I Am Woman

   

         One of my favorite women's rights activist of all time is Sojourner Truth. Sojourner Truth, who was born into slavery, became both an abolitionist and a women's rights activist. In 1851, she extemporaneously delivered a speech called "Ain't I Woman" in Akron, Ohio at the Ohio Women's Convention. Her short, simple speech was a powerful rebuke to many anti-feminist arguments of the day. It became, and continues to serve, as a classic expression of women's rights. Truth became, and still is today, a symbol of strong women  One of my favorite parts of this courageous speech is "If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!"  Indeed we can!

     This week, Time Magazine named the "Silence Breakers" as person of the year. The cover of the magazine featured five women and an anonymous arm. The anonymous arm belongs to a woman in Texas, a healthcare worker and a mother, who still wishes to remain anonymous. She is in solidarity with all those women who have not yet been able to come forward. Let's not forget that the women on the cover are rich and famous, but there are so many women in small towns and lower paying jobs who can not afford to come forward. May we, our daughters, our granddaughters and our sisters continue to speak out and be united in one powerful voice and always speak for those who can not speak for themselves. 

                                                           
I Am Woman by Melba Evans 11/2017

I am WOMAN.

Never doubt that I will accomplish just what I say I will.

Never think that I am not wise or witty or shrewd.

I am fearless and will walk gently into the night unafraid.

I can do anything because I am all these things.

I am WOMAN

I am WOMAN

Do not think I cannot make a contribution to this world.

I will change the world.

Women have contributed to this world since the beginning of time.

Women have been there in wars, in famines, in life and even in death.

I am WOMAN

I am WOMAN

Never tell me what I can and cannot do.

I will take your hand when no one else will.  

I will take the hand of a child till it is no longer needed.

I am a teacher, a giver, a lover, a healer and a truth teller.

I am WOMAN

I am WOMAN

Do not tell me when I grow old that I am worthless to society.

Do not tell me that I am used up because I am divorced, widowed or alone.

I can leap in and out of life with great courage.

And in aloneness, I find my strength

I am WOMAN

I am WOMAN

Do not pity me for the wrinkles of time.

Time has created me through many wounded pieces.

I’ve survived strife and conflict and I wear these wrinkles as a badge of honor.

A true woman’s beauty is in her courage, in her heart and in her soul.

I am a survivor because

I am WOMAN