“Never to forget where we came from and always praise the bridges that carried us over.”
Every day, I reflect on my life’s path in some way. The good events and the bad ones all have a place in my current success as I try to never regret anything. Just being able to continue living each day is great and something I truly appreciate, hoping to have many more days. I am proud of myself for making it to where I am. What I do know is that behind everyone there is a story to be told, one that includes another person. Whether it’s your family, your teachers, your sports coach, your boss, etc. there is always someone who made a difference. We should never forget these people and try to always pay it forward in any way.
We live in a world where sometimes people who make it to top positions forget the people who helped nurture their growth. In the reverse, as a society when see them at the top, we often forget those who did great things before. In watching the Oscars Awards the other night, to see past winners give brief monologues on the nominees was a great way to see the connection between the past and the present. Each of those women and men had a story, one that included another person’s help to get to that moment of honor.
The quote above is that of Fannie Lou Hamer. A woman who helped fight for Voting Rights for Black people in America. Hamer worked as a sharecropper alongside her husband, but with her skills in reading and writing she became the timekeeper for the owner of the land. In 1961, while she was receiving a small surgical procedure, the doctor performed a hysterectomy without her consent. This was part of a system in Mississippi that was happening frequently to poor, Black women. It became the catalyst for her mission for racial equality. Along with voting rights she fought for local political opportunities in her community and fair housing and education for low income residents. Unfortunately, just 12 years after the Voter’s Rights Act of 1965, she passed away at the age of 59 from heart disease and breast cancer. But her determination and influence is one that lives on today.
On this Women’s HERstory Wednesday let’s remember Ms. Hamer’s words above and continue to tell the stories of the past and tell our stories to educate and motivate the future.