Here’s to the trailblazers! The Firsts!

Hello All,

In honor of this National Women’s History Month, I am going to write each week about women. For my male readers, hang tight – I will write about other topics again in April! Female or male, I hope all of these topics will be of interest to you!

I was watching an entertainment show the other week and the wonderful Viola Davis was talking about the incredible Cicely Tyson. Cicely Tyson’s career stretched over seven decades in Hollywood. In 1963, Ms. Tyson became the first African American to star in a television drama when she joined the series East Side/West Side, playing the role of secretary Jane Foster. She was the first black woman to wear her hair natural on TV. She was great in so many venues – television, movies, the theatre – and on the runway as a fashion model. One comment that Ms. Davis made about Ms. Tyson had me reaching for my pen – “You can leave something for people, or you can leave something IN people.”

What an incredible compliment about Ms. Tyson. And what an incredible compliment that would be for any one of us! Her “firsts” – her life and legacy – left something IN people. It made me think about all of the firsts that women have had over hundreds of years – all of the firsts that made a difference or an impact – all the firsts who left something IN us as women – all of the firsts that opened the doors for us to have our firsts.

Here are some firsts (I switch back and forth in time, a lot):

Edith Wharton –  the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in Literature for her 1920 novel  The Age of Innocence. Quote – “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that receives it.”

Amelia Earhart – the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an airplane. That flight took over twenty hours! Quote – “Everyone has oceans to fly, if they have the heart to do so. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?”

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – was the first women’s professional baseball league in 1943. Starting in the 1890s, gender-integrated “Bloomer Girl” teams (remember Amelia Bloomer from last week?) traveled around challenging men’s team to games, and often winning. Opportunities for Bloomer Girls decreased because of the growth in men’s teams, and the last team quit in 1934. But in 1943 with so many men at war, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was the solution – based on the Bloomer Girl teams! (Remember the movie “A League of Their Own”? The movie tells the fictionalized version of the real life AAGPBL. Tom Hank’s memorable line – “There’s no crying in baseball.”)

Janet Yellen – in 2014, the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve Bank. You might also recognize Ms. Yellen from today – she is now the first woman to serve as the United States Secretary of the Treasury! Quote – “If there is a job you feel passionate about, do what you can to pursue that job; if there is a purpose about which you are passionate, dedicate yourself to that purpose.”

Katherine “Kay” Graham – the first woman to become a Fortune 500 CEO in 1972 when she took over the leadership of The Washington Company. The Washington Post flourished under her leadership, and famously broke the Watergate scandal. Quote – “To love what you do and feel that it matters, how could anything be more fun?”

Janet Guthrie – the first woman to drive in the Indy 500. She was an aerospace engineer who trained to be an astronaut, but she was cut because she didn’t have her PHD. She turned to car racing! Quote – “You drive the car, you don’t carry it.”

The incomparable Aretha Franklin – the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Madeline Albright- the first female Secretary of State in 1987. Quote – “It really is an honor if I can be inspirational to a younger person or singer. It means I’ve done my job.”

Condoleeza Rice – the second woman and first African American to serve as Secretary of State. Quote – “Great leaders never accept the world as it was and always work for the world as it should be.”

Katie Sowers – the first woman and openly gay woman to coach in a Super Bowl for the San Francisco 49ers. Quote – “The most important words you can ever tell someone is ‘I believe in you'”.

Katherine Bigelow – in 2010, the first woman to win an Academy Award as Best Director for The  Hurt Locker. Quote – “Perhaps the only thing in my favor is I am very tenacious. I don’t take ‘no’ very well.”

Juliana Morell – in 1608, the first woman to earn a doctorate degree.

Wilma Rudolph – in 1960, the first woman to win three gold medals in track and field  at the Rome Olympics. Quote – “Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lies within each of us.”

Lucy Brewer, the first woman to join the US Marine Corps…..in 1812!

Lucy Hobbs Taylor – the first woman to graduate from dental school in 1866. Quote – “At that time the faculty of the Ohio Dental College would not permit me to attend, and there was not a college in the United States that would admit me, and no amount of persuasion could change their minds. So far as I know, I was the first woman who had ever taken instruction of a private tutor. I went to Iowa to commence practice, and was so successful that the dentists of the State insisted I should be allowed to attend the college. Their efforts prevailed, and I graduated from the Ohio Dentist College of Cincinnati in the spring of 1866 – the first woman in the world to take a diploma from a dental college.”

Belva Lockwood – the first woman to argue a case before the US Supreme Court in 1880. Quote – “I know we can’t abolish prejudice through laws, but we can set up guidelines for our actions by legislation.”

Caresse Crosby – the first woman to obtain a patent for a bra in 1914. Quote – “I believe my ardour for invention springs from my loins. I can’t say that the brassiere will ever take as great a place in history as the steamboat, but I did invent it.”

Lilian Bland – the first woman to design, build and fly an airplane, 1910-1911. Quote – “I could hardly believe it. After every flight I ran back to convince myself that I really had been airborne.”

Valentina Tereshkova – the first woman in space in 1963. Quote – “Hey sky, take off your hat, I’m on my way!”

Sharon Raiford Bush – in 1975, television’s African American weather anchor on primetime news at WGPR TV – the nation’s first Black-owned and operated television station.

And from just this past week – and close to home – Maia Chaka – the National Football League’s first African American official! Ms. Chaka graduated from Norfolk State University and teaches health and physical education at an academy in Virginia Beach.  Quote – “I am honored to be selected as an NFL official, but this moment is bigger than a personal accomplishment, it is an accomplishment for all women, my community and my culture.”

All of these women set the stage for all of us. Survived the often very difficult situations of being first. Women who were determined and brave – and, I hope, knew in their hearts that their paths paved the way for ours.

Think about who – or the many whos – left an impact IN you. Who supported your spirit of adventure, putting that little touch of wanderlust in you? Who encouraged you to take calculated risks, supporting the daredevil in you? Who said you could do that, instilling confidence, when you were convinced you could not? Who was the role model who lived by example so it was easy to grab those personal “notes”? Who paved the way or removed barriers, providing you the tools to overcome obstacles? Who provided little pearls of wisdom about life, service and leadership? Who was brave when she was afraid? Who helped you be brave when you were afraid? Who held your hand? Who answered the phone when you needed it? Who knew that you would make a difference – and that you, too, would leave something IN Someone else?

My wish is that all of us leave something IN people.

Phyl