< Previous60 AZFOOTHILLS.COM THE ARTISTS THE BUSINESS OWNERS THE LEADERS THE ORGANIZATIONS THE RISING My name is Milan Johnson, and I am 22 years old. I attended Grand Canyon University at the age of 16 and gradu- ated with my bachelor's degree in ele- mentary education. For the last two and a half years, I have been teaching 8th- grade math. It is my passion and what I feel that I was called to do. Every day, I am allowed to make a difference and impact my students' lives. Many of them look up to me, which is one of the greatest feel- ings and is also what pushes me to be the best version of myself. Photographer: Trent Brown Stylist: Ketonya Bankston Milan Johnson Randy Clarke is a 26-year-old father of one who recently graduated with a double major in Communication / Political science from Arizona State University. During his time in COVID-19 quarantine, which was also around the time his studies concluded, he founded media production company Rclar Productions. Three months in, Randy has already produced content on Youtube, live-streamed two protests, and created a platform where he encourages individuals to seek inspiration, knowledge, and perspective from his material. Randy is well known for being on the receiving end of a racial tirade from then- CEO of a company while driving him on a Uber ride; this story gained national attention, which resulted in conversations on race in America and Uber's complicity when handling driver's concerns. The two men eventually met and publically reconciled. Randy is eager to get back behind the wheel and complete many more uber rides once the COVID-19 Pandemic becomes a thing of the past. RCLAR PRODUCTIONS Randy Clarke works on content in his Tempe, Arizona Home office. Randy Clarke Twitter: Rclar_ (Personal) Rclarprod (Business) Instagram: Rclar_ (Personal) Rclarprod (Business) Youtube: Search Rclar Productions Facebook: Rclarprod (Rclar Productions) Patreon: www.patreon.com/rclarprod@azfoothills #azfoothills 61 THE ARTISTS THE BUSINESS OWNERS THE LEADERS THE ORGANIZATIONS THE RISING Misha Jones I’ve got whiplash. Just two weeks ago, people, brands, and businesses co-opted Juneteenth. It represents the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people were effectively emancipated in Texas — two years late. With breakneck speed, those same people, brands, and businesses are gearing up to celebrate “Independence Day.” But how can they do this? How, after they just purported to understand that Black people were not free on July 4th, 1776? The “holiday” is a fallacy, and the nation’s cognitive dissonance is staggering. The Declaration of Independence declared nothing for us. In 1776, this country’s forefathers had already spent more than a century and a half smuggling us here on disease-infested ships, chaining us, and whipping us in America’s name. And then they kept going for 89 more years. The American dream is just that — a dream. A delusion. And for Black folks, it’s been a nightmare. Without rigorous and intentional interrogation of what this “holiday” represents, and how we all fit into the picture America paints, we have learned nothing in the past month. The past four years. The past 400 years. In his speech “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro,” Frederick Douglass beautifully laid out — with a white audience in mind — the issue in recognizing a day of celebration that was not meant for all of us. “I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.” When we’ve seen Black death after Black death at the hands of those sworn to protect and serve when we’ve seen police shoot rubber bullets and tear gas at police brutality protesters when we’ve seen officers protect white supremacist rallies without issue. How can we celebrate this America? How can we not continue to mourn? Celebrating the Fourth of July is a reflex, and a symptom of a more significant issue: the “normalcy” complex. Consider what normal is in America. Normal allows for Black and Brown communities to be disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Normal allows the federal government to separate families at our border and throw kids into cages. Normal allows 30.5% of those in our military to be sexually harassed — 24.2% of which are women like Vanessa Guillen, who turned up dead and dismembered at Fort Hood. Normal hears rumors that white supremacist groups intend to spend the “holiday” hunting and killing Black people and believing it might happen — because it’s happened before (see: 1921 Tulsa race massacre). We can’t be “normal” anymore. Because normal is bigoted, unjust, and violent. So, before you tell your Facebook timeline how much fun you’re having eating hotdogs and watching fireworks, how glad you are to feel “normal” for a day, think about your Black friends and colleagues, think of the events of the last few months, and ask yourself. What are you celebrating? If I’ve got to watch white people go back and forth about where they stand for much longer, I might need a neck brace. Misha Jones is a queer, Black woman and a graduate student who will finish her degree in August 2020. She believes that all Black lives matter. Find her on Twitter @mishthejrnalist, and see more of her work on her website. The Fourth of July Fallacy62 AZFOOTHILLS.COM@azfoothills #azfoothills 63 LIKE TAFFY Born in West Africa, raised in North London, married to a California native residing in Arizona, Afiniki Maita, or Afi Like Taffy as she’s known in the social media world, is the lovely bubbly influencer & fashion stylist you need to know! CHEN S AND S OPPO SITE: AL Y SS A R YAN PHO TOGRAPHY Afi <<64 AZFOOTHILLS.COM NIC OLE D A WN (2)@azfoothills #azfoothills 6566 AZFOOTHILLS.COM@azfoothills #azfoothills 67 CHEN S AND S (2)68 AZFOOTHILLS.COM W ith 13 siblings & an international businessman as a father who loved customized suiting + fashion, it was no wonder Afi became a style con- sultant dressing everyone from the local elite to models and business- women in Phoenix, Arizona. With a decade of experience as a style consultant, Afi excels at what she does and has been celebrated on numerous occasions. In 2012 Afi was diagnosed with the autoimmune condition of Type 1 dia- betes. After struggling to adjust to this new way of life, she became empowered to show others living with this hereditary condition that life doesn’t have to end, it can go on + you can be more influential despite it. With her focus on healthy eat- ing, workout plans, and working with organizations like JDRF, who help raise money to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. Afi utilizes her platform as an influencer to educate diabetics and non-diabetics worldwide in the most fashionable way, the only way she knows how! Living in Scottsdale, Arizona, for 13+ years as an interracial married couple has not been the easiest. Despite the fact Afi and her husband were raised to see the beauty of a person’s soul, not their skin color, she says they often get stared at a lot more than same-race couples. “It is what it is,” Afi always says, and with the Black Lives Matter movement, Afi knows change is coming. It will take time as it’s a marathon, not a sprint! Afi says she is just glad the BLM movement is occurring as black women ev- erywhere are consistently being overlooked, but now more doors are being opened up for people who look like her! “It is what it is. It will take time as it’s a marathon, not a sprint!” NIC OLE D A WN (3)@azfoothills #azfoothills 69 AL Y SS A R YAN PHO TOGRAPHY Next >