Founder's Corner Blog

Honoring My SHEROE

March has long been celebrated as Women’s History Month — a time to honor the extraordinary women whose courage and conviction shaped our world. Yet, in recent years, we’ve witnessed deliberate efforts to silence or erase such observances, particularly those recognizing women and BIPOC communities. The attempt to diminish these celebrations is not just perplexing—it’s an affront to truth itself. Why strip acknowledgment from those whose labor, resilience, and vision built the very foundation of our society? There is no rational answer.  Still, we honor on.

This month, I pause to celebrate one of those quiet giants of history—my paternal grandmother, Lillie Tucker Golightly. Her name may never appear in textbooks, but her legacy is written in the strength of those she raised and the community she helped nurture. She is the embodiment of the SHEROEs that Sister-to-Sister, Inc. uplifts.

Standing more than six feet tall, of Indigenous descent, Grandmama Lillie was a commanding presence whose kindness matched her stature. The matriarch of a family of eight children (including one adopted with my grandfather), she led her household with unshakable dignity and a faith that grounded generations. Beyond her home, she co-founded a Baptist church just three doors down from our family’s house—a sanctuary that still bears the imprint of her devotion and leadership.

Grandmama disciplined with love and a steady hand. She carried herself with quiet pride, always looking toward a brighter tomorrow. When my grandfather passed—leaving her widowed with eight children, the oldest only sixteen—she grieved with grace and refused to surrender. She understood, deep in her bones, that her purpose was not yet complete. So she kept moving forward, eyes fixed on the horizon.

My dearest memory is of curling beside her in the shared warmth of our bed during winter’s chill. Even now, when life presses hard against me, I find comfort in the memory of her strength—a refuge that reminds me of who I am and where I come from.

I am, because she was.