On Wednesday, March 16, Lateefah Simon, Director of the Rosenberg Foundation, gave a speech over “Women, Empowerment and Social Justices in America”. An avid speaker and women’s rights activist, she traveled from San Francisco, California to speak to Tarleton students at the event hosted by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Lateefah Simon, first talked about her past. She grew up in the rougher parts of San Francisco. Growing up without strong parental role models, she was in and out of high school while trying to balance work at a Taco Bell and having other life struggles. She eventually graduated high school and was approached by a group called the Street Survival Project.

This project was an initiative set up by volunteers to help young women in destress living on the streets of San Francisco. From that point, Lateefah walked the streets with a backpack full of prophylactics, bleach, and other means of safety for the suffering women.

By the end of the Street Survival Project she had helped over a 1,000 young women and created a community of safety for them. The Street Survival Project was then transformed into the Young Women’s Center of Development. 

For the next 11 years, Lateefah continued to help the center with the most notable accomplishment being winning a campaign that fought for a change in the treatment of incarcerated mothers. Afterwards, Lateefah went to a women’s college and got a job at a prosecutor’s office which eventually funneled her into her job today.

After giving a brief biography on herself she called upon everyone to take the initiative in life like she did. “You have absolutely every responsibility to be Harriet Tubman, because if not you, who?” said Lateefah.

She also stated that if you work as hard as possible and you will be rewarded with what is given to you. Finally, she dedicated the talk to Rosa Parks for being such a significant figure in her life and to her 4-year-old daughter back home in San Francisco.