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| Black women: Some of the most powerful and resilient women in the world |
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| Opinion Headlines |
| Written by Kervin Fondren |
| Thursday, 08 March 2012 09:58 |
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M.Ed Rosa Parks would be proud to acknowledge that by refusing to ride on the back of the bus yesterday (1954) that she would be paving the paths for the world’s most powerful women to take their reigns today (2012). Collectively, Black women are not “angry” as many writers, columnists, media pundits, and comedians allege, but they serve in some of the most influential and powerful roles in society today. Michelle Obama is the first Black First Lady in U.S history, and is considered globally to be the most powerful Black woman in the world. Her fight against childhood obesity is acknowledged nationally, and she travels internationally advocating on behalf of families of U.S soldiers, children and women in general. Oprah Winfrey bade farewell to her internationally syndicated talk show after 25 years, and now owns her own cable channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network. According to Forbes, Winfrey is worth an estimated 2.7 billion, earning this powerful female media mogul the title of the world’s richest Black woman. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 3,021,000 Blacks in this country who hold a bachelor’s degree but no higher degree. 952,000 African-Americans also hold a master’s degree. An additional 166,000 Blacks hold a professional degree in such fields as law, business and medicine. Another 113,000 African-Americans have obtained a doctorate. However, The Defenders Online reports that, “Black women have built a huge lead over Black men in college degree attainment. Black women hold almost 57 percent of all the bachelor’s degrees earned by Blacks in our country. Black women hold 61 percent of all African-American master’s degrees, but Black men continue to hold the lead in doctorates.” In spite of the nationally skewed data by so called experts, Black women do not leisurely and happily choose to serve as Heads of Households in the significant numbers reported. Black men comprise the highest percentage of incarcerated men in U.S prisons, experience more fatalities from Black on Black crime nationally, are labeled with special education disabilities disappropriationally compared to other male students in our public schools, experience the highest rates of unemployment and under-employment nationally in good and bad economies. One would not blame Black women for being “angry” when you begin to digest the statistics that affects so many Black women compared to white, Asian and Hispanic women. The Centers for Disease Control reported in 2009 that Blacks comprised 57 percent of new HIV infections in America, and Black women’s new HIV infections are 15 times higher than that of white women, and three times higher than new infections for Hispanic women. Yet, in spite of these alarming and dismal statistics, reporters Linsey Davis and Eric Null stated in abcnews.go.com (June 4, 2010) that, “Only 9 percent of Black women married outside their race, making them the least likely of any race or gender to marry outside their race.” For those who rejoice when someone says that Black is back, they need to be cognizant of the fact that Black never left. Birmingham, Alabama 35214 |
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