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Humanities Express

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  • Publisher: College of Humanities at The Ohio State University
  • Volume I Issue 3
  • April 2005
  • Humanities Express Home
Photo of Annette Jefferson as Sojourner Truth. Alumni Pathways:

Humanities Background Helps Alumna Help Others

Imagine an up-close and personal meeting with a former female slave who, although illiterate, left her indelible mark on the political and social pages of American History. Picture, in living color, a first person account of how that same woman saved the day in 1851, at the Second National Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, OH, by taking the platform and asking, “Ain’t I Woman?”

Through dialect, costume, songs, and stories, Annette Jefferson has spent more than 25 years developing her stirring portrayal of Sojourner Truth. She says, "It pleases me to see people experience a range of emotions as they hear her story. There are times of laughter, sadness, even tears for some." This is just what Jefferson hopes her interactive learning experience will elicit. “Sometimes,” she adds, "I think women enjoy Sojourner most because she was outspoken yet able to soften the blows and make her point with witticisms."

A non-traditional student, Jefferson earned a B.S. in Education, an M.A. in African American and African Studies, and a Ph.D. in Social Work at OSU. As a single parent of three, she says extra-curricular activities were non-existent, except for a speech class that allowed her to participate in a forensic meet at Heidelberg College. She presented Sojourner Truth’s "Ain't I A Woman speech". The judges were kind, she recalls, and the rest, as they say, “is history."

Another activity close to Jefferson’s heart is her work with Hannah Ministries, Inc., through the Rhema Christian Center. She is part of a team that takes an annual mission trip to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This year they will also travel to two other Dominican cities and to Puerto Rico.

From 1979 to 2003, Jefferson was affiliated with the J. Ashburn, Jr. Youth Center on the west side of Columbus. During that time, she implemented a $1.5 million capital campaign that rallied broad community support

In 2002, she received The Jefferson Award when WBNS-TV, The Columbus Dispatch, and the American Institute for Public Service recognized her community service. She also received the 2000 Woman of Character Award from the Greater Hilltop Community Development Corporation. She is a board member of the Columbus Neighborhood Health Centers and a member of Delta Kappa Gamma.

Recently, Jefferson founded DeARK Enterprises which helps organizations grow and thrive by linking past to present and empowering the future. DeARK offers organizational and staff development, fundraising, training, and Living HiStories-portraits of African American Women.

Jefferson said Professor Charles Nesbitt gave her lots of support and encouragement on her master’s program. After her oral exam, he remarked, “Now, when you go for your Ph.D., . . . ,” and she recalls thinking he must be kidding! Obviously, Professor Nesbitt realized Annette Jefferson’s great potential, for she has accomplished that and more.