-->
I
peek through the curtains looking at all the different faces that I will soon
meet. The sun is peeking through the clouds that fill the sky and I’m just
about to go on stage to perform my scene. With this being my first time acting,
my heart is beating fast. While my eyes scan the room once more, I finally see
her. I see the woman whom I’ve just had tea and biscuits with a few days ago. I
see the woman who laughed about her journeys at Fisk University during World
War II. I see the woman who smiled while reminiscing about being an independent
young woman who took the train back and forth between Pennsylvania and
Tennessee. My mind is finally at ease while on stage, because Vivian Freeman’s
confident spirit resides within me and I know she is looking forward to the
young lady who is about to portray her. Raise the curtains… it’s show time!
I
grew up in the small knit community of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania. My
family had just moved from the Pacific Northwest and the thought of moving to
another region in the United States was frightening to me. I would have to
adapt to a new culture, a new community, and the mindset of the people. My
family was fortunate enough to move to a community that would be the perfect
place for me to make everlasting friendships and hold fond memories of
childhood. When I was in second grade I was asked to participate in a community
play for individuals who contributed to Huntingdon Valley. This was how I met
Vivian Freeman; the woman who helped shape who I was back then and who contributes
to my personal development today.
Vivian
Freeman has lived most of her life in Huntingdon Valley. Not only was she one
of two Black-Americans to graduate from Lower Moreland High School, she was
also valedictorian of her class. She would eventually continue her education at
Fisk University earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Teaching. She told me riveting
tales of riding the train as an eighteen-year-old girl alone in a world full of
confusion and fighting as World War II pressed on in her undergraduate years at
Fisk University.
While the world was surrounded by
the uncertainty of the future,Ms. Freeman would start her day by wearing her lovely hat
and gloves and walk onto the platform of tomorrow as if the other day was just
a fleeting moment that pushed her towards her goals. Her courageous spirit has taught
me to believe in myself and go beyond the conventional way of life and look for
a path that is more noteworthy, vibrant, and fresh. Although uncertainty looms
over most of us, Ms. Freeman has encouraged me to live in the moment.
Photographs of Ms. Vivian Freeman Fisk class of 1946, Wisdom Way future Fisk Scholar
