Good
afternoon. The theme this year for National
Women's History Month is "Women Change
America." When I first considered what
could be said under such a significant topic
I was a bit overwhelmed. Gosh, women have done
so much to change America. Where do I begin?
So, instead, I decided to focus not so much
on how women have changed our great nation,
but rather, what drives women to do so. And,
the one common thread I found between those
women who have reached greatness or whose lives
have shaped the very fabric of the greatest
nation in the world is that they were all dreamers.
Let's talk a bit about dreamers. The word "dream"
is defined as an aspiration, a goal, an aim.
According to the dictionary, to dream is "to
conceive of something--to imagine as possible,
and devise an ideal." Poet Carl Sandburg
says, "Nothing happens unless first a dream."
And of the dreamer? Let's go back to the dictionary,
which defines a dreamer as a person who "has
bold or highly speculative ideas or plans...a
visionary."
Indeed, all female pioneers have been visionaries,
never willing to accept the status quo. She
is the one who believes in her dreams and acts
upon them. This is how women have changed America.
This is how women have changed the world. This--is
how women have even changed the FBI.
Wilma Rudolph, the first American woman runner
to win three gold medals at a single Olympics,
offered this advice, "Never underestimate
the power of dreams and the influence of the
human spirit. We are all the same in this notion:
The potential for greatness lives within each
of us."
And, indeed it does. The potential for greatness
began with a dream in 1851 at the Women's Rights
Convention in Akron, Ohio, when former slave
Sojourner Truth dismissed the idea that men
were superior to women. She rose from her seat,
stood straight and tall, and said, "Ain't
I a woman? I have plowed and I have planted.
I can work as much and eat as much as a man
and hear the lash as well. And ain't I a woman?"
The potential for greatness began with a dream
in 1869 when Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth
Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association
to lobby for the right of women to vote. Their
dream was not realized until more than 50 years
later with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment.
The potential for greatness began with a dream
in 1920, when against her family's wishes, Amelia
Earhart learned to fly a plane and 12 years
later became the first woman to fly solo across
the Atlantic Ocean.
The potential for greatness began with a dream
in 1933, when Eleanor Roosevelt transformed
the role of the First Lady and became a respected
human rights activist who was also actively
involved in the day-to-day decisions which impacted
this country. Mrs. Roosevelt once said that,
"The future belongs to those who believe
in the beauty of their dreams." And, she
transformed her dreams into programs to help
those suffering in America.
The potential for greatness began with a dream
in 1955 when a tired Rosa Parks refused to relinquish
her seat on a public bus to a white man-a moment
in history that sparked the Civil Rights Movement.
Women continue to achieve their potential for
greatness around the globe, and this greatness
begins with a dream.
African American poet Langston Hughes once wrote,
"What happens to a dream deferred? Does
it dry up like a raisin in the sun...and fester
like a sore and then run? Does it stink like
rotten meat...or crust and sugar over like a
syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy
load...or does it explode?
When a dream is deferred or delayed, it is usually
because of some obstacle or hindrance. To defer
is defined as "to put off until a particular
time in the future--often to wait for new information
or developments." What happens to a dream
deferred? I believe in women we use the obstacles,
the hindrances, the denials, rejections, and
frustrations as the catalyst to let our dreams
explode.
Langston Hughes wants to know what happens when
a dream is deferred; well I can tell you what
happens when a woman's dream is deferred. It
explodes, and there is change. It explodes,
and there is success. It explodes, and there
is power.
But first, we must be dreamers who are willing
to chart new courses, to accept new challenges,
to use the obstacles as a foundation for change.
As a child, I dreamed of becoming an attorney.
My mother would smile and encourage me, saying
"You'll be a Supreme Court Justice some
day, just like Thurgood Marshall? I dreamed
about Thurgood Marshall arguing in the courtroom.
I read every book I could find about his life,
and the cases he argued. I dreamed, and I knew
that I would make it through law school. And
I did--first in my entire family. But, it started
with a dream, a vision of what I could accomplish,
of what I could become. And I haven't stopped
dreaming, yet.
The greatest success stories of women who have
beaten the odds all have been preceded by dreams...dreams
of change, dreams of progress, dreams of what
could be. Feminist Gloria Steinem once said
that "Without leaps of imagination, or
dreams, we lose the excitement of possibilities.
Dreaming, after all" she says, "is
a form of planning." And she is right,
because while not every woman has been able
to make her dreams a reality in her lifetime,
her dreams have not been deferred. They have
exploded, not dried up like raisins in the sun.
They have exploded and resulted in change in
America.
Over the years, women have dreamed, fought for,
and won the most basic human rights. Their deferred
dreams exploded and they won the right to vote,
the right to own property, the right to equal
opportunities in education, representation,
and employment. Women have knocked down the
doors of corporate America, law enforcement,
private business ownership, and every door in-between.
And, women have used their talent, their intelligence,
and their determination to shatter glass ceilings
everywhere.
Every day is a new day for women. We are acting
on our dreams, charting our own courses, letting
our dreams explode! Toni Morrison and Patricia
Cornwell routinely top the best seller lists.
Journalist Oprah Winfrey not only informs but
influences viewers around the world. Meg Whitman,
the CEO of eBay, is ranked among Fortune's Most
Powerful American's List. Melody Hobson oversees
one of the largest and most profitable investment
groups in the country. Radio pioneer Cathy Hughes
is the first African American woman to head
a firm publicly traded on the stock exchange.
Shelly Lazarus runs one of the largest advertising
agencies in the world, representing renowned
corporations like IBM and Coca-Cola. Sherry
Lansing is the former president of Paramount
Motion Pictures. The company that brought you
memorable dramas, like the Godfather, Terms
of Endearment, and Indiana Jones. And the list
of women who dared to dream goes on and on.
Today, women make up more than half of the student
population at American universities. We are
doctors, lawyers, physicists, and professors.
We are running small businesses and major corporations,
medical institutes, and sports franchises. We
are sitting on the boards of schools, counties,
and Fortune 500 companies. We are political
power brokers, from the halls of Congress to
city councils across the country. We've come
a long way, baby!
Let's take the history of the FBI, for example.
The Bureau was created in 1908 as the Special
Agent force. In 1924, J. Edgar Hoover became
the Director of the Bureau of Investigation
and what eventually became known as the Federal
Bureau of Investigation in 1935. But, did you
know prior to Director Hoover's appointment
there were two women pioneers in 1923 who were
Special Agents? Jessie Duckstein and Alaska
Davidson were dreamers and the first female
trailblazers in the Bureau. They resigned in
1924. But, their dreams to see females among
the ranks of agents in the FBI were not deferred.
Shortly after they resigned, Lenore Houston
became a Special Agent in the Philadelphia Field
Office and served for four years.
And, although it was not until July 17, 1972,
nearly 44 years later, when women began to truly
enter the ranks of the FBI Special Agent, the
obstacles of the previous years served as the
catalysts which forced the dreams of women in
federal law enforcement to explode. And today,
women in the FBI are supervisors, program managers,
Unit Chiefs, Section Chiefs, Special Agents
in Charge, Assistant Directors, and Executive
Assistant Directors. Women in the FBI are vocal,
powerful, and invaluable contributors. And,
who knows what dreamer today will be the first
female Director of the FBI tomorrow. What happens
to a dream deferred, it explodes and there is
change.
All successful people, regardless of race or
gender, are dreamers. Dreamers like Meg Whitman
and Oprah Winfrey. Like me, and like you. Those
who are not satisfied with the status quo. And,
when a woman's dream is deferred she is a force
to be reckoned with. She will fight for change,
she will use the obstacles thrown her way, and
she will forge ahead in spite of an occasional
failure. She will let her dreams explode.
Every accomplishment starts with a dream. Every
dream is built on strength, faith, and courage.
But first, you must dare to dream. And dream
big, my sisters. What do you want to accomplish
in the FBI, what do you want to change in your
community, what do you want for your family,
what do you want--for you? Dare to dream.
Your power to achieve is limited only by your
imagination. Your ability to succeed comes from
the desire within. And it starts with a dream.
Be dreamers, as writer Karen Ravn says, "Only
as high as I reach can I grow. Only as far as
I seek can I go. Only as deep as I look can
I see. And, only as much as I dream can I be."
BE A DREAMER and let your dreams explode. Don't
let them dry up like that old raisin in the
sun. Let them explode. You won't get there by
just hoping, wishing, and waiting.
Let your dreams explode and there will be even
greater changes here in CJIS and throughout
the FBI. Let your dreams explode and you will
find the success you know you have the ability
to achieve. Let your dreams explode and you
will find the power you once only imagined you
had.
Dare
to be dreamers. And then, let your dreams explode!