Coco Chanel once remarked, “Women have always been the strong ones of the world.”
Let’s Hear It for ALL GIRLS High Schools
On my Leading with Purpose podcast, I interviewed my Philadelphia for Girls High School classmate and leadership coach, Shelita Winfield-Duke. I asked her if “going to an all-girls high school helped with her leadership skills?” Her answer is in the clip below.
It is almost impossible to leave Girls High without confidence and knowledge that whatever your goals, you can make it happen. This is because you see your classmates, sometimes competitively, holding every position in student government, news, music, arts, and yes, science. There is power in seeing what’s possible.
Our alumni boasts of Gloria Allred, an attorney known for women’s rights cases, Barbara Harris, the first woman ordained a bishop in the Anglican Communion, Erika Alexander, award-winning actress and women who are leaders in every industry in the US. The years we spend in those hallowed halls of Girls High develop us into leaders who advocate for all people, but especially women, in the United States. I salute all the ladies who chose to go to an all-girls school. We are the ones that change lives no matter where we are.
Melinda Gates: If Equality is the Mission, Wealth is the Driver.
Philanthropist, businesswoman, and global advocate for women and girls are a few of the superlatives used to describe Melinda Gates. She was also the valedictorian of the all-girls school, Ursuline Academy of Dallas. It’s motto, In Service.
Of course, we heard about her through her marriage, divorce, and the creation of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Melinda is a powerhouse whom we might have heard from despite her marriage which made her one wealthiest woman in the world. Her work as the marketing manager behind Microsoft Word is enough for me. Who hasn’t used Word in their lives? That is true impact.
It is the way she lives her life and her belief of the equality of everyone is why I included her in this year’s tribute.
You can create all kinds of new tools, but if you’re not moving towards equality, you’re not really changing the world, you’re just rearranging it. – Melinda Gates
In 2010, she co-founded the Giving Pledge. The pledge requires signees to commit to giving away at least half of their wealth during their lifetime or shortly after their death. MacKenzie Scott, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and more than 200 others have signed the pledge so far. The belief that all lives have value guided the foundation’s beginning and how it continues. I don’t doubt that her upbringing, her time at Ursuline, and the power that comes married to one of the wealthiest man in the world resulted in her belief system.
Note: Ms. Gates has stepped down from the Gates Foundation since I started this post. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Angel Lynn: Caitlin Should Have Called the Jalen Hurts Business Team
If you follow me on social media you know I am a big Philadelphia EAGLES fan. Writing this tribute post to women alerts you that I am also a BIG supporter of women and the multi-hyphenated issues we face every day. The women I’m highlighting in this section is in response to Caitlin Clark and the menial salary she received as one of the biggest woman players to come out of college in the WNBA era. And yes, my outrage was active on social media. So let me list the excuses here and as you read it please hear the song I Heard It All Before, by Sunshine Anderson:
- Caitlin will get paid because of endorsements.
- People need to watch and go to the WNBA games
- She gets money from ticket sales and merchandise
- The WNBA is broke. That’s all they can afford.
- Women play less games than men.
- She’ll make more than half Americans.
- It’s part of the NBA/WNBA collective bargaining agreement.
- Every sport has a gender disparity in pay.
I get it but if excuses were…… All the above doesn’t change the fact that her pay, along with other first-rounders Angel Reese, Kamila Cardoso, and Rickea Jackson, for four years doesn’t reach the guarantee of the NBA number 1 pick Victor Wembanyana of $12M. Forget the $55M that he’ll earn independently of:
- Endorsements
- Merchandise and ticket sales.
- Some people pay $55M on one trip to space.
- His per-game salary is more than what Clark and all the top drafts will earn in four years.
But this is a tribute post and I will follow the WNBA to see how it rises to the occasion.
Back to Jalen Hurts and His All Women Team
The first thing I thought about Caitlin’s contract was I hope she has a business team like Jalen Hurts, an all-women team. It is led by the first Black female agent to represent a top-three NFL draft pick, Nicole Lynn. She and her team Chantal Romain, Shakeemah Simmons-Winter, and Jenna Malphrus was able to get my quarterback the highest ever average per year in terms of new money.
Nicole Lynn’s agency was also bought out by Klutch Sports and she became the president of Football Operations. Klutch Sports is another success story with Rich Paul but that’s a story for another day. We all anticipate big and better in women’s sports and I hope that Caitlin, WNBA, and an exact replica of Nicole’s team are responsible.
Mollie Moon: Raising the Roof and Money
If you follow me on LinkedIn, you know I spent a year working for the NAACP. It was the perfect timing of my passion for raising equality for black people in the US and my marketing skills working together for a cause. I was also able to work with some beautiful, dynamic, and spirited people who all share the same mission. I am big on organizational success being predicated on all being aligned to the mission, vision, and core values.
However, I learned very quickly that the revolution, any revolution, has to be financed. This led me to the Mollie Moon story and the book Our Secret Society: Mollie Moon and the Glamour, Money, and Power Behind the Civil Rights Movement by Tanisha Ford.
Mollie raised millions of dollars as president of the fundraising arm of the Urban League. These dollars were always for economic and racial equality in the United States. She and her husband, Henry Moon, a journalist and later public relations director for the NAACP were one of the original Power Couples. Equality was their industry and reputation was built on philanthropy.
She founded the National Urban League Guild in 1942 in order to raise funds in support of the League’s racial equality programs. One of her greatest fundraisers was the Beaux Arts Ball. Think of the Met Gala for the cause of racial equality. Her Gala was pre-Met Gala and had that day’s influencers and power brokers attend, Rockefellers, Josephine Baker, Langston Hughes, Harry Belefonte and the list of celebrities goes on. At its height, the Beaux Arts Gala boasted over 2000 guests. Her ball and the monies she raised is why she was recognized by David Dinkins when he was mayor of New York.
I encourage all of us to read the book. It changed my perspective and inspired me to become the fundraising chair for the Philadelphia Hampton Alumni Chapter.
Faith Ringold: When Art Hits You. You Don’t Forget
Pre-motherhood, houses, businesses, and all the things that come with adulting, I was a single lady living and working in NY. I started in Freeport and ended in the Bronx. Living in New York is one of those times in your life that shapes you. Whether you had good or bad experiences, you do not leave New York without a story or one hundred stories to tell or to try to forget. One of my stories is about my visceral reaction to Faith Ringold and her Tar Beach series.
If you live in NY, culture is everywhere and at any moment. This is how I found the art of Faith Ringold. It might have been Harlem Week or walking on 72nd, my favorite street especially on Sundays. Whatever day it was I saw a print that caught my eye and I remember feeling ” I had to have it” moment. It was Tar Beach and even today its story about Cassie Louise Lightfoot and her ability to fly appeals to me.
Doing a little digging at the library (AOL had just launched 🙍🏾♀️😁), I found out about her American People series. If you look at that series you think that she painted or quilted the series today. And yes, the images will hit you at your heart and how she became the artist-activist she is known for today.
Faith Ringold passed April 12, 2024, but like all artists, her work and more importantly, her commentary on the lives of African-American people will live on.
Learn More About Our Ladies
The best thing about writing this post is the journey and knowledge I get from the research. Below are the links I used to write this post.
- All Girls High Schools
- https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-philadelphia-high-school-for-girls-alumni-and-students/reference
- https://blog.theellisschool.org/10-girls-school-graduates-making-their-mark-on-the-world
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2024/03/25/what-these-3-leaders-gained-from-their-all-girls-school-education/?sh=57af1bc25984
- Melinda Gates
- https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/bill-melinda-gates-foundation-awards-3.2-million-to-fourteen-washington-schools
- https://www.themuse.com/advice/melinda-french-gates-quotes
- https://givingpledge.org/pledger?pledgerId=428
- https://www.inc.com/peter-economy/melinda-french-gates-taught-a-powerful-lesson.html
- Angel Lynn
- Mollie Moon
There are so many shining stars and inspirations to every American in whatever field of endeavor so thank you to all the women who did not make this list. Please use the comments or tweet me @MsMaishaBHoye to share the women who inspire you!
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