Malaika Adero - A Black Woman Did That

A Black Woman Did That

43 boundary-breaking, bar-raising, world-changing women

By

Malaika Adero Illustrated by Chant Timothy

MALAIKA ADERO , of Aderos Literary Tribe, LLC, works with writers and organizations developing and promoting books. She is the coauthor of The Mother of Black Hollywood with Jenifer Lewis (Amistad) and Speak, So You Can Speak Again: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston (Doubleday). And she is the editor of Up South (The New Press), an anthology of writings and photographs on the Great Migration. She calls New York City, Atlanta, and Knoxville home. www.malaikaadero.com.

CHANT TIMOTHY (pronounced Shan-Tay) is an illustrator based in London, England. Her work is often described as bubbly, bright, and colorful. Shes always dreamed of increasing representation in childrens books.

Downtown Bookworks Inc.

New York, New York

www.downtownbookworks.com

Many thanks to the wonderful team who made this book possible: the Downtown Bookworks team, including Julie Merberg, Sarah Parvis, Georgia Rucker, Sara DiSalvo, and Samantha Guss. And a special thanks to Chant Timothy for her beautiful images. You make magic!

To the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Dorothy Lavern Crump Roebuck Bell

Language and how we use language determines how we act, and how we act then determines our lives and other peoples lives.

NTOZAKE SHANGE (born October 18, 1948, died October 27, 2018), poet, playwright, activist, and author

DREAM THE WORLD AS IT OUGHT TO BE.

TONI MORRISON (born February 18, 1931, died August 5, 2019), writer, editor, professor, and author

Downtown Bookworks Inc.

New York, New York

www.downtownbookworks.com

Copyright 2019 Downtown Bookworks Inc.

Designed by Georgia Rucker

ISBN-13: 978-1-9505-8729-2 (eBook)

Boundary-breaking, bar-raising, world-changing

There are millions of girls around the world who possess extraordinary beauty and spirit, accomplishing things we never imaginedand sometimes in the toughest of circumstances. Many come from families and communities without the means to encourage or support their hopes and dreams. History has recorded countless times when Black women and girls made a way out of no way. Think of Harriet Tubman, an enslaved woman who liberated herself and hundreds of others and then helped the country win a war to end slavery.

What is it, that special thing we have? CaShawn Thompson called it our magic; she created the hashtag #BlackGirlsAreMagic and put the phrase on a T-shirt. Beverly Bond, a DJ and producer, came up with the phrase Black Girls Rock! as an affirmation that our young women need to hear today. She designed a T-shirt and an awards program broadcast on television to honor the Black girls who rock. The concepts that these two individual women developed connected with masses of women and girls around the country and have grown into social movements.

One of my favorite things to do is to read the stories of magical Black women. Knowing more about who they are and what they did with their superpowers helps me come up with ways to use my own passions and talents for good. The stories of women such as Toni Cade Bambara, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and others encouraged me in my pursuit of a career in book editing and writing. Debbie Allen inspired me to dance. Faith Ringgold, by her example, showed us all that we can be mothers and accomplished artists.

Ive written this book, A Black Woman Did That, to show examples of what more than 40 Black women did in their lives and with their work. I tell the stories of women who did more than people expected of them and more than they imagined for themselvesand others who, like Shirley Ann Jackson, took the advice of their parents and aimed for the stars. Mae Jemison traveled to space, Oprah Winfrey founded a television network, and Serena Williams remains at the top of her field in tennis, while running businesses, building schools in Africa and the Caribbean, and raising a daughter.

Each of these women was once a small girl looking for moments to utilize her magic to make a good life while being, in the words of writer Lorraine Hansberry, young, gifted, and Black. Shirley Franklin was inspired by Harriet Tubman, Coretta Scott King, and other activists to use her sheer will to get something done. And, in Shonda Rhimess words, Whatever you can imagine is possible.

Who would have imagined that a Black woman would receive a Nobel Prize in Literature? Toni Morrison did that. Who would have believed that a Black woman would climb a flagpole like an elite athlete to tear down a Confederate flag at the South Carolina state capitol? Bree Newsome did that. Who would have known that a Black woman would rank number one among the highest-earning female music stars? Rihanna did that. Every Black woman and girl can Do That: live their dream and make their mark on the world.

Malaika Adero

There is no better model of a boundary-breaking, bar-raising, world-changing Black woman than Vice President Kamala Devi Harristhe first woman to hold the second most powerful position in our government.

There is a reason why Kamala Harris had the drive, skill, and confidence to be a world leader. Kamala and her sister Maya had parents, neighbors, and family from around the world as their role models.

Her parents, Shyamala Gopolan and Donald Harris, both immigrated to the United Statesher mother from India and her father from Jamaica. Each came to study at the University of California at Berkeley, a major center of activity at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and 70s. They met at their colleges Afro American Association, fell in love and made a home in a community among like-minded people. He taught economics at Stanford University and she became a world-famous cancer researcher.

Kamala was born in 1964, followed by her sister Maya three years later. The Vice President describes their Oakland, California neighborhood as a place where people looked out for each other. Neighbors cared about what was going on up and down the block. Their home was decorated with carvings from Africa and India. And art posters from the Studio Museum of Harlem hung on their walls, reflecting the familys multicultural background. Delicious dishes from collard greens to potato curries simmered on the stove. Their spiritual beliefs were informed by the Hindu and Christian teachings of their elders and ancestors. On Sundays, they worshipped at the 23rd Avenue Church of God where the Harris sisters sang in the childrens choir. However, Kamala recalls that her favorite night of the week was Thursday, when her family went to a cultural center called The Rainbow Sign where they saw films, performances, and the artists of the day including writers such as Maya Angelou and James Baldwin, and thinkers like Huey P. Newton, a co-founder of the Black Panther Party.