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Here’s to Her: Black Women Deserve Recognition and Support

A stamp, a coin, and a $20 bill are nice but still aren’t enough

Bemnet Meshesha, MSW
ZORA
5 min readMay 24, 2021

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Photo: Kris Connor/Getty Images

Maya Angelou was recently recognized as the first Black woman to be honored in the American Women Quarters Program; her likeness will be stamped onto U.S. coins. Kim Godwin made history recently as the first Black woman president of ABC News. Denise Gardner is the first Black women chairperson of a major museum board in her new appointment at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Awards and accolades are well-deserved for these Black women, but all Black women need recognition, gratitude, and support.

In the midst of the chaos that is 2021, Black women in the U.S. have many considerations, but at top of that list remain a pandemic that has disproportionately claimed the lives of their loved ones, the relentless police violence against the children they birthed, and a workforce that is rebuilding itself without them.

All Black working women need celebration, acknowledgment and support.

The economy is beginning to bounce back, purchasing power has gone up for the first quarter of 2021, and President Joe Biden is touting the American Jobs Plan. But it is alarming to see the significant number of Black…

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Published in ZORA

A publication from Medium that centers the stories, poetry, essays and thoughts of women of color.

Bemnet Meshesha, MSW
Bemnet Meshesha, MSW

Written by Bemnet Meshesha, MSW

Bemnet is a Senior Director of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, and a Researcher of Black experiences. She is a Public Voices Fellow through The OpEd Project.

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