ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL ADVANCE NATIONAL COVERAGE: Alabama businesswoman Shermaine Sumter defies toughest of odds, cherishes her God-manifested talents as a gifted hairstylist, singer, and songwriter
Andre Johnson 
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. (Psalm 139:14 NIV)
BEAUTY FOR ASHES
It is a story Shermaine Sumter has shared time and again, one that no one is becoming exhausted of hearing.
If nothing else, many have become greatly inspired and moved by a life-altering story that, to Sumter’s credit, has helped propel her to become a better version of herself.
For the rest of her life.
“I dropped out of high school and had my first child at age 18 in Jamaica,” Sumter, a resident of Alabama, told Making Headline News this week. “I was talked about and ridiculed, even seen as the black sheep, but I was determined not to let this define me.”
For what it’s worth, Sumter, it seems, was determined to steadfastly silence her critics, thus prove her naysayers wrong.
After all, she was fully persuaded that God had a divine calling on her life despite the rash of obstacles that surfaced in her life to challenge her faith.
She’s still persuaded, if we’re being honest.
“I went back to school and completed courses in the field of business,” Sumter, 40, said. “I went on to working in a call center for over eight years, where I became a supervisor for Humana Dental and Greyhound Bus Lines.”
HIS GOOD THING
In kicking off Making Headline News’ 2023 Essence Music Festival advance coverage leading to the “the party with a purpose” event June 29-July 3 in New Orleans, Sumter spoke about her fervent rise as a hairstylist, singer, and songwriter amid what has been a memorable year for the native Jamaican.
After completing her General Educational Development courses, businesswoman Shermaine Sumter this week earned her GED from Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama. Now plans, she said, are in the works to acquire an Associate Degree in Music.
Years removed from what could be appropriately described as a dreaded season in the wilderness, Sumter, an accomplished entrepreneur, seems well on track to fulfilling the divine purpose for which God created her.
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“My business is (centered on) beautifying people, not only by styling their hair, but also by empowering them by the word of God and through the words of the songs He has inspired me with,” Sumter told MHN.
Raised by her grandmother in an extended family, Sumter was a regular attendee at an area Pentecostal church despite the slew of unfavorable circumstances she endured, particularly as a teenager.
Having been sexually violated as a child which, according to Sumter, led to a “promiscuous lifestyle,” she recalls how such turmoil had subsequently given way to her assuming what she describes as “the wrong mindset about who I really was.”
“I used to dress in skimpy clothing, party a lot, and was not concerned too much with moral values, even though I was brought up in the church,” said Sumter, whose mother, after getting married, left “in hopes for a better life for me and my older sister” when she was six years old.
As if that wasn’t enough to derail the life of a youngster, Sumter attempted suicide “at about age 15,” she recalls, and subsequently encountered other near-death experiences, including being stabbed four times.
“But God decided I had a purpose to fulfill,” Sumter said. I was invited to church one day and, while there, I encountered the Spirit of Christ, which completely changed my life.”
Sumter, in fact, received the gift of the Holy Ghost on December 12, 2009, and was baptized shortly thereafter.
“I have been greatly inspired and empowered by the teachings of Dr. Myles Munroe, Apostle Joshua Selman, Bishop Noel Jones, Bishop T.D Jakes, Pastor Juanita Bynum (her sermon, No More Sheets), Pastor Micheal Richardson (her pastor) and my older sister, Melissa Green, who is the true example of a fighter and overcomer,” Sumter, one of the lead singers in the adult choir and director of the children’s choir at her church (Antioch Ministries), said. “These individuals have helped to mold me into the woman I am today.”
FAMILY MATTERS
Interestingly enough, Sumter has since drawn ever-so-closely to God in the process, something by which she’s doesn’t merely take lightly, given He’s spared her life long enough to share with the masses her life-altering, tear-jerking story, one no one is becoming exhausted of hearing.
“Since then, I’ve been gaining a new perspective on life, learning who I really am and what God wants for me,” Sumter said.
NEVER, EVER FORGET…
In the wake of what could be suitably deemed the season of a turnaround, Sumter has found true love, another memorable evolution she has embraced wholeheartedly.
“We met over the phone while I was working for Greyhound in Jamaica and he was here in Alabama,” said Sumter, recalling how she met Roger Sumter in November 2008. “He called in and got me as a rep at the time and offered his phone number because he liked the sound of my voice. We formed a friendship over the phone.”
Consequently, after eight years of friendship — “on and off as we lost contact at one point,” Sumter recalls — we met in person for the first time.
GOD FAVORS HER
That initial meeting took place on December 11, 2016. The couple would ultimately exchange nuptials — two days later, for the record.
By and large, Sumter’s beauty-for-ashes fantasy is one that, much to her delight, essentially sums up why she’s become greatly inspired to testify before the world a life-altering story that has helped propel her to become a better version of herself.
For the rest of her life.
Heck, how could anyone possibly grow exhausted of hearing about it?
For more information about Alabama Businesswoman Shermaine Sumter, or to schedule her for a public appearance, speaking or singing engagement, connect with her via social media under: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shermaine.sumter; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shermaineharley/; LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shermaine-sumter-071565258. Also, send email to: [email protected].
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WHAT’S YOUR STORY? If you are an entrepreneur, business owner, producer, author, athlete, musician, barber, life coach, motivational speaker, cosmetologist, tax preparer, model, or pastor/minister who is seeking exposure and would like to share your story with an in-depth news feature, call Reporter Andre Johnson at 901-690-6587 or Facebook message him under “Andre T. Johnson” for details.
Andre Johnson is the award-winning Founder and Publisher for Making Headline News. A 2000 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism and a former staff reporter of sports for the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Johnson covers the NBA Southwest Division from Dallas, Texas. To reach Johnson, send email to [email protected] or to [email protected]. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist or Instagram at @makingheadlinenews.
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