Finding Miracles in Unlikely Places
The Purple Lady brings change and builds community through love
By Sarah Colwell
It was a homeless woman who gave Sandy Holman her “true” name. Purple Lady.
Holman was walking through the streets of Davis, processing the news she’d just received — she might have a life-threatening illness — when a woman approached her and said, “You’re the purple lady from my dreams.”
Admittedly Holman thought the homeless woman was a little odd at first. But soon, she caught Holman’s attention in a way that couldn’t be dismissed.
“She told me things about myself no other person should have known. She said, ‘This news you’ve been told, it’s not going to get you.’ Then she told me to listen to this song I’ve never heard before. I went to my car, still in shock and trying to process everything, turned on the radio and that song was on. I started bawling.”
“That woman’s name was Jessica and she forever changed my life,” Holman mused.
That moment – finding a miracle in an unlikely place – reaffirmed Holman’s belief in the importance of using love to build a stronger community.
Since that day several years ago, Holman has embraced the name Purple Lady and reaffirmed the power of being open to a stranger. Her persona as the Purple Lady has become somewhat of a local celebrity in the Davis community—known not for glitz or glam, but for promoting love and inclusion.
Holman grew up in Sacramento and came to UC Davis in the 1980s as an undergraduate student. She admits she was initially disappointed with the lack of diversity she experienced on campus and found there to be a deficit in support services for students with diverse backgrounds. She planned on leaving soon after graduation, but an unlikely romance budded between her one of her roommates — someone from a different cultural background she originally had “no interest in whatsoever” — motivating her to stay. Holman recently celebrated 30 years of marriage to that man and Davis being her home.
“I slowly fell in love with Davis. I saw the potential,” she said.
Caring, Optimistic, Open-Minded People
As Holman integrated into the Davis community and worked to bring greater respect for equity, cultural competency, and diversity within the community, she took a hard look at the comprehensive and historical inequities that existed in various societal systems throughout the country and the world, and the impact they were having on youth, especially those who are historically marginalized. She decided she had to do something about it.
“It was disturbing for me to see how our babies are falling through the cracks because of isms, oppression and hate that suppress people and prevent them from thriving,” Holman said. “So I’ve committed my life to doing work that brings people together in solidarity, and to create a society which allows all people to survive and thrive."
She founded The Culture C.O-O.P, which stands for Caring, Optimistic, Open-Minded People. The Davis-based organization, which has been in existence for 30 years now, works to promote understanding of and respect for equity, cultural competency, diversity, literacy, and quality education for all. The Culture C.O-O.P’s main focus is supporting youth from marginalized communities and the adults who work with them.
Through The Culture C.O-O.P, Holman facilitates systemic change in institutions, forums to promote equitable and just practices in society and a multitude of motivational and educational seminars, workshops, retreats and special events throughout the United States. She also has authored eight children’s books to explore and honor cultural diversity, which are distributed around the world. For her work, Holman has received numerous local, statewide and national awards over the years.
“Sandy has an unquenchable zest for life that has inspired thousands of youth and adults over the past 30 years,” a representative from John Garamendi’s office told the Davis Enterprise when Holman won a Woman of the Year award in 2015. “Through Sandy’s mentoring programs and collaborative projects, she is a beacon of light who leaves an indelible imprint on the lives she touches.”
Partnering with young people
As part of her work, Holman has developed a strong partnership with UC Davis students. She built a robust internship program that provides undergraduates with a tremendous amount of hands-on experiences in a variety of disciplines and with a focus on preparing them for living in a tough world. Recently, a group of UC Davis interns created a documentary titled The Cost of Darkness, which explores how a person’s skin color affects opportunities at major institutions throughout the country.
“It is powerful what these students create during their internships,” Holman said. “Then they leave and go all over the world—China, Africa, all over the U.S.— to do good work. They are all beautiful because they reach back and help me and my other interns. They pay it forward. Those students are going to be my greatest legacy.”
Holman says it’s critical at this point in history that we give youth more work experiences exploring and promoting equity, social justice, and inclusion to counteract the increasing proliferation of hate permeating society and top-levels of government throughout the world. Additionally, she says the prevalence of the world’s wealth and resources being controlled by few is making things increasingly difficult for targeted and oppressed communities; having more allies in the next generation will be vital if those suffering inequities are to overcome and thrive.
“Even though many things are dire right now, I am an extremely positive person who believes in hope and love and solidarity of people,” Holman said. “I believe that we can all have an impact, we have to—our young people deserve it, humanity deserves it.”
Holman’s optimism and positivity have not only helped uplift her community and influenced thousands of young lives, but it has also kept her illness at bay. It has been three and a half years since she received that bad news and she is still spreading what she calls, “Purple Love.”
“When I was confronted with my mortality in a deep way and I thought I only had six months to one year to live, I thought, ‘I’m not taking anything for granted. I’m going to take care of our babies for a better world,’” Holman said. “That’s what I want to do—leave my love print for all my babies. I’m still here, so I’m going to keep doing this work.”
Holman continued, “It’s about love—a deeper love, a purple love.”
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