A Love Letter to the Black Women in My Life
As a white Latina working in “DEI” (diversity, equity, and inclusion), I often teach concepts innovated by Black women. Audre Lorde,, Angela Davis, bell hooks, Mia McKenzie, adrienne maree brown, Ava Duvernay, Amanda Seales, Solange Knowles, and countless other Black writers, artists, and activists have contributed their genius and experience to society. They have also shaped not only my view of the world, but of my place in it.
Black history is an everyday occurrence that deserves recognition, and Black people have legacies that include both their accomplishments and the impact they have on their communities. In conceptualizing an article for Black History Month, I thought about all the topics I could write about academically. However, it would make little sense to repeat what many Black women have said in much deeper, more profound ways than I ever could. So instead, I will celebrate the Black women+* in my life who are currently making history, people whom I deeply admire and who simply by their existence have taught me myriad lessons that I will always carry with me.
This list is by no means exhaustive – it would take a whole book to thank every Black woman I’ve had the pleasure of knowing! My hope is to give flowers to some of those who have deeply impacted me and to elevate their legacies.
I had the incredible fortune of working with Alma for three years as a facilitator, consultant, and project manager at Movement. Throughout her time with us, she weathered the ups and downs of working in a startup environment with flexibility, grace, and compassion. She is a brilliant coach and public speaker who is now the founder and CEO at Full Bloom, specializing in mindset coaching for BIPOC professionals who are ready to get through mental blocks and achieve the growth they’ve imagined for themselves (currently accepting new clients!). She was also recently appointed as Stanford University’s Assistant Director of Alumni Relations, Identity Chapters in the Graduate School of Business. Alma taught me the art of persistence in going after what you want, how to set and maintain professional boundaries effectively, and how to cut yourself some slack in times of difficult growth.
Tenley Hutchinson-Smith (they/them)
I have known Tenley since they were an undergraduate student at Spelman College and have watched them blossom into a brilliant astrophysicist and PhD candidate at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Aside from their many accomplishments as a scientist and researcher of Thorne-Żytkow objects, Tenley is a scholar and philosopher in every sense of the word. Their reflections on the universe, human relationships, and the interconnectedness of all things have fundamentally changed my perspective on life. One day Tenley will write a book, but for now, I feel genuinely lucky to be part of their sphere of influence and privy to their brilliant insights. They have taught me how to embrace your unique self, how to keep a childlike sense of wonder, and how not to take life too seriously.
If you are a scientist in any space field, you have probably heard of Ashley. She is lovingly known as a firecracker and wherever they see a need, they fill it. Ashley has created multiple initiatives that serve the Black community, including being the founder of Black in Astro and Black Space Week as well as the co-founder of Black in Chem. She is also the recipient of the NASA FINESST graduate research grant as a PhD candidate at Howard University. No matter where they go, Ashley is always connecting people to resources and making sure they have what they need to succeed. Ashley has taught me what it means to be a loyal and unwavering advocate, how to take up your rightful space in the world, and how to be 100% authentic both publicly and behind closed doors.
Moiya and I met when she was an undergraduate at Harvard double-majoring in astrophysics and folklore/mythology. Now, she is a world-renowned astrophysicist, folklorist, science communicator, and the author of The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy. Moiya is an amazing public speaker and has also created and co-hosted a number of podcasts, including Fate & Fabled, Exolore, and Pale Blue Pod. A little-known fact about Moiya is that we once recorded (and never released!) a podcast called Cinnamon Sugar, about being the “minority” partner in an interracial/interethnic relationship. She has taught me how to be brave even in the face of fear, how to advocate for yourself, and how to stay grounded in your truth when straddling multiple worlds.
I have known Arianna for so long I do not remember where we met! But it doesn’t matter, because it feels like they’ve always been in my life. Arianna has had a fruitful career both as an astrophysicist – she’s newly appointed faculty at the University of Washington – and as a fierce advocate for marginalized people. For the last several years, they have been the chief programming officer at VanguardSTEM, where they have created radical mentoring initiatives to support women of color. Most recently, Arianna and I had the chance to collaborate on the Rainbow Village, a dedicated space for people of color at American Astronomical Society meetings. She has taught me how to be unapologetically yourself, how to take pride in your roots, and the importance of pleasure in our liberation.
Asia and I met under unusual circumstances, in a graduate student support group while we were working on our PhDs, hers in biochemistry with a focus on environmental immunotoxicology. We bonded over the shared experience of being women of color in white-dominated STEM spaces, but also our mutual values of equity and social justice. Asia is a talented scientist and has long been Movement’s resident biologist, hosting our Instagram lives during Black History Month and being a regular co-host whose perspectives gave our audience valuable insights on topics such as “Bad” Genes and Black Women on Display. I have always admired how passionate she is about biology and how gifted she is at explaining complex ideas. Throughout our friendship, Asia has taught me how to communicate both science and emotions with ease, how to persevere through incredible obstacles, and how to be a supportive and compassionate mom.
I first met Caprice when she was a junior PhD student and I was visiting her department to present a symposium lecture. The night before the symposium, she took me aside to ask for advice about the difficulties she was facing in her program, and I was shocked at how much they aligned with my own. The next day, I rewrote my whole talk in a few hours and spoke for the first time about the discrimination I experienced as a woman of color during my PhD training. Caprice switched to the Ohio State University, where she has excelled as an astrophysics PhD candidate studying planetary formation – most recently as a pre-doctoral fellow at the Flatiron Institute Center for Computational Astrophysics. She is passionate about ensuring that Black people around the world have access to space, most recently as the vice-president of #BlackInAstro. Caprice has taught me how to reach your goals against all odds, how to lean on community, and how to prove the haters wrong.
I met Ashley at my university’s Career Center during a pivotal moment in my career: I knew I wanted to leave academia, but I had no idea what I could do with a PhD in astronomy outside of research. As a career counselor, Ashley had never taken on an astronomy student or a PhD student before, but she was determined to make sure I had the support I needed. Since then, Ashley has worked as the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations for the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, and recently took on the role of Associate Director of Annual Giving. She is one of the best mentors I’ve ever known, and I credit her as one of the biggest reasons my career is where it is today. She states “I am guided by my faith in Christ and am blessed to mentor and share in the journeys of students who come to me by God’s providence through my work in higher education.” Ashley was the first person to tell me I was meant to be in my own lane, and taught me how to negotiate, network, and be fearless in my endeavors.
Angela Twum (she/her)
Angela and I met in 2017 at a summer research program at Harvard, where we had the opportunity to participate in weekly discussions about intersectionality, misogynoir, environmental racism, and other social justice topics through a curriculum designed by Prof. Nia Imara. I was continually in awe of Angela’s keen awareness not only of the material, but of exactly how these systems manifested in her lived experience. As both a scientist and an artist, she has always done things at a pace that makes the most sense for her. Before deciding to pursue a PhD in astrophysics, Angela was accepted into the prestigious Parsons School of Design data visualization program. Despite external pressure to immediately continue her academic pursuits after undergrad, she decided to take a year off to spend time with her family back home in Ghana. When she was ready, she accepted a position at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she is currently studying binary star systems, common envelope evolution, and mass ejection. Angela has taught me how to prioritize the most important aspects of my life, how to cultivate a relationship with the land, and how to love with an open heart.
*Not everyone on this list identifies as a woman