Black History Month is coming to a close and laying way for Women’s Month in March. International Women’s day is March 8th. What did you do to celebrate Black History Month? It could have been something as small as celebrating Black actors by watching Black Panther for the hundredth time, or even bigger by participating in the MLK March. If you were unaware of it being Black History Month, it’s not too late to show your support in the last few days—better yet, you can celebrate the women of color who have made history.
“You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.”
Maya Angelou is a name everyone has heard. A prominent poet, author and activist, she accomplished much in her lifetime. Angelou became the coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference at the request of Dr. King. She later became the first Black female director in Hollywood.
“Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room”
Angelia Davis is an activist who was primarily associated with the Black Panthers, as well as being a supporter of the Soledad Brothers—three men accused of killing a prisoner guard after another guard killed several Black inmates. Today she lectures across the country about women’s rights, the prison system and race while continuing to be a professor at the University of California.
“Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.”
Bell Hooks is a feminist theorist, artist and writer. She has written about race, gender, class and spirituality. Her most notable book that most may know her from is ‘Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism.’
“Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?”
Coretta Scott King was the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and was an activist herself. Not only did she take part in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, but she also made efforts to help pass the Civil Rights Act. After the murder of her husband she founded the King Center, and later two awards in her name.
“Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.”
Audre Lorde self-described herself as a “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.” She spent her life addressing racism, homophobia, sexism and classism through her writing. Later, she went on to found ‘Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press,’ which was dedicated to furthering the writings of Black feminists with fellow writer Barbara Smith.
“You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.”
Alice Walker is known for her work on the treatment of African American culture. Most may know her by her book ‘The Color Purple.’ Walker considered herself a womanist, which is different than a feminist, with the most common comparison is that womanist to feminist is like purple to lavender.
“Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs”
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is much younger than the previous women mentioned but is no less a feminist and role model. She’s a novelist who has had her work translated in more than thirty languages. Her Ted Talk ‘We Should All Be Feminist’ is wildly popular and was even quoted in Beyoncé’s ‘***Flawless,’ which helped to spark a discussion about feminism.
“Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.”
Michelle Obama is the former First Lady of the United States. She should need no introduction as being the first African-American First Lady, and notably had a successful career before entering the White House. As First Lady, the issues she focused on were helping women, military families and childhood obesity. After leaving the White House, she has spoken up on sexual harassment of women.
“Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.” -Maya Angelou