Honoring Bold Women – Like My Grandmother – Who Are Changing Our Communities For The Better

The history of women is the history of the world. Women have led and anchored virtually every major development in the course of our history – from nurturing our families and communities, to paving the way in businesses and government.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, and Women’s History Month throughout the month of March, we honor the many women of all generations and all backgrounds who have contributed to society in immeasurable and indispensable ways.

We also recognize that women’s history is too often underappreciated because history has often been written by men, for men – a precedent we must all seek to change. With this in mind, we celebrate Women’s History Month not only to honor and celebrate the leadership and achievements of countless women around the world, but also to highlight the ongoing ways in which sexism constrains the possibilities of women, and thus our collective potential as a nation and as a global community.

Still today, women continue to be paid less for the same work and denied proportionate access to the highest corridors of American society. Women’s bodies are also under constant attack because of gender-based violence, and our culture is saturated with images and norms that seek to reduce women down to objects for consumption. Even further, women of color are faced with the double-bind of racial and gender-based discrimination, and too many men of color only want to engage on race, while too many white women think of gender in ways that ignore racial intersectionalities.

As the proud father of a brilliant Black daughter with limitless potential, this is incredibly personal to me. I refuse to let anything or anyone get in the way of my daughter’s greatness and will do everything in my power to foster a world that is more tolerant, more equal, and more empowering than the world that my wife, my mother, and my grandmother grew up in.

While we recognize all the work that must still be done, we must also highlight the myriad of women who have contributed – and are contributing – to improving our country and our world. I have been lucky enough to have women in my life that not only inspire me but also, from their own experiences, have instilled in me the tools and the motivation to succeed.

This year, I want to take a moment to honor a bold change maker who not only transformed my life, but also left an indelible mark on countless lives in my hometown of Newark: Nancy A. Johnson, my grandmother.

My grandmother raised my then-infant sister and me after we lost our mother to domestic violence, a scourge that takes the lives of hundreds of American women each year. And while raising three daughters and two grandkids, my grandmother still found time to be a community leader and activist, advocating for the economic empowerment of people of color. Following in the footsteps of countless women before her, she led community-based activities that helped elect of a series of progressive political leaders who helped give us and our neighbors a voice.

Rather than letting our voices be silenced for another generation, my grandmother spoke up and spoke out because she believed that my sister and me – and our entire community – deserved a better future. And that's precisely what she helped achieve.

Though the politicians she helped elect received all of the credit and attention, the truth is that none of it would have been possible without her dedication and courage. Our family and our community would not have been the same without my grandmother’s leadership, and it’s this kind of women-led, community centered grassroots activism that we must help foster in our kids and grandkids.

Now more than ever, the voices of women – and especially women of color – are critical to the future of our democracy. I ask you to join me in doing whatever you can to support your female friends running for office, encourage your mothers to write their representatives, and inspire your daughters to engage in civics class. It’s on all of us to ensure that bold women like my grandmother are empowered to be the rule, not the exception.

My grandmother, like so many other women, is a hero and deserves recognition daily, not only in March. This Women’s History Month, and every month hereafter, let’s affirm and honor the countless women who have changed and are changing our world for the better.

#BeBoldForChange #IWD2017