Representation matters.
As we end Black History Month and begin Women’s History Month, intersectionality comes to mind. As is obvious, and I’ve said in this space before, I’m both Black and a woman, so quite naturally I want to celebrate women who look like me.
Throughout my college career, I don’t remember much discussion—if any—about Black women journalists. I do remember discussing how USA Today, owned by my former employer Gannett, thought it important to hire minorities and women. I even remember a guest speaker from USA Today visiting a class. She was a woman, but she wasn’t Black or of color. I remember watching “All the President’s Men,” a movie about the Washington Post reporters who broke the Watergate Scandal featuring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, ad nauseum. My introduction to that movie was in my high school journalism class. I then watched it more than once in college. What I never saw in that time, though, is a Black woman — or even a Black man — who made a positive impact on journalism.
Was I the first Black woman journalist in newspapers? Surely not. I subscribed to Essence so I knew we existed in magazine writing, and I was one of three in my magazine writing classes.
In my newspaper classes, we spent time learning about the Muckrakers, journalists who exposed problems in American society. However, they were White. I’m not sure how I stumbled upon Ida Bell Wells-Barnett, an African American investigative journalist who led an anti-lynching crusade in the 1890s, or Ethel L. Payne, known as the First Lady of the Black Press. Learning about these women let me know I’m not an “only.” Other Black women went before me in this space, and I’m not alone—although I saw very few real life examples.
As I grew into my career, I discovered more Black women in print journalism and more Black women following in the tradition of Wells and Payne—calling out injustice whenever spotted in newspapers. This is why representation matters.
It lets Black girls know your dream to be an astronaut doesn’t have to stop in your mind. Learn about C. Mae Jemison. You can become a principal dancer in a ballet company, even if your physique doesn’t fit the standard. Look at Misty Copeland. Don’t be ashamed of your genius. If you love math, be proud. Look at Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson.
Whether we’re taught about Black women who paved the way for us in school or not is irrelevant. We can’t wait for other people to share our stories. However, I’m a firm believer that Black history is American history, and we have every right to be fully integrated in history books and classes. We have to do more to empower our girls to go big! When we know a little girl has an interest in an area—whether we share that interest or understand it—we should foster it. We should research to find books or articles online to give her so she knows she’s not an “only.” I can’t tell you how happy I was to discover there are plenty of Black women journalists both past and present. Absolutely none of my friends went to college to become a journalist. I knew plenty of peers who majored in nursing (nothing against nurses, by the way). I’m convinced so many Black women choose nursing or hairstylists or teachers because we see so many Black women nurses, hairstylists or teachers. We see ourselves and know it’s possible.
Representation matters.
(Oseye Boyd is editor of the Indianapolis Recorder and Indiana Minority Business Magazine.)
(Reprinted from the Indianapolis Recorder)
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