She Persisted Project

Emma Lazarus - Tammy Oja

When contemplating the 'She Persisted Project,' my mind became a murky and muddled mess. It was a difficult and labor-intensive search, not of archives, and internet facts, but of my own depths and connection. Because for me, women are the very flavor of, and foundation, of my existence.

Imagine picking out a star in a blazing sky trying to name it as a single unit, instead of an intricate piece connected to the rest. That is what I felt this project was. But in the end I realized, maybe that's the point. Seeing the connection we have, how some stars are seen brighter and patterned when together, and some seem to veer off, but all are comprised of the ability to be alone and connect which just makes the entire scene brighter.

While I know the scientific nature of human inception, (indeed a baby takes a man and a woman, no need to educate further!) That's precisely where my relation to man ends in my early story. I was raised by women. And yes, I say women, purposefully.

My mother was a single parent, and in my early years she was surrounded by sisters. Six aunts who came over often. Truth be told, they came to giggle and gossip, and most likely to escape the confines of their own partners for sisterhood. These women would sit at the table for hours and laugh over cards, books, stories, or whatever they felt compelled to do as us kids ran around frolicking in freedom.

Our neighbors composed of silent men who worked hard and mostly made themselves scarce while the women gathered at fences and in backyards to share stories and compare battle scars for getting through the days. My teachers were women, I didn't have my first male teacher until I was in grade six.

For me, women have always been part of what life consisted of. I spent many of my younger days trying to figure out which of them I would grow up to be like. My pastime was studying their uniqueness. Like art, their sizing, shapes, and colors, gave them border, definition, and reference, but the fabric of women and their desire and grit have always been the precipice of my study to make a better me. There hasn't been much in life that's propelled me further than seeing a woman break the mold and reach beyond expectations regardless of the cost. It's almost a spiritual sensation, as if my soul hopes for, and connects to, the possibility that we are indeed all connected by some cosmic thread of estrogen and sisterhood.

Women have shaped the world, and done so by breaking stereotypes and pushing limits. And my topic today, Emma Lazarus, is no different. While I didn't learn of her until my teens, today, in this mess of a political world we live in here in America, she becomes more inspirational and relevant than ever before.

Emma Lazarus was born in 1849. She was born to wealthy Jewish settlers who made their riches in the sugar refining business and resided in the wealthiest section of New York City.

Emma, the third of seven children, had developed a flare for the written word early in her life and excelled in poetry. Her father encouraged her study, and at 17 helped her publish her first book. Her financial security and proper education aside, she didn't take that as her life goal, or the measure of what being successful meant to her. She reached out to Ralph Waldo Emerson, requesting a tutor and mentorship. He saw her talent and agreed to tutor her, and they developed a relationship that would span years and start rumors. (None of which will be included here-because that is their own business).

What I wish most for you to get out of this is that Emma had passion for her convictions. She was a huge advocate for Jewish rights, and fought diligently against anti-Semitism despite her parents' belief that to be successful they needed to blend in and adopt the culture of society--not waste resources and energy making waves on those that didn't heighten their status.

Emma was already chastised for spending her time with older men, taking the route of writing, and standing up for the poor. She was unmarried and labeled with the nickname "Jewess," a slur for her role as "spokespersons and fiery prophet of the American Jewish Community". (JWA quote). She didn't let a name or critical eyes telling her she wasn't being a proper 'woman' define her.

She was a founder of the Hebrew Technical Institute of New York which she worked hard for and helped finance to help enable Jewish Immigrants to get vocational training to allow them to succeed.

Emma crossed boundaries. She left her palatial home daily and went to places of squalor knowing she was in a position to help make a difference. She tried to educate the higher classes on her plight, writing essays on the unfairness of dirty water, overflowing garbage, poverty, and the squalor that came from what she attributed to being untrained and uneducated.

She was a voice for what she believed in, and never gave up her vision of helping people overcome, despite her own family and society discouraging it because of their fear of losing face and their affluent status.

Emma Lazarus died at 38 from what is believed to be Lymphoma. Hugely successful with numerous books, poems and publications, she changed the fabric of her world in less time than I have been alive.

But it isn't until after her death that her greatest legacy was born. In 1901 a friend of hers, Georgina Schuyler, went to the New York City Library and found a poem that Emma had written in 1883 as a favor to a friend to help fund the construction of a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty. This poem, 'The New Colossus' in a fitting tribute, was adorned on a bronze plaque and is still attached to The Statue of Liberty today.

Emma's words of hope and vision penned so beautifully in 'The Colossus' still convey her desire to uplift the hopeless and stir the hearts of thousands. Despite the beauty of words, and the magic of the message, it's the true spirit of "the fiery prophet" still delivering her passion for betterment to all those that crossed our borders and those that always resided her that makes them continue to sing.

". . .

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..."

In the spirit of Emma Lazarus let us not forget that passion and acceptance made an impact so large it's uttered from the lips of presidents and mouthed by thousands. Her words have become a beacon of hope to the very people it was penned to. As we currently battle our governmental beliefs of injustice to shut down and kill the meaning behind these wisely penned words, let us remember her vision and be inspired to carry that torch because even now, she persists.

Emma Lazarus was not a unique woman with superhuman abilities. She was one of us, a woman. Her magic was that she understood and had enough confidence to believe in change that comes with more than hope, it comes with action. Instead of waiting and hoping for change, she became a catalyst and caused it. One step at a time.