Angela Crenshaw is one of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year, a recognition of women who have made a significant impact in their communities and across the country. The program launched in 2022 as a continuation of Women of the Century, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. Meet this year’s honorees at womenoftheyear.usatoday.com.
Angela Crenshaw has always had an affinity for the natural world.
Nature, she said, soothes her; whether it’s the tall grass that populates the Eastern Shore of Maryland, rippling in the wind, or the fierce bald eagles she blows a kiss to in passing.
“I feel so connected to nature,” Crenshaw said. “I just want to make sure everyone has that opportunity to connect with our public lands, and that’s why Maryland State Parks exists.”
Crenshaw, a veteran park ranger, was named the director of the Maryland Park Service – becoming the first Black woman to hold the esteemed role – in 2023. She has worked at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, co-managed by the National Park Service and Maryland Park Service, since 2016.
“It’s been an honor to lead the Maryland Park Service,” said Crenshaw. “I see this as a role of service. I want to serve the people below me and above me.”
Crenshaw’s passion for the natural world extends to American abolitionist and social activist Harriet Tubman. The 19th-century heroine relied on nature – the stars above, plants below, and sounds of wildlife echoing to and fro – as well as her faith in God to navigate inhospitable terrain on her perilous journey to freedom.
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Born in West Virginia and currently based at Department of Natural Resources headquarters in Annapolis, Maryland, Crenshaw can recall first learning about Harriet Tubman in elementary school. As noted by Crenshaw, her textbook read, "Harriet Tubman freed slaves," and that is all. The knowledge she gained as a child was rather limited, and she hungered for more.
“My parents thought it was very important to expose me to African American history,” Crenshaw, 42, shared. “My mom always said, ‘They can only teach you so much in school. So, it is up to you to learn the rest of your history, of our history.’ ”
Now, Crenshaw instructs others who aim to learn more about the abolitionist to visit Tubman country – also known as Dorchester County, Maryland – where Tubman was born and raised. That is where, she said, you will get the full Tubman experience.
It is also where, along with the life and legacy of Harriet Tubman, individuals can learn about the heart-rending history of racial exclusion at state parks, which were segregated by race for nearly 100 years from the post-Civil War era until the mid-1960s.
“I can share facts with you, I can share dates with you. But what’s going to stick with you is how this place made you feel. It’s so moving and so wonderful - I love it here,” Crenshaw said of the visitor center, nestled in the heart of Tubman country. “Working here changed my life.”
I can't not say Harriet Tubman. I'm sitting in her Visitor Center at the Maryland State Park as we speak. She paved the way for me, and I still feel like she lights my path daily, and she guides me. So, I truly appreciate that. Also, Frederick Douglass, Zilpha Elaw, Jarena Lee, Sojourner Truth, and all the women that just lived their truth throughout their entire life. They made the world better for it. So, definitely Harriet Tubman and so many other titans of African-American history
I hope I'm paving the way for other park rangers, and my colleagues. I also have two little nieces. I hope I'm making their paths slightly smoother for them. I'm sure everyone will come up against struggles and challenges, but if I can smooth out that trail a little bit or share my insight or a map with you, I think that will be very helpful. So, that's my entire goal doing this job and being a brown skin park ranger in Maryland.
My proudest moment was probably taking eagles to the White House, where we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. We got to meet the president and sit in the Oval Office and hold the eagles in the Rose Garden. That entire day was just so moving, and I got to do it with my colleagues; people that I value and trust and love. So, that was truly, truly amazing. Opening this park was also a highlight. I gave the governor and his team, as well as the descendants of Harriet Tubman, a tour of this place that is so dear to me; a place that I put blood, sweat and tears into. Any day that I get to wake up and put this uniform on, to me, is a win.
A hard part, a difficult part? The struggles of bureaucracy is very difficult. I have big plans for the Maryland Park Service, but knowing that they will take more time and more paperwork than I thought originally is a little bit defeating. But, I just look at images of Harriet Tubman and all the people that came before me and know that if they can do it, I can definitely do it too. I acknowledge that I am standing on the shoulders of giants. And, as I mentioned, Harriet Tubman is only 5 feet tall but she is still a giant, and I am happily standing on her shoulders.
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Oh man, courage. It's doing what's hard and what's difficult anyway, doing it with grace and class and in a nice, crisp uniform with a smile. To me, that's courage. This job is tough, this life is tough, this world is tough, but I really do try to get up every day, put on my uniform and smile and move forward and make life better for other people. So, to me, that is the definition of courage.
Harriet Tubman's quote when she got to freedom: “When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven.”
I can just picture Maryland's Eastern Shore on a day like today, with the sun coming through the trees and shining on the fields as the grasses dance. It makes me pause, and I take a deep breath and I move forward.
I quote Harriet Tubman frequently. And as I mentioned, live with your heart forward. And you can't live with your heart forward if your back is to the wind. You have to turn and face the wind, put your chest forward and stand with your head high; keep moving.
All of my coworkers that manage our Maryland state parks. There's 250 of us. We manage 142,000 acres. We are doing a huge job with few resources. I look up to my parents, of course. They're wonderful, and they gave me so many opportunities. They told me when I wasn't good at something so that I could point myself in the direction of something I am good at. They encouraged me to do the things that I wanted to do.
I love nature. My mom does not. I didn't know she didn't love nature until I was about 15 years old, and she said, "That's why I sent you to the Girl Scouts, so you can sleep on the floor with other people because I'm not sleeping on the floor with you." She needs a locking door and a nice mattress, and I appreciate that about her. I also didn't know that she missed me until I was in my 20s, so I was never afraid to go out and do anything. It gave me strength, courage and resilience.
I would send my mom pictures of me traipsing around Africa, and it wasn't until I came home that she said, "Angie, that gave me a panic attack. I was terrified for you." I said, "Why didn't you tell me?" She replied, "Because I knew you wouldn't have done it." She gave me the freedom and space to live my life and to be true to me, and so did my father.
I can name so many other names. The Obamas, of course. They did what seemed to be the impossible, and led the United States through a really, really divided time. So, to all the people that paved the way for me, I acknowledge that I drink from wells I did not dig and I take shade under trees I did not plant. So, anyone that came before me and led the way, I look up to a ton of people, truly.
Keep going. Just keep walking. I love the hikers prayer: "Lord, if you lift the boot, I'll put it down." I kind of live by that. If you lift up my feet, I will put them down and keep going. So, I live by the hikers prayer. It keeps me going, truly. You just keep knocking things out. You keep doing the work that needs to be done. You do the difficult things, and you do the fun things. Just knowing that people worked so hard for me to get to this point, I can't let these folks down, not at all.
Enjoy your freedom. Run around, have a good time, taste all the food you can taste, hug all the people you want to hug, and go to the events that you want to go to. Running around the local neighborhood creek, picking up tadpoles, carrying around salamanders, terrifying my parents with the snake that I brought home; I'd tell myself to keep doing that. Lean into the fun things. Lean into the things that fill your heart and give you love. Have fun.
Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her with tips and story ideas at ominzola@delmarvanow.com.
