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We should be ever mindful of being a light in the darkness. Connecting with the community is giving personified. The act of serving is a community-defined action, providing guidance, expertise, and above all, the willingness to work for the common good. |
"African American Women. Black Women. Colored Women. Negro Women. Diaspora Women. Gitchee Women. Race Women.
We have been called many things – some as terms of endearment, some as words of scorn and disdain. Inevitably, we are credited with being the fulcrum of change, but most often we do not appear on anyone’s radar. It is the resiliency and tenacity of African diaspora women that is remarkable, considering the forces of monolithic existence that threaten to render her more invisible.
These women are made of the stuff of a Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005). Of an Ella Baker (1903-1986). Of a Marva Collins (1936-2015). Politician, Community Activist, Educator. More importantly, these everyday women carry the torch of community uplift. They create coalitions, form organizations, mentor and share without seeking the limelight, influential in their sphere, and successful based upon community standards. These are the continuing foundations of grass roots organizations such as Black Lives Matter, which was founded by three African American women.
Their life lessons shaped and molded them, preparing them for the daily grind of championing the underserved, the underachieving, the undereducated. Their words, actions, and impact has been documented, dissected, and diluted. But in reality, they live in the lives of other African American women, women who continue to fight for the right to “liberty and justice for all.” And it is the voices of these everyday women that will be presented here, as a way to explore the perfect storm of ordinary African American women doing ordinary things."
~ F. Dallas, "The Perfect Storm: Women of Color Doing Ordinary Things," excerpt from unpublished manuscript, 2017.