Deh Bastos and Paula Batista, creators of the CRIANÇAS CRIANÇAS PRETAS project , listed the success lessons of some of the most admired black women. Want to know how these women charted a successful journey? Check out what we can learn from their stories below!
Rihanna, the muse of authenticity.
The world recognizes @badgalriri 's boldness as a hallmark of his career. At 31, in addition to being a singer, Rihanna is a songwriter, actress, diplomat and businesswoman with billionaire earnings. She has already stated that the beginning of her career was claustrophobic, as she could not be herself. First important lesson:
Assuming your personality can save you a lot of energy.
Rihanna is much more than a “good close-up”, even though she is a mega star fashionista: for the brands that bear her name, she uses an unconventional contract format for the artistic market, involving, for example, royalties on the sale per unit of products. Innovation is present in everything it signs, as well as representativeness, diversity and inclusion are present in its strategies, products and disclosures.
Djamila, the POP philosopher
Philosophy has often been seen as the place of great male thinkers and inaccessible to many people, but Djamila Ribeiro has clashed with this conception and has been committed to showing that philosophy is the field of women and, moreover, of black women. Known as a pop philosopher, the Master in political philosophy and black movement activist is making knowledge about issues that were previously surrounded by much taboo such as Black Feminism and Lugar de Fala, themes of her first two best sellers, accessible. In addition to her books, she heads the Feminismos Plrais collection, which invites black authors to write about themes that permeate Brazilian blackness - the publication is already in its seventh title.
In recent years, Djamila has become a reference in racial discussions, speaking around the world, participating in TV programs and winning many awards. The philosopher overcame barriers by choosing to approach racism in an accessible way, often being didactic, as in her latest book Pequeno Manual Anti-racista, released this year.
She is making her voice and the issues surrounding racism and black feminism reach spaces where there was no openness for the topic before. In this strategy, it manages to reach different audiences “We cannot be arrogant and think that people have to know everything. Quite the contrary, we have to be always learning. It is fundamental to work so that more and more people have access to reflections to understand that they have rights. At the Casa de Cultura da Mulher Negra (in Santos), I assisted women who suffered violence. How many believed that marriage was that. They did not understand that a life without violence was a right. But that only happens when we democratize the issues” said Djamila in an interview with the GaúchaZH portal.
If your purpose is to make your message reach further,
do like Djamila, change the tone of speech, change the direction and the ears that listen to you, and go further.
Michelle Obama, Woman First
For a long time she was known as the Obama wife, but after reading Michelle's biography, we can agree that Barack is very lucky to have this incredible woman as his companion. And let's not be fooled into thinking that this is the sexist phrase "behind a great man there is always a great woman" because, in this case, Michele was often at the side and at others, at the front, as when she was Barack's boss in the office of advocacy.
Considered the most admired woman in the world, her biography was released in 36 countries and became a bedside book for many business leaders. She has won many admirers, as it is difficult not to identify with at least one of the challenges experienced throughout her life as a daughter, sister, student, professional, mother. Surely you have something in common with Michelle.
Michelle's secret? Never shut up!
From a very young age, it was in arguments that she sometimes embarrassed adults, but she was firm in stating her opinions and we realize that it is still the case today. With Michelle, there are no mincing words. Despite this, she surprises with her capacity for resilience: “Since I reluctantly entered public life, I have been considered the most powerful woman in the world and hailed as an “angry black woman”. I wanted to ask my detractors which part of the expression they consider the most relevant—"female", "black" or "angry"? I smiled for pictures with people who called my husband nasty names on national television, but still wanted a framed memento to put on the mantelpiece. I've heard about the muddy places on the internet that question everything about me, even whether I'm male or female. A US Congressman once made fun of my ass. I was hurt. I was furious. But most of all, I tried to laugh about these things.”
Michelle Obama is that focused friend that we all want to have to inspire and encourage us in times of perrengue.
Suelen is power, competence and elegance
Suelen Marcolino is a relationship manager at LinkedIn and leader of BIG (Black Inclusion Group) in Latin America. The executive from the largest network of professional contacts in the world told PUSH especially what she learned throughout her career: black women face two challenges, racial and gender. "I learned throughout my career that if I didn't voice my opinion, it wouldn't be heard. And with that, I noticed that the 'how' to voice my opinion made all the difference. So I started to develop skills that I felt were necessary, in addition to those required by positions I held, to conquer and keep my place at the table. It is an 'extra' concern that I always needed to have, especially from a racial point of view, and not allow my vision or even my presence to be ignored. Developing these mechanisms became I became more attentive, participative and questioning, since in general, I was “the different one” in the place. I learned to use this 'difference' in my favor and to contradict the stereotypes that possibly nurtured about me."
Suelen transits with diplomacy in spaces of privilege where black people are a minority (even though they are 54% of the population). She believes that the pursuit of knowledge is the biggest investment you can make for yourself:
"Knowledge is power. Therefore, my lesson would be to seek knowledge as much as possible
- which is already a challenge, given the general access conditions of the black population in our country. I also think it's important to be aware of our past. Our history did not start with slavery, therefore, we do not have to correspond to the stereotype that this society designed for us, nor lose our identity to be in these spaces (since other ethnic groups can maintain it)”, advises the executive.
And for you, which woman inspires you the most?
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Lupita through the lens of Jackie Nickerson for Vanity Fair .
