black women Archives - Page 4 of 4 - Kelly Fair

Money CAN Buy Happiness

on April 2, 2015April 2, 2015 By kellyfairthementor

Recently on Polished Pebbles, we have been sharing with you our Monthly Giving Program. It is an opportunity to support our Girls Mentoring Program by providing resources for our girls–journals, sweaters, transportation, and job shadowing experiences. We advertise that through this Giving Program you can support our young women for less than a cup of coffee a day! Now, this isn’t done to guilt any one of you (that’s the last thing we want our supporters to feel). We just want you to know that it doesn’t take big contributions to support us or our girls. Every cent counts and every cent can affect your happiness!

People who spent money on other people got happier. People who spent money on themselves, nothing happened. It didn’t make them less happy, it just didn’t do much for them. And the other thing we saw is the amount of money doesn’t matter that much. So people thought that 20 dollars would be way better than five dollars. In fact, it doesn’t matter how much money you spent. What really matters is that you spent it on somebody else rather than on yourself. (Michael Norton)

Take a listen to Michael Norton to learn more about the link between money and happiness.

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Let’s Help Pave the Way

on March 26, 2015March 26, 2015 By kellyfairthementor

This month we have celebrated women past and present who are shaping herstory! March’s Women’s History Month is an inspiration, reminding us of the success within our reach. While we celebrate these women, it is important to remember the barriers women face, especially women of color.

The truth? We have a long way to go to create a just world for our girls. On the Polished Pebbles Facebook we recently shared an article from PayScale, “Gender and Pay at Work”. In this article, we read what has been repeated over and over…a pay gap exists between men and women. This is even when controlling for factors such as education level. How can we raise, inspire, and educate our girls; fill them with dreams, and then release them into an unjust system?

Let’s help pave the way! Community programs like Polished Pebbles are working to push more women into the workforce. The more we are present, the more we push at the glass ceiling, the closer we will come to it shattering. Polished Pebbles’ After-School Mentoring Program has career exploration as one of its main pillars. Girls have the opportunity to explore career fields through job shadowing and workforce development. Now who doesn’t want to support that?!

For Polished Pebbles to keep reaching their goals, they need your help! Consider a one time donation, or maybe join our monthly giving program! If you’re hearts pushing you in this direction, click here…

Thank you, supporters and readers!

Women Making Herstory

on March 19, 2015March 19, 2015 By kellyfairthementor

Last week we shared with you black women who made herstory. Today, we want you to know women who are making herstory! These black women will inspire you to put your best foot forward. You could even raise your daughter to be like one of these heroins, these herstory-makers!

Paulette Brown, the first black female president of the American Bar Association.

Sonya Smith, the first African-American female to earn a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the University of Virginia.

Shonda Rimes, first black woman to create some Top 10 network TV series, such as Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal.

Mo’Ne Davis, the first female pitcher to win a Little League Series–remember, “throw like a girl”!

Michelle Obama, does she need a caption? No.

Carole Simpson, the first woman to broadcast radio news in Chicago.

Mellody Hobson, one of the most powerful black female business women. She is the current Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dreamworks Animation.

Lupita Nyong’o, the first black spokeswoman for Lancome.

Women From Black Herstory You Should Know

on March 12, 2015March 12, 2015 By kellyfairthementor

As we said last week, in celebration of Women’s History Month, we want to recognize the forgotten game changers in our herstory! Click below in our gallery to view women who have impacted positive change and helped to shape our futures. And make sure to check in next week where we share black women who will make herstory.

Anna Arnold Hedgeman: “I wanted desperately to say these same words to Martin Luther King, standing in front of 250,000 people who had come to Washington because they had a dream, and in the face of all the men and women of the past who have dreamed in vain, I wished very much that Martin had said, ‘We have a dream.’”

Daisy Bates: “No man or woman who tries to pursue an ideal in his or her won way is without enemies.”

Dorothy Height: “We have to realize we are building a movement.”

Ella Baker: “Strong people don’t need strong leaders.”

Madam C.J. Walker: “I am not merely satisfied in making money for myself, for I am endeavoring to provide employment for hundreds of women of my race. … I want to say to every Negro woman present, don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them!”

Mary Church Terrell: “I cannot help wondering sometimes what I might have become and might have done if I had lived in a country which had not circumscribed and handicapped me on account of my race, that had allowed me to reach any height I was able to attain.”

Hattie McDaniel: “Faith is the black person’s federal reserve system.”

Septima Poinsette Clark: “I have great belief in the fact that whenever there is chaos, it creates wonderful thinking. I consider chaos a gift.”

Mary McLeod Bethune: “We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends.”

Angela Davis: “As a black woman, my politics and political affiliation are bound up with and flow from participation in my people’s struggle for liberation, and with the fight of oppressed people all over the world against American imperialism.”

Women’s History Month: Herstory and Black Girls

on March 5, 2015March 5, 2015 By kellyfairthementor

Following February’s Black History Month, is March’s Women’s History Month. The theme for 2015 is Weaving the Stories of Women’s Lives. The National Women’s History Project says the following on this year’s theme:

The stories of women’s lives, and the choices they made, encourage girls and young women to think larger and bolder, and give boys and men a fuller understanding of the female experience. Knowing women’s achievements challenges stereotypes and upends social assumptions about who women are and what women can accomplish today.

As “his”tory tends to leave out the presence and influence of women in the United States, there began a movement for “her”story. The goal is obvious, reverse the sexism and patriarchy that has plagued the telling of our past–weave in the stories of women’s lives. However, just as it is important to point out the sexism in the retelling of history, so to is highlighting the racism or colorblindness. Black men and women are also missing from history textbooks, their achievements and influence are either skipped over or played down compared to white men.

This is why it is important to remember that Black History Month and Women’s History Month are next to one another–the goal of the first should influence the second. Black women. They are often neglected in history and sometimes in herstory. While this may seem unimportant to some, it is essential to remember Edmund Burke: “Those who don’t remember history are destined to repeat it”.

In the present we are ignoring or forgetting black women and girls just as much as we do historically. Khadija Costley White wrote an article titled, “Racism affects black girls as much as boys. So why are girls being ignored?” She writes:

I am concerned about the fate of black and brown girls. Our stories are rarely told, and so people have learned to think they’re insignificant. Our experiences are minimized, and so, too, are our contributions.

This Women’s History Month let us not forget the black and brown women who have helped to shape and mold our country. Further, let us not forget how history affects the present and our futures. Let’s not write black girls out of our present stories just because they are not in the past.

#blackgirlsmatter

Can African-American Women Lean In?

on October 8, 2014October 8, 2014 By kellyfairthementor

Sheryl Sandberg, the current Chief Operations Officer (COO) of Facebook, inspired many women with her book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. She has three main tips for women to not only succeed in the workplace, but breakthrough societal barriers of sexism:

Sit at the table
Make your partner a real partner
Don’t leave before you leave

Listen to her Lean In Ted Talk to learn more about these three tips and her path to success!

While women (and men) are agreeing with Sheryl Sandberg, African-American women are questioning whether “leaning in” is enough for success. According to Natasha Robinson from Urban Faith, Sheryl Sandberg, while admonishing the systems of sexism that are holding women back, remains silent on barriers of race. This has caused her to question whether Sandberg recognizes her own white privilege. While this does not eliminate or diminish the successes of Sandberg, it does mean that opportunities had been present in her life that most likely would not have been for a woman of color.

In this article, Natasha Robinson interviews Dr. Livers, the Senior Design Faculty of the global Center of Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina. Dr. Livers states, “She wrote a book for professional women and she wrote from the perspective of a privileged white woman. However, just because her perspective is somewhat limited, does not mean that others who do not share her privilege cannot benefit from reading her book.”

In an excerpt from Sheryl Sandberg’s new book, Lean In: For Graduates, Ariel Investments President Mellody Hobson, an African American woman, shares how black women are prepared for life long discrimination in their professional lives. In the excerpt, Melody states, “All women struggle, but women of color must overcome ‘double jeopardy’, the one-two punch of sexism and racism. The achievement gap between women and men is even larger in the African-American and Latino communities than it is in the White community.”

As a mentoring professional, I’m driven to determine how do I adapt the Lean In discussion for the young African American I serve in communities, schools, and college campuses across the country.What are your thoughts on Lean In? How can we adapt the Lean In discussion for African-American women of all ages?