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I DESIGNED A LINE OF SHOES
ALL PROCEEDS GO TO OUR CIVIL RIGHTS EFFORTS
JOIN US AT WWW.WILLIEBROWNMEMORIAL.COM

Live In Memory | Lest We Forget

Today I am going to explain why I designed a line of shoes and titled it “Lest We Forget” in honor of Willie Brown.

First of all, like most of us, I have been feeling more pressure than ever to be actively and efficiently doing something to fight racism. I am fortunate to have been able to work for social justice for the majority of my adult life. Yet things are different now.

When I started this paralegal firm almost ten years ago I aimed to be the ambiguously identifiable paralegal. In all aspects of my identity. Let’s not ask and I certainly will not tell. I am about my business, let’s keep it that way.

Stand Tall In Your Convictions

Not to say I haven’t always stood up for what I believed in when asked or proudly represented my ethnicity each and every time it was questioned. But I didn’t blog about it every other week, lol.

I certainly didn’t post anything that might be deemed political or make someone feel uncomfortable on my social media accounts. Which now, if you catch me on the social meds, that is what you will see.

POC Protocol: Mums the Word on Race, Politics & Religion

All the years I held leadership positions in my local legal professional associations I felt it wouldn’t be prudent of me to rock the boat too much. Especially considering I was often the only minority on the scene in the legal field.

I was operating with the pressure that comes with being the “first” in a historically unwelcoming environment in many respects. Do the wrong thing and you have closed the door for your brethren behind you with your same aspirations.

And I made no waves. And I made no progress either.

Willie Brown loafers top and bottom view

THE ITALIAN-MADE SHOES ARE BUILT TO LAST AND COME WITH A PURPOSE

Use Your Voice

I am a blessed human being in so many respects. One of the greatest blessings I have is my voice. Not just me. All of us. Some of us more than others. Stephen Covey’s eighth habit of highly successful people that he had to write a whole book about is “Find Your Voice & Use It.”

Not only do I have a voice, but a lot of people listen to me. Lol I know I am a little out there but for 40 years now I have been completely genuine and people eventually take notice.

Over these past 40 years, I have also been privileged enough to see a lot of places, people and things from a very particular perspective.

Sen. Ernie Chambers for President

I was blessed to live in Nebraska Senator Ernie Chambers district briefly before I moved just outside the district where I remained for the majority of the past ten years. Seeing this lawyer and the few like him be true to themselves in everything they do contributed to my own liberation.

Paralegal Power has always served the people. We are proud to have an excellent reputation for fighting for hardworking individuals seeking access to justice.

Put It In Writing

However, some time ago Paralegal Power made a conscious commitment to include this work not just in what we did, but to also make it perfectly clear in what we stand for.

You will see it:

We take our privilege of having a voice seriously and are now actively using it.

THE PROCEEDS FROM THESE SHOES GO TO OUR CIVIL RIGHTS EFFORTS

Willie Was A Man Without Fame…

The lynching of Willie Brown has been heavy on my heart from the moment I heard the story. I know many people who feel the same way I do.

I have been working toward creating a non-profit organization in Willie Brown’s honor to combat racism. When I saw the opportunity to design my own line of shoes with a company called AliveShoes… the name gave me the idea to use it to keep Willie’s memory alive.

The company is pretty legit. As usual, I did my due diligence and I am proud to offer this product in conjunction with our civil rights efforts. Anyone can work with them. I paid a reasonable setup fee and started designing.

I know I am no Julia Sugarbaker, another woman never afraid to confront injustice and design for the times. I will keep my paralegal job.

But I am really impressed with the final six designs. Please consider clicking here or on any of the images of the shoes to see the full line. And don’t forget to join us at www.WillieBrownMemorial.com as well.

¡¡Viva Zapata!!

The fact that my name is Valentina “Zapata” Harris and zapata means shoe in Spanish, is just extra punnyness. Zapata is my grandmother’s maiden name that I took in her honor.

I was named “Teresa” after her at birth. Valentina was my middle name. But they spelled Teresa wrong on my birth certificate and not only did everyone call me Valentine, but I was enrolled in school as Valentine. Causing mass confusion for Val, Valentina, Valentine… and especially the two Teresas. lol

The Red Summer of 1919

So when my adult self legally fixed it, I took Zapata in her honor. It just so happens Teresa Zapata Martinez was born the year Willie Brown was brutally killed.

And one day while trying to give my elementary-aged children some context on how recent the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was, I searched “civil rights 1919” on the internet and the first thing I saw was the horrible photo of Willie Brown’s burnt body. The same photo I have used for the title of this blog post.

An attorney I worked for told me about the lynching a year or so prior. She pointed out where some of the bullet holes still remained in the courthouse walls from Omaha’s most infamous event of the Red Summer of 1919. But I had never seen the photo.

It is horrific. But it tells a story that must be told. And that’s when I found out no one had even ever written him an obituary. Within a week or so a situation presented itself for me to write that obituary.

WB red bottom leather top and bottom view

100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEED | REFUND OR REPLACE FREE FOR 30 DAYS
THE BOX & TONGUE ARE MEANT TO KEEP WILLIE BROWN'S MEMORY ALIVE

Lest We Forget

So, yeah. It made a lot of sense to design a shoe line that forces us to deal with this heart-wrenching part of history that caused a lot of separation among people of different complexions and socio-economic status.

I do generate a small income from the sales of the shoes – $30 to be exact. And I will use that toward furthering our civil rights efforts with respect to equality and anti-racism.

But I think right now it is all about keeping Willie’s memory alive. And if you read the obituary I wrote for him and the letter I wrote to the Nebraska Bar Association then you will understand why something as simple and consumerist as a shoe line is not just letting the world know what you stand for, it is absolutely part of the solution. Lest we forget.

This post was proofread by Grammarly.

BE AN ANTI-RACIST 1. Constantly self-reflect
2. Acknowledge the racist ideas you have consumed.
3. Know the definitions of racism and anti-racism.
4. Call out systemic racism.
5. Hold those in positions of power to improve our systems and institutions accountable to make equitable changes.