This was a newly found legacy for me. I had never heard the story of Elizabeth Keckley before last week, and after further research am very thankful that learning of ones past can be so fulfilling and energizes my own life’s goals (if you focus on the good).
Elizabeth Keckley was born a slave, and began work as a nursemaid at age 5. Was put on loan to family members of the master, upon which she was raped and beaten repeatedly. My favorite part of her life is her being beat by two different men, in an attempt to break her pride, until they were exhausted. Eventually both men gave up, and one even cried and asked for forgiveness. LOL, I can only think of the remake with Madea as the lead. This is a story we’ve been told over and over again with many different faces and names. However, the most inspiring stories from slavery are the ones where, no matter what, success was destined.
Keckley, with apparent superb design and seamstress skills, at the age of 34 was able to buy her and her son’s freedom for $1,200.00 in 1855 (2 years of getting the master to agree and set a price; 3 years of gathering the funds). After she paid back the patrons who gave her money for her freedom, she later would go on to meet and interview with the First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s wife, and become her modiste and confidant. During her White House years, she made the inaugural dress and many others Mary Lincoln was photographed in. The cherry on top is Elizabeth Keckley would also found an organization to support freed slaves. It just doesn’t get better than that! Image Source Page:
I am very inspired in my life to achieve each and every dream I have. If she could reach the optimum level of effectiveness, efficiency, and success in fashion during the most evil of times in American History with all the vile episodes that her childhood and young adult life could stand, so can I, so can you too!
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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Keckly
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