As Black women, we’re so often expected to be strong, fight-ready, and positioned on the frontlines at all times. But right now, the greatest resistance might be to lean into self-care like never before.
Born into slavery in Raleigh, North Carolina, Anna Julia Cooper transformed the limitations imposed upon Black women into fuel for her relentless pursuit of education and justice.
When we think of the Civil Rights Movement, names like Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis dominate the narrative. Dorothy Cotton, an unsung architect of racial justice, embodied the period of protest and change.
Callie House, a Tennessee laundress born into slavery, dared to demand pensions for her fellow washer women.
Before the buzzer sounds, before the world takes notice, before history is recorded—Black women have already been there, pushing boundaries, setting records, and changing the rules of the game.
In the aftermath of the Civil War, as the United States grappled with Reconstruction, Black women – both formerly enslaved and free – emerged as a force in the labor movement.
By invoking these “she-rose” sisters who’ve made enduring freedom strides over the centuries, we celebrate all Black women. They reflect our lineage: loyal, relentless, overperformers who refuse to abandon the quest to shape our destiny.
I celebrate you – Black women – by invoking these “she-rose” sisters who’ve made enduring freedom strides over the centuries.
Billie Holiday, Chaka Khan, Mary J. Blige, Natalie Cole, Phyllis Hyman, and Whitney Houston. Spanning generations and genres, these phenomenal songstress with crossover adulation shared more in common than their superstar status. All fought the demons of addiction; some to their demise, others to their recovery and rise. Commemorating Black Music Month, we unerase the…
This month we celebrate the far-flung majesty of Black music by paying homage to three pioneers. Musical royalty, they were all late 19th Century contemporaries who staked out their legendary portraits: the First Lady of Blues Mammie Smith, the Mother of Blues Ma Rainey, the Empress of Blues Bessie Smith. Singularly and collectively – each…