Empowered Voices: The Unstoppable Power of Women’s Unity

Women are rising in the US.

Granted, our country landed at 43 out of 146 countries on the World Economic Forum (WEF) list for gender equality in 2023. In March 2024, Ms. Magazine ranked us 37th globally on the best countries for women list, citing maternal mortality and political violence as key indicators of designation. And in March 2023, Statista ranked the US at 93% on the list for equal rights for women, partly due to the lack of laws guaranteeing equal pay. (All figures provided by Google AI.)

There is still much work to be done on behalf of us now and for the future generations of women that will come after us. What we do today determines the future for them, and we are creating that future in real-time with our everyday actions. They are watching.

As a girl mom of four and a big sister to two young women, I have adopted this mindset and heart for leading by example. Even when I am showing them what NOT to do out of my flaws and weaknesses, I am innately in tune with the connection between how I live and what they gain from watching me live. I think as women with wisdom and love, we should all walk in this way.

Obviously, we have made some improvements in this country. We are entertaining our first female president! It is an exciting time to be a woman as we witness in real-time on social media platforms the togetherness that is forming among women across color, ethnicity, location, affiliation, religion, and economic status lines. Once our Native sisters joined us, that is when my tears became very real. They are the most underserved, marginalized, and invisible, dealing with generations upon generations of trauma due to the genocide of their people. If they can hope in our future, surely we can too. I am inspired.

Inspired. To breathe life into. I am experiencing a breath of life that I have never experienced before. Being a multiracial woman, I have wanted nothing more than 1) Black women to be elevated to the status they have earned over centuries as a marginalized and abused people and, 2) All women from marginalized communities uniting under a common cause for women as a whole with the support of our White sisters using their privilege to pave the way. We are seeing both of these come to manifestation before our eyes within the timeframe of seven days! What a sight to behold!

Why? Why is this NOW possible?

Why are we rising as women in these United States of America?

Because we are doing so as a collective. We really are stronger together, and that is why division has been bred among us for centuries. We become so consumed with our own survival that we are blinded to the power that we hold together!

There are conspiracy theories out there about the murder—yes, I said murder—of certain leaders in the Black Panther Party. One of those theories is because some of these leaders figured out that all of the minority poor bonding together to fight the unjust establishment was much stronger than just one community fighting alone. It was the initiatives to bring communities together to fight that led to the White fear reflected in the use of internal war waged against black and brown communities.

I think we can learn in this time that the awakening of the privileged being ready on our side is creating the perfect storm to bond together and create the country that we were told we are. They call us a “melting pot” of cultures, but it is to the detriment of those who fear the power of those ingredients coming together to season this country’s culture, societal endeavors, and global impact. We need to embrace that we are all different and are proud to be! Each ingredient in that pot brings a different experience and taste that adds to the final delicious result of everyone and everything in that pot.

I have been invested in my knowledge of how to not only embrace this moment in history but also how I can add to the impact of it. I have put aside my own distrusts and skepticism towards privileged women to embrace their vulnerability as they repent for their ignorance and welcomed blindness. I have also sought within myself to be okay embracing all of who I am and being unapologetic about me. 

More importantly, offering grace to other women to do the same. Relishing the power of commonality in community such as Veterans for Harris or Win with Black Women and eagerly anticipating upcoming opportunities to engage with and serve alongside communities where we are all coming together as a collective like Women for Harris, which is coming up this week.

I have had this heart to see women come together for some years now. I was told that my desire to build a movement that allowed women a safe space to do this was too Kumbaya and unrealistic. Lo and behold! Who knew in July 2024 we would see this happen on a national stage! What better time to do my part?!?

Let’s build on this momentum that we’ve gained from our excitement for the changes we have been praying and hoping would come. No longer being divided by our differences but embracing those differences to empower ourselves as a collective for a common good for all generations to come.

My sisters, now is our time. We truly are stronger together. Remember these things to stay balanced during this time of embracing sisterhood across color lines:

- At the very core of our beings, we are women. Period. We all need to be seen and heard. We have much more in common than we have different.

- Be humble. (Sit down! Be humble! Sorry, I had to do it! I love Kendrick Lamar!) Not one of us is better than the other. We are all human beings created by a Creator and here to walk a journey that we cannot fully control on our own. We are all dealing with situations that others cannot see from the surface. Let’s stop judging each other and look for something beautiful in each other. We get enough of that from our male counterparts!

- Be proud to embrace & represent your community! Bring your community beliefs, characteristics, and values to the table, but remember, we are stronger together. Let’s be willing to compromise! No one group or person is to be elevated over the other.

- Get involved! I have been reminded this week that there are women who have been on the front lines behind the scenes fighting on our behalf for centuries, decades, years! There are organizations that are now getting their shine that have been fighting the good fight for years. We are not here to reinvent the wheel but to get in formation behind those who have been already on the front lines. Fall in line, Sisters!

- Pray for your sisters! I need prayer. They need prayer. You need prayer. WE, our country, needs prayer! In whatever way feels comfortable and authentic to you, address the existence of an agenda and intention much greater than you and me. We are not alone. We do not have to carry the weight or pressure of impossibility. Use prayer as a weapon and a repowering daily.

We are in an amazing time. But just like when someone presents a powerful motivational speech or sermon that ignites positive emotions in us, that will eventually wear off. The otherside is most likely looking forward to our fuel running out and our drive to fight diminishing. Let’s keep each other engaged and inspired to keep going.

We are unequivocally stronger together.

Thank you for your support and love. Let’s roar!