I Want To Be Like Her When I Grow Up, Part 2

Last week, I paid homage to some amazing Black women in history who have inspired me to be a better woman and are living proof that anything is possible if you want to achieve it badly enough. I wanted to close the month by continuing that tribute further - it's hard to pick and choose since there are so many great Black women in history but I am hoping that after reading this, you will be inspired to go out there and learn more about them and about other phenomenal women of color.

"It's the little things citizens do. That's what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees." ~ Wangari Maathai

From a very young age, I wanted to change the world, somehow, some way. Quite a big dream for a young child but I think many of us have had these grand ideas about doing our part to make the world a better place. While in college, I went through a phrase where I was an activist, protesting tuition hikes as well as trying to educate the public on environmental issues and doing their part in helping the environment. During this time, I took a women's history course and had the most eclectic, odd but wonderful professor who had dreadlocks and wore Birkenstock sandals and just a sweater in the dead of winter. Here's the kicker... he was a man AND he was white. Of course, I gave him the side eye when I first sat down. Then he wrote on the blackboard: Who is Wangari Maathai?

I shamefully admit that at the time, I did not know who she was. And I was not alone. He proceeded to talk about this great woman from Kenya who was determined to make the world a more peaceful, healthier, and better place. This was a woman who was so determined to change the world that she created her own movement called the Green Belt Movement in 1977. With the Green Belt Movement, she worked with women to better their lives by helping them obtain better access to resources like firewood for cooking and clean water and became an advocate for women's rights.

Wangari Maathai went on to become the first African-American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. I went to college in the 90's and kept up with Dr. Maathai after attending college via the media. Her constant achievements and gifts she gave to the world through her service and tireless work always gave me inspiration. They instilled my motivation to keep going and never give up. I remember sitting at my desk at work on that day in 2004 when I read online that she had received the Nobel Peace Prize and just putting my fist up in air and saying out loud, "YEAH!". Sadly, she died of complications from ovarian cancer last year but her legacy lives on through the Green Belt Movement and all her other successes that will never be forgotten.

"The world is a severe schoolmaster, for its frowns are less dangerous than its smiles and flatteries, and it is a difficult task to keep in the path of wisdom." ~Phillis Wheatley

I remember the first time I read about Phillis Wheatley while at the library. I was 9 and was so moved by her story, to the point where I sat in my favorite private corner in the back of the library and cried. It really affected me because of how her life started and ended. She became the first African American writer to be published during a time where most slaves were forbidden to learn how to read and write. She was taken from West Africa and brought to America to be enslaved when she was around 8 years old. She was bought by a prominent Boston family (the Wheatleys) and was fortunate enough to be bought by a family that treated her as if she were part of that family. She actually was not forced into any kind of hard labor. Instead, she was taught how to read and write English by one of the Wheatley daughters. After almost a year and a half of being taught, Phillis was able to read difficult passages in the Bible. By the time she was 12, she was learning how to read Latin and became well-versed in history, geography, English and religion.

When Phillis was 20, she was sent to accompany Nathaniel Wheatley on his trip to London. While there, she became popular with British society and a collection of her poetry was published during this visit. As a result of that London trip, Phillis went on to have more poetry published. For someone so talented and brilliant, her life was short and did not end on a good note. At the age of 31, her husband was imprisoned, leaving her to fend for herself with a sick infant son. She was forced to ironically work as a maid to support herself and her son, the very labor that she unintentionally avoided while being a slave. She and her son died shortly thereafter her husband's imprisonment and her grave stands unmarked at Granary Burying Ground in Boston, Massachusetts.

It makes me sad to even think about Ms. Wheatley and how in the end, she ended up with an unmarked grave. This is why it is so important to know our history and celebrate those who paved the way for us. Even if you are not a poet, this is a Black woman who broke barriers and accomplished things during a time when it was unheard of for a slave to even read and write! Ms. Wheatley believed that the power of poetry is immeasurable and every Black poet that has come after her is an example of that. Thank you, Phillis Wheatley for the legacy you have left behind.

“I am glad to see that men are getting their rights, but I want women to get theirs, and while the water is stirring, I will step into the pool.” ~ Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth is someone that when I think of her, I get pumped up and my determination knows no boundaries. When I say "anything is possible if you want it badly enough", Sojourner Truth is the epitome of that statement. She is one of the most famous nineteenth-century Black American women. If you don't know why...she was a former slave who was uneducated but she never let her lack of education stop her from speaking out against slavery, which she actively opposed. She never learned how to read or write. However, Sojourner Truth became a major speaker against slavery and for women's rights. When she was 29, she fled with her infant daughter to be free and that was not all. She went back to get her son and found out he was sold to another family. So she went to court to get him back and became the first Black women to win in court against a white man. Okay now! Sorry, I am getting pumped up just by writing this.

She was a woman who not only expressed her opinion but put action behind her words. She was not afraid to speak up for what she believed in and worked tirelessly to make a difference as best as she could. Her most famous speech titled "Ain't I a Woman" was delivered at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851. What set Sojourner Truth from other abolitionists was that she spoke about reason and religious understanding as resolutions for ending slavery. She was not about violent protests or uprisings. She felt it was her mission to preach the Word of God.

When she spoke, she spoke from the heart. She would speak about her own experiences as a slave and her down-to-earth style of speaking helped her in calming hostile crowds. What led her to become an outspoken advocate for women's rights was when she learned that while women can act as abolitionists, they could neither vote nor hold public office. She continued to lecture and speak as well as fighting for the rights of Blacks and women until she became ill. She was then forced to retire to her home, where she passed away November 26, 1883.

These women and so many others have paved the way for us to be inspired and add our own footprints to history. With the end of Black History month almost upon us, I cannot stress enough that despite the month ending, learning about our history should not end on February 29. Knowledge is power and that knowledge is within our fingertips. I promise you that once you start reading and researching history, you too will be as inspired and pumped as I am when writing or talking about Sojourner Truth and all these other brilliant women I paid tribute to for the last 2 weeks. For me, they were heroes that gave me hope that my life would be just as important in the world. They are proof that anyone can be a hero, if they want to make a change in the world, just by getting out there and trying to make that change happen.

I Want To Be Like Her When I Grow Up, Pt 1

Today, I saw a link posted on Facebook from the U.S. Air Force website with the following title: "AF first female maintenance officer leads way as first African-American female general". When I clicked over, I read about Maj. Gen. Marcelite Harris, a phenomenal woman who, as the article states, broke so many racial and gender barriers during a great Air Force career to become the first female African-American general in 1991. WOW! When I read things like this, it just makes me feel so empowered and so inspired. It truly says "Nothing is impossible."

February is Black History Month and I could not let this month go by without paying homage to some of the great, amazing Black women, like Maj. Gen. Marcelite Harris, who have paved the way for others to follow in their footsteps. They have made it possible for us to believe that we can do anything we set our minds to and thus, changing history. Not only did they have to endure racism because of the color of their skin but they also had to endure sexism because let's keep it real here....we live in a man's world.

It is getting better but it is only getting better because more of us women are stepping up and showing the world that we can accomplish just as much as a man can. We can do the jobs that many think only men can do. We show the world that we are fearless, we are bold and we are determined. These amazing Black women are the women who I wanted to be like when I grew up...still do. They keep me inspired and grounded with my eye on the prize. I hope you can be inspired by them as I am on a daily basis.

I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear. ~ Rosa Parks

Ms. Rosa Parks...I remember when I first studied the civil rights movement in elementary school. Many of my fellow students were more interested in Martin Luther King Jr. and Booker T. Washington, whereas I was fascinated by Ms. Rosa Parks. Here was a woman who was just trying to get home after a long, hard day of work and in one moment on her way home on a public bus, she ended up being one of the most revered civil rights activists in African-American history, nationally known as "the mother of the modern day civil rights movement". She refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. She was tired and honestly, didn't feel like getting up. Why should she? She stood up for what she believed in. As she said in her quote above, once your mind is made up, your fear is gone. She wasn't the first person to not want to give up her seat on the bus. However, her act of "disobedience" is what triggered the Montgomery Bus boycott.

I love this excerpt from an 1992 interview that Ms Parks did with National Public Radio's Lynn Neary where she explains how she felt in that moment and why she decided to not give up her seat: "I did not want to be mistreated, I did not want to be deprived of a seat that I had paid for. It was just time... there was opportunity for me to take a stand to express the way I felt about being treated in that manner. I had not planned to get arrested. I had plenty to do without having to end up in jail. But when I had to face that decision, I didn't hesitate to do so because I felt that we had endured that too long. The more we gave in, the more we complied with that kind of treatment, the more oppressive it became." Rosa Parks taught me you should always stand up for yourself and what you believe in. Thank you, Ms. Parks for that valuable lesson.

“Tremendous amounts of talent are lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt” ~ Shirley Chisholm

Because of Shirley Chisholm, I got so interested in the law growing up and at one point, wanted to be a judge. These were big dreams for a Puerto-rican girl growing up in the projects in Queens, New York but Ms Chisholm made me feel like if she can do it, I can do it! I was intrigued and in awe of this woman, who became the first Black woman elected to Congress, the first black presidential candidate for a major party and the first woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972. Ms. Chisholm epitomized the women's movement for me - she was strong, vocal and fearless in her crusade for equal rights for women and just change overall.

As you can see from her quote above, she did not mince words. This was a woman who said what was on her mind eloquently and then put action behind her words. In 1993, she was inducted in the National Women's Hall of Fame. I love this quote from Ms Chisholm from the documentary film Shirley Chisholm '72: Unbought and Unbossed: "When I die, I want to be remembered as a woman who lived in the twentieth century and who dared to be a catalyst for change. I don't want be remembered as the first black woman who went to Congress, and I don't even want to be remembered as the first woman who happen to be black to make a bid for the presidency. I want to be remembered as a woman who fought for change in the twentieth century. That's what I want." Amen, Ms Chisholm! Your legacy definitely lives on and you will never be forgotten.

"Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live." ~ Mae Jemison

I have a picture of Mae Jemison on my positivity wall, right next to my vision board. It's that serious. She is one of my heroes. She is that person who is at the top of my list of people I want to meet in my lifetime. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with space and science fiction. Still am to this day. Back in the 60's, when Mae was a kid, she knew she wanted to be a scientist. Mae makes it cool to be a book nerd. When she was a kid, she loved to go to the library and read about science and loved stories that featured women scientists and female heroines. That empowered her and made her feel like she could be that scientist she longed to be. She also loved the arts and studied dance from the age of 9 and on. When it came time to make a decision on what to study in college, the arts or medicine, she chose the latter. She went on to medical school and became a medical doctor.

She joined NASA's astronaut program in 1987 and in 1992, Mae became the first African American woman to orbit the Earth on the Space Shuttle Endeavor. This is a woman who has done it all. Besides being a doctor, a dancer and an astronaut, she was in the Peace Corps for 2 years as a medical officer, holds 9 honorary doctorates in science, engineering, letters, and the humanities and now runs her own company researching how technology can be applied to daily life. She also continues to be an advocate for getting minority students more interested in science. What young girl would NOT want to be like Mae or follow in her footsteps?

These three women each have had such an impact on history and on many women's lives. I know they have inspired me to be a better person and like I said before, they are really a testament to the belief that nothing is impossible if you have your mind set on it. Whether you're standing up for yourself and making your voice heard like Rosa Parks, determined to make a change in this world like Shirley Chisholm or have the desire to fulfill your dreams (no matter how big) like Mae Jemison, we are honoring their legacy by being the best women we can be in this world. Next week, I will showcase a few more phenomenal women to close out this special month. Until then, be inspired, be bold, be fearless.