Earlier this week I learned about the passing of a pretty neat lady. Last year, I was awarded a grant that allowed me to work with 22 women from all walks of life, all across the Lehigh Valley and discuss what influences create how they identify themselves. The show was at the Baum School and entitled “she her i: a portrait of women.” When I was gathering women to take part of this project, Bernadette Cozart was recommended to me by my friend, Anne.

One of the things about this project was that I got much more than I bargained for. I learned such a tremendous amount from each and every one of these women and Bernadette was no exception. I spent a magnanimous afternoon with her at my studio and knew as soon as we got into the guts about whom she is and why the feminine identity is so important, that she was one woman who knew herself… and I think this is a quality that many women, including myself, desire.

Yesterday, I was at her funeral. She died earlier this week at a young age of 60 from a heart attack. I have to say it was one of the most inspiring funerals for a woman who seemed to inspire so many. A little bit about her accomplishments is that she was the driving force behind the “greening of Harlem.” In the Lehigh Valley, she was the first African American President of the Allentown Garden Club, an organization known for it’s “whiteness” as many recognized it, yesterday. Honestly, I am sure if you google Bernadette you would find that she has built community after community while impacting all walks of life along the way. I think this is all an amazing accomplishment but what I want to impart is a lesson she conveyed to me.

Bernadette had told me that change really begins within oneself. I will never forget the comment she said to me which was a statement she opened a lecture with in New York (the group I can’t quite remember). It goes something like this: “If you cannot look within the mirror and see Isis, Gaia, Athena or any Goddess then it is time to find her. It is not until YOU see your divinity that other people to recognize it.” I’m certainly paraphrasing here but really, I think this woman was so capable of change because she was clear about who she was. It’s a pretty amazing thing to witness and be in the presence of… She seemed invested in empowering others to recognize this. That’s pretty beautiful to me.

I wanted to write this because her memorial spoke to so many of her community accomplishments however this was her impact on me and perhaps others. This is something to not be forgotten. I feel as though remembering this lesson, at least for myself, she passes along a legacy not of just gardens, flowers, and plants but of people. I mean “people” not by a collection of humans but of legacy of humanity and empowered consciousness.