Today we’d like to introduce you to Alvelyn Sanders-swafford
Alvelyn, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story starts in my beloved hometown, the city of Atlanta, where I was “born and raised.” Growing up in the city of Atlanta shaped so much of who I am, as well as my perspective on life. I am proud to have been able to share a defining part of Atlanta’s story in “Foot Soldiers: Class of 1964,” an award-winning, independent documentary I wrote, produced, and directed. It tells the story of my mother, Dr. Georgianne Thomas, and her classmates in the Spelman College Class of 1964, who participated in the largest, coordinated series of civil rights protests in Atlanta’s history during their freshman year of college in 1960. Their activism was a part of the landmark Atlanta Student Movement comprised of students from the six higher education institutions of the Atlanta University Center in the 1960s– Clark College, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College, Spelman College, the Interdenominational Theological Center, and Atlanta University. My mother created the film project and served as its executive producer.
The documentary premiered in Atlanta’s BronzeLens Film Festival in 2012, and made its television debut that same year on WPBA-TV30, Atlanta’s PBS station. In 2013, the film won two awards at the 21st Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles: Best Documentary-Short (57mins) in the juried competition and the Audience Favorite Award in the Documentary-Short category. For my mother and I, this film is our gift to the world at-large. We feel so honored that interest in the film continues today. It truly warms our heart when people tell us they are learning about this story for the first time. People are still profoundly impacted by the film and inspired by the courage of the women in the documentary. That makes the three-year journey to get the film completed worth it. The documentary can now be streamed on pbs.org. We are forever grateful to God for the entire film project and to longtime colleagues and friends, crew members, and so many people who shared their time, gifts, and expertise to bring the film to life, especially Crawford Media in Atlanta, the post-production house. In 2022, the film was entered into the U.S. Congressional Record.
I graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois with a Bachelor of Science in Radio-TV-Film. My mother jokes that she has forgiven me – somewhat – for going to Northwestern instead of Spelman, like she and her mother did, since I used my undergraduate degree to produce the “Foot Soldiers” documentary. She still teases me from time to time. However, I did have the honor of teaching at Spelman College as an adjunct professor in the Department of English for one academic year. My grandmother, Georgia Hamilton Young, was able to see my office when she came to campus to join my mother in celebrating her 40th Class Reunion. It was a blessing for the three of us to be on Spelman’s campus together, especially since my grandmother passed away a year later.
When I started producing the documentary, I was in the early years of my journey as an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church denomination. I was navigating two worlds – one as a minister and one as a filmmaker. I had spent many years as a communications professional before answering “my call to preach.” I served as a reporter for Atlanta’s NPR station, WABE 90.1 FM for many years. My work has been published in magazines such as Essence, Black Issues Book Review, Upscale, and Northwestern (University) magazine. Additionally, I worked as a freelance reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper, where I reported for the Faith section.
When I became a pastor in the AME Church, a position I held for ten years, leading four congregations in four cities the Ninth Episcopal District (the state of Alabama) of the AME Church, I was able to tap into my experience as a writer, journalist, and filmmaker as I served the church, particularly as it related to public relations and responding to important community matters and crises.
My work as a writer, storyteller, and minister prepared me to write my first book, Lord, Have Mercy – 5 Go-To Prayers When You Need To Pray, But Don’t Know What To Say. This book of five-one-sentence straightforward, powerful prayers is written to help anyone who may be going through a difficult time in their life. In the book, I share my personal stories from a challenging season in my own life and how these prayers helped me make it to the clearing on the other side of the “wilderness.” Each prayer has its own chapter divided in three sections: “What this looks like,” “Your response,” and “What the Bible says.” I talk about what these prayers look like in real-life situations, and I include easy to follow biblical illustrations. The book is for people who pray every day, and for people who rarely pray. It reminds readers that challenging moments may come, but they can overcome those moments with God’s help.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There are always struggles with making a film. It was three years of stops and starts for us with the “Foot Soldiers” documentary. There are always struggles with going through the ordination process for ministry. Getting the training and educational requirements to honor the subsequent title of Reverend takes an unwavering, prayerful commitment. There are always struggles with serving as a pastor of a church. In my work as a pastor, I juggled the challenges of serving the spiritual needs of real people while providing leadership in the day-to-day operations of the church, where sometimes tough decisions had to be made, all while seeking to be in God’s will, plus be present for and care for a family, and, when possible, exercise self-care. Serving as a pastor was especially challenging during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are always struggles with going to graduate school. I obtained three graduate degrees while living and working in the real world. I am a graduate of Clark Atlanta University (Master of Arts, African American Studies) and Emory University, Candler School of Theology (Master of Theological Studies and Master of Divinity). My husband is the Reverend Raymond Swafford, a Presiding Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (Tuskegee District). Being partners in marriage and ministry requires extra care so we don’t get overwhelmed. We strive to balance the struggles that ministry can bring so they don’t overtake our personal relationship as husband and wife. Those are some of the at-a-glance struggles I have encountered in my life’s journey thus far. Through it all, I try to remember the Scripture, Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” And I remember to speak Prayer Five from my book which is, “Lord, thank you for your love, grace, and mercy,” regularly – to bring peace and assurance that all shall be well.
What are your plans for the future?
I have relaunched my book of 5 Go-To Prayers. Spiritually, I sense that the book is especially needed for a time such as this. Prayer will become paramount to finding personal peace amid domestic and global shifts. Additionally, I am looking forward to developing new creative and entrepreneurial projects and growing my YouTube channel, where I share content to inspire people to live their best God-ordained life. One of those new ventures is Boutique Indigo Soul, an online store featuring the Genesis 1:26 Collection of T-shirts, apparel, and lifestyle items. Also, my mother and I will continue to work together on projects. She’s a genius. In addition to teaching at Clark Atlanta University and hosting her YouTube show, “A Slice of Life,” which she posts five days a week, she created a scholarly project called “Who Lived Here? Where Did They Go?” It is a study that reflects how Atlanta was influenced by racial zoning, shanty town clearances, public housing replacements, and modern-day progress. We are partnering with the Absalom Jones Episcopal Center for Racial Healing to expand the initial work my mother created in 2022 as the Bishop Barbara A. Harris Justice Project Fellow at the Center. We are continuing the collaboration so the stories of the displaced people of some of Atlanta’s earliest neighborhoods of the 20th century can reach a larger audience through multi-media projects. Finally, I am excited about Faithful Frappe – A Collective, a free online community I launched for people who passionately blend faith, art, and politics for thoughtful, impactful living. It is on the Skool platform. At this point in my life, I am joyfully embracing being a multi-passionate person! I hear that’s finally a thing now, and I am glad more people are giving themselves the freedom to tap into their God-given gifts and share them with the world. Be who God called and created you to be!
Pricing:
- *Book: Lord, Have Mercy – 5 Go-To Prayers When You Need To Pray, But Don’t Know What To Say $9.99 eBook; $22.50 Hardcover To order the book, visit https://alvelyn.com/
- *The Genesis 1:26 Collection Apparel and Lifestyle/Home Items $12 – $55 To shop the Genesis 1:26 Collection, visit https://boutiqueindigosoul.com/.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alvelyn.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alvelynsanders_swafford/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alvelynsandersswafford
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alvelynsanders-swafford
- Other: https://boutiqueindigosoul.com/
