Someday We’ll All be Free: Assata Shakur & Freedom for Women of Color

Last week, we lost one of my sheroes, the indomitable Assata Shakur. Assata became an icon and symbol for Black liberation after escaping from a New Jersey prison in 1979 and being granted political asylum in Cuba.

Her legacy has had me reflecting on freedom: what it means for women of color, and what it can look like in a time that’s hellbent on denying it to us. And as an executive coach for women of color professionals for more than a decade now, freedom is a desire that many of my clients have, yet can’t seem to find in their careers.

What is freedom?

We’ve been taught that freedom is a future venture. One that has to be earned through decades of grind in jobs that overwhelm, overwork, and underpay us. We’ve been taught that to be free, we must betray ourselves and set aside our dreams and true passions to contribute to a capitalist machine. We’ve been taught that freedom comes at a cost both personally and financially. 

But freedom, at its core, is about autonomy and alignment. And in the context of our careers, it’s when the work you do matches who you are. It’s when your career reflects your values instead of requiring you to abandon them.

That’s what I see again and again in my coaching practice: brilliant women of color who have done everything “right.” They earned the degrees, secured the promotions, worked twice as hard, yet they still feel empty and trapped. Because deep down, they know the work they’re doing is out of sync with their values. And misalignment is its own kind of prison.

What Freedom Isn’t.

It isn’t saying yes when your spirit is screaming no. It isn’t overperforming in environments that will never reward you for your effort. It isn’t shrinking your light just to make the room more comfortable.

When women of color come to me, they often whisper what they really want:

• To do work that feels meaningful.

• To stop betraying themselves in exchange for a paycheck.

• To find careers where they can be fully seen and fully free.

And I tell them: you’re not asking for too much. You’re asking for alignment, and your divine right.

What freedom looks like in practice.

Freedom looks like creating careers that sustain us instead of drain us and work that reflects your purpose, not just your résumé.

The pathway to that kind of freedom has made us feel that reaching it has to be arduous. Low wages and racist hiring practices make it so that pivoting into our true passions feels like we have to sacrifice financial security for personal fulfillment. And, women of color have been taught that we should be grateful for crumbs and to compromise in order to survive. But Assata’s legacy reminds us that betraying ourselves and our values is not freeeom at all. 

Coaching toward alignment.

My work as a coach isn’t about helping women of color fit in or adapt to environments that are built on their oppression. My purpose is to help them reimagine what’s possible when their work and their values finally align. Together, we peel back the layers of conditioning, the “shoulds,” the survival strategies and get to the core of what really matters most to them.

When that alignment happens, the transformation is powerful. Suddenly, careers that once felt like cages become platforms for impact. Decisions that once felt terrifying become clear. Women who once doubted themselves stand unapologetically in their power and find their voice. 

If you’re ready to step into that kind of freedom—to align your career with your values and live fully in your power—I invite you to join the next cohort of the Authentically Me Fellowship. This is the space where women of color leaders stop settling, start aligning, and finally claim the freedom they deserve.