Though it’s part of her legacy, Elizabeth Keckley’s life consisted of more than sewing dresses for First Lady Mary Lincoln.
Keckley not only endured enslavement, but took control of her power.
Soul values are how enslaved people centered themselves with their inner world. And as a teenager, enslavers saw Keckley’s pride and “rebellious spirit,” too.
After regular abuse from a white schoolmaster, she’d had enough. She fought him. “I was ready to die,” she wrote, “but…he could not conquer me.” In the end, he asked for forgiveness. But she denied. She had somewhere else to be.
Keckley began building a solid reputation as a dressmaker, eventually buying her freedom.
In 1860, she found herself in Washington, D.C. with the Lincolns. She became Mary Todd Lincoln’s stylist, and confidante. After Abraham’s assassination, Keckley was by her side, even helping settle her debts.
Still, just three years post-Civil War, Keckley took control of her narrative with a memoir. It held her truth and the workings of the White House. White elites, including Lincoln, turned on her. Customers disappeared.
But Keckley knew who she was. She spent her remaining years sharing her gift with other Black seamstresses instead.
Today, Keckley’s memoir influences beyond her 89 years of life. Her garments shine in museums. History relies on her words. And her personal power is still worth celebrating.