“Stronger Than” Video Campaign comes to Del State

One by one, they went around the room, bravely naming the challenges they had overcome: Temptation, Self-Betrayal, Fear, Mistakes.

The young women’s heartfelt answers were captured on video, to be included in a documentary about the national “Stronger Than” campaign, launched Feb. 9 at Delaware State University by the 400 Years of African American History Commission.

“It was powerful,” said Dean Lynes, producer of the documentary. “This campaign is about creating safe spaces for women to come together and share. It’s about sisterhood, it’s uplifting, it tells women they are not alone, and can be stronger than whatever they are facing.”

The Del State students’ candid responses were inspired by hearing the story of Kemba Smith, who went from college student to drug dealer’s girlfriend, to serving a 24½ year sentence in a federal prison on non-violent drug charges, a fact of history which has disproportionately impacted African Americans.

After a national campaign, her sentence was commuted by then President Clinton and she was released after serving six and a half years. Since then, she has written a book, served on the Virginia Parole Board, and traveled around the country, telling her cautionary tale to students.

“When those doors opened, I made a commitment to share my story,” she told the group of 10. “My crime wasn’t that I was criminally-minded, my crime was that I chose the wrong relationship.”

The women at Del State were brought together by Freshman Saniya Gay, who serves as the national student ambassador to the 400 Years Commission.

 “Overall, women have been through a lot of rough patches, and individual females have overcome many things in their lives,” said Gay. “Stronger Than’ says you can motivate yourself, to grow into something better.”

That’s the exact point, said Addie Richburg, co-founder and executive director of the federal 400 Years of African American Commission, based in Washington, D.C.

Created to mark 400 years since Africans were dragged to colonial shores and enslaved, she said her organization is paying particular attention to the struggles faced by women, from their forced arrival in 1619 to today.

“We thought we would pay a special tribute to women this year,” said Richburg. “It required immeasurable tenacity - to say the least - to survive everything that has happened…What does a woman have that makes her strong enough to get through, to reach her goals.”
“Stronger Than” is a collaboration between the commission and Grammy-winning performing artist Core Cotton, former lead singer for Sounds of Blackness and writer of “Stronger Than,” the campaign anthem.

The campaign is slated to begin in March, for Women’s History Month, and continue through May 8, 2022,  Mother’s Day.

Women all around the country – regardless of race or color or age  – will be invited to join a national zoom call on March 10, the day of Harriet Tubman’s death, that will feature a wide angle look at obstacles faced by women, from young women like those at Del State to stories of Underground Railroad stops operated by women.

Richburg said Del State was selected because of the connection to Gay, and the belief that the campaign should begin with the voices of young women.

“The commission felt very strongly, very passionately, that history happens every second and that if we have any hope of our history carrying us forward it has to start with younger people,” she said. “Talking about our young ladies with strength is important. Women were strong enough to survive the trans-Atlantic journey and all the horrors that followed. From that point on until now, We want to show how they can be Stronger Than.”