Black Women in America – Introduction

Human beings are of worth not only because they have been created in the image of God and are offered redemption by the precious blood of our Savior, but also because they may become tabernacles of the Holy Spirit.            Archbishop Desmond Tutu

This new year I am excited about starting a new series. Now that we have finished the series on Medieval Christian women, I will follow something that has been in my heart for a while and turn to the stories of black women. Just as I hoped that telling the hundreds of stories of women who lived during the Middle Ages would convince skeptics that women are as capable as men to serve in the kingdom of God, I hope that the many stories of black women will also be convincing. Black women have been underrated. It is time to let these truly courageous women speak for themselves.

For nearly four centuries life for black American women has taken many turns from slavery to emancipation and from obscurity to world-wide recognition. In spite of obtaining constitutional freedom in the United States, continued racism still affects black women economically, politically, and religiously. 

But though racism continues to present challenges to black women, many have not allowed the prejudice to keep them from making contributions to culture including business, arts and entertainment, education, sports, medicine, science, social concerns, politics, and religion. Even with the obstacles against them, many black women bravely have risen above their circumstances to realize their dreams and make life better for themselves and those around them. 

There are so many remarkable women that this new series will take at least a year, just like the stories of women of the Middle Ages. I have decided to group them into categories and relate the stories of more than one woman in each post over the coming months. Before we embark on our regular semi-monthly posts grouped somewhat categorically and historically, we will take time out to recognize some courageous black women in honor of Black History Month. There was such a large range of women that I decided to pick just one category – black women who were the first to receive a PhD. We will do four stories during the month of February (Black History Month) –  

— Georgiana Rose Simpson (1865-1944) – (German Philology)

— Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (1898-1989) (Economics)

— Euphemia Lofton Haynes (1890-1980) (Mathematics)

— Shirley Ann Jackson (b. 1946) (Physics)

Please note how long ago some of these women lived. They were all truly born in a “white man’s world” but went on to achieve great heights that few men or women of any race have made in any time. We still have a perceived hierarchy of intelligence with white men at the top and black women at the bottom. One of the reasons that it persists is that black women’s stories are not being told. My hope is that once people hear the true stories of these incredibly capable women, minds will be changed. My goal is to demonstrate the many wonderful achievements of black women and to do my humble part to raise the bar for them in society. 

We need to hear the stories to remind ourselves of the truth that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” My prayer is that we will actually start living like we believe it.