Happy Valentine’s Day. This is a big month; we have Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, And Black History Month. In honor of all three, I combined them.
It’s the story of hundreds of strong, passionate, involved women. You know I’ve talked about my bullying. These are women who were enslaved. And they rose above it. And flourished and succeeded.
I know what it’s like to walk into a room, and there is not one person in that room that looks like me or walks like me.
It’s not easy. I salute these women for all they did.
My Short List
We begin with an artist—a poet, to be exact. Phyliss Wheatly, who was not born with that name, because she was taken from her native Gambia, brought to Boston in the mid-18th century and enslaved by John Wheatley.
Phyliss Wheatly
She was kidnapped to be a domestic worker. The Wheatley’s taught her to read and write. And she eventually became a poet. Her work is celebrated worldwide.
Barbara Jordan
Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, an eloquent speaker, was the first African American person to represent Texas and the first African American woman to represent a southern state in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, she explained why President Nixon should be impeached. And then resigned.
Ida B. Wells, born into slavery during the Civil War, passionately documented and protested the lynching of African Americans. A Civil Right Leader fought segregation and a woman’s right to vote in the courts.
Althea Gibson overcame racism to become the first African American Tennis play to win a Grand Slam Tournament. She won the French Championships in 1956. She also won four more single Grand Slams and six doubles titles. Yes. It empowered the Williams sisters.
Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to Congress. She represented New York’s 12 District for seven terms beginning in 1972. She fought for racial and gender equality, advocated for the poor, and Opposed the Vietnam War.
Mary McLeod Bethune. Educator. Activist. She became the highest-ranking African American woman in government when President Roosevelt named her director of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration. She was also the only woman of color at the founding conference of the United Nations in 1945.
Patricia Harris is another trailblazer. She was the first Black woman to serve as an American ambassador. She represented the United States in Luxembourg from 1965 to 1967 and was the first appointed to a Cabinet when President Jimmy Carter named her Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in 1977.
And finally, Marian Anderson.
Opera Singer. One of the greatest American contraltos in the 20th century or any century. The Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow Anderson to perform at Constitution Hall when she performed with the New York Metropolitan Opera.
So, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt invited her to sing at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday that same year. 1939. She was on the radio nationwide.
Who is on Your List?
There is a shortlist of Eight Amazing, Beautiful, Talented, Civil Rights Champions.
We are blessed to have these sisters blaze trails for the rest of us. We all have individual struggles every day. Look at the troubles these women overcame.
That’s why history is so important.
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