Song of Solomon 1:15 (New International Version)
15 How beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes are doves
Isn’t she lovely? Isn’t she wonderful? Isn’t she precious? Isn’t she special? In the words of Stevie Wonder, I can’t think of any words more fitting for our “First Lady, Michelle Obama.” Well, maybe one or two more; elegant, classical, chic, self-confident, sophisticated, graceful, and BEVALUED. She was truly the “fairest of them all” last 
night. As I was lying awake in my bed last night, it all seemed like a dream. I kept checking my laptop for the next picture, just to make sure it was all true. Am I dreaming? I asked myself this question over and over. And yet, I knew it was real because I had just watched twelve hours of it all on television. The moment my children left for school, I turned on the T.V. set. Not wanting to miss a single minute of this historical event. We have a DVR, so I was also able to record everything. Which means, I can watch it for hours more.
However, there is another woman that came to mind last night. She too, was a very statuesque woman. When she walked into a room, all eyes were on her. A Preacher, she fought for equal rights for women and against slavery. She became the first Black woman honored with a bust in the U.S. Capitol. The same place First Lady Michelle Obama stood with her husband President-elect Barack Obama as he was sworn in the 44th President of the United States of America. Her name is “Sojourner Truth.” 
I couldn’t help but wonder how she might have felt had she been alive to witness this historic moment? Probably, not unlike the way we as African-American women are feeling at this very moment in time.
After all, AIN’T SHE A WOMAN? Nearly the same complexion as First Lady Obama, probably the same height. A Mother, Wife, Orator, and Women’s Rights Activist. In 1851, she walked into a room mostly occupied by white men and women, courageously and boldly stood up to respond to a white man’s statement. She gave an amazing speech entitled, “AIN’T I A WOMAN?”
TWO AMAZING WOMEN!! One fought throughout her life for basic opportunities to be given to women. While the other is the recipient and benefactor of the struggles and dehumanizing treatment endured by the other. Hoping that one day all women would be treated equally, with respect and valued. Women of other races already know what it is like to be valued, respected, and placed upon a pedestal. As African-American women and all other non-white women, most of us have yet to experience this way of life. This is the reason for this weblog.
BEVALUED was constructed by a small group of women that have come to understand and believe that all women are valuable. It is our ambition to encourage, educate, empower, and uplift all women–especially non-white women. It is our belief that non-white women are devalued more than any other group of women in the world. This being the case, we encourage you to embrace the value that God has placed upon you. For you are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
We have a new First Lady, who had the “audacity to hope” that she could be more than the world ever knew. She believed that she and her husband could make a difference in the world. Where did that belief come from? It came from the God that created her and every woman that came before her. Black Woman, there’s nothing you can’t achieve, “You were created with a body, mind, soul and intellect. And it’s His Glory your life must reflect.” (excerpt from a poem by Ronda Harris entitled, “BLACK WOMAN”)
BEVALUED, WOMAN CREATED BY GOD. 
**You can check out the speech by “Sojourner Truth” by clicking on this link: http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/genwom/sojour.htm
January 23, 2009
Categories: african american history . . Author: fojeane . Comments: Leave a comment
BEVALUED 