HERstory

We’ve successfully made it through our FIRST month of 2021.

Life in 2021, seems to be off to a much quieter start. We’ve witnessed history once again with the inauguration of the OLDEST President of the United States and the FIRST FEMALE Vice President of the United States.

It’s taken me a couple of weeks to sit down and unpack all that I’ve felt while watching Vice President Kamala Harris OFFICIALLY sworn in.

It’s like a big ball of emotions just rolled in literally out of NOWHERE.

I was happy, excited, grateful, joyful, but also in disbelief that I was able to witness something good happen in the world.

As a result of the instant emotional flood, I CRIED!

I thought of my unborn children, specifically a daughter, and my nieces.

I thought of how much joy it would bring me to tell them and show them the power of BELIEVING IN YOURSELF.

I also thought of how much joy I had knowing that our Vice President is the BYPRODUCT of an HBCU education.

I also thought of Stacey Abrams and Keisha Lance Bottoms, as they are also byproducts of an HBCU education.

My mind has traveled to a new place of GRATITUDE in knowing that there are women, SPECIFICALLY Black women, making monumental moves to help change the world.

When I made the decision to attend a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in 2008, I was met with a lot of questions from my peers and even slight criticism from family.

My peers were not only UNFAMILIAR with the University I planned to attend but they were also UNFAMILIAR with what an HBCU was.

Which was fine for me, because there was a deeper meaning to my ‘WHY’.

My peers were all following a path that I was very familiar with and DESPERATELY wanted to get away from.

I had moved and gravitated to place in my heart where I wanted to be surrounded by people who LOOKED LIKE ME.

I needed a MAJOR change of scenery and college was a place to do just that, even if it meant separating from a place and a people who I had known LITERALLY MY ENTIRE LIFE.

I grew up in a small town where everybody knew everybody.

We experienced very few “outsiders” and as a result, I matriculated through school with the very same faces from Kindergarten to my Senior Year in high school.

Literally, the EXACT same people.

I was very appreciative of this small-town environment, growing up and being able to catch up with friends after summer break, but when it was time to venture off into the world, I was DESPERATE for change.

That change lead me to Alabama Agricultural & Mechanical University, an HBCU located in Huntsville, AL. (Normal, AL if you want to be 'technical').

HBCUs are unheard of in various parts of the United States but they are a powerful, powerful place of community.

Who would have thought that the FIRST FEMALE Vice President would be a graduate of an HBCU?

NOT Me. That is for sure!

I remember very VIVIDLY arguing with a sibling that where you obtain an education from was NOT the most important thing, but WHAT someone decided to do with that education was.

I know graduates from HBCUs and PWIs who have all struggled to find employment post-graduation, but that is a completely separate topic within itself.

Vice President Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams, and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms are proof that HBCUs help cultivate and produce phenomenal shakers and movers that contribute to the world.

Are they the ONLY? Of course NOT. Will they be the ONLY? Absolutely NOT.

But they are three women who are very much showing you the power of believing in HERstory.

Vice President Kamala Harris is the FIRST, BUT she WILL NOT be the LAST!

I am honored, grateful, and joyful to witness the FIRST but NOT the LAST!

As we kick off Black History Month, let this be a reminder that we MAY be the FIRST, but we WILL NOT be the LAST!