One of the biggest lessons that we hope to model for several

"One of the biggest lessons that we hope to model for several folks, including some of the young women of color who come to me, is the value of understanding your worth, standing up, and demanding the best for yourself and not taking less." Thus spoke Kimberly Bryant, the visionary founder of Black Girls Code, whose words echo with the power of self-knowledge and dignity. Her message is not a simple call for confidence—it is a sacred commandment: that every soul, especially those whom society has long overlooked, must learn to know their worth and refuse to live beneath it. In these words, Bryant reclaims what the world has often denied—the right to self-respect, to equality, and to the fullness of human potential.

To understand the depth of her wisdom, one must see the soil from which it sprang. Kimberly Bryant, an engineer by training and a leader by conviction, forged her path through fields where few who looked like her had ever walked. She founded Black Girls Code not only to teach programming, but to teach power—to remind young women of color that they belong in the temples of technology and innovation, that they are creators, not by exception, but by right. Her words are born from the struggle of generations who were told to be silent, to settle, to be grateful for scraps. Against this legacy, she stands as a modern prophet of self-determination, proclaiming that no one should accept less than what their spirit and skill deserve.

The ancients, too, knew the sacredness of this truth. In the halls of philosophy and the chronicles of kingdoms, the call to know thy worth was a mark of wisdom. The Oracle of Delphi, speaking to the seekers of Greece, declared, “Know thyself”—for from self-knowledge flows strength. Without understanding one’s value, a person becomes the servant of another’s will. Bryant’s words revive this eternal wisdom, yet she speaks it anew for those who have been doubly silenced: for women of color, whose voices have often been drowned in both gendered and racial oppression. Her teaching is thus not only personal but revolutionary—it is a rebellion against every system that has whispered, “You are less.”

Consider the story of Harriet Tubman, that unyielding daughter of courage. She was born into bondage, told by her masters that she was nothing but property. Yet within her heart, she carried an unbreakable knowledge of her worth. She stood up, escaped the chains of slavery, and demanded freedom—not only for herself, but for others. Her life became a living testament to the power of Bryant’s words: that those who stand up and demand the best for themselves often end up lifting the world with them. Tubman’s greatness did not begin when others called her a hero; it began the moment she refused to take less than the dignity that was always hers.

Bryant’s teaching, like that of Tubman, is not confined to history—it is alive in every young woman who chooses courage over compliance. To stand up is to confront fear; to demand the best is to risk rejection, to walk the path of resistance rather than comfort. But such is the way of those who seek greatness. The world does not hand out respect freely; it must often be claimed. And when the individual claims it, she does so not for herself alone, but for all who will follow. In this way, the act of knowing one’s worth becomes not selfishness, but service—a light that shows others the way.

Yet Bryant also teaches a subtler wisdom: that self-worth must be modeled, not merely taught. The young look not to lectures, but to lives. To model confidence, integrity, and excellence is to build a living bridge across generations. When Bryant speaks of “the young women of color who come to me,” she does not speak as one who commands from above, but as one who walks beside. She shows them through her own life that strength need not be loud to be powerful, that dignity is not given—it is lived. This is the inheritance of the wise: to turn one’s personal victories into a legacy of empowerment.

So, my listener, take this teaching to heart: never take less than your worth, for doing so diminishes not only yourself, but the very truth of your being. Measure your value not by others’ approval, but by the excellence of your effort and the purity of your purpose. If the world tells you to be small, stand taller. If it pays you little, give more only to yourself, not to those who would exploit your grace. And above all, remember that the act of standing up for your own dignity gives others permission to rise beside you.

For as Kimberly Bryant teaches, the fight for equality begins within the soul. When you learn to see yourself as worthy—worthy of respect, of success, of joy—you begin to change not only your own life, but the destiny of all who come after you. Let her words be your armor and your anthem: know your worth, stand tall, and never take less. For those who do so become not merely leaders of their time, but torchbearers for all humanity.