Growing up the way I did has had a profound impact on my life and how I think about service to others. Over the last few weeks, as I celebrate Marcus Garvey Day, my mother has been at the top of my mind. She is the one who continues to show me and others the ins and outs of what liberation means.
 
My mother is an academic and a creative. She takes a pensive approach to building community, with deep understanding and care for all who are marginalized. I learned about Black Excellence with my mother.
 
Growing up, we celebrated Marcus Garvey Day even when only a handful of families around us did. For my mother, Garvey’s vision of self-determination, pride, and collective liberation was a blueprint for how we lived. She made sure my siblings and I understood that honoring Garvey meant honoring ourselves and our people. That spirit shaped the way I came to understand Black Excellence.
 
What also stood out was the lesson my mother drew from the history of Garvey himself. The fact that W.E.B. Du Bois opposed Marcus Garvey at one time became, for her, an opportunity to show us the importance of unity among Black people — despite political parties, differences of opinion, or competing ideologies. She reminded me often that there is always an unseen hand working to divide us, and that true liberation requires pulling together. She exemplified this by embracing other Black people regardless of their philosophical views, religion, or ideology. She taught us that even in disagreement, we must seek common ground for the sake of liberation. After all, while Garvey and Du Bois had their differences, before Du Bois died, he came to embrace Pan-Africanism, passing away in Accra, Ghana. Meanwhile, Garvey, who carried the political risks of championing Pan-Africanism, died in the UK. These realities served as a reminder that the struggle is collective, and that unity remains essential.
 
As the oldest sibling, I witnessed my mother escape domestic violence. She was so young and alone. I remember the day we boarded the plane from Cincinnati, Ohio to Los Angeles, California with nothing but a suitcase and my baby sister, who was just a few months old. I still wonder what her life would have been like if she and my very brilliant, freedom-fighting father had worked out. What could they have done together? She didn't have a choice but to go at it alone, and so she did.
My mother shows up for me in so many ways still and from afar. As I get older, I admire her even more because I recognize, more deeply, what she’s given me. Any and everything I’ve ever offered to the community is because of her. If I’ve shown compassion and empathy, it’s because of her. Anytime you called and I answered, no matter the hour, it’s because of her. If I stood up for you when no one else would, she modeled it first. If you felt like giving up and I didn’t allow you to, it’s because she never allowed me to give up.
 
If I resisted and fought when something went against my morality, principles, or wasn’t grounded in justice, know this: it’s because my mother never bends her integrity. Justice, fairness, love, compassion, and empathy are always at her center.
 
Everything I stand for and everything I fight for carries her imprint. My mother’s legacy is not only mine to hold, it’s also the gift she has given to every person I’ve ever served. She gives me the confirmation I need to know that liberation is possible.
 
And on this Marcus Garvey Day, I recognize even more clearly: the lessons my mother poured into me are the very principles Garvey called us to live up to and those are:  Pride, self-determination, and an unshakable belief in freedom. His vision and her integrity walk with me still, shaping the way I show up for others. And just as she taught me from the story of Garvey and Du Bois, our path forward depends on unity, no matter our differences. That is how we honor their legacies and hers.
 
So today, let us celebrate Garvey’s call, Du Bois’s journey, and the everyday mothers like mine who carry liberation in their bones.
 
Our future depends on us remembering that unity is our greatest weapon and love our greatest strength.

​Attorney James “Fergie” Ferguson waged war on systems built to keep Black people in the margins. He walked into courtrooms that were never designed for us and made them reckon with the truth.
He stood shoulder‑to‑shoulder with our elders and our students when the cost of speaking up was high, and he never flinched.

In Charlotte, he took on cases that reshaped public education. Through landmark school desegregation battles, including those that transformed Charlotte‑Mecklenburg Schools, he helped ensure that Black children could step into classrooms that once shut them out.

He knew that education was the key to liberation, and he forced this city and the nation to confront its own promises of equality.

For decades, his work rippled through Charlotte neighborhoods, creating opportunities where there were none and giving generations of students a shot at the future they deserved. He laid the foundation for a more just city, a city where we can still believe in the power of public education to change lives.
To our campaign and to our community, his legacy is a reminder and a demand: NEVER PLAY SMALL AND NEVER GIVE IN!
Don’t water down the truth or fall for the okie doke to make it palatable. Fight for our schools. Fight for our neighborhoods. Fight for justice even when the room gets uncomfortable and especially when it gets uncomfortable.

Attorney Ferguson showed us what it looks like to disrupt the status quo with brilliance and love for Black people. We owe him more than words.  We owe him the work.
​
Rest in power, Brother Fergie. Your fight lit a fire in us that will not go out. We honor you by demanding more for Charlotte’s children and by carrying his fight forward, every single day.

The work ain’t new, but this window is. Everything we’ve built—community schools momentum, affordable-housing wins, Harambee joy…only matters if we keep pushing. I’m not chasing titles; I’m chasing change our kids can feel in real time. That takes a collective.
Volunteer, Donate, Join the Collective TODAY!
www.shamaiye.com
Reimagining Education. Reshaping Possibilities. Rising Together.

📅 Wednesday, July 9, 2025 @ 5 PM

📍 Pauline’s Tea Bar & Apothecary, 2326 Arty Ave, Charlotte 28208

👩‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family-friendly — bring the kiddos!
      RSVP HERE
 
RSVP, grab a volunteer shift, or donate at shamaiye.com  and let’s keep building the schools our kids deserve.

When I became an active education constituent, I quickly realized how disjointed our public school system had become and especially for families and children on the West Side of Charlotte. I witnessed broken policy; broken trust, lack of access, and broken promises.  The impact on our children will have generations of negative impact.

That realization lit a fire in me.
 
It made me a fierce organizer, determined to bridge the gap between schools and communities. I’ve stayed the course because I believe every child deserves a fighting chance, and every family deserves to feel seen, heard, and served.
 
I’ve remained in the fight, even when the way forward felt unclear. I’ve listened. I’ve learned. I’ve shown up with consistency, with compassion, and with conviction.  And that’s what makes me a strong candidate for District 2.
 
This collective we’re building is about rewriting the story of public education rooted in equity, accountability, and deep love for our people. I’m proud of the work we’ve done so far, and even more hopeful for what’s ahead.

The journey toward systemic change has been powerful. And I’m just getting started.  I’m asking this community that I love so deeply to fight for me and with me, just as I’ve fought for us.  

Your support, your vote, your voice, and your presence will determine what’s possible for our schools, our families, and our future.
​
Let’s reimagine education, reshape possibilities, and rise together.
With gratitude and purpose!
Shamaiye Haynes

This blog post picks up exactly where that momentum left off. It distills the forum’s biggest takeaway.  Solutions must be designed with the community, not for it.  It lays out the next steps: forming Community School Councils, launching an asset-mapping sprint, and recruiting site coordinators rooted in our neighborhoods. Think of June 9 as the ignition and these pages as the blueprint for keeping the fire burning until every child in District 2 feels the difference.  ​