There’s a rising young leader on Virginia’s Eastern Shore in 23-year-old, Damani Baines, a football player and 2019 graduate of Nandua High School.
Graduation led Baines to Norfolk State; however, his college education was interrupted by the life-changing illness of a family member.
Today, Damani holds two jobs, senior assistant at the Eastern Shore Chapter of the Boys and Girls Clubs, as well as a position with the Eastern Shore Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
“He’s become my right hand,” says Kathy Custis, director of the Eastern Shore Boys and Girls Club. “[He] mentors club members every day, spending a great deal with our older children and teens.”
This spring, interested in pursuing something new, Baines participated in a photography class facilitated locally by Boys and Girls Club board member Karen Hatch with grant sponsorship from the Braver Angels and Interfaith Photovoice.
Through the sessions participants reflected on their heritage and legacy and used photographs they’d taken as catalysts for dialogue across political and other differences.
At the end of June, both Baines and Hatch traveled to Kenosha, Wis. for the Braver Angels convention, where exhibit photographs were shared and discussions related to the process of bridging differences were held.
“One of my favorite events at the convention was speaking with others about my life experience and my ideas and sharing my photographs,” Baines said. “Everyone was kind no matter what race or political affiliation a person had identified with. It really felt like we had more in common than not.
“I learned so much attending several debate sessions where everyone had a voice but agreed to treat each other with dignity and compassion. Sessions were moderated, which really worked. It was inspirational to see a younger female peer stand up and speak her mind and equally amazing to see how she was respected by older generations. There was even a 14-year-old delegate, part of the national Braver Lens project, who organized a project in her hometown, also on display. I’m already thinking of ways I can share these concepts with the young people at the club and elsewhere on the Shore,” Baines said.
“Attending the conference was an eye-opener for sure, and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity,” Custis said. “Our young people need to be informed and have a voice. I’m all for it.”
Braver Angels is a citizens’ organization uniting conservative and more progressive Americans in a working alliance to depolarize America.
“The visionary group offers all of us a way to build relationships with one another, even when we disagree,” Hatch said. “We find we have more in common with each other when we share our values, stories, and life experiences.”
On Sept. 18, an opening reception was held for the “Braver Lens: Heritage, Legacy, and Hope” project, which is on display at the Eastern Shore Regional Library and Heritage Center.
Other related programming will be scheduled throughout the exhibition.
For more information related to the Eastern Shore Boys and Girls Club, contact Kathy Custis at [email protected]
For additional information about Braver Angels/Braver Lens email Karen Hatch at [email protected].
