“We are the successors of a country and a time
where a slender black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
she can dream of becoming president
and then find themselves declaiming for one.”
Surely you have read this passage, you have seen it quoted on Instagram or you have listened to it during the Inauguration Day: it’s part of the poem/manifesto by Amanda Gorman, the young author who enchanted the world on the day of Joe Biden's official election.
Her words full of hope and light are perfect to define the spirit of this February, the Black History Month, destined to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of African-American citizens who have made history. This anniversary began to take shape at the beginning of the twentieth century, but grew especially in the 60s, with the boost of the civil rights movements and was made official by the American president Gerard Ford in 1976.
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Every year, events, seminars, discussions are organized, characterized by a spirit of celebration, empowerment and a specific theme, which this year is Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity.
Even if logically it is a surreal thing (if we simply rely on the degree of evolution we human beings have reached), racism is still a deeply rooted problem in American society and in the world. It can manifest itself in violence, like the terrible one that plagued the United States last year, but also in words, in stereotypes and concepts that have settled in society. Therefore it’s important to celebrate the stories of extraordinary people, from the past and the present. And of women who have had to face not only the barriers of racism, but also those of sexism.
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“You must never be afraid of what you are doing, when you are right”.
This a quote of Rosa Parks, a woman who, if we look at her in the photo, conveys an idea of meekness and almost fragility but who literally changed the course of history with her strength. On December 1, 1955, this young seamstress from Montgomery, Alabama, took the bus back from work and, not finding a seat in the section reserved for black citizens (yes), she sat in the white section. Her “no” in the face of the intimidation of the driver, who wanted to force her to get off, her strength and her dignity have become an example for future generations of activists.
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“If the first woman God ever created was strong enough to turn the world upside down on her own, all women together would be able to turn it around and bring it to the right side again!”.
The words are the one of Sojourner Truth, a slave who in 1826, becomes an activist for women's rights and for the abolition of slavery and gave the speech "Ain't I a woman?". Then we can talk about Mary Churchill Terrell, suffragist and one of the first black women to graduate at a university, Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman to enter Congress and run for president, Angela Davis, one of the most iconic activists, author of the seminal book Women, Race & Class, Audre Lorde, an homosexual writer, who in her poems tackled issues related to feminism, racism and homophobia.
Rosetta Tharpe, gospel singer and guitarist, considered the forerunner of rock music, Wilma Rudolph, nicknamed "the black gazelle", the first black athlete to win three gold medals at the Olympics, Maya Angelou, writer, a fundamental figure who paved the way for black authors, with her works on civil rights and then the scientists Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, whose work at NASA took us to the Moon and whose story is told in the beautiful film Hidden Figures.
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“I'm the acceptable Hollywood version of a black girl and that needs to change. We are too beautiful and interesting to be represented by this alone”.
Extraordinary figures, often covered up by a history that excludes the dominant categories. A story that has survived and that’s why today we have women like Michelle Obama, who revolutionized the figure of the First Lady, the tennis sisters Serena and Venus Williams, champions with an infinite amount of records, the queens of showbiz Shonda Rhymes and Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé who certainly needs no introduction and in recent years has included in her music themes related to black pride, the young and incredibly brilliant Zendaya, actress and role model (the quote at the beginning of the paragraph belongs to her) and the young poet Amanda Gorman, that we mentioned at the beginning.
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May their future and that of many other girls be bathed in light.
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