Like all women, Black women have faced sexism, sexual harassment/abuse, domestic abuse and even rape. We’ve also faced the struggles and violence of racism and classism, but we still rose to the challenge of strengthening our communities.
When Sojourner Truth spoke of her trials and asked, “Ain’t I A Woman?” her question was relatable to nearly every Black woman. When Rosa Parks refused to rise on that Alabama bus, uncertain about the consequences, she shared the uncertainty and concerns of every other Black woman. When Fannie Lou Hamer was chastised by her plantation owner for her audacity to register to vote, she demonstrated the courage of millions of Black women as she replied, “I didn’t register for you; I did it for myself.” We honor these women and the long list of famous and not-so-famous Black women who endured to make our lives better.
As we look to the future, let’s not forget our past. On Saturday, Dec.16,, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the National Congress of Black Women, Inc., Baton Rouge, Louisiana Chapter said “Thank You” to the late Dessie Lee Patterson, Louisiana’s first Black woman mayor. Mayor Patterson is the wind beneath the wings of current Black women mayors of Louisiana. I celebrate this new generation of mayors and pledge continuing support.
They are: Mayor/President Sharon Weston Broome (Baton Rouge), Mayor-Elect LaToya Cantrell (New Orleans), Mayor Ollie Tyler (Shreveport), Mayor Lori Bell (Clinton), Mayor April Foulard (Jeanerette), Mayor Irma Gordon (Kentwood), Mayor Rose Humphrey (Natchez), Mayor Shaterral Johnson (Grand Couteau), Mayor Donna Lewis Lancelin, (Baldwin), Mayor Erana Mayes (Melville), Mayor Wanda McCoy (Rosalind), Mayor Alma Moore (Boyce), Mayor Trashier Keysha Robinson (Village of Tangipahoa), Mayor Dorothy Satcher (Saline), Mayor Johnnie Taylor (Powhatan), Mayor Josephine Taylor-Washington (Clayton), Mayor Erana Mayes (Melville), Mayor Jennifer Vidrine (Ville Platte), and Mayor Demi Vorise, (Maringouin).
They’re all to be commended. The rising tide of their success floats the boats of us all. Their stories and ours tell the importance of our achievements and steel us against future challenges.
(Dr. E. Faye Williams, president of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. 202/678-6788, www.nationalcongressbw.org).
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