UPDATED: 6:00 a.m. ET, March 1, 2021
The month of March is recognized as Women’s History Month and is dedicated to the celebration of everyday women, as well as pillars and pioneers whose accomplishments have allowed for following generations to feel empowered to constantly break barriers.
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Black women, in particular, have been accomplishing the unthinkable for centuries and NewsOne is highlighting some of these women and their feats.
And while this list would obviously be incomplete without the inclusion of Kamala Harris — the first woman and Black woman to be vice president and the highest-ranking woman in the history of American government — her impressive accomplishment is among dozens of other achievements that Black women have steadily been realizing for many decades.
The month-long celebration of women dates back to 1980 when former President Jimmy Carter issued the first Proclamation, which declared the week of March 8, 1989, as National Women’s History Week, according to the National Women’s History Museum.
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In March of 1987, Congress passed Public Law 100-9, proclaiming March as Women’s History Month.
“Throughout history, women have driven humanity forward on the path to a more equal and just society, contributing in innumerable ways to our character and progress as a people,” said former President Barack Obama in his 2016 Women’s History Month Presidential Proclamation. “In the face of discrimination and undue hardship, they have never given up on the promise of America: that with hard work and determination, nothing is out of reach. During Women’s History Month, we remember the trailblazers of the past, including the women who are not recorded in our history books, and we honor their legacies by carrying forward the valuable lessons learned from the powerful examples they set.”
Obama continued, “Because of the courage of so many bold women who dared to transcend preconceived expectations and prove they were capable of doing all that a man could do and more, advances were made, discoveries were revealed, barriers were broken, and progress triumphed. Whether serving in elected positions across America, leading groundbreaking civil rights movements, venturing into unknown frontiers, or programming revolutionary technologies, generations of women that knew their gender was no obstacle to what they could accomplish have long stirred new ideas and opened new doors, having a profound and positive impact on our Nation.”
Keep reading to find our curated list of Black women pioneers in history as well as the present day.
2. Bianca Smith, MLB’s first Black woman coach
Bianca Smith was hired as a minor league coach for the Red Sox, making her the first Black woman coach in the MLB’s 151-year history.
The athlete-turned-coach has a storied sports career. Smith played softball at the New England-based Dartmouth college and went on to serve in coaching roles at Case Western Reserve in Ohio, the University of Dallas, and most recently Carroll University in Wisconsin. Her appointment with the Red Sox isn’t her first experience with the MLB. She served as an intern in the baseball operations departments for the Cincinnati Reds and the Texas Rangers. Smith credits her mother for introducing her to the game.
“My mom was a fan, not the extent I am where I watch games every day,” she said. “Even if my team isn’t playing, I’m watching a game on MLB.tv; my mom would feel like we actually had to go to the games. She didn’t like watching them on TV. But once she introduced the game to me, I fell in love with the strategy. I should have known then that I wanted to coach.”
