Here is her speech:
Good afternoon, beautiful women and handsome men. I love seeing the brothers who are here supporting the sisters today. I just love that. … I’m Gigi Dixon, and I’m really, really humbled and proud to be honored with the group of women that you’re seeing honored today.
Who I am: I’m just the little girl that grew up in the Air Force and found out that she was Black. It was a little different for Black people when she was forced to go to Tennessee State by her mother, who said, “You need a Black experience, and you need to understand who you are and the power that you have in this nation that we live in.”
That was the best decision that she could have made for me — and the best journey that I could have had in my life. Because there, I learned that, yes, I am an activist, and I learned that I do have a purpose. I learned that I have a voice; I have power; and I can exercise that power and break down walls. I can walk through fire and not get burned because I also learned who I am.
For the past 42 years, I’ve served in corporate America, starting at Procter & Gamble when they plucked me off of Tennessee State’s campus. I’m a speech communication and theater major. I love to sing, studied opera — and I love it. I really thought I was going to be a performing artist, but P&G came and got me. I got hooked on corporate … when I got inside of corporate, I remembered what Shakespeare said: “Life is a stage, and we are all thespians.”
So wherever we are, we need to lean in, understand the environment, take control of it and make things happen. That’s what I have striven to do throughout my corporate career. I have a wonderful, wonderful team at Wells Fargo. Thirty years of my career have been with Wells Fargo … and this is also my 40th year being married to my wonderful husband.
I had a visitor the other day who said, “How you done it?” I said, “Well, I travel a lot, but he’s a man of God, and he helps my soul and helps me cling to my salvation.” I understand that no weapon formed against me will ever prosper, and that God has a purpose for all of us. All we need to do is stand in it, lean into it and run for it, and He’ll make a way. That’s who I am.
My superpower, my number one superpower, is my faith: my faith in God, my belief in Him and my understanding that He has big things planned for me. I need to put that into everyone that I touch. I need to make a way for everyone who is in my midst because that’s Him coming through me for them.
My other superpower is that I’m pretty curious. I’m nosy; I want to learn as much as I can. I want to understand everything. I’m also pretty courageous, so I’ll stand in front of the fire. I’ll take responsibility for what people think are mistakes, but I believe that’s part of life’s journey, and we learn from every one of them. What doesn’t kill us makes us better. Finally, of course, I’m ADHD, so I can do everything — that’s a superpower. My children are ADHD, and my grandchildren are — and they’re just super people. I hope you meet them one day; you’ll probably hear them somewhere.
This is an honor, and this is a privilege. I want to thank my rolling out family. I’ve been marching with you all since the beginning, and it is just a joy to be here. Thanks, everyone.
See more Sisters With Superpowers speeches here:
Benita Thompson-Byas shares her superpowers of fortitude, faith and contentment
Adjoa Asamoah highlights strategic coalitions in advancing racial equity
Vicki Miles reflects on legacy, faith, and fortitude at SWS event
