The Year of the Black Woman
Black women from hbcu’s to congress
HBCU’s across the country are screaming in excitement as their alumna are making historical changes to the United States of America. Below is a list of 4, phenomenal, Black women who came from humble beginnings to altering history forever. They all have a few things in common.
KAMALA HARRIS
For our first lady in the room, let’s give a round of applause for Kamala Harris also known as Momola. This extraordinary human being is the first of many things when it comes to being a woman of color and well, a woman. Harris is“the first Black woman to be elected District Attorney in California history, first woman to be California’s Attorney General, first Indian American Senator, and now, the first Black woman and first Asian American to be picked as a Vice Presidential running mate on a major-party ticket” (Kim, 2020, p. 1). She is now officially the first Black and South Asian woman to ever be Vice President of the United States of America. Harris graduated from Howard University in 1986 with a BA in Political Science and Economics.
STACY ABRAMS
Our next woman of power is Stacy Abrams. Stacy Abrams ran for the 2020 presidential election alongside Kamala Harris, but unfortunately for her, she lost. Although she lost that race, she took that L and came back without mercy! “In Georgia, her organization Fair Fight helped register 800,000 voters in Georgia” ( Hincliffe, 2020, p.1). This was no easy feat, this is truly monumental! In her registering all of these new voters she was able to turn the state of Georgia from red to blue for the first time since 1992! That is 28 years of being red! Stacy graduated from Spellman College in 1995 and “graduating Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Interdisciplinary studies (Political Science, Economics and Sociology) and was named a Harry S. Truman Scholar” (Spelman College, 2017, p. 1).
CORI BUSH
Last but not least in our list is superwoman, Cori Bush! Now this woman right here really went to battle. Let’s talk a little bit about her background. Cori is a Pastor, Nurse and Activist. However, she is now adding on to that title. On August 4, 2020, Bush made history for herself and other BIPOC and defeated 10-term incumbent Lacy Clay in the 2020 U.S. House of Representatives primary election, advancing to the November general election in the solidly Democratic congressional district. Bush is the first African-American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri” (Wikipedia). Bush fought tooth and nail to get this position. She had originally lost her first time in 2018, but like Stacy, she took that L and kept it pushing, forward that is. Bush attended Harris-Stowe State University from 1995-1996, but then graduated from Lutheran School of Nursing in 2008.
african american women in congress stats:
According to Center for American Women and Politics, “At least 130 (98D, 32R) Black women were congressional candidates in 2020, including 117 (89D, 28R) Black women candidates for the U.S. House and 13 (9D, 4R) Black women candidates for the U.S. Senate. These numbers include all Black women filed candidates, including those who may have already lost their primary elections. They do not include candidates for non-voting offices in the U.S. House. This is the largest number of Black women candidates who have run for the House or Senate, overall and in both parties, in a single election year” (CAWP Staff, 2020 p.1).
historical highlights: the ultimate inspiration
SHIRLEY ANITA CHISHOLM
In the year of 1969 something happened that would set a trend for African Americans in Congress. The first Black woman and first person of color to run for congress was none of than Shirley Anita Chisholm. According to history.house.gov, “Chisholm served two terms in the New York state legislature before winning election in November 1968 to a newly created congressional district in Brooklyn. The only woman among the freshman class of the 91st Congress, Chisholm took the House by storm. “I have no intention of just sitting quietly and observing,” she said. “I intend to focus attention on the nation’s problems”. But she did not stop there! In 1972 she became the first Black woman to run for President of the United States. She was well known for her fierceness and went by the words of “unbought and unbothered.” This woman even survived multiple assassination attempts! We owe it all to you Ms. Chisholm!
last words
400 years ago, our Ancestors were stolen from different parts of Africa. In order for us to be here, trailblazing the way we are, in a country that was not intended to ever be our own, they had to suffer and they had to survive. We, my brothers and sisters, are our ancestors wildest dreams. Black women in the United States have not only influenced other minorities in the United States of America, but all over the world. Black women are constantly being overlooked but are always there to carry the world on their backs. We are the backbone of this democracy and we will continue to strive for greatness for we are God. As the great Erykah Badu once said, “If we were made in his image then call us by our names .”
