As Scotland is currently celebrating ‘Black History Month’ I thought I would do a wee array of inspiring black women! I have a snippet of three inspiring women.
I will start with a famous example. Rosa Parks, as I am sure most people will know that Rosa Parks famously stood up the discrimination during an ugly period of American History. Rosa Park’s refusal to move to the back of the bus is one of the most famous examples of civil rights protest. The much-publicised act of disobedience triggered the year-long Montgomery bus boycott, which would ultimately lead the Supreme Court to declare the city’s bus segregation laws unconstitutional. I remember in my higher classics exam in 2010 (discussing the infamous actions and attitudes of Antigone), citing the actions of Rosa Parks as inspirational. I still 100% believe this today; it takes courage to stand up to oppressive regimes and policies. Rosa Park’s actions were not violent or brutal but successfully shocked the nation, resulting in greater freedom and equality.
I will now look at a lesser-known inspiring women, with the example of Madame CJ Walker, the first self-proclaimed black female millionaire. The first child of her family to be born into post-Civil War freedom, and a mother and widow at the age of 20, Louisiana-born Sarah Breedlove moved to St. Louis in 1887, where she would develop a popular line of hair and beauty products for black women (inspired by her own bouts of hair loss) that would make her the first female self-made millionaire in America. Renaming herself, and her company, “Madame C.J. Walker,” she parlayed her wealth and fame into philanthropy, supporting African-American causes, organizations and schools, and joining with the NAACP’s successful push to make lynching a crime.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a Liberian politician and economist. After studying in the United States, including at Harvard, she became Assistant Minister of Finance followed by Minister of Finance on her return to Liberia. Her now dead ex-husband used to unleash violent outbursts as he struggled to accept his wife’s career. In 2005, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became the first woman to be elected president of an African state, following elections organised by the UN. In mid-October 2011, during new elections in Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf also came out ahead during the first round. On the 7th October 2011, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf received the Nobel Peace Prize, which she shares with two other women, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman, for their pacifist commitment in favour of male-female equality. As of 2014 Ellen is listed as the 70th most powerful woman in the world by the magazine Forbes.
Photo Credits:
media.cmgdigital.com
hearingvoices.com
snootygirlhairstudio.com
livingcivil.com