Why do we recognize Bri-anne Swan as a Tayyiba Taylor Awardee?

Meeting Bri-anne for the first time with her husband and cute boys was at the Eid by the Lake! I had just read about her story at the Star and found her on Facebook. The fact that a Canadian woman then pregnant could muster her courage to live her dream thrill is simply Chaplain-like! Learning of how she found the inmate on death row while she was browsing the internet one long night during pregnancy was profound. Making the trip finally to Texas and keeping the relationship compassionate for someone awaiting the electric chair or needle is mind boggling.

So too was the late Tayyibah Taylor. Many years ago I called a number on the Aziza magazine. The woman who answered turned out to be the smart and fiercely independent Tayyibah, who had founded a Chatelaine competitor to acknowledge the beauty of hijabis and the unparalleled Ebony of her people. She later passed away and was recognized by many NGOs for her fearless work as a female Chaplain in American prions. She was a scholar.

Tayyiba has left an indelible mark on me as a single mother from Trinidad who accepted Islam in Barbados and lived in Canada and later America.

Bri-anne, like Ms Taylor, exuberates the same energy of love and faith when you hear her- it's musical!

Bri