This past weekend, I sat down to watch a film on Prime Video that deeply stirred my spirit. Entitled Sarah’s Oil, this moving production is based on the incredible true story of Sarah Rector — a name we should all hold in high esteem. Historically known as Sarah Rector Campbell Crawford, she was a young girl who became one of our nation’s first Black female millionaires, teaching us a profound lesson on how God can turn “worthless” situations into overflowing blessings.
Sarah’s journey began not with a silver spoon, but with a legal birthright rooted in a complex history. As a descendant of African people formerly enslaved by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Sarah was listed as a “Freedman” on the Dawes Rolls. This status entitled her to an allotment of 160 acres of land in Oklahoma.
However, the world’s intentions were not always kind. Under the Dawes Allotment Act, the government intentionally assigned Freedmen the least valuable parcels. Sarah’s specific plot in Glenpool was considered “barren,” rocky, and utterly unsuitable for farming. It was seen as such a burden that her father actually petitioned to sell the land to avoid the $30 annual property tax. That petition was denied — a moment we can now see as divine intervention…