Last month I had the honor of attending an International women’s conference in India. Amazing women from all over the world assembled to share their stories and wisdom. I was in awe as speaker after speaker shared. They talked about overcoming odds, standing in their power no matter the resistance or the opinion of others. It made me think about how much I have overcome and how proud I was to be in the company of women that felt like sisters. It also made me think about the women, throughout history, that have been transformers. Women, known and unknown, that challenged the status quo, fought for justice, knocked down barriers and stood for equality. So, this month I am dedicating my newsletter to lady change agents.
Women’s History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with International Women’s Day on March 8, and during October in Canada, corresponding with the celebration of Persons Day on October 18.[1]
I am celebrating women that shattered barriers, changed laws and orchestrated some of the most powerful movements in the history of women.
I have selected women that have inspired me. Women that opened doors for the feminine energy to emerge as a force to be reckoned with. You may know some of these women and others will be new to you. If one pulls at your heart string please take a deeper dive into their legacy. I promise, you will be uplifted and there might even be reminders of the possibilities that await you.
MEET THE LADIES
Phillis Wheatley was the first African-American poet to publish a book. Born in 1753, she was brought to New England from West Africa as a slave when she was nearly 8 years old. The Wheatley family purchased and named the young girl, and after discovering her passion for writing (they caught her writing with chalk on a wall), tutored her in reading and writing. She studied English literature, Latin, Greek and The Bible. With the family’s help, Phillis Wheatley traveled to London in 1773 and published her first poems. Soon after, when she returned to America, she was granted her freedom.
Elizabeth Fry – The so-called ‘Angel of Prisons’, Fry was an English Quaker who led the campaign in the Victorian period to make conditions for prisoners more humane. She also helped to improve the British hospital system and treatment of the insane.
Mary Eliza Mahoney is recognized as the first black nurse in the United States. She was born in 1845, had been a cook, a janitor and a washerwoman before she began working at the New England Hospital for Women and Children. When she was 33, she entered the hospital’s 16-month nursing program and earned her certification. In a 40-year career, Mahoney directed the Howard Orphan Asylum in Long Island, New York, and was a founding member of the group that became the American Nurses Association. After retirement, Mahoney continued to fight for minority rights and in 1920 became one of the first women to register to vote in Boston.
Susan B. Anthony helped lead the way for women’s right to vote. In 1846 while teaching at a female academy in Canajoharie, New York, Susan discovered that she earned about a quarter of the salary as the male teachers. Anthony eventually became the co-founder of the Women’s Suffrage Association and spent the rest of her life fighting for women to have equal rights and an equal voice.
Maggie Lena Walker broke race and gender barriers as the first woman to establish and serve as president of a US bank. The daughter of a former slave, went to public schools in Richmond, Virginia, became a teacher and established a newspaper before founding the St. Luke Penny Savings bank in 1903.. In chartering the bank and serving as its first president, Walker broke gender and racial barriers.
Harriet Tubman – Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, c. March 1822[1] – March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and political activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including family and friends,[2] using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad.
Amelia Earhart –The first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. She was one of America’s first celebrities. After only a few years as a pilot she became the best-known female flier in America, not only for her daring and determination, but also for her outspoken personality.
Mother Teresa, born in Albania, was a Roman Catholic nun who lived in India for most of her life. In 1950 she founded the Missionaries of Charity which attracted many sisters who took vows of chastity, poverty, obedience and free service to the poorest of the poor. The work that the order undertook, in over 130 countries, included managing homes for people who were dying, soup kitchens, orphanages and schools. Although criticized for her opposition to abortion, her charitable work changed the lives of many of the most vulnerable people in the world.
Rosa Parks – In 1955, was an African American living in Montgomery, Alabama. She challenged race segregation that existed in parts of the US by refusing to give up her seat on a bus so that a white person could sit down. Her protest was supported by many other African Americans and sparked the civil rights movement which, in the 1960s, eventually won equal rights.
Track star Wilma Rudolph, 20, lunges across the finish line at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Wilma Rudolph was dubbed “the fastest woman in the world” and in 1960 became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field at the same Olympic Games, according to the National Women’s History Museum. Rudolph also championed civil rights, refusing to attend a segregated homecoming parade in her honor. Rudolph later earned a degree from Tennessee State University and was inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame.
Selena – Born Selena Quintanilla on April 16, 1971, in Texas, the artist known as ‘Selena’ was a pop superstar who brought Mexican Tejano music to the masses. She’s one of the most influential Latin artists of all time, winning a Grammy award in 1993 and a gold record in 1994 with Amor Prohibido. Selena, along with Rita Moreno and Gloria Estefan, was one of the few Latin pop stars who crossed over into the mainstream. She was tipped to be the next Madonna, but tragically her career was cut short when she was shot by the president of her fan club over a dispute over the latter’s embezzlement of Selena’s company money. On the posthumous release of her last album, a nation mourned the death of this lost talent.
Ellen Ochoa – On April 8, 1993, Ellen Ochoa became the first Hispanic woman in the world to go into space. Ochoa was aboard the Discovery shuttle for a total of nine days while conducting important research into the Earth’s ozone layer. Since that ground-, or sky-, breaking moment, Ochoa has gone on a further three space flights, logging 1,000 hours in space in total. And, as if her first pioneering mission wasn’t enough, in 2013 Ochoa became the first Hispanic director, and second female director, of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Wangari Maathai – Kenyan ecologist, environmental and political activist was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the United States.
Maathai was honored in 2004 for standing at the “front of the fight to promote ecologically viable social, economic and cultural development in Kenya and in Africa. Before completing her doctorate she founded the “Green Belt Movement,” the largest tree-planting campaign in Africa. She has been recognized as Time Magazine’s “Hero of the Planet.”
Oprah Gail Winfrey (born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American media executive, actress, talk show host, television producer and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which was the highest-rated television program of its kind in history and ran in national syndication for 25 years from 1986 to 2011. In 1985, Winfrey co-starred in Steven Spielberg‘s The Color Purple as distraught housewife Sofia. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. Today, she owns and leads the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN)
Sonia Sotomayor – “There are uses to adversity, and they don’t reveal themselves until tested”, says Sonia Sotomayor, “whether it’s serious illness, financial hardship, or the simple constraint of parents who speak limited English, difficulty can tap unexpected strengths.” Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is herself testament to these words. Raised in a single parent household in the Bronx, Sotomayor went on to graduate summa cum laude from Princeton, go to Yale Law School, and from there become, first a U.S. District Court Judge, and then a Supreme Court Justice. Indeed, Sotomayor became the first Latina Supreme Court Justice in U.S. history. During her time in the Supreme Court, Sotomayor has worked tirelessly to be a voice for women and ethnic minorities in criminal justice reform.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg (born Joan Ruth Bader; March 15, 1933) is an American lawyer and jurist who is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice (after Sandra Day O’Connor) of four to be confirmed to the court (along with Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, who are still serving). In 1972, Ginsburg co-founded the Women’s Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and, in 1973, she became the Project’s general counsel.[11] The Women’s Rights Project and related ACLU projects participated in over 300 gender discrimination cases by 1974.
Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American actress, singer, dancer, fashion designer, producer, and businesswoman. In 1991, Lopez began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on In Living Color, where she remained a regular until she decided to pursue an acting career in 1993. Lopez is regarded as the most influential Latin performer in the United States.
Danai Jekesai Gurira – Tony Award-nominated writer Gurira made the leap from storyteller to Hollywood superstar. The Zimbabwe native yearned to bring African faces and voices to Broadway through her plays and ended up starring in the mega-hit “Black Panther. Gurira is also the playwright of the Broadway play Eclipsed, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play
SUMMARY
This is just a sampling of women that have paved the way for the feminine to rise on this planet. From my perspective, they are examples of possibilities. If you are a woman,
I am asking that you celebrate the truth of your growth and re-commit to bringing your best self to the world. Please uplift every woman you know. Remind them of their beauty, their grace and gifts. The more we see, hear and praise one another the frequency of love expands.
Many blessings, love and light,
Cynthia
