Sometimes The King Is A Woman: The Ronita Overton Story
When you see Washington D.C on news outlets, they always showcase downtown, popular tourist spots, or high-income areas. Have you noticed that when that talk about neighborhoods in Northeast or
When you see Washington D.C on news outlets, they always showcase downtown, popular tourist spots, or high-income areas. Have you noticed that when that talk about neighborhoods in Northeast or Southeast D.C, they always mention the talk about gun violence but do not showcase the positive things that people are doing for their local community?
Today, I tell you all the story of a woman who grew up in the rough streets of Congress Heights and managed to find success in the corporate world without earning a college degree. Meet Ronita Overton, a U, S. Army Veteran, Corporate Executive, Author, Entrepreneur & Music Artist.
Overton’s upbringing in Southeast played an important role in her success story today. She grew up during the crack epidemic, a time when D.C. experienced a high level of drugs and crime. Since the age of 10, Ronita has been taking care of herself. Whether it was washing car windows or pumping gas, Ronita made she found a way to survive. Despite the conditions and circumstances, she grew up in, Overton did not let that stop her from beating the odds.
“That’s why I tell people you don’t grow up in Southeast, you survive. You have to learn how to survive. You have to figure your own way out.” said Ronita Overton
Every challenge and obstacle she experience gave her tough skin. From her perspective, if you are not paying attention, you won’t make it. Ronita received that opportunity when she joined the Army and attended the University of District of Columbia with aspirations of becoming an Entrepreneur. Eventually, she ended up working receiving a corporate-level position and worked her way up the scale.
Although people come into the community from time to time to donate clothes and giveaway food, Ronita believes that is not enough and we have to do more. Right now, she is on a journey to give back and inspire people from her community and any impoverished neighborhood in America. During our discussion, she mentioned how the youth today are dealing with more mental health issues than she and her peers endured in their childhood.
She recently released her first book entitled “Sometimes the King is a Woman”. This tells the story of Overton’s life growing up in the Southeast. “God woke me up and I said to myself I’m going to write this book. That has always been my dream since I was a child,” said Overton. Within six months, Ronita has finished writing her book, record a new song, and shot a music video. As we spoke about the motivation behind her story, she stress that her main goal was to make it out of poverty. “Sometimes the King is a Woman” is available for purchase here.
Be Sure To Follow Ronita on Instagram @RonitaOverton. Take a listen to her latest single “Champagne Me Please” down below.