By Chris B. Bennett, Publisher/CEO The Seattle Medium
It is with great pleasure and pride that The Seattle Medium newspaper group, in partnership with the Black Future Co-op Fund, is producing our first Women’s History Month edition. While many of you may remember that The Seattle Medium produced a special edition honoring 50 Trailblazing Black women in our community a few years ago, that publication was produced as part of our annual Black Press Month celebration.
This historic publication, which you are now reading, marks two significant firsts for The Seattle Medium newspaper group. First, it is the first time that we produced a Women’s History Month edition, because we typically produce a Black Press Month edition to commemorate the founding of the Black Press in 1827. Secondly, this is also the first time that we’ve had guest editors for any edition produced by The Seattle Medium.
I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the founders/architects of the Black Future Co-op Fund – Andrea Caupain Sanderson, Angela Jones, Michelle Merriweather, and T’wina Nobles – who served as guest editors for this historic edition. They’ve put in a great deal of hard work, thought, creativity, and wisdom into the development of this edition, for which we cannot thank them enough.
Over the years, Black women, both locally and nationally, have produced many great moments that we should all be proud of. While we cannot honor them all in this edition, we hope that the stories shared here inspire you to do great things in your personal and professional life that will make all of us, including your friends and family, very proud of you.
It often goes unsaid, but I am saying it now that Black women are the “spine” or “backbone” of our community, doing the little things, the big things, and lifting the heavy burdens off of our shoulders so that we can stand tall in the face of adversity and prosperity.
Our community would not be where we are today if it were not for Black women. They provide the glue that keeps us together and the foundation of strength that gives all of us the courage and capacity to endure and persevere. Black women are the mothers, teachers, and nurturing protectors of children, but they’re also the unsung heroes who sacrificed so much and helped pave the way for all of us to prosper and flourish.
So, in honor of Women’s History Month, we proudly salute and honor the achievements of Black women. We encourage you to recognize and acknowledge all the Black women, both known and unknown to you, who’ve played a significant role in your life and helped shape your journey, as we continue to stand on the broad shoulders anchored to the strong spinal legacy of our ancestors.
