STACEY | DEAN OF STUDENTS

I AM INSPIRATION. This is my declaration. This is my decree. This is my story. I have birthed six kings into this world for I am a queen who is married to her king of over 33 years. Together, we have raised six magnificent men of valor to defy the odds. To break down walls. To shatter stereotypes and to build bridges. They will not be your statistic, but they will be everything God has called them to be. They are destined for greatness because we have dedicated them to the King of Kings and He has declared who they are. We are Black Excellence at its best!

I AM THE NARRATIVE. No one can write MY story based on the color of MY skin or the size of MY hips. It’s MY story. You can’t tell me my full figure isn’t beautiful. I have been a plus sized woman, but you can’t body shame me. The 80 pounds I lost was for me and not for your acceptance. Every stretch mark I have, I have earned and accepted as badges of the miracles of life that God blessed me with by allowing my body to bring sons into this earth. It is a privilege to have children and I am thankful for every one of my sons. I am not ashamed of my shifted body because it brought forth life and nursed goodness into my children’s bones. God honored me and I will not allow your image of beauty to disgrace God’s creation. I am His creation!

I AM EDUCATED. I don’t need letters behind my name to prove to you I’m educated but I have them. My MBA was earned while raising children, supporting my husband, and building my career. Don’t you think for one moment you can tell me I can’t do something because I will definitely prove you wrong. If pregnancy my senior year of high school didn’t stop me from graduating on time, then neither can your perception of me based on the color of my skin. Remember, I’m writing my story, not you, and that is why my firstborn son, born to me when I was still a child myself, grew up and graduated from a top university in the country. Not because this country showed him he could, but because his father and I told him that he is the author of HIS story, and as a black man in America, he has to secure his future by writing every single line, every single page, and every single chapter of his story with God’s guidance and a strong education. I am a Master mother!

I AM BLACK WOMAN EXCELLENCE. I have been cultivated and created with purpose by a Master creator to redefine the world’s definition of what black women look like, what black men look like, what a black family looks like, and what black excellence is. This is my story. It is beautiful. It is excellent!