The Promise of Freedom

"I'm not from this country. This is my favorite place. I feel safe here."

Sometimes what we consider a very small kindness means a great deal to someone else. This was exactly the case when Elana, working the register, exchanged a large bill for smaller ones — a request so small that I'd personally think nothing of it. But to "Maya" it meant everything, and it led her to open up to a staff member for the first time.

A recent regular to ReCraft, "Maya" has been visiting the shop for a few months. She doesn't always make a purchase, and that's just fine. She'll sit quietly in the library for hours, deep in a book about sewing — if she's not exploring the fabrics and notions — before being picked up for a ride home. (A couple of weeks ago, she bought a refurbished sewing machine. Something tells me: Maya's got big plans.)

We were honored by Maya's words to Elana. It's an honor for us to create a place where people feel safe and are free to express themselves. But in another way, Maya’s words stung — because it meant that the safety she feels here at ReCraft isn't the feeling that dominates her experience as a newcomer to this community.

This summer is America's big 250. Call them “inalienable rights,” or basic freedoms, or simply safe spaces. At the end of the day, signing a Declaration is not the creation of freedom, only the promise of it. It's up to all of us, each of us, to make spaces to speak freely and openly practice our beliefs.

And to Maya: Welcome to America. Welcome to Greenville. Welcome to ReCraft. You can make it here.

Keep it scrappy,

Grant