—Audre Lorde, American writer, feminist, womanist, librarian, and civil rights activist
10 Badass Trailblazers in Politics and Law (1930–1979)
1872 Charlotte E. Ray (1850–1911), was the first Black female lawyer in the United States. She was also the first Black woman admitted to the bar of the District Columbia in April 1872 and the first Black lawyer of any gender to be admitted to practice and argue before the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.
A stamp printed in the USA shows Mary McLeod Bethune, Educator, Black Heritage, circa 1985
1936 Mary McLeod Bethune became the first Black woman appointed to a government post, when, on June 24, 1936, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt named her Director of Negro Affairs at the National Youth Administration. One of the youngest of seventeen children, born to former slaves, Bethune also opened a boarding school for Black girls, which eventually merged with another school to become Bethune-Cookman College. She served as Vice President of the NAACP from 1940 until her death in 1955.
1939 The first Black woman judge in the United States was Jane Matilda Bolin. Bolin was also the first Black woman to earn her degree at Yale Law School, the first to join the New York Bar City Association, and, after becoming the first Black woman in the New York City Law Department, became the only (and first) Black female judge in the United States when she was appointed justice in Domestic Relations Court of New York City on July 22, 1939. She remained the only Black female judge in the United States for twenty years.
1947 Alice Dunnigan was the first Black female reporter to receive White House press credentials. She was the first Black correspondent to travel with a sitting president when she joined President Harry S. Truman on his campaign tour. In 1947, Dunnigan made history when she became the first Black woman to serve as a White House correspondent.
A stamp printed in the United States, shows Patricia Roberts Harris, circa 2000
1965 Patricia Roberts Harris was the first Black American woman to hold two cabinet positions. She was Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare during the Carter administration. Harris was also the first Black woman to hold an ambassadorship. She was ambassador to Luxembourg during the Johnson Administration.
1966 Constance Baker Motley was the first Black woman to hold a federal judicial post. She was appointed a US District Court judge on August 30, 1966. She also became the first Black woman to argue a case before the US Supreme court when she successfully argued Meredith v Fair in 1962, which won James Meredith the right to attend the segregated University of Mississippi.
A stamp printed in the USA shows Shirley Chisholm, Black Heritage, circa 2014
1968 Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman to serve in the US House of Representatives. She ran under the campaign slogan “Unbought and Unbossed” and represented her district in Brooklyn for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. She was also the first Black woman to run for US President, and the first Black woman to take the stage in the Presidential debates in 1972.
A stamp printed in the USA shows Barbara Jordan, Black Heritage, circa 2011
1976 Barbara Jordan was the first woman of any color to deliver a keynote address at a Democratic National Convention. She was also the first Black of any gender to be elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first Southern Black of either gender to be elected to the US House of Representatives.
1977 Azie Taylor Morton was the first Black woman to sign US currency. She was the thirty-sixth Treasurer of the United States and remains the only Black woman to have held that post.
1979 Amalya Lyle Kearse was the first woman appointed to the US Court of Appeals and the second Black person of either gender (after Thurgood Marshall). She was named to the Second Circuit in 1979. She is also a world-class bridge player.
Find more Badass Trailblazers in Politics & Law on pages 83 and 171.
What Have You Done Well in the Past?
“There have been so many people who have said to me, ‘You can’t do that,’ but I’ve had an innate belief that they were wrong. Be unwavering and relentless in your approach.”
—Halle Berry, American actress
Dear Badass Black Girl,
Go back in time. Give yourself two or three hours. Bring out everything and anything that will help you travel back to the past: old calendars and diaries, photo albums, letters, cards, souvenirs… (You should probably also take out your phone to explore some of your social media shares, but remember to stay focused.) Relax, and look for moments in your life when you have felt a strong positive emotion—pride, joy, satisfaction—after making something verbally, artistically, intellectually, with your hands or physically, that you know (or feel) was the expression of your deep being.
You produced it effortlessly, and it gave you great pleasure.
List these different moments, and find a common denominator: I animated a group, I prepared a meal, I listened and advised a friend, etc. Create a Pinterest board, and pin images that symbolize these successful moments. Create another board with skills that are meaningful to you but still need to be sharpened. Commit to work on these skills regularly in order to fully develop your talent.
Kenbe,
MJ
Black people are often accused of having a “victim mindset.” You might hear things like: “Slavery ended more than 150 years ago, when are you people going to get over it?” and, “Oh, every race has had slaves at some time in history. It’s not just Black folks.” Then there’s, “Did you know Africans were slave-owners before white people?” and, “Who do you think sold Black people to the whites? It was Africans selling off their own people.” It’s enough to make you want to throw things.
What do you think? Has a victim status become our collective identity? Or is there more to the history than just victimhood? Why is it important to remember that many Black people in the United States (and elsewhere) have a history with roots in slavery? How does that history impact you today?
Google It!
AFFIRMATION: I am amazing. There is no one better to be than who I am right this minute—and I can become who I want to be. Because I am complete, I enrich the lives of my family and friends just by being myself. I am capable of greatness.
“I always believed that when you follow your heart or your gut, when you really follow the things that feel great to you, you can never lose, because settling is the worst feeling in the world.”
—Rihanna, Barbadian singer, businesswoman, fashion designer, actress, and philanthropist
1864 Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler was the first Black woman in the United States to earn a Medical Degree and practice medicine. She is also believed to be the first Black American and the first American woman to write a medical book. Her Book of Medical Discourses was published