Honoring My Great Grandmother During Women's History Month

HISTORY BEGAN AT HOME.

My heroes have always been the people who've set examples for me and the women, men and children closet to me; Knowing them has made me better.

Dollie D. Foster

A Legacy of Love, Leadership, and Unshakable Faith

Some people leave behind footprints; others carve out entire paths for generations to follow. Dollie D. Foster is the latter. Born in 1925 in the unforgiving landscape of segregated Texas, she was raised in a world that, by design, offered her little. Her father toiled as a sharecropper, her mother scrubbed floors for a single dollar a week, and yet, the fire in Dollie never dimmed. It only grew stronger.

Her journey mirrored that of countless Black families during the Great Migration—seeking not just opportunity but dignity. Minnesota became the new home where she would plant deep roots, not just for herself but for the hundreds of lives she would touch. In Minneapolis, she channeled her resilience and compassion into meaningful work within the school system, serving as a Community Organizer and dedicating herself to Children & Family Services.

But perhaps her most profound calling came through foster care. Over the years, 300 children passed through her home, each finding not just shelter but a force of nature in Dollie—a woman who gave love freely but demanded discipline and respect in return. To be raised by Dollie D. Foster was to know warmth, structure, and the presence of God. Her reputation stretched far beyond her home, becoming the kind of legend that doesn’t fade with time but grows with each new life she touched.

Her leadership didn’t stop at the door of her home. For a quarter of a century, she served as the Women’s Ministry Department leader for the Minnesota Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ. For 25 years, she stood as a pillar of faith, mentoring, guiding, and uplifting generations of women in the church. She was entrusted with this role not just because of her wisdom, but because she lived the very principles she preached—steadfast devotion, service to others, and a faith that never wavered. Her voice, steeped in wisdom and conviction, inspired congregations across the country. Even after retirement, she never truly stopped working. She became a living testament to faith in action, a history maker who wasn’t content with just being part of the story—she was determined to write it herself.

The Maverick Gene: A Privilege and a Burden

To be born with similar substance as Dollie D. Foster is both a gift and a responsibility. There is no resting in the shadows when your lineage is one of trailblazers. Her life continues to set a precedent—one that run through the bloodline, one that empowers you to do more, push further—demands you refuse to be confined by the worlds expectation.

This is the weight of inheritance; to know that greatness isn’t optional, that conforming to enemy instruction is never an option, and that your very existence is an extension of the battles women such as my magnificent grandmother (and women's like them) have fought and won—It is a privilege, certainly, but also, a burden—as the enemy expects you to do the same and therefore does the most to ensure it never happens.

My Great Grandmother, with her beautiful heart and stoic resilience, has mothered hundreds, led thousands, and is inspiring countless more. I recall, getting the same sense of mighty love and wisdom from my Great Great Grandmother when she hugged me.

How does one stand on their shoulders with assurance that they will come out as well in their calling, as the women that came before them, faired in their calling?

The answer, perhaps, is simple: You don’t try to match their accomplishments or positions. You surrender. You accept that God has placed similar substance in you. You trust God to carry you forward and you carry the example of these fabulous women with you. 

You take their lessons with gratitude—you cherish her audacity, her boundless love, her unwavering faith as a shield and you let God shape you and your impact.

Because while history books may not always write the names of women like Dollie D. Foster, their legacies are etched into the very fabric of the communities they built. And that? That’s a history that never fades. My Great Grandmother Dollie D. Foster is eternal and I am so thankful to have descended from her.

Five Generations in this photo. Great Great grandmother, Great grandmother. Grandmother, Mother and Sister. This is 125 years of bloodline in a photo. We are currently a centurion of living testimony of God's grace, mercy and favor on our people.

May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you! Deuteronomy 1:11

Revival God. Amen.