Black women really are superheroes and this month we are going to make sure they get all their flowers. Throughout history, Black women have always been our community’s champion. They wear so many hats — caregivers, supporters, leaders, lovers, sisters, but none of these hats is more important or beneficial than the hat of motherhood. Black women don’t only lead the way now but are the ones who are tasked with raising up the next generation as well. These five mothers left their mark in history while still being excellent mothers that we all could look up to and inspire to be. Today, rolling out gives these five Black mothers all the flowers for their contributions in and outside of the home.
5. Josephine Baker
The fact that Josephine Baker was the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture, Siren of the Tropics (1927), is only one aspect of her remarkable achievements. In addition to being a major entertainment figure (and a quintessential representation of the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties), Baker supported the French resistance during World War II (although being American by birth, she married a Frenchman and adopted France as her home country). As a result, she received numerous medals and distinguished awards.
Baker, who is well known for her efforts to the American civil rights struggle, refused to perform for segregated audiences in the 1960s and collaborated closely with the NAACP. During this time, Baker started adopting children of various ethnic backgrounds, whom she called “The Rainbow Tribe”; she had 10 sons and two daughters in total. She wanted to demonstrate to everyone that love and the ties of family transcend all racial and religious boundaries, and she felt it was crucial to raise each of them in accordance with their distinct heritages.
4. Ann Lowe
It wasn’t until she became a mother that fashion designer Ann Lowe started her business. Lowe relocated to New York City with her kid after divorcing her first husband, and she enrolled in St. Taylor Design School. Lowe attended classes in a room by herself because she was the only Black student at the segregated institution. However, that didn’t stop her. The Duponts, Roosevelts, and Rockefellers were among her clientele when she launched her own design studio and became known as “society’s best-kept secret.”
As a mother of two who had been divorced twice, Lowe was chosen to create the bridesmaid dresses and bridal gown for future First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier’s 1953 wedding to then-Senator John F. Kennedy. The bridal gown was damaged when Lowe’s studio flooded 10 days prior to the wedding. Lowe, however, rallied because, if anything, mothers do not quit, no matter the odds against getting things done. Regretfully, it wasn’t until after President Kennedy’s assassination that Lowe was given credit for creating Jackie Kennedy’s wedding gown, which led to her finally getting the recognition she deserves.
3. U.S. Rep. Yvonne Brathwaite Burke
Yvonne Brathwaithe Burke made it okay to be a black woman in political spaces, trailblazing a path for the likes of Michelle Obama, Stacey Abrams, and many more. The first African American woman to represent the West Coast in Congress, Burke was the first member of Congress to give birth while serving in office and the first to get maternity leave from the Speaker of the House in 1973. When Burke was nominated by California Gov. Jerry Brown to a vacant position on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 1979, she became the first African-American and female supervisor. History would soon come full circle. Burke and her daughter, Autumn Yvonne, became the first mother and daughter to serve in the California Assembly in 2014 when Autumn Yvonne was elected to the California State Assembly.
2. Katherine Johnson
You’ve undoubtedly heard of Katherine Johnson if you’ve seen the Oscar-winning movie Hidden Figures. She was frequently referred to as a “human computer” and was among the first African-American women to have a scientific position at NASA. Johnson started off as a teacher at a Virginia public school for Black students. She later became the first Black woman to enroll in the graduate math program after being personally chosen by the president of West Virginia State to integrate the department. But at the conclusion of the first session, she made the decision to drop out of school in order to begin a family with James Goble, her first husband. Johnson, a widowed mother of three children, continued to work for NASA after Goble passed away in 1953 from a brain tumor. She would remarry three years later and would go on to continue making essential contributions to NASA programs for almost 30 years.
1. Allyson Felix
Giving birth and then winning a world championship right after is kind of crazy, but ain’t nothing impossible for a Black woman. Allyson Felix is the most accomplished female track and field athlete in Olympic history as well as the most accomplished World Athletics Championship competitor. Felix won her 12th gold medal at the 2019 World Championships, breaking Usain Bolt’s record for gold medals just 10 months after giving birth to her first child.
In the same year, Felix courageously criticized Nike in an opinion piece published in The New York Times. She revealed that Nike offered her a 70-percent pay cut in the new contract because of her being pregnant during the contract negotiations, and they also denied her the maternity protections she had asked for. It goes without saying that Felix chose to sign with Athleta rather than accept the terrible contract conditions, and she went on to start er own shoe line called Saysh.
