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There are
many amazing women in my life. Some I have learned from,
some I have aspired to become and some have been the true
definition of friend. Twila Page has earned my respect in
all three ways and has helped shape me into the woman I am
and will soon become. Activist, woman, warrior and child
care provider are words that I would use to describe Twila
Page.
Twila
Page came in my life when I was four years old. We met at
the Shrine of the Black Madonna in Detroit, Michigan. My
cousin, Diane Stubblefield, introduced my mother and me to
Twila Page and on that day Twila and my mom became fast
friends. Twila has been a constant positive force in my life
for the last 20 years.
Twila
Page was born in Canton, Ohio January 6, 1942 in the dead of
winter and during a time when racism was a constant part of
her everyday life. She grew up with three siblings who all
became successful individuals. While one sibling took to
football and became a public figure through the NFL, and
another joined the military to serve his country, Twila
decided to become a voice for her community.
Life
experiences have led her into the activism she is doing
today. While attending Catholic school in Canton, Ohio,
Twila experienced a lot of racism. She and her sister were
the only black children in the school. She said that back
when she was attending school, the students or
administrators would not talk to her. She said if she could
get through that then, she could get through anything. Also
the school counselors tried to stop her from attending
college stating she was not fit for college, but her mother
quickly fixed that when she told the counselor that Twila
was more than capable of attending college.
Page
attended Kent State University where she chose to study
sociology, but stopped after a semester. She wasn’t focused
in school and did not find it a positive experience.
Instead, she applied for a position at AT&T as a telephone
operator. Initially, the company told her she didn’t get it
because she didn’t pass the test; however, she knew she had
passed the test. Page partnered with the Urban League, where
she was volunteering doing secretarial work, and they helped
her fight the case—and won. Page then worked for AT&T for
three years but quit because of discrimination she faced.
Page
moved to Toledo from Canton in 1964, and started working for
her cousin, Clayton Umbles, a pharmacy owner. She worked at
the pharmacy for three years, and then started working for
UPS. Here she imagined she would share a family-like
atmosphere with her boss, coworkers and the customers.
However, after 13 years of hard work and dedication, she
found herself met again with racial and gender
discrimination that led to her to quit the company. She soon
after sued UPS and won. Although she had experienced a major
injustice, she let the experience fuel her ambition to
become a spokesperson for all who fell victim to racial
injustices.
Who
better to start with than the youth? In the late ‘80s Page
had started styling black girls’ hair in the community. It
was during this time she would hear horrific testimony about
their lives and the constant mistreatment these individuals
would have to endure simply because of the color of their
skin. It was during this time that Page developed the idea
that would change many lives, for the better.
Page
started her journey by opening her Toledo home as a daycare
provider. She would become the neighborhood savior to the
single mothers who worked full time and couldn’t afford a
“4-star” babysitting service. But her services met and
exceeded these. She reorganized her home to benefit the
children's learning skills, motor function and social
engagement. This was the start of “The Pure and Heart
Village.” The Pure and Heart Village gave a voice to young
children who did not have a voice and a place to call home.
Twila
explained her development as follows: “Because I know what
an education looks like and having my own struggles in the
academic environment, it is easy for me to advocate for
children facing an adversarial environment and to help
families navigate the various systems seeking relief. I
found my voice when one of my children had duct tape put on
his mouth by his first grade teacher. I didn't have a voice
when I was in the 7th grade and was called the N-word
everyday by my classmates. I didn't have a voice when I went
to a Catholic high school (Canton Central Catholic) for my
last two years of high school and no one talked to me the
entire two years. I was invisible. I didn't have a voice
when I went to college, Kent State University, after being
told that I was not college material, only to find out that
my housing was in the basement of a building along with the
other black girls on campus. We were housed in the basement
along with the boiler which heated the building and the
pipes and the cobwebs. I didn't have a voice until my child
went to school. That is when I found my voice.”
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Advocating for children has led Page into
educational environments, juvenile justice hearings,
school board room meetings, community and police
meetings, and child protective services staff
meetings. All of these experiences have taught her
when to push and when to pull back, always in the
best interests of the child. What keeps Page active
in her community is realizing that the problems she
faced in the late 1950s are still affecting her
people today. One of Page’s favorite lines to use
is, "If you
ain't ever been a black woman, you don't know what
it's like."
At 75 years, Twila Page continues to fight,
protest, and educate any and everyone who is in
need. |
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Page’s
extraordinary life journey has inspired me also to become a
voice. Dealing with being overweight, I have had to learn
how to navigate through life’s cruel hurdles since I was
very young. And I am so thankful that I had an amazingly
inspirational and courageous individual such as Twila Page
to show me how. She has taught me and still continues to
teach me the ways of being a voice for the young individuals
who are constantly overlooked and unheard so that I can be
one of the many people to take the baton and pass it to the
next generation after me. For that I will always be
grateful and will forever be a part of Twila Page’s “The
Pure and Heart Village.”
Ed.
Note: Victoria Sanders is a graduate of Toledo Public
Schools and is currently in her first year as a University
of Toledo student, pursuing a Bachelor of Education degree
in Special Education through the Teach Toledo program. The
profile “A Voice to the Voiceless” was originally written
for her ENG1110 Composition I course.
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