The Story Behind Empowered Legacy

The Story Behind Empowered Legacy

A Full-Circle Moment

I’ve come full circle in my career, returning to the heart of my why and my north star.  And the heart of my why led me to rebrand my business a year ago to embody my most important values shaped by my 28-year career in the field of education and the helping professions.

In What Was Missing from My First Three Blog Posts, I stated that I’d begin sharing more about the work and vision behind Empowered Legacy, and that sharing begins with taking you on a brief journey on how the name was chosen.

The Shift

A little over a year ago, several experiences influenced my decision to restructure my business, including: 

• completing a 7-year abandoned crochet blanket;

• visiting historical locations in Cape Town, South Africa;

• the silencing of parts of our history; and

• remembering those who served in educational and community environments without seeking accolades.

Why Legacy?

The experiences, at first glance, may seem unrelated.  Yet there was a common thread that wove its way through each one: legacy.

I define legacy as the daily impact that we make through our words, actions, and the way we treat others. With this in mind, here's how each experience began to reshape my perspective, especially my work.

The Crochet Blanket

The Completed Crochet Blanket

There’s a deeper meaning behind the crochet blanket that I will share another time.  The main point here is my intention.

Each detail about the blanket, including the yarn, the colors, the stitches, and the crochet patterns, had meaning surrounding the person who would receive it: my Mother.  It was a way for me to give her an aspect of my creative legacy, particularly when explaining the meaning behind each choice.

Visiting Cape Town, South Africa

The understanding of legacy deepened during my visit to Cape Town, South Africa, particularly while visiting the District Six Museum. 

District Six is an area that was, prior to apartheid, which is similar to segregation, richly diverse in many ways.  It was prime real estate and, once apartheid started, became a Whites-only location.  Residents were forced out of a community where they had lived for generations.  Their homes and businesses were bulldozed, and they were relocated to less desirable locations.  New properties were built on top of what was bulldozed, with a significant portion of District Six not being rebuilt.

Inside the District Six Museum

The District Six Museum preserves artifacts from those who lived and worked there before apartheid. As I walked through the museum—and later joined a walking tour led by a woman who had lived in District Six as a child during apartheid and returned as an adult—I kept thinking:

Black people, a term I am using through my U.S. lens, no matter where we are in the world, take great strides to preserve vestiges of ourselves...our legacies...that others have erased, tried to erase, or attempted to silence.  

I found myself thinking about a local community group with whom I was working back home that was doing the exact same work we were experiencing in the District Six Museum...on the other side of the world.

Educational and Community Environments

Even beyond the experiences mentioned above, I began to reflect on my time working in the public education system and recalled the numerous educators, staff, and community members who consistently showed up to pour into the lives of students, families, and the community at large.  People who did not seek accolades, yet sowed seeds of legacy into each person they encountered, especially students, ensuring that they were valued, seen, and heard.

Dedicated Educators, Staff, & Community Members

Why Empowered Legacy?

As I reflected on these experiences, I concluded that legacy (as I define it) was one thing that cannot be erased and will stand the test of time, especially when intentional effort is made to recognize, support, and strengthen our words, actions, and the way we treat others—individually and organizationally—cultivating environments where people are valued, seen, and heard.  

I share more about this belief, as well as the meaning behind the Empowered Legacy logo, in this video.

Legacy is not just what we leave behind. It is a living practice reflected in how we empower others (purpose), embody our values (humanity), and create meaningful impact in the environments that we serve (thrive).

I’ll share more about the Empowered Legacy Framework in the next post, which reflects my most important values and core beliefs.