Meet Lauren Evans | Actor & Filmmaker

I’m going to answer this in response to my latest artistic endeavor which is #TheBreathingRoom on IG & YouTube. The thought process was: what if social media existed during The Holocaust? How would I have hoped Non-Jewish people would have used these platforms to help my people? That is how I see this moment, right now, in terms of non-black people and their mobilization or lack therein with respect to #BlackLivesMatter and the opportunity of amplification and healing which is at our fingertips. It also became quite apparent to me that if #Icantbreathe has trended this many times in response to the horrific murders of black people by cops, the most loving thing to do would be to create a space dedicated to their breathing. And this is what #TheBreathingRoom amplifies: creating the #NextNarrative and transmutation of the past 500 years of trauma. I’m yielding my time and white privilege to do so, trusting that I stand as a representative of multitudinous white allies tapping in each week who stand in solidarity.

The love and healing behind the scenes of #TheBreathingRoom is just as profound as what ends up captured on screen. This is truly a world wide healing circle in the Shamanic tradition; holding loving, non-judgmental space for deep ancestral healing to occur which has a fractal effect upon those whom bear witness. Welcome to the Revolution. It’s not always comfortable.

We’d drive up to Mount Shasta, CA to sit on a mountain to meditate. On the way we’d stop at every Prison along the coast to drop off PPE. Incarcerated lives not only matter, but are the modern expression of slavery and it’s time that this reality hit everyone. Not just those of us who have loved ones who are incarcerated. This empathy ought to be a natural response to the mass industrial prison complex. Having a loved one who is incarcerated changes the lens through which you view your own privilege and your life in the free world. It also carves a space of awareness between every beat of your heart; while you’re out here…they’re still in there. That awareness doesn’t leave until they return to the free world. And then it’s the dismal plague of Parole that hits. We must abolish The Industrial Prison Complex. Now.

Dr. Joy DeGury who is the author of ‘Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome’ and the host of a weekly YouTube show. A living legend. Her work has singlehandedly shifted my paradigm to a degree any college degree in History could ever hope to. And: All 34 guests so far of #TheBreathingRoom plus the many waiting in the wings who have footage waiting to be edited by me. You have all shifted the white tectonic plates of my consciousness for the better. I am forever changed and deeply healed by the immense trust you have given me by allowing me the privilege to edit your stories. This is truly the great honor of my life. I am a better woman because of each and every interaction we’ve shared.