Alice Gyamfi comes from a long line of strong women. Women who have protected their children and protected their communities. However, because of a variety of factors, NONE of the women before her were ever taught how to read! But she decided not just to break those chains – but to SMASH them to pieces.
Gyamfi recently passed the New York Bar Exam – and in doing so ended 17 generations of women who never received an education. Now she’s a lawyer!
She stands tall, though, with her community pulling her up and watching her back.
Her family has supported her all the way. “When I told my grandma I was going to law school, she started calling me her ‘granddoctah[!]’ I told her she couldn’t call me Doctor just yet.” She credits her grandmother for her success: “This degree belongs to her,” she said.
And her grandmother was right. Using this tool of education, Gyamfi has been able to serve as a political analyst for the Obama Administration, work as a policy speechwriter, and is now at a prestigious law firm in New York City.
With education we can bolster our communities and cultivate stronger Black generations to come after us – but the key is having a loving, powerful community backing us up!