Black History Month Spotlight: Deborah L. Parker

Name and Title: Deborah L. Parker, Author, Speaker and Principal Consultant, The DPJ Training Group

What do you do and why? I conduct seminars on leadership, diversity and communications for organizations to enhance their employee’s knowledge and performance. This work allows me to share my gifts of teaching with insight from everyday situations at work and community. I also write articles on the same topics and blend in my love of history and observances of people. In both, I rely on my mistakes as ways to help others achieve and be inspired!

What mark have you left on Black history? Personally in my family and hometown I’ve had some firsts (graduated college, became an army officer, wrote a book) I’ve shared black history with colleagues in former positions where I coordinated programs that showcased local and national heroes and sheroes. As an aunt I’ve taken my nephews and nieces to historical sites and bought them books or other items to help them know and treasure our culture.

Why is celebrating Black History important to you? There are many proverbs, scriptures and other writings that point to the value of knowing your history on many levels. And I’ve discovered how true that is for your personal, family, cultural and religious foundations. This knowledge has been a source of pride and inspiration for me as I deal with life’s adventures and adversities. Many have faithfully gone before as they persevered and laid the stepping stones for me to have a better life.

Who or what do you honor most in Black History? First I honor God’s providence in all things. I give much appreciation to my late mother who blazed her own trails as a determined single parent of four children, went back to graduate from high school after giving birth to me as a teenager, became a homeowner while working at a factory and taught me in sometimes tough ways to move forward in spite of. To my deceased grandparents I honor their wisdom. For the “greats and famous” I honor their work despite many obstacles to press for freedom and all that is right and guaranteed for humanity.