We Got The Power
By Ronda Watson Barber
We’ve got the power! A few weeks ago I went on a girl’s trip to New Orleans to attend the Essence Festival. Wow! Black women took over an American city. It was empowering. The trip was inspiring. It was a good time. Black women in all their glory exhibited entrepreneurship talents, flexed their muscles as cultural trendsetters and according to NewsOne, the four-day music festival generated ONE BILLION DOLLARS in revenue to the Crescent City.
One billion dollars is power.
As I reflected on the fun times in NOLA, it reminded me of another time when Black women convened and made a difference. The Million Woman March in Philadelphia was another girl’s trip. I attended with my mom, sister, daughter and an “auntie.” The MWM was awe-inspiring. I saw Black women of every age, color, class, and size. We were united.
As we stood and listened to the various speakers and artists, a message was repeated over the loudspeakers, “Women hold on to your children. You are losing your kids. Women hold on to your children.” Kids were getting lost in the mass crowd of people. I took the message to mean more than looking after and holding close our children at this particular event, but to continue the practice once we returned to our communities. It began my call to advocacy. I returned home and started a reading program for under-served children.
Black women have power. Our votes and dollars have clout. As the most loyal and dedicated voters in the Democratic Party, we need our agenda and issues in the forefront. We need an agenda that speaks to the issues that positively impact our families and neighborhoods. The 2018 mid-term elections are less than 100 days away. Our support of a candidate and vote can make a difference. Black women have always worked to improve America. Black women have always been at the forefront of social justice movements. Let’s turn our buying power and voting prowess into legislation and laws to benefit us.
Just my thoughts…rwb
Published in OhioMBE – August 1, 2018 – pdf
