For some reason, my post did not come over to Tumblr like it normally does from IG. Therefore, I wanted to share what I felt was meaningful and true to Demri.
Yesterday would’ve been Demri Lara Parrot’s 54th birthday. Let me just say, there were soooooo many beautiful and wonderful posts.
Which now changes what I would’ve said in this post. I think it’s so important for us as living, breathing individuals to honor those who’ve left before us. It’s only our voices, our actions that can relay the most important lessons taught to us by them.
Demri’s lessons would’ve been to be kind, be accepting of all, dig deep to be creative and most of all, give to others. Although I never got to meet her in person, our paths crossed many times; she with her friends, me with mine. She always had a smile on her face.
I think it’s also important to say this; many people have tried to make her the villain about the drug use between her & Layne. But let me make this very clear - Demri and Layne were both consenting adults. No one forced either to use, let alone force it upon each other. I also find it insulting for those to cast stones against her when she’s not here to defend herself. And many seem to think the rumors are true and continue adding onto a ridiculous narrative which is frankly just bullshit. To those who think they know the true story, my response is - “highly doubtful.” Regardless of who, what, where, when, why & how it’s frankly none of our business.
Layne & Demri, loved one another. That’s what’s important and how we should remember them. Now - that’s a wonderful narrative.
About the video: I chose Prince and Purple Rain for the song because Layne loved the movie so much. It also works well with the edit I did on Alison Dyer’s photo of Demri from 1992. I used Procreate to change her hair color to purple and color her lips and bring that sparkle to her eyes. Video, edit and concept by Cindy and @nehistripesseattle of nehistripes.com
