5 Things You Need Know About Sabrina Greenlee, 2024 The Root 100 Honoree

The Root 100 honoree Sabrina Greenlee has a touching personal story that should inspire us all.

After surviving a near-death experience that left her blind, the community activist and author has dedicated her life to empowering and encouraging victims of domestic violence. If that wasn’t enough, she’s also raised four successful children as a single mother, including her son, NFL star DeAndre Hopkins.

As we prepare to celebrate her and the rest of the honorees on the 2024 The Root 100 list, here are five things you should know about Sabrina Greenlee:

Before her attack, Sabrina Greenlee worked in an auto plant by day and as an exotic dancer in clubs in the South to make ends meet. In an interview with The Root, the South Carolina native described her life before the tragedy as one filled with trips and parties with celebrities.

July 20, 2002 changed Sabrina Greenlee’s life forever. A woman, who was involved with one of Greenlee’s ex-boyfriends attacked her with a concoction made of lye and bleach.

“When she threw it, I fell to the ground. And as I’m touching my face and back, the skin is coming off in my hands. A white curtain came over my eyes which I later realized was me going blind,” Greenlee told The Root in an interview.

Greenlee says she was left for dead in a gas station before she was airlifted to a burn care center in Augusta, Ga. for treatment. She spent a month in a coma before she was reunited with her family.

Greenlee’s attack also took a significant toll on her mental health. In an exclusive interview with The Root, she spoke candidly about spending more than three years confined to her bedroom as she battled thoughts of depression and suicide. But she says it was her faith and love for her children that

“I was taking pills to wake up, pills to go to sleep and all in between,” Greenlee said. “It was scary because I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I cried every day. But something in me said, ‘you better get it together because you’re going to lose these children either to the streets or to other people.’”

While most people couldn’t imagine showing mercy to a person who tried to kill them, Greenlee says she has forgiven her attacker, something that was an important part of her healing process.

“I began to call [the attacker’s] name out which is really tough. It didn’t happen overnight. I began to pray for her and I’m not talking about, ‘Well I just hope that she’s okay,’ I began radical prayer. As I began to pray for her, it ushered me into my breakthrough,” Greenlee said at The Root Institute 2022.“I began to see her as myself and understand that this woman had to have gone through so many things. We were both manipulated, both lied to.”

Greenlee has experienced unspeakable tragedy, but she has made it her mission to share her story widely and help as many people as possible. In an interview at The Root Institute in 2022, she said she’d go through her pain all over again to help other domestic violence survivors.

She is the founder of S.M.O.O.O.T.H. Inc., a non-profit organization designed to educate and empower women by providing them with mentorship and skills training.

In July 2024, she released her memoir, “Grant Me Vision,” a powerful personal account of her triumph over tragedy. Greenlee, who writes candidly about her life’s struggles – from being the victim of sexual abuse as a young girl to her violent attack – and told The Root she hopes readers will be inspired by her story and understand the importance of forgiveness to her healing process.