Phaedra Parks always has a lot to say â and she has almost as much going on! The Real Housewives Of Atlanta star is currently juggling her law practice, activism, running a foundation, opening a funeral home, parenting her two sons, and reality TV. How does she have the time for all that shade?Â
Taking a break from dodging depositions squeezing peaches, Phaedra has channeled her activism through Black Lives Matter, the Flint Water crisis, and political involvement into her own self-titled foundation, The Phaedra Foundation. When hubris saves! âMy mission is to change one life, one community, one family, hopefully, through the course of my working with them.âÂ
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Praising the âplatform of Housewives,â Phaedra explains that itâs âreally important for me to, successfully, not only use it for my own personal benefit, but to, hopefully, bring other people ahead, to inspire people, to rebuild communities.âÂ
The Phaedra Foundation encompasses several programs, including Save Our Sons, and this summer will roll out Camp Joy outside of Flint, MI for the children affected by the water crisis. The overnight camp will provide campers with everything they need for camp and will include volunteer efforts from teachers, academics and celebrities. âI want the children to come to the camp, and just be children,â champions Phaedra. âI want to provide them with true joy.âÂ
Phaedra recently revealed her political aspirations and shares that as her former law school president she always envisioned sheâd be the insurance commissioner. (Didnât her soon-to-be-ex-husband commit insurance fraud?) âIâm definitely moving more towards, maybe, an elected office.â Well, if Donald Trump can turn his reality TV career into a run for president, maybe Phaedra can too!Â
âIâm not sure where I would be most helpful, but I just want to show people a renaissance woman, much like myself,  who has been through a lot of challenges, but also a lot of successes as well, can use your voice not only for cattiness on a television show but to help people in a very positive way,â expresses Phaedra.Â
âWe all live in America and we all want to have the American dream,â she adds. âSomeone has to fight for the people who donât have an opportunity to share in the dream that we should all be living.â
Phaedraâs advice for achieving your own American dream? Be diligent, be consistent, be patient, and remember: âHard work always pays off.âÂ
In the meantime Phaedra (and a business partner) are performing âdue diligenceâ in preparations for opening a funeral home in Birmingham, Al. âI donât want to spread myself too thin, but my passion is burying people and embalming â I love it. The dead doesnât talk quite as much as some of the other Housewives, so I canât wait to get my own funeral home so I can do it the way Iâve envisioned for so long.â
Apparently Bette Midler and Phaedra once discussed Phaedraâs âlove of the dead,â and Bette proposed Phaedra doing her funeral one day. âThat would be a dream come true,â gushed an excited Phaedra (she loves Bette!).Â
Moving on to the topic of parenting, Phaedra strives to be not only a âgreat exampleâ, but âexposeâ her children to sometimes uncomfortable reality of their lives. Which, unfortunately, is very âpersonalâ as a result of Apollo Nidaâs incarceration. âI canât really hide that,â she sighs.
Apollo provides the perfect example of what not to do so Phaedra strives to raise her sons with social conscience regarding issues within the African American community. âI donât want my sons to have a spirit of entitlement or privilege where they think it wonât happen to them. I think if theyâre better equipped from the beginning theyâre better prepared as young men to handle those situations appropriately.âÂ
Part of that education included taking them to DC for the Million Man March, which was one of Phaedraâs favorite moments from this season of Real Housewives Of Atlanta. âThat was so powerful. I think it was just so impactful on us as women, but moms of sons, and our sons as well.âÂ
However, itâs not all serious stuffs â sometimes Phaedra just wants to be hypocritical ridiculous which is why her friendship with Porsha Williams is so important. âMy favorite part of the season was hanging out with my girlfriend Porsha,â Phaedra told Perez Hilton. âWe always have a great time together.Â
You can check out Phaedraâs foundation at www.phaedrapfoundation.org.Â
TELL US â DO YOU THINK PHAEDRA IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE?Â
Photo Credit: Â Paras Griffin/Getty Images
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