Black women have long been undervalued in this racist and misogynistic nation. Often stereotyped as uneducated and loud, while being over-sexualized, Black women have faced an uphill journey. White women were granted the right to vote in the United States in 1920, but Black people, women and men, were not guaranteed that same right until 1965. But none of this stopped Black women from helping organize the civil rights movement and discovering their political potential.
We recently experienced the most polarizing presidential election in American history, alongside the beauty and brilliance of black women. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is a little over two months away from making history as not only the first woman Vice President, but first Black woman Vice President. For the first time since 1992, a Democratic candidate will carry the state of Georgia in a presidential election, and it is thanks to the work of a Black woman named Stacey Abrams. Abrams spearheaded an effort that registered more than 800,000 Georgians to vote, after losing her 2018 bid for governor, mostly because of voter disenfranchisement.
As a father, I’m glad my daughters witnessed these moments starring Black women. The achievements of Harris and Abrams remind my daughters that they can do anything with hard work, opportunity, and God’s grace.
In these historic moments, we also pause to remember these Black women: Charlotta Bass who ran for Vice President in 1948, Charlene Mitchell who ran for president in 1968, Shirley Chisholm, the first Black congresswomen, and Fannie Lou Hamer, the co-founder of the National Women’s Political Caucus. Recently, I saw a meme on social media that said: “Black Women will save the world.” I agree.
I’m Joe Mitchelland that’s my Perspective.
