The Scientist, The Author, The Activist, and Me: How Investing in Peace Works Across Generations
I was "sick and tired," but I had to go on.
This weekend, I had the sacred privilege of bringing two of America's great voices and geniuses to the stage: Zora Neale Hurston on Saturday and Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer on Sunday.
But performing both women on consecutive days would have required tremendous physical, emotional, and spiritual strength even if I had been completely healthy.
The Sunday before the performances, I began feeling sick. By Wednesday, I had been diagnosed with acute bronchitis.
When Illness Threatens the Mission
My husband, Scott, was concerned. He told me I should cancel Saturday's performance so I could preserve my strength for Mrs. Hamer on Sunday. His concern was understandable and loving. It made complete sense.
But something within me kept praying and declaring:
"The show must go on."
Because here's what I understood in that moment: this wasn't just about me. This was about investing in peace by honoring the voices of women who paid the ultimate price for their courage.
My doctor prescribed an antibiotic and prednisone. I do not like taking either one, but I understood that my body needed help.
The Unexpected Connection: Dr. Percy Lavon Julian's Legacy
Then a friend told me about Dr. Percy Lavon Julian, a brilliant Black chemist whose pioneering research helped make important steroid medicines more accessible.
I had never heard his story.
As I learned more about this extraordinary scientist and the obstacles he overcame, I was astonished.
Dr. Julian did not discover prednisone itself, but his groundbreaking work helped lay the foundation for the steroid medicines that have brought relief to millions of people. He faced racism, discrimination, and countless barriers, yet his scientific brilliance persisted.
Somehow, that knowledge gave the medication an entirely new meaning to me.
I thought: The genius of one Black pioneer is helping my body find the strength to tell the stories of two other Black pioneers.
Dr. Percy Lavon Julian's scientific brilliance was helping me stand on the stage and honor the literary brilliance of Zora Neale Hurston and the courageous voice of Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer.
This is what investing in peace looks like. It's not a single moment. It's generations contributing their gifts, their courage, their brilliance to a larger movement toward human dignity and freedom.
When You're Investing in Peace, the Show Must Go On
I took the medicine. I followed my doctor's instructions. I prayed. And then I presented my body to do the work.
Spirit did the rest.
Both performances received beautiful responses and rave reviews. What the audiences witnessed onstage was not simply acting.
They witnessed:
The strength of our ancestors
The power of prayer
The support of people who cared for me
The contributions of medical science
The faithfulness of Spirit carrying an assignment forward
When you understand that you're investing in peace by honoring those who came before you, you find strength you didn't know you had.
The show must go on because the alternative- silence, cancellation, giving in- means surrendering the opportunity to invest in peace and inspire the next generation.
Lucy Ann Potts in Zora Neale Hurston story Zora Neale Hurston
Investing in Peace by Investing in Students
I am especially grateful to every person who sponsored a student to attend The Voice of Courage: The Fannie Lou Hamer Story.
You did more than purchase a ticket. You placed a young person in the presence of history. You helped that student encounter the voice of a woman who endured violence, intimidation, and economic retaliation but still refused to be silenced.
Perhaps one of those students will one day become another Zora, another Mrs. Hamer, or another Dr. Percy Lavon Julian.
Sometimes we never know how far one investment will travel.
The Ripple Effect: What We Invest in Others Continues to Matter
And perhaps that is one of the lessons this weekend left with me: what we invest in others can continue to make a difference long after the moment has passed.
When you invest in peace by supporting a young person's education, you're not just giving them information. You're giving them permission to believe that their voice matters. That their gifts matter. That their contribution to the world is needed.
Dr. Percy Lavon Julian invested decades in scientific research. He may never have known that his work would help an actress perform stories about civil rights pioneers. But his investment in science, in breaking barriers, in refusing to let racism stop him—that investment continues to bear fruit generations later.
That's the power of investing in peace. It's not about immediate results. It's about understanding that every act of courage, every contribution, every small investment compounds over time and across generations.
The Bridge to International Day of Peace
As I reflected upon this extraordinary weekend, I realized something profound: none of these lives stands alone.
One person's courage strengthens another person. One generation's work equips the next. One person's investment can help someone else complete an assignment decades later.
That is also how peace is produced.
Peace does not appear magically. Someone must invest in it. Someone must pray for it, speak for it, teach it, vote for it, protect it, and practice it.
This is the core of investing in peace it's not passive. It's active, intentional, committed participation in the healing of our world.
Investing in Peace: A Global Gathering
On Monday, September 21, At The WELLness Network will invite people around the world to do exactly that as we gather for As Peace Dawns: A Global Gathering to Invest in Peace.
The 2026 United Nations theme is:
"Invest in Peace—For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day."
This gathering is especially meaningful because At The WELLness Network hosted an in-person International Day of Peace celebration in September 2019. COVID interrupted our annual gathering but it did not end our commitment. Seven years later, we are answering the call again.
As Peace Dawns: A Global Gathering for International Day of Peace
Join Us on Monday, September 21st, 20267:00–8:15 a.m. Eastern Time
Live on Zoom. SEE LINK HERE
Free and open to participants around the world
As the earth turns toward the light, we will turn our hearts toward peace.
On this day, we gather to:
Pause and center ourselves
Breathe deeply and reconnect with our intention
Pray for healing and justice
Listen to voices from around the world
Renew our personal commitment to investing in peace
Act on the conviction that peace is not passive—it's something we practice, produce, and protect
This gathering acknowledges what the United Nations recognizes: investing in peace is not a luxury. It's a necessity.
Please invite your family, faith community, organization, school, and friends in other cities and countries. The sun is always dawning somewhere. Let peace rise in us.
Peace Also Goes to the Polls: Why Voting Is Investing in Peace
And as we prepare to gather for peace, we are reminded of something essential: one of the ways we invest in peace is by using the voices and rights available to us.
Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer understood this profoundly. She understood that peace without justice, dignity, and participation is incomplete.
She risked her safety and livelihood so that Black citizens could exercise their right to vote. She believed that voting was an investment in peace—in a future where everyone's voice matters, where everyone's dignity is protected, where everyone has a seat at the table.
We honor her legacy not only by applauding her courage, but by exercising our own.
Monday, October 5, 2026, is Florida's deadline to register to vote in the November 3 General Election.
Registering to vote is investing in peace. Voting is investing in peace. Using your voice is investing in peace.
The Connection Between All These Moments
Do you see how it all connects?
Dr. Percy Lavon Julian invested in science and broke racial barriers in his field. His work helped my body heal enough to perform.
Zora Neale Hurston invested in literature and refused to be silenced. Her words continue to inspire and challenge audiences today.
Fannie Lou Hamer invested in democracy and voting rights. She endured violence and still said, "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired and I'm going to do something about it."
Every student we sponsor is investing in peace by believing in a better future.
Every person who registers to vote is investing in peace by claiming their voice.
Every person who attends a performance honoring these lives is investing in peace by refusing to let their stories disappear.
This is what investing in peace means. It means seeing the connection between past and present, between individual acts and collective movements, between personal courage and social change.
This Week's Practice: How You Can Invest in Peace
The UN theme is clear: "Invest in Peace—For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day."
That means every day. Not just on International Day of Peace. Not just when it's convenient. Every single day.
This week, invest in peace by:
1. Sponsor a Student or Support an OrganizationWhen you place a young person in the presence of transformative stories, you're investing in peace. When you support organizations working for justice, you're investing in peace.
2. Register to Vote or Help Someone Else RegisterMrs. Hamer risked everything for this right. Use it. And help someone else use theirs too.
3. Speak Someone's Name. Remember Dr. Percy Lavon Julian. Remember Zora Neale Hurston. Remember Fannie Lou Hamer. Tell their stories. Keep their legacies alive by refusing to let their names disappear.
4. Repair One Relationship. Peace begins at home. If there's someone you need to forgive, forgive. If there's someone you need to apologize to, do it. Investing in peace starts with healing the relationships closest to us.
5. Protect Something or SomeoneWhether it's voting, speaking against injustice, protecting the environment, or standing up for someone being mistreated—protection is an investment in peace.
Because peace is not merely something we hope will happen. Peace is something we practice, protect, and produce—everywhere, every day.
Closing Reflection: The Show Must Go On
When I stepped on stage with bronchitis, I understood something that goes beyond health or illness.
I understood that the show must go on because the stories of our heroes are not optional extras in the story of humanity. They are the foundation. They are the proof. They are the inspiration that tells the next generation: "Your voice matters. Your courage is needed. Your investment in peace will change the world."
Zora taught us to name ourselves and claim our power.
Mrs. Hamer taught us to use our voices even when it costs everything.
Dr. Julian taught us that brilliant work, persistent work, important work happens even when the world tries to stop you.
And together, they teach us this: The show must go on.
Join the Movement
Will you invest in peace with us?
Attend As Peace Dawns on September 21st.
Register to vote
Tell someone's story
Do something bold for justice
Because peace is produced when ordinary people do extraordinary things in service of a world that works for everyone.
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