Darren Kavinoky
Women’s History Month, highlighted by International Women’s Day on March 8th, offers an opportunity to look back and remember the contributions to equality three great women have made.
In life, the path of least resistance and settling can be tempting. But the examples of Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman prove that fighting the uphill battle reaps more rewards.
As an attorney, I value the legal strides we have made in the area of women’s rights for both the betterment of our country and as a model for equality. The relentless push by women in the early days of our country’s development to magnify their voices when others would have them silenced is more than an inspiration–it’s an example of how to effect change and social good.
There have been many women who have and continue to fight the good fight of equality.Today, I pause to reflect upon the indelible positive mark on humanity made by these three women: Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman.
Sojourner Truth was born a slave in Ulster County, New York around the year 1797. She never learned to read or write and was sold multiple times. In 1826, after the birth of her fourth daughter, Sojourner escaped from slavery by walking to freedom with her infant in her arms. From this humble beginning, the illiterate ex-slave went on to prove that anyone can fight for the institution of equality.
According to SojournerTruth.org, “Truth was not intimidated by convention or authority. She learned to manipulate establishment institutions to effect reforms. During her lifetime she brought, and won, three lawsuits. This was very unusual for a woman, especially for an illiterate ex-slave. She retrieved her son, Peter, who had been sold illegally from New York State into slavery in Alabama. She also won a slander suit in New York City and a personal injury case after she was injured in a street car incident in Washington. D.C.”
Rosa Parks is an icon of social transformation. In 1955, the 42 year old seamstress turned one single act of defiance in Alabama into a defining moment for the civil rights movement. Rosa Parks refused the bus driver’s orders to stand up and give away her seat when the bus reached a second stop filling with white people. She was not the first to perform this brave personal protest. But the arrest of a woman with a stellar character such as Rosa Parks, sparked an unprecedented community response.
According to The Henry Ford Foundation, “The boycott of public buses by blacks in Montgomery lasted 381 days, marking the country’s first large-scale demonstration against segregation. The boycott ultimately led the U.S. Supreme Court to outlaw racial segregation on public buses in Alabama. It also spurred more non-violent protests in other cities and catapulted a young Baptist minister named Martin Luther King, Jr., into prominence as a leader of the civil rights movement. The movement and the laws it prompted, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, are one of the greatest social revolutions in modern American history.”
Harriet Tubman’s name is synonymous with the Underground Railroad. She was indeed the most well known of all of the abolitionists who helped other slaves find freedom. Born a slave in Maryland around the year 1820, she walked to freedom by escaping in the middle of the night with the help of a friendly white woman. She lived her life paying that favor forward. As Harriet Tubman worked and earned money, she returned to Maryland to help others escape. One trip after the next, she helped family and other slaves she encountered reach freedom.
According to PBS.org, “By 1856, Tubman’s capture would have brought a $40,000 reward from the South. On one occasion, she overheard some men reading her wanted poster, which stated that she was illiterate. She promptly pulled out a book and feigned reading it. The ploy was enough to fool the men. …Tubman had made the perilous trip to slave country 19 times by 1860, including one especially challenging journey in which she rescued her 70-year-old parents. Of the famed heroine, who became known as “Moses,” Frederick Douglass said, “Excepting John Brown — of sacred memory — I know of no one who has willingly encountered more perils and hardships to serve our enslaved people than [Harriet Tubman].”
Thank you to all the women, from early settlers to modern day innovative thinkers, who carry the cause of women and equality forward. Your contributions, service and tireless efforts have created a better world for all of us. This month we celebrate you.
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Darren is an accomplished TV personality, attorney, interventionist, keynote speaker, and 'misbehavior expert' who appears constantly on countless TV and radio shows.