Rising to the Top One Rung at a Time

Historical Significance Of Black Women Leaders

Black women's history can be traced to their earliest life lessons of childhood portraits of young Black girls sitting between a mama’s knees while she their braided hair; or around the kitchen table with grandma picking peas or cutting greens; or possibly on the front porch, stoop, or steps with aunties while watching the people walk by and drinking sweet tea. These verbal lessons and exchanges of experiences likely set the foundation for some Black women and for Black women leaders who have excelled in academia. This foundation of knowledge was also the beginning for Black female leaders to build their Shero Toolbox of tools necessary to advance their professional careers in academia. Shero Toolbox in this context is referred to as a set of resources, both tangible and non-tangible, that aspiring women leaders (Black heroines) can refer to as they move up the ranks in leadership. Examples could be strategies from reputable publications about women leaders, conferences attended related to women in higher education, or sound advice from a trusted mentor who has already achieved the rank of the aspired woman leader.

In 1940, Mary Eliza Church Terrell, an advocate of woman’s suffrage and co-founder of the Colored Women’s League in Washington, wrote, “A white woman has only one handicap to overcome – a great one, true, her sex; a colored woman faces two – her sex and her race.” (Oxford University Press, 2022). Despite the struggles and sometimes unbearable challenges that past Black female leaders faced, they rose above the obstacles. This display of courage and strength was evident in African American women trailblazers like Mary Eliza Church Terrell and the likes of Sojourner Truth and well-known historical figure Harriett Tubman. Both Truth and Tubman as history tells us worked tirelessly for social change as an abolitionist for women’s rights and against slavery during a time where both women and Blacks did not have a voice (Oxford University Press, 2022). Their strength helped to lay a solid foundation for future Black women leaders, particularly in academia.

While many Black historical female leaders paved the path for social change in America today, when one thinks of Black female leaders who overcame the societal handicap of their race and gender to affect the education of Blacks, trailblazers such as Mary McLeod Bethune come to mind. Dr. Bethune's accomplishments can be summarized in short as a female pioneer in education displaying academic authority and achievement as the founder of the Daytona Literary and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls—now Bethune-Cookman University (“historical roots of Bethune-Cookman University,” n.d.). A champion of civil and women's rights, Mary McLeod Bethune displayed fearless traits of leadership that set the groundwork for female higher education leaders today. She is seen by many as a singular change agent for Black American education and her role as a Black female university administrator and a quintessential visionary from which others emulate. In each of the authors' professional climb up the ladder of success, Mary McLeod Bethune played a substantially role. While hundreds of years have passed since her academic engagement and institutional founding, Dr. Bethune's professional climb to the highest heights inspires and motivates leaders of all backgrounds today.

Following in the footsteps of other successful professionals either near or far is often a path undertaken by women who wish to excel in academia. Present-day trailblazers, such as Johnnetta Cole, the first African American female president of Spelman College and Ruth Simmons, president of Prairie View A&M University have excelled in their leadership development and have reached admirable heights in higher education (Cooper and Newton, 2021). While the authors of this chapter cannot speak directly about the lived experiences of these women, we would surmise that each one had what we believe to be essential tools that every woman must possess within their “Shero Toolbox” as they climb the career ladder of success. Those tools are: (1) A strong support system; (2) Mentoring; (3) Opportunities to self-reflect; and (4) A desire to help and lift others.