By: Anastatia Ketchin
First off I would like to say I am honored to once again be a part of such an amazing creation. It’s amazing to see how far Focus on Fabulous Magazine and its phenomenal creator Michelle Bryant Griffin have evolved. It seems like it was only yesterday I met this amazing artist sitting at a small table in the café at Barnes and Noble. To see the fruits of her labor are mind blowing and inspirational. What’s even more amazing is that, like myself, Michelle is a jack-of-many-trades and follows her own beat. Why not? That’s right, ladies, it is possible to live your dreams while being a mother, wife, sister, auntie, cousin, Barbara Jean girl from Johnny’s wife side of the family and a business owner. You can do it. Heck, I still am.
Now don’t get it twisted: It’s tons of hard work, patience, prayer meditation and sometimes an extra sip at communion. In 2015 I had a mission to create a safe and affordable outlet for women. Something that would support them and their endeavors. Something that would remind them dreams can become a reality despite what we have gone or are going through or what we came from. Hence D.R.I.V.E.N. LLC was born. Since then I have hosted a Women’s Empowerment Conference, several workshops, networking and social events, motivational speaking and met some very incredible women along the way. As I continued to work on supporting women I became very heavily involved in the community. I was already someone who loved to volunteer, but somewhere along the line women struggling with many different levels of domestic and sexual abuse began gravitating toward me. They started sharing their hidden truths, and I learned the disappointing fact that South Carolina was at the top of the national charts for domestic violence and men killing women with guns. That blew my mind. I also learned that many women hid behind their own masks and feared they had no right to have a voice. I decided this was unacceptable and something needed to happen.
In February 2016 I held the first VDAY Charleston events. That’s right, D.R.I.V.E.N. LLC joined the international campaigns VDAY and One Billion Rising. We hosted “The Vagina Monologues” created by playwright Eve Ensler and “A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, A Prayer,” also known as MMRP. These two productions take a strong stance against violence toward women and girls. It also educates individuals about what domestic violence and sexual abuse are through true stories shared by very brave individuals. It was an honor and privilege to make history here in Charleston, South Carolina. It was also very challenging.
I had a very hard reminder that I not only had returned to the “bible belt” but a very traditional mindset of, “Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.” Many individuals, both men and women, had great difficulty even saying or hearing the word “vagina” yet alone discussing the issues of domestic violence and sexual abuse. I found most people would just rather block it out and ignore the statistics. I couldn’t do that and I won’t. If D.R.I.V.E.N. LLC was about helping support women, then it couldn’t be done haphazardly. With the support of many others, including Victims Advocate Danielle Richardson, motivational speakers Demetria Crenshaw and Christopher Johnson, multi-talented artist and entrepreneurs Grace Walker, Jason Slade, Letia Lee, Stephen Wright, Shavon Washington, Rajeeyah Mujahid and Barbara, a.k.a. Purple Barbi, Community Activists Aisha Thurston, Brittany Williams, Elder Carlie Towne, Muhiyyidin D’baha and more, D.R.I.V.E.N. LLC will continue to educate, speak for and support all Vagina Warriors.
In September 2016 we will once again host “The Vagina Monologues,” but we will not stop there. D.R.I.V.E.N. LLC will not only be a supporter for women but an example as well. We will remind women of the perseverance we possess. We will remind women that we are capable of conquering the impossible, defeating the odds and facing fear dead on. Women give birth to nations, raise heroes and break barriers. I personally am a proud single mother, activist, author, actress, teacher, team builder, motivational speaker, poet and vagina warrior.