10/11/2025
The event is canceled, but the purpose is NOT.
Let me beg for forgiveness, DrJoan Thaxter-Randall, but you're too fabulous for the photo you sent.
Day 1: Highlighting a Sharp She Investor _Dr. Joan Thaxter-Randall
Who is She?
You can read about who she is to the world. I want to take a minute to share who she is to me.
We met through a dear mutual friend, LaVon Sumter, while I was working on an issue of Women of Fruit Magazine. We sat together in a restless restaurant, yet as she began to share her story—how she survived domestic violence by quietly packing garbage bags she hid away in the attic—something happened.
The noise around us faded. It felt as though, in the midst of all that chaos, God created a still space just for us. A moment where His purpose wrapped around our conversation, silencing everything but her truth.
When I finally turned off my recorder, I couldn’t hold back the tears. I told her that I had lived fragments of her story—but from a child’s view.
My mother did not survive her abuser, and for years, I carried that pain like a shadow. Rage, guilt, confusion, and grief followed me through so many chapters of my life. 🫣
But that day, something shifted. Listening to Dr. Joan’s story brought peace to that hurting teenager inside me—the one who had never found closure. Her courage helped me see that the scars left by domestic violence run deep, not only in its direct victims but in the hearts of the children who witness it.😭
That day, I understood something profound: I am...we are survivors, too. 💜 And to truly heal, I must also lend my voice to this cause—so that others may find the freedom and faith to rise above their pain.😇
Before we parted ways, she looked at me with such warmth and said words I will never forget:
“Your mom did the best that she could.” Thank you for those words.🥰
Even now, I still tear up thinking about that moment. It was the balm my heart didn’t know it needed—the kind of peace that only God can orchestrate through the right people, at the right time.🙏🏾
Thank you, Dr. Joan, for being that vessel. Your story didn’t just touch me—it helped set me free.🙌🏾
