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Freedom Is My Legacy
See that girl? Well, not a girl, really, a 50-year-old woman. That’s me at my most free, flying through the air on a warm summer day with nary a care in the world.
As I get older and watch world events unfold, I’m increasingly aware and grateful for the freedom I have. I’m fortunate enough to have the ability to do what I want, to worship or not worship anyone or anything, to speak my mind and to carve out the type of life I want and live it.
I’m also acutely aware of the fact that if it weren’t for some key people in my family and their selfless bravery, my life could have been very different. They are, to me, heroes in every sense of the word. They not only made my freedom possible but helped shape what freedom means to me.
Because of these brave men and women, I see freedom and the need to fight for it as both my legacy and my birthright.
As a multiracial woman, I am descended from slaves. My 6th great grandfather, Paris O’Ree was enslaved, along with his parents, Doublin and Bess on a South Carolina rice plantation.
