Wow! That feeling when you feel you’ve “made it.” You’re a woman of color and you’ve been given a leadership position and secured a seat at the table. You look around and you are the only one. Anxiety dispels as you think of the unsung challenges faced at similar tables and how Black women have coped with them in the past. Time to lean in and navigate the invisible hurdles of educating and leading while Black. What happens when you no longer have hidden reserves of courage to mask the racial trauma? Do you push through to pave a path for yourself and the next generation? Do you speak up and risk the consequences? Do you rise and heal? I’m ready to put words to the pain and well-being and have tough but necessary conversations to awaken authentic support for women of color like never before. If you’re truly ready, together we can create environments where women of color make no apologies for their hair, voice, personality, skin, or lived experiences. Where voices are heard and supported and Black women are healing in brave spaces with allies.
