OURStory: Silent Soldiers

I read a passionate post from the Fort Wayne African American Independent Woman back in April 2007 that discussed the plight of women in the blogosphere. I am very familiar with racism. That is a factor for anyone that is Black in America.

On the other hand, my understanding of the sexism experienced by women, in particular nubian women, is not nearly as informed. I've been blessed in my personal life to be surrounded by powerful Black women that owned their own businesses, practiced medicine, invested in the stock market, served in top-level positions with federal government and so forth. I have seen these Black women overachieve in spite of obstacles they faced because of their gender or race. Like I said ... I'm blessed to have these powerful sisters in my life. I hope that my two daughters draw upon these powerful women as role models as they both grow up.

Most villagers are not aware of the power that exists in our own midst. We may know our ancestors, however, history continually turns into HIS-story ... without much mention of our Black women. Did you know that our Black women were silent soldiers in the Civil Rights movement?

Ella Baker. Septima Poinsette Clark. Fannie Lou Hamer.

They and others risked their lives and worked tirelessly, demanding a social revolution — but history has often overlooked them. They were the women of the civil rights movement.

Though historians now acknowledge that women, particularly African Americans, were pivotal in the critical battles for racial equality, Rosa Parks’ death highlights the fact that she was one of the very few female civil rights figures who are widely known. Most women in the movement played background roles, either by choice or due to bias, since being a women of color meant facing both racism and sexism.

Click here to learn more about women that were overlooked during the Civil Rights movement.

We have to tell OURstory whenever possible. We must define ourselves. The beauty of being a blogger is that you are not censored. I invite you to share some little-known aspects of our story. We are not limited to telling our story in the month of February. We can do it whenever we want.

Anyhow, I would love to hear from other villagers on the powerful women in their lives. We're just sitting around the fire under the baobob tree. Care to share a comment on this post?