The discourse of celebrating Black women is now phenomenal with their jaw-breaking contribution to the global society. Across all walks of human endeavor, Black women are ostentating their essence of being a paragon of black girl magic to stand out with a remarkable force.
Chimamanda Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian Feminist, Novelist, and Author who is known as a fierce campaigner for equal gender rights and women empowerment. Adichie has been involved in several political movements and campaigns against sexual violence including the #metoo movement. In 2012, Adichie gave a powerful talk at TEDxEuston in London titled “we should all be feminists” which had over 5 million views. In the video, she shared her experiences on being an African feminist and her views on sexuality and gender construction.
Unity Dow
As Botswana’s first female High Court judge, Unity Dow has fought both domestically and internationally for women’s rights and human rights. In 1992, Dow challenged the national law that prohibited Botswanan women married to non-citizens from conferring nationality to their children, and won. Dow is also known for her ruling as a High Court Judge during the Kgalagadi court decision. Dow and one other judge ruled that the San people, considered one of the oldest cultures on earth, had the right to return to their ancestral lands after being relocated by the Government of Botswana. She currently serves as Botswana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama was the first Black woman to serve as the First Lady of the United States and is an accomplished lawyer who attended both Princeton University and Harvard Law School. She has held high-profile roles at the University of Chicago Medical Center and launched a number of initiatives advocating for children’s health. And in the face of dark political times, during her speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, she delivered a line that still resonates with many today: “When they go low, we go high.” She’s also the bestselling author of “Becoming” and a podcaster.
Ava DuVernay
With films like 13th, Selma, and A Wrinkle In Time, DuVernay has made a point to put representation at the forefront of her critically acclaimed work. She’s also racked up countless firsts: The first Black wan to win the best feature directing award at Sundance in 2012; the first Black woman to get a Best Director Golden Globe nomination; the first woman of color to direct an Oscar-nominated best picture film; and the first woman to direct a film that grossed more than $100 million domestically.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a Nigerian economist and international development expert. She currently sits as the Director-General of World Trade Organization (WTO), the office she official assumed on March 1, 2021. This ceiling-smashing feat made her become the first African and the first woman to occupy the enviable office.
Having spent over two decades at the World Bank with adroit experience as a development economist, Okonjo-Iweala currently sits on the boards of Twitter, Standard Chartered Bank, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), and the African Risk Capacity (ARC). In 2015, she was listed among one of the 50 Greatest World Leaders by Fortune.
