Black Girl Magic

  Claudia Jones is a name you don't hear in terms of black history. Born in Trinidad and ended up in America when she was only 9 years old. Losing her mother at a young age, she decided to drop out of school. Politics, well activism caught her eye when she was 18. Claudia decided to become a member of the Young Communist League (YCL). This became the turning point for her activism. She began to speak up and fight against racial inequality and equal rights for women. Claudia was a part of the communist party until the day she passed away. Could this be a possible reason why she is left out of the conversation? However, her actions spoke louder. Claudia heavily supported the Scottsboro Boys. These 9 boys were accused of sexually assaulting two white women. They were incarcerated for a while, and have not mentally recovered from the incident. The US government was watching her and others apart of the YCL. Her actions as a member of the Communist Party USA were the final strike. She wa

  Another first crossed out for black women, and during Black History Month? Double win. Today, the state of Virginia made history by having the first black woman to represent in Congress. NPR states, " Virginia Democratic state Sen. Jennifer McClellan cruised to an easy victory in Tuesday's special election for Virginia's 4th Congressional District, making her the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress. The race was called shortly after polls closed by the Associated Press." (Paragraph 1) Virginia was one of the many states that have yet to have a woman of color in office. With the state's history with black women, I am not shocked. It is known that Virginia forced freed slaves to continue to work for their counterparts. Many denied it as another form of slavery and deemed it as a "job". Jennifer being elected is like a breath of fresh air after those horrific events, Jennifer McClellan has education from the University of Virginia, Virgin

 When we talk about Black women in politics, we have to start with one of the best. Ms. Shriley Chisholm. In history, we overlook the impact that she had. A black woman from Brooklyn changed history forever. She has had a handful of firsts. She was the first black woman to be in Congress. This opened doors for other black women in the future. In 1972, she was the first woman to run for president, but she was also the first person of color. Many people counted her out, but her campaign wasn't unsuccessful.  Shirley Chisholm's Legacy states, " Chisholm’s historic campaign for the presidency—she was the first person of color to run, and a woman at that—was largely overlooked at the time by the press and the political establishment, a fact that often raised the ire of Chisholm’s supporters." (Paragraph 3)   She had fought to be included during the election debate. The media tried to count her out, but her support overshadowed them. Her votes included all women of differe

  Mrs. Kamala Harris broke history by becoming not only the first woman to be Vice President in the US but the first Black woman and South Asian. Many milestones were achieved that day. However, there is not much representation in American politics of black women. Forbes states, “ Even though Black women are still largely underrepresented in American politics, the report spotlights promising recent strides for Black women in politics.” (Paragraph 3) Black women were dominating in 2020. There was a record broken of Black women running and winning for office. In the 2020 Presidental election, Black women were in the top three voters. There have been many Black women representing cities over the country. On the other hand, there has been a lack of them in the government. The underrepresentation of them has been going on for a while. Only seventeen black women have held executive positions in government and there has not been a black woman governor in the US ever. Trending hashtags on Twit

  Women come in all shapes and sizes. The issue is, why are black women and other girls of color being singled out? There have been many incidents with dress codes being an issue.   Most black women have called out these codes because of their body types and how clothes fit them.  Certain workplace and school dress codes are targeted toward girls/women. "No tight skirts" or "no spaghetti straps". How are shoulders causing an issue? There are two articles where both black women speak up about this injustice. One occurred at a middle school over a pair of ripped jeans. Prism states, " The targeting of Black girls in schools is so severe that several pieces of legislation have been designed to specifically address the harm dress codes and grooming policies create. The Ending Punitive, Unfair, School-based Harm that is Overt and Unresponsive to Trauma Act (better known as the Ending PUSHOUT Act) was first introduced in Congress by Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley