Today we’d like to introduce you to Sybil Azur.
Sybil, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started dancing professionally when I was fourteen and was lucky enough to have had a very successful decades-long career performing in television, film, and on concert stages. Because of my years touring with artists like Paula Abdul, Reba McEntire, Babyface, and Earth, Wind & Fire, I was able to travel the world and gain an understanding and empathy for other people and cultures. I was also a working actress in my twenties and thirties, working on array of shows like The Game, Cougar Town, and The Jamie Foxx Show. When I was pregnant with my first child at thirty-nine, I co-directed and co-produced Pushing Motherhood, a documentary about becoming a mother later in life.
In 2017, I went to see Al Gore’s documentary, An Inconvenient Sequel, and realized that as a mother, I had to do something about the climate crisis. That, along with Tr*mp’s election emboldening racism, activated me to become a full-time advocate for the environment, the forward movement of Black people in America, and the election of Democratic representatives in all levels of government. Since then, I’ve volunteered thousands of hours to Climate Reality Los Angeles, Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, and political campaigns.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Although I was raised in a single-parent household, I was fortunate to have a mother who did whatever she could to make sure that I had a fair shake at life. My father was African-American, and my mother is of European descent, so growing up without a father figure and without any Black family left big hole in my life. Still, I was a happy kid who loved school, loved to dance, and had a lot of friends, but I made MANY mistakes along the way. My mom has always grappled with mental health issues, so I wasn’t given a strong moral or emotional foundation, leaving me to figure out most of life’s challenges on my own. But those struggles served me, and to this day, I work really hard to have compassion, lead a life of truth, and count grit and hard work as my greatest qualities.
Sybil Speaks and Climate Reality Los Angeles – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Building on my passion to engender empathy and increase diversity and inclusion in all spaces, I began writing as catharsis. My blog, Sybil Speaks, functions to encourage people to become active participants for the greater good in their communities and in the world at large. I’m currently earning an M.F.A. in Screenwriting in order to create TV and film projects that amplify the underrepresented, the underdog, the misunderstood, and those whose stories have been erased by history.
It’s funny, because I’m typically horrible at networking, but these last four years being of service to visions bigger than myself, has given me a courage, clarity, and power unlike any other time in my life. The projects I’m writing now are coming to life with the single goal of making the world a better place. Cliché, but true.
So far, my proudest moment was co-leading the team that succeeded in getting the Los Angeles Unified School District, which is the second-largest school district in the country, to commit to transitioning to 100% clean, renewable energy. Over the course of nine months, we were able to build political will, create relationships with stakeholders, pack the board room with two hundred students, educators, parents, faculty, community members, and environmental justice groups, and give a tangible action to address fears and concerns about the climate emergency. And as the district moves away from fossil fuels, I hope that Angelenos are heartened to know that there are elected officials who are listening and are committed to being on the right side of history. Since our win, I’ve become Climate Reality LA’s 100% Committed Committee Chair, and am excited to help others move businesses, schools, or faith communities toward renewable energy. What’s more, the initiative has inspired the Green Schools Campaign, a youth-led movement to transition what will hopefully be hundreds of school districts across the country and the globe in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create a livable future for the next generation.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I’ve been extremely fortunate to be able to make a living doing what I love. That to me is success, and I’m fully aware of what a privilege that is. And the fact that I’m equally as passionate about writing as I was about dance, is like winning the lottery twice.
But in these tenuous times, success is having a roof over my head, food in my belly, life in my body, and healthy children. The pandemic has not only exposed and exacerbated inequalities, but has pushed all of us to appreciate that our basic needs are met. And with that, understanding that sharing resources when others need support is the ultimate measure of success on a basic human level.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.
laclimatereality.org/ and http s://medium.com/@sybilazur - Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @sybilspeaks
- Facebook: @sybilspeaksblog
- Twitter: @sybilspeaksblog
- Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/
ondemand/pushingmotherhood - Green Schools Campaign: https://www.
greenschoolsnow.org/ - Other: Sierra Club: How LA Unified Got All Fossil Fuels Out of Schools Webinar: https://drive.google.
com/file/d/ 1BBMcdjJyzGflYlAyulTtTw2eLTwMN Bfj/view - Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives: https://fdfi.org/
Image Credit:
Image of me picking up trash in river: Jeff Drongowski @DrongoPhoto) | Twitter, Bottom two: Mary Lunetta
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