Happy end of February, Germ readers! As we say goodbye to Black History Month, I want to take us on a little journey to highlight the incredible work of some of the beautiful black women who have made our world brighter! In no particular order, here are some amazing Badass Ladies who deserve all of our respect and admiration for changing our history for the better.
1. Madam C.J. Walker (1867–1919):
Born in Delta, Louisiana, on a cotton plantation, Madam C.J. Walker was the first in her family to be “free born.” She eventually became a self-made millionaire who devoted her work and time into creating a line of hair care products for African American hair. Walker herself suffered from hair loss, which is what drove her to create this line in 1905.
Along with becoming a successful business woman in the hair and cosmetic industry, Madam C.J. Walker travelled around the world for product demonstrations and eventually established “Madam C.J. Walker Laboratories,” where sales beauticians were trained.
Along with opening a beauty school in 1908 and continuing to grow her business, Madam C.J. Walker also devoted her time to philanthropy, creating educational scholarships and giving back to organizations that improved the lives of African Americans.
2. Fannie Lou Hammer (1917–1977):
Born in Montgomery County, Mississippi, and the youngest of 20 children, Fannie Lou was born into a family of sharecroppers. As early as 6 years old, she worked in the fields along with her siblings.
In 1962, Hammer attended a protest meeting where she met civil rights activists who encouraged black people in the community to vote. Fannie was part of a small group of people who registered and were met with opposition from the local government. After this incident, Fannie began working for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and became an activist who encouraged black people to register. This course of action got her into many scrapes, including being thrown into jail, being shot at, and even being badly beaten.
These obstacles and misfortunes did not stop Fannie from doing what she believed was right. In 1963, she helped found the Missisippi Freedom Democratic Party, which she would eventually represent in the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. There, she spoke of her personal struggles of registering and the current struggles she dealt with in helping others in the effort to become “first class citizens” with the right to vote.
Fannie Lou is truly someone to be admired for her unwavering strength and devotion against massive opposition as well as for her drive and motivation to help others in her community fight for their rights to vote in the United States.
3. Maya Angelou (1928–2014):
One of my all-time favorite women in history, Maya Angelou, was a poet, author, dancer, actress, and singer born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her most famous work is her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, wherein Angelou wrote of the harsher and deeply personal aspects of her life growing up as a black girl in America.
Angelou’s words have deeply impacted and unbelievably moved those who have read her poetry and literature, causing them to rise in popularity and in turn affect even more people.
As a non-fiction bestseller and an activist for her community, Maya Angelou is someone to look up to for her words of wisdom and for her ability to be honest and forgiving to a world that was always working against her.
So three cheers to all the amazing Badass Black Ladies on this list as well as to those we didn’t have a chance to mention. Remember these women and know how much of a positive impact they had and continue to have in the black community and in America overall. Thank you, ladies, for making this world a bit brighter for all of us!