Leagues of Black girls have left an indelible mark on historical past, overcoming obstacles in enterprise, politics and the humanities. From founding BET to turning into the primary Black feminine Senator, these Black girls’s pioneering spirit and resilience encourage generations of others to comply with of their footsteps. Their legacies endure as beacons of hope and empowerment, emphasizing the facility of willpower in breaking down systemic obstacles.
As we proceed to rejoice Girls’s Historical past Month, we shine a lightweight on legacy changemakers who’ve established a basis for Black girls of as we speak to blaze their very own trails.
Sheila Johnson, Co-Founding father of BET
Sheila Johnson shattered obstacles within the enterprise sphere, pioneering alternatives for Black feminine entrepreneurs. She remodeled the media panorama by means of her imaginative and prescient and management and amplified various voices. Johnson’s trailblazing journey impressed many ladies within the entrepreneurial world, breaking down systemic obstacles and making a legacy of empowerment and innovation.
Do you know:
Sheila Johnson turned the primary Black feminine billionaire after co-founding the Black Leisure Community in 1980.
Johnson’s father was a army veteran and a health care provider and her mom was an accountant. In her memoir Stroll By way of Hearth, Johnson describes the ache and trauma of her dad leaving her household whereas she was in highschool, and the way therapeutic from that has been a course of that has helped her drive for fulfillment.
She graduated from the College of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, the place she was the primary African American cheerleader.
Johnson is the president, managing associate and governor of the WNBA’s Washington Mystics
Johnson is the CEO of Salamander Resorts and Resorts, which boasts a portfolio of six luxurious motels and resorts within the U.S. and Caribbean.
She is a world ambassador for CARE, a company that goals to finish world poverty. Johnson can also be a board member of many foundations devoted to the humanities, together with VH1’s Save the Music Basis.
When Johnson and her former husband have been idealizing BET, she described her imaginative and prescient for it as “EBONY Journal on tv.”
Carol Moseley Braun, Diplomat and Politician
Carol Moseley Braun reshaped the political panorama, championing equality and justice. Her historic tenure challenged stereotypes, amplifying marginalized voices in policymaking. Braun’s political journey has helped pave the way in which for a brand new technology of Black feminine politicians, catalyzing progress and forging pathways to management in authorities and past.
Do you know:
In 1993, Braun defeated each the Democratic incumbent and the Republican challenger for a U.S. Senate seat. She turned the primary African American girl to serve within the U.S. Senate and the primary feminine senator from Illinois.
She was additionally the primary Black senator from the Democratic occasion.
She went to the College of Illinois Chicago and obtained a regulation diploma from the College of Chicago in 1972.
Throughout her ten years within the Illinois Home of Representatives, Moseley Braun turned identified for her assist of gun management, healthcare, and training reform. She additionally continued her assist of those points within the U.S. Senate.
After shedding her Senate seat in 1998, she pivoted to a different political sphere and have become the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand in 1999.
In January 2023, President Biden nominated Moseley Braun to chair the US African Improvement Basis.
Eunice Johnson, American businesswoman
Eunice Johnson made a major affect within the magnificence and trend world by showcasing Black magnificence and elegance. By way of her iconic EBONY Vogue Truthful, she dismantled racial obstacles and actively sought to raise Black designers and fashions. Johnson’s pioneering efforts created an area for Black girls within the trend trade, sparking a legacy of inclusivity and empowerment.
Do you know:
Eunice Johnson was identified for her ardour for trend, founding and directing the EBONY trend honest, which turned an annual world trend tour aiming to showcase Black designers and kinds for Black girls.
Over the course of its 50-year tenure, the style honest raised over $55 million for varied causes, from civil rights teams to scholarship funds.
Johnson’s husband, John H. Johnson, based EBONY Journal. Eunice impressed the identify by the hue of the hardwood materials of the identical identify.
She graduated from Talladega School in 1938 with a level in sociology.
Johnson was one of many first individuals to make and market cosmetics particularly for Black girls, making her an early pioneer within the illustration of Black girls within the magnificence trade.
Barbara Jordan, Politician
Barbara Jordan was a beacon of hope and progress for Black girls within the South. Her eloquence and integrity transcended racial divides, reshaping Southern politics. Jordan’s legacy as a trailblazer not solely empowered Black girls however began huge change and fostered illustration within the South, empowering different railroaded People to battle for fairness.
Do you know:
Jordan was the primary African American elected to the Texas Senate after the Reconstruction period. She was a lawyer, an educator and a politician.
Jordan was additionally the primary Black American congresswoman from the South, preceded solely by Shirley Chisolm.
In school, she joined her college’s debate crew and was part of a crew that tied with Harvard’s debate crew, which she described as one in all her best college moments.
After graduating magna cum laude from Texas Southern College in 1956, she attended Boston College Legislation Faculty, the place she was one in all solely two girls to graduate.
Her work within the Texas Senate centered on environmental enchancment and justice in addition to anti-discrimination and concrete laws.
After rising to Congress, Jordan centered on insurance policies that labored to enhance the lives of marginalized People, strengthening the Civil Rights Act of 1965 to supply some protections to Mexican employees within the Southwest.
Ursula Burns, former Xerox CEO
Ursula Burns, the previous CEO of Xerox, made nice strides within the enterprise world. Her visionary management shattered glass ceilings, inspiring Black girls globally. Burns’ groundbreaking achievements redefined enterprise potentialities, fostering range and inclusion and galvanizing future generations of Black feminine executives.
Do you know:
In 2009, Ursula Burns was named the CEO of Xerox, turning into the primary Black girl to steer an S&P 500 firm.
Early in her life, Burns found her expertise for arithmetic and went on to earn a mechanical engineering diploma from the Polytechnic Institute of NYU. She additionally accomplished her masters in the identical subject at Columbia College.
Former President Obama chosen her as one of many leaders of the STEM Training Coalition, which goals to extend pupil participation in STEM topics.
She additionally served on the President’s Export Council, a gaggle of leaders from labor, enterprise and authorities positions who labored to extend American exports. Burns served because the chair from 2015-2016.
Burns was named chairwoman of VEON, a Dutch telecommunications firm, in 2017.
Her memoir, The place You Are Is Not Who You Are, describes her ardour for inclusive capitalism and racial fairness.
