Hello World!
Happy Women’s History Month! It’s apropos that I’m back with my monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine articles for black Christian women. Below is my Top 10 monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine/newspaper articles for black Christian women for February (since February was Black History Month, there’s a Black History Month bent to this list) but you don’t have be a black Christian woman to to check them out. As usual, let me know if you like my list! Enjoy and share!
1. “Black Panther’s Letitia Wright to Star in Thriller About Real-Life Silent Twins June and Jennifer Gibbons” by Kim Novak
Excerpt: The movie, which will be helmed by Polish director Agnieszka Smoczynska will follow the real life story of a pair of identical twins, originally from Barbados but who grew up in Wales. They became known as The Silent Twins as they refused to communicate with anyone but each other, and ended up in Broadmoor Hospital after they turned to crime. See more at: metro.co.uk.
2. “From 19-year-old Receptionist to CEO: Ramona Hood’s Promotion Makes FedEx History” by Max Garland
Excerpt: Before Ramona Hood became CEO of a FedEx company, she was a 19-year-old single mother looking for a regular day job while taking night classes. “I just wanted a schedule that would be consistent,” she recalled. Hood landed an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift in 1991 as a receptionist for Roberts Express, which later became FedEx Custom Critical. It didn’t take long for her to develop that short-term win into a long-term pursuit of leadership, culminating in her latest promotion. FedEx Custom Critical promoted Hood from vice president of operations, strategy and planning to its president and CEO on Jan. 1, succeeding the retiring Virginia Addicott. Hood is the first African American woman to lead a FedEx operating company. See more at: commercialappeal.com.
3. “Meet the Black History Month Barbies Dressed By ‘Queen & Slim’ Designer” by Mary Huhn
Excerpt: The creative mind behind the movie “Queen & Slim” has designed Barbie’s latest looks, in honor of Black History Month. Mattel worked with costume designer Shiona Turini to outfit a set of Barbies in 10 different hair styles, skin tones and body types. “Thank you @barbiestyle — for collaborating with me to create Barbies with braids, finger waves and everything in between,” Turini writes in an Instagram caption announcing the collaboration. “Chicks by the layers, all different flavors. And even a curvy doll, in a crop top, with waist length twists. Baby Shiona is PROUD.” See more at: nypost.com.
4. “Lash Nolen Is Harvard Medical School’s First Black Woman Class President” by Victor Anthony Lopez-Carmen
Excerpt: Born in Compton, California, and educated in Los Angeles, Lash grew up with big dreams and equally daunting challenges. Despite not seeing black women leadership reflected in society in general, she found inspiration in the strength of the women around her. Lash’s mom had her when she was only 18 years old. But as a single mom, she got her masters, while working numerous jobs to support Lash’s dreams. See more at: teenvogue.com.
5. “Black History Month: Delta’s 1st Black Flight Attendant Was Pioneer of the Skies” by Asher Wildman
Excerpt: For a majority of her career, her flights were a bit bumpy. Murphy can recall several instances of passengers telling her they did not want her to serve them because of the color of her skin. The hate didn’t ground Murphy — she persevered, flying the skies as a Delta flight attendant for over 30 years. “I couldn’t run to Delta every time I was insulted or when someone did something to me that I really didn’t like,” Murphy said. “I had to stand up, and I stood.” See more at: mynews13.com.
6. “The Alius, Five Nigerian Sisters Who Are All Medical Doctors” by Theodora Aidoo
Excerpt: School participation remains a major challenge across developing nations and Nigeria is not an exception, particularly in northern states where the blatant extremism of Boko Haram, an Islamist militant group, targets school going girls. The Aliu Sisters are among the few privileged ones who have broken the glass ceiling to make a case for women in a male-dominated profession. See more at: face2faceafrica.com.
7. “Katherine Johnson, Famed NASA Mathematician and Inspiration for the Film ‘Hidden Figures,’ is Dead at 101” by Scottie Andrew
Excerpt: Without the precision of “human computer” Katherine Johnson, NASA’s storied history might’ve looked a lot different. Her calculations were responsible for safely rocketing men into space and securing the American lead in the space race against the Soviet Union. For almost her entire life, her seminal work in American space travel went unnoticed. Only recently has Johnson’s genius received national recognition. Johnson, a pioneering mathematician who, along with a group of other brilliant black women, made US space travel possible, died this week. She was 101. See more at: cnn.com.
8. “Ja’Net DuBois, ‘Good Times’ star, dies at 74″ by Sandra Gonzalez and Stella Chan
Excerpt: Ja’Net DuBois, an actress who left her stamp on television playing beloved neighbor Willona Woods on “Good Times” and the voice behind the theme song to “The Jeffersons,” has died, according to Kesha Fields, DuBois’ youngest daughter. She was 74. DuBois died peacefully in her sleep Monday at her home in Glendale, California, Fields said. See more at: cnn.com.
9. “Invisible No More: UGA Names College After First Black Graduate” by Eric Stirgus
Excerpt: During her days as a student, and for decades afterward, Mary Frances Early felt like University of Georgia leaders treated her as “the Invisible Woman.” Classmates refused to speak to her. Although she was the first African American to graduate from UGA, on Aug. 16, 1962, the university didn’t acknowledge her role in its history. Her achievement was not reported by major news outlets who instead focused on UGA’s first two black students, Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Hamilton E. Holmes, who enrolled there months earlier. They graduated in 1963. See more at: ajc.com.
10. “Meet the New Yorker’s First Known African American Female Cartoonist” by Kristen Welker
Excerpt: In this week’s Sunday Closer, NBC’s Kristen Welker sits down with Elizabeth Montague, who is the first known African American woman to have a cartoon published in the New Yorker. “I’m really proud of myself and that I’ve done this,” the 24-year-old says. See more at: today.com.
If you know of any black Christian women bloggers and or writers, please e-mail me at jacqueline@afterthealtarcall.com as I’m always interested in expanding my community of black Christian women blogs and websites. As I noted before, while this is a roundup of interesting blog posts and or magazine and newspaper articles for black Christian women, you don’t have to be one to appreciate these pieces 
.
Any thoughts?