Women That Inspire Me

Hi everyone!! I really have missed blogging over the past couple of weeks.  Court demands, and, other projects have been consuming so much of  my time. Anyway, I have decided to dedicate my next couple of blog posts to sharing more information about me, Tonza D. Ruffin :-). To kick this project off, here are three women/young ladies that inspire me.

YARA SHAHIDI

Yara Shahidi inspires me because she is “woke”. I absolutely love the fact that this young lady is dedicated to social activism and utilizes her stardom as a platform to address social issues. And, while she is doing wonderful things as an actress, she does not minimize the importance of an education. As a matter of fact, she is headed to Harvard in the fall. She is a breath of fresh air in this world of “superficiality” and a great role model to girls and women everywhere.

NINA DONOVAN

“I’m not as nasty as Confederate flags being tattooed across my city. Maybe the South actually is going to rise again, maybe for some, it never really fell,”

…

“I am not as nasty as racism, fraud, conflict of interest, homophobia, sexual assault, transphobia, white supremacy, misogyny, ignorance and white privilege,”

-excerpts from Nina Donovan’s “Nasty  Woman”

Nina Donovan inspires me because she is so “nasty”. When I first heard her words flowing from Ashley Judd’s mouth during the  Women’s March on Washington in 2017, I thought “damn, that was a powerful piece”.  I never thought the creator of that piece was a young, nineteen year old girl, hailing from Tennessee. Nina Donovan says the piece came to life after she heard  Donald Trump refer to Hillary Clinton as a “nasty woman” during one of the presidential debates. Ashley Judd, who was in attendance when Donovan performed “Nasty Woman” at a spoken word event, was so inspired she asked the teenager for permission to perform the piece at the Women’s March on Washington.

Thanks to YouTube I can share Nina Donovan’s powerful performance of “Nasty Woman”.

SENATOR KAMALA HARRIS

United States Senator Kamala Harris inspires me because she is a “fierce” trailblazer. This woman knows what she wants and goes for it. After graduating from Howard University, Kamala Harris went on to attend law school at the University of California, Hastings. Her drive and ambition led to her being the first person of color elected to serve as district attorney in San Francisco. She later went on to become the first person of color to serve as the  attorney general for the State of California. Of course, she didn’t stop there. Currently, Kamala Harris serves as a United States Senator for California, and, yes, she is California’s first black senator. I see another first in her future…first woman to serve as President of the United States of America.

Okay readers now it is your turn to share. Who are you inspired by? Why?

Much love,

Tonza