Fall 2024 World Changer: Pretty Yende

“A voice that can reach the stars.” -The Washington Post

Born in Piet Retief, Mpumalanga, South Africa, Pretty Yende, grew up in a close-knit family where singing was interwoven into the fabric of the familial culture. A timid child, Yende would reluctantly sing in church at the insistence of her grandmother.

One day at age 16, after seeing a British Airways television advertisement that featured the Flower Duet from Lakmé, Yende became intrigued by the sound of the singers’ voices. She went to her high school teacher the next day to ask what the sound could have been. “Opera,” he responded. Yende’s next question was, “‘Can human beings do it?’ because it didn’t sound like anything I’d known.” Her teacher answered by telling her she’d never sing like that. Yende insisted on being taught. At that moment, she knew what she would do with her life.

We are so glad that she did.

Today her career as an operatic coloratura soprano has taken her around the globe many times over and has earned her too many accolades and awards to name. Some of the most notable include the Mbokodo Award in the category of opera, the Best Recording Solo Recital Award in the International Opera Awards, the International Achiever Award in the 23rd South African Music Awards, the Readers' Award in the International Opera Awards, and the Cologne Opera Award. In 2023, she sang at King Charles III’s coronation in Westminster Abbey, further solidifying her elite standing in the opera world and making her the first black woman and first African citizen to sing at a British monarch’s coronation. An avid human rights activist, Yende has a passion for serving youth from the marginalized sections of society and to that end, has founded a youth foundation in South Africa.

This text is excerpted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Yende, https://prettyyende.com/biography/ and https://www.dorchestercollection.com/the-edit/pretty-yende-trailblazing-soprano.

To hear Yende’s amazing voice, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtdLk-78MUA,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar7HGBg5o3k, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvkMvmaYyfc and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG5MujmmSnk. 

Winter 2024/2025 World Changer: Dr. Anita Phillips

Dr. Anita Phillips, LCSW-C is a trauma therapist, life coach, spiritual teacher, and the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Garden Within.  Widely recognized as a thought leader at the intersection of mental health, faith, and culture, Dr. Anita’s mental health advocacy work has reached hundreds of thousands and her podcast, In the Light with Dr. Anita, is transforming lives around the globe. 

A New Jersey native, Dr. Anita is the daughter of Pastor David Graham and Evangelist Shirley Graham.  She had early exposure to the importance of the intersection of mental health and faith as her older sister suffered from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and addiction throughout her entire life.  Dr. Anita writes, “I asked for divine revelation about mental illness that would change and save lives.  I’m so grateful He granted my request.  My sister’s illness broke me in too many ways to explain, but like the child who gave Jesus his tiny lunch to feed the masses, I put myself in the savior’s hands.  I asked Him  to make me an answer; to multiply my broken pieces for those starving for understanding and deliverance.  Now, God is doing exactly that in ways I never imagined possible and I am deeply grateful.”

Dr. Anita holds degrees from the University of Maryland and the Regent University School of Psychology & Counseling, and she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  She also serves as a fellow at Concordia University.  Her dynamic voice has been heard from some of the largest faith platforms in the world.  As a media personality she has been relied upon as an expert consultant by Tamron Hall, The Talk, Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, Red Table Talk, and the Today Show. 

This text is excerpted from: https://www.bettertogether.tv/our-guests/anita-phillips, https://www.anitaphillips.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/dranitaphillips/p/BtwvrkvHF3Y/?img_index=1. 

"One thing is clear to me: We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves."

― Barbara Jordan

I recently visited Boston, Massachusetts, one of the oldest areas of our country. The old colonial architecture was beautiful; I truly appreciated the opportunity to see and touch places that I had only read about in history books. As I considered our democracy, I began to ponder a thought: our democracy was born out of the desire to permit free speech, facilitate the free exchange of ideas, and the ability to engage in personal choice, but today despite all of our advances in various arenas, we seem to have gotten away from this framework as we treat one another in unkind and intolerant ways and succumb to “cancel culture.”  

Cancel culture is the idea that a person or a group of people can and should be eliminated, rendered non-factors, excommunicated from society, culture, or an “in-group” because they have done or said something with which others do not agree. The cancelation of people for having different viewpoints, or even making mistakes, has become so prevalent that even our elementary-aged children readily understand what it means for someone to be canceled.  Indeed, they often engage in the practice themselves.

I believe that cancel culture is especially damaging for our young people. Adults have the benefit of life experience and perspective.  We know that even our worst moments will pass and our worst mistakes will fade from memory. Missteps will be forgiven, and mercy will ultimately be shown. Things that seem insurmountable today will be something we will laugh at in the future. Youth unfortunately, do not have the benefit of the foresight that often comes with life experience and for them, cancelation can feel permanent and, even, fatal. For them, it's difficult to see beyond the moment, look forward to a brighter day or understand there will be joy in the morning, even if weeping endures for a night. 

We must make a collective decision to facilitate a social culture of grace, forgiveness and mutual respect.  As citizens of a democracy, we must all understand that sometimes one person’s exercise of their rights will conflict with or even offend our own. Sometimes we will not agree.  Sometimes other people’s choices will make us angry, but we should never make it our goal to dismantle another human being or break their spirit. There are many people with whom I do not agree, but I understand they are entitled to their opinions and choices, as am I. 

As we enter a season during which we will be invited to exercise one of our most important rights as Americans--the right to vote--I hope that we will remember to engage one another, especially those with whom we disagree, with respect. As we do, our own perspectives may shift as we learn about people who think and live differently than we do and we may be able to help expand perspectives of others as we share who we are.d have enough.