guests who were impacted by the wildfires that devastated the city of Los Angeles, including
00:06the historically black Altadena.
00:10To show their support for relief efforts tied to the wildfires, Essence and the Win With
00:14Black Women organization have teamed up with GoFundMe to do their part in giving back.
00:19Here to share more about those efforts, please welcome to the stage an absolute powerhouse,
00:25the founder of Win With Black Women.
00:28Her name is Jyoteka Eadie.
00:40Well, good afternoon.
00:42And thank you, Aldis, for that very warm introduction.
00:46You know, it's always good to be in the room with the 92%.
00:50Y'all look good.
00:52As I look around this room, I am inspired.
00:55I'm inspired by all of the beautiful, bold, black women in Hollywood.
01:01Give yourselves a round of applause.
01:03I'm inspired by the power, but most importantly, the resilience in this room.
01:10And as I speak, we find ourselves in a tumultuous times.
01:16Our rights threaten.
01:18Mis and disinformation runs rampant.
01:22Our voices, silence, and our communities have literally been destroyed.
01:28But as always, we know what we must do.
01:36And in this moment, like the rich legacy upon which we all stand, we will do what black women have always done, and that is be our sister's keeper.
01:49Preserving our families, our children, our communities, and standing in the gap for each other.
01:57For what we know is that resilience is not just surviving.
02:01It's rebuilding.
02:03And it will take all of us.
02:06That is why Win With Black Women is proud to collaborate with Essence on the Win With Black Women Essence Wildfire Relief Fund.
02:15To directly, yes, to directly benefit and support families, including those that have been deeply, deeply impacted, and the deep Hollywood community that resides in the Altadena community.
02:32The fund, it will directly support three nonprofits, the Front Ridge Center, Neighborhood Servants, and our own.
02:41All whom are working tirelessly to put the money and the dollars directly into the hands of those who need it most, the families who have lost so much.
02:53And we encourage you to give today.
02:56But far greater than any dollar amount is our long-term commitment, day after day, week after week, and month after month, to stand with our brothers and sisters.
03:10And might I say, we cannot fly in today, fly out tomorrow.
03:14This has to be a long-term commitment.
03:17And in doing so, we make a commitment to those like Miss Juanita West Tillman, my good Soror.
03:24A beloved grandmother who has been recognized for more than 25 years of service to her community.
03:32Who served as secretary of the Pasadena branch of the NAACP, who lost her home in the fire.
03:39Yet she stands a steadfast, unbroken pillar of her community.
03:44It is a commitment to Miss Nikki High, an Altadena resident of 47 years.
03:51And the owner of Octavia's Bookshelf, the only black-owned bookstore in the local community.
03:58Who packed up all that she had and donated her books to people who had lost so much.
04:04And turned her store into a place to gather, collect donations, and now a healing place from trauma.
04:12It is a commitment to brothers like Zaire Calvin.
04:17A high school football coach whose family has lived in Altadena for three decades of generations.
04:25A family that was shattered by the loss of his sister, Evelyn McClendon.
04:31And yet he continues to call on his community to stand together.
04:35All of them have joined us today.
04:39I hope you would stand.
04:43They, yes, they are the face of resilience.
04:49That is the face of resilience.
04:52And together, we will put forth a commitment.
04:57A commitment not only to rebuild the structures of Altadena, but also to rebuild the rich wealth and the rich culture that resided there.
05:07Because a commitment that we will have today to make sure that they come back stronger, richer, and better than ever before.
05:17And this is what I'll say as I close.
05:20We will not allow our communities, our culture, and our generational wealth to simply disappear.
05:31And we will not allow it to be extinguished.
05:34Erasure in our long lineage has never been an option, and it will and can never be an option.
05:42And I've said this before, and I will say this to all of you in this room.
05:47Greta Scott King said that freedom is won and lost in every generation.
05:52And in this moment, we are called upon to stand in the gap in freedom in this moment.
06:01And I hope that when you wake up every day that you will look in the mirror and ask yourself, who am I?
06:07What am I willing to do?
06:08And when you look in that mirror, what you will see is that from our hope, our resilience will carry us forward.
06:15And as always, from unseen struggles to the scene of triumph, black women, we remain the architects.
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