Born in the Bronx, New York and raised in the projects, Lisa Williamson aka Sister Souljah is a fighter who came up from the bottom. A graduate of Rutgers University, she earned a degree in American History and African Studies. She also attended the Cornell University Advanced Placement Studies and studied abroad in Europe at the University of Salamanca.
A global student, Sister Souljah traveled throughout her college years to England, France, Spain, Portugal, Finland, and Russia. Her academic accomplishments were reinforced with first-hand experiences. She worked to build a medical center for families in Bindura, Zimbabwe. She worked with refugee children from Mozambique. A major participant in the international student anti-apartheid movement, she helped to create a momentum, movement and fervor which liberated Nelson Mandela and brought about the divestment of millions of dollars from corporations doing business with apartheid South Africa. Her travels in Africa also included Zambia and South Africa. She believes it is essential that African professionals work together, invest in and help to save, shape and further develop our continent, resources, families, and children.
As a student activist in America, Souljah created, financed, and implemented the African Youth Survival Camp, a six-week summer sleep away academic/cultural camp for 200 children of homeless families. With a skillful curriculum, which she designed, this camp ran for over 3 consecutive years and inspired major celebrities to start their own camps and schools and to build charities and institutions to give back.
As a community activist, Souljah organized against racially motivated crimes, police brutality, and the miseducation of urban youth. She produced and promoted several outdoor rallies and concerts, in Harlem NY, which drew nearly 30,000 youth each time, as well as the participation of top Hip-Hop and R&B celebrities.
In the field of entertainment, Souljah has been on many platforms including radio and television. Before the political shutdown and attack on American 1st amendment rights, she was the young voice in NY radio that spoke to the hip-hop audience about politics, culture, business, and social organization. This includes being a featured speaker at the Million Woman March, appearances on Oprah Winfrey, Larry King Live, and the cover of Newsweek Magazine. As a Hip-Hop artist, Souljah’s CD entitled “360 degrees of Power,” sparked international debate over issues of race, culture, sexism, and politics. Additionally, the entire world awaits the release of her first film, The Coldest Winter Ever.
Today, Souljah is a 21st Century multidimensional woman. From 1995-2007 she was the Executive Director of Daddy’s House Social Programs, the charitable wing of Bad Boy Entertainment. At Daddy’s House Sister Souljah created cultural and academic programs which were offered to urban youth and housed at Columbia University. Souljah also created, designed and directed summer sleep-away camps and international youth travel groups which have had a powerful impact on many youths in America. She is the author of 4 national bestsellers, The Coldest Winter Ever (Fiction), Midnight, A Gangster Love Story (Fiction), Midnight and The Meaning Of Love, (fiction) and NO DISRESPECT. In 2008 within one week of the release of Midnight, A Gangster Love Story, Sister Souljah became a New York Times Best Seller entering the charts at #7.
Souljah remains a full-time author, wife of nineteen years, mother and world-class traveler.
