Greetings All! Happy March! Happy National Women’s History Month!
The 2010 theme of National Women’s History Month is “Writing Women Back into History. Click here to learn more: www.nwhp.org/whm/index.php.
Who are your sheroes?
Desiree Rogers & Valerie Jarrett
Susan Rice
Lisa Jackson
Today, I am celebrating my sheroes called the “Obama” women. They are the African American women serving in President Barack H. Obama’s Administration. Last year, I wrote a poem about the “Obama” women and included it in my new book That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetic Memoir of Self Discovery (available on Amazon.com – http://tiny.cc/7uFsg). See the poem below.
Do you have a favorite Obama woman?
My three favorites are Valerie Jarrett, Desiree Rogers (who will be leaving her position as White House Social Secretary in a few weeks), Susan Rice, and Lisa Jackson. Click here to read a Washington Post article about the Obama women from March 2009: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/17/AR2009031703744.html.
Enjoy your day and week!
Peace, Creativity, Compassion, and Gratitude for women who paved the way for me to be who I am today,
Ananda
POEM – Copyright 2009 by Madelyn C. Leeke
Sista7: The Obama Women
When I checked my email this morning, I had a message
from my father, a 24/7/365 supporter of President Barack H.
Obama.
Daddy’s email greeted me with positive news.
It was a Washington Post article about the brilliant, bold, and
beautiful Black women in the Obama administration.
What a way to start a Wednesday in March during Women’s
History Month!
The article profiled the Sista7.
Valerie Jarrett, a Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President
for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison.
Desiree Rogers, White House Social Secretary.
Susan Rice, United Nations Ambassador.
Cassandra Butts, deputy White House counsel.
Mona Sutphen, the first Black woman to serve as deputy chief
of staff.
Lisa Jackson, the first Black person to head the Environmental
Protection Agency.
Melody Barnes, the first Black woman to run the Domestic
Policy Council.
They represent something new in Washington: the largest
contingent of high-ranking Black women to work for a
president.
Trailblazers is the word that captures it all for me.
These phenomenal women have emerged from the margins of
American society to the position of gatekeeper in one of the
greatest countries in the world.
Each one is a household name in my life.
Tracking their efforts on the Internet is one of my favorite
things to do.
Watching them in action inspires me.
They have become an affirmation of what’s possible for Black
women in America.
That’s why I claim them as my sheros.
That’s why I continuously celebrate their presence, passion,
and power.
May we all do the same.
Ananda Leeke 