Meet Kira Ayla Friedman | Co-founder of It’s OVER. movement

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kira Ayla Friedman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kira Ayla, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Hope is the most important factor in our movement. Hope can never be defeated and is what makes every one of us wake up each morning. It is what keeps us moving forward no matter what obstacles may come our way. Hope is something that every single one of us deserves to have in life. The injustices of discrimination and inequality infiltrate our everyday lives in one way or another. No person deserves to feel unequal, unheard, or as though their circumstances define who they are and what they are capable of achieving. When a person is discriminated against and/or treated unequally, it can cause them to lose their identity, their pride, and worst of all, hope. By eradicating these unjust practices, I believe there will be more hope in our world than hate.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
It’s OVER. End Discrimination NOW. is a movement about eradicating discrimination and inequality that continues to persist in our society today. Most of us are impacted by these injustices in one way or another or know someone who has been. Being discriminated against and/or treated unequally as a human being can ultimately cause someone to lose their voice, their dreams, hope, and worst of all, their life. These issues are starting to get worse, so it’s important we start putting an end to this once and for all.

Growing up, I was in environments where discrimination was rampant. I knew it was wrong, but I felt powerless to do anything about it. When I did get the courage to speak up at one point, I was put down as a result. This led me to having low self-esteem, and at school, my shattered confidence made me a target for bullies. School was another place where discrimination was rampant as well. However, I always found solace in music, as I had first played the piano, and then I was inspired to play the violin years later. The violin gave me a voice when I felt as though I didn’t have one. It took me far, as I was being prepared by a top teacher from Juilliard to attend the school and study with her there. Unfortunately, the traumas soon caught up with me, where attending Juilliard would no longer be a reality for me. Also, having to witness my mother being discriminated against and treated unequally as a woman within my environment, resulting in her having to give up her dreams of cooking and singing, was another catalyst for me to speak out.

Eventually, my mother found the courage to remove those people from our lives. About three months after those people were gone, my mother wanted to speak up for those who felt voiceless as well as I. We then came together and created our movement, It’s OVER.

The path certainly wasn’t an easy one by any means. I had to go through years of loss, heartache, and grief. Dreams and goals I had planned for my life ended up being shattered right in front of me. However, it was because of those losses that I made this movement. Sometimes it takes shattered dreams to build the real dream you always wanted all along, which for me was to make a human rights movement. I was in circumstances that never would have allowed me to bring this movement into fruition. For many years, I felt as though speaking out would only be nothing other than just a dream. What helped me get through these challenges was that I never lost sight of hope. No matter how difficult things were and no matter how unbearable and impossible circumstances may have been and felt, I always had hope.

Some of the lessons that I have learned are that patience is a virtue and delays are not denials. Sometimes things may seem to take longer than they should, which can be frustrating, and even when we don’t understand why, sometimes that delayed time can be a real blessing in disguise. Other crucial lessons I have learned are to always trust your intuition. If something doesn’t feel right, it most likely isn’t right, and therefore, you should go with that instinct. Lastly, I learned to always be prepared. When opportunities come, it’s important that you are ready for them the minute they are presented to you. Lack of preparation can put you at a risk of important opportunities passing you by.

I’m very excited that we will have a brand-new website and logo coming out soon! I am very proud to have an amazing team of professional people who believe in this movement and who have the same vision for it. I am also very proud to build this movement with people I love.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
New York City would be my first choice, for it is a world of its own. There are so many wonderful things to see and experience. I love to walk, so perhaps we would take a walk around Central Park. From there we could visit the American Museum of Natural History, where we would enjoy various fascinating exhibitions, activities, and learning about our planet. We would then go to visit another cultural institution, which would be Lincoln Center. Certainly, we would enjoy music, theater, dance, and more, as this is a hub for the performing arts. Another attraction to visit would be the Empire State Building. It is one of the world’s most famous buildings with much to see inside, such as the observation decks, restaurants, stores, and more. Times Square is a great place to visit, especially at night, where the lights are bright. It’s always bustling with tourists and locals and there are a lot of places to shop and eat as well. Certainly, we would visit the famous Rockefeller Center, as there are wonderful stores and fine dining to enjoy. During the holiday and winter season, there’s ice-skating at the rink and the Christmas tree is magnificent to see lit up at night.

The food in the city is amazing. There are all kinds of restaurants, bars, cafés, etc., with delicious food and drinks galore, so it all depends on what you are in the mood for! I personally love the restaurants Becco and Cafe Fiorello. Nobu has amazing food as well. The city is a lot of fun with never-ending things to do and fascinating places to explore. Everything in the city is at your fingertips to experience and to enjoy. It’s truly an exciting place!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My mother deserves credit and recognition, as she is the co-founder of It’s OVER. We both created this movement together when times were bleak. I couldn’t have built this movement or have gotten this far without her.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsover_endnow/?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/people/Its-OVER-End-Discrimination-with-Tamara-Kira/61554483174267/

Image Credits
Julie Dassaro Photography