Education is known through out American society as the “Great equalizer!” (Bernardi & Ballarino, 2016). It is the vehicle most consistently used to raise one out of poverty. Although education has proven to lift one out of their social class, it doesn’t dismantle the effects of race and gender on society. Racial exclusion is based in the fear that equality disadvantages those who should be superior. The myth of White supremacy has largely provided the luxury of turning a blind eye to the parasitic past of America. That luxury has provided an opportunity to exploit the masses through the telling of their own story. A story which has led the country to pursue a racial rewind because America’s achilles’ heel has always been the issue of race.

Yet, Black women have to compete with the societal constraints of both race and sex. White women did not gain access to their full citizenship in America until 1920 with the passage of the 19th Amendment. This was fifty-five years after Black men gained their right to vote with the 15th Amendment (Nelson, 2022). Therefore, America’s original sin of slavery is complicated by a patriarchal society that saw, and still sees, women as second class citizens. Black women’s interwoven struggles presented by sex and race are best explained through misogynoir, a specific hatred, dislike, distrust, and prejudice directed precisely toward Black women. They have turned to the great equalizer of education for some reprieve, but to no avail. Pew Research shows that Black women continue to lead academically at colleges and universities across America but struggle to close the income and wealth gap. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research indicates that Black women earn significantly less than White men in America. Black women still earn around 64 cents for every dollar earned by White males.

The second Trump Administration is openly practicing misogynoir granting permission for the entire country to do the same. Since he took office, Black women have lost a total of 304,000 jobs. Meanwhile, overall Black unemployment has risen from 5.6%, at the end of the Biden Administration, to 6.1% six months into Trump’s term. Black women’s educational status has been viewed as threatening because their commitment to equity has changed what’s possible in the societal imagination. Their pushing can be seen in the nominal growth in Black female leadership across industries. Black women are in the minority but have found ways to lead indiscriminate of industry with their post-secondary education as their lamppost. Such leadership has contributed to a feeling of White loss; this perceived loss has galvanized many atop the societal hierarchy to use policy to stop progression. For some, stopping the progression is not enough, and Project 2025 is the playbook for how Whites will capture what they perceived has been lost: the currency of Whiteness.

Yet, Black America is not going back! In large part because of Black female leaders who have transformed the industries in which they lead. The specific hatred, dislike and prejudice directed toward Black women has been reversed engineered by those very Black women. Their existence as the leaders in these contentious spaces constantly present the challenge to do better than societal norms deem they should.  This was glaringly obvious in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) during the global pandemic.

A Black woman, Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett transformed the world of epidemiology just with her presence. Dr. Corbett emerged as a leading viral immunologist during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Her expertise in coronavirus research, which was developed years before the pandemic, positioned her at the forefront of the global response. Black women are significantly underrepresented in STEM fields. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) found in 2024 that Black women comprise less than 7% of doctoral candidates in science and engineering and only about 9% of the STEM workforce. Therefore, Dr. Corbett’s existence as an immunologist was foreign. Her ability to fight hatred with the love of science and human life allowed her to change what was possible for Black women. The pivotal role she played in developing the Moderna vaccine, which became one of the first approved vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, quite literally changed the world. She was once invisible working diligently and undoubtedly facing the societal weight of being Black and female, especially with the name Kizzmekia. Yet, her transformational leadership changed the way vaccines are studied and constructed. This transformation cannot be forgotten by those with intimate knowledge in epidemiology and immunology.

Dr. Corbett is just one example: Rosalind G. Brewer is another example of how Black women lead to transform. Rosalind (Roz) Brewer was the first Black woman to become Chief Executive Officer at Walgreens Boots Alliance in March 2021. She served in this role for two years as she stepped down in September of 2023. She has had a illustrious business career being in several leadership positions: Chief Operating Officer and Group President at Starbucks from October 2017 to January 2021; President and Chief Executive Officer of Sam’s Club, from February 2012 to February 2017. In 2012, she made history becoming the first woman and the first African American ever to hold such a high-ranking position inside the Wal-Mart corporation. CEO Brewer definitely felt the weight of her gender and race as a Fortune article states that only 11% of fortune 500 CEO’s are women. Brewer led the Starbucks corporation through a racially charged incident in a Philadelphia store. She used substantial company resources to try and eradicate the hate and distrust which caused the incident through training, awareness, and programs to drive home belonging. Andrew D. Gilman, the president of crisis management firm CommCore Consulting Group praised Starbucks for its efforts in educating employees on racial sensitivity. Gilman said “this move goes far beyond the playbook.. sending a big statement to corporations.” (Avila, 2018). Rosalind Brewer’s transformative leadership established a new norm for how a Fortune 500 company confronts the prejudices she had known too well.

My most recent work Visibly Invisible the Women of the Congressional Black Caucus discusses many transformative women in the United States legislature. From well known names such as: Shirley Chisolm, Barbara Jordan, Shelia Jackson Lee or not as well known names such as Cardiss Collins or Juanita Millender-Mcdonald, these women have transformed what democracy means in America. As a collective, the women of the Congressional Black Caucus, by their mere presence, have required the United States legislature to reimagine itself. These Black women, just like Black women leaders across space, time and industry, have consistently said no to the status quo. This is driven by their own experiences with misogynoir, which often drives their unwillingness to replicate oppressive systems. Black women change the spaces they are in by using education as a great equalizer. They unteach false narratives with their formal education; they use integrity to turn dislike into respect; and they refuse to allow their race and gender to be societal handicaps. Instead, Black women use their leadership skills and positions to dramatically change the form, appearance, and character of the spaces they occupy. Such transformative leadership is imperative; if not misogynoir will define them. From Harriet Tubman, to Phyllis Wheatley; from Ida B. Wells to Dorothy Height; from Mamie Till-Mobley to Lucy McBath, Black women have transformed America whether the country acknowledges them or not!

References

Ajemian, N. (2025, June 2). Women Ceos run 11% of fortune 500 companies in 2025. Fortune. https://fortune.com/2025/06/02/fortune-500-companies-run-by-female-ceos-women-2025/

Avila, M.; Parkin, H.; and Galoostian, S.(2019) “$16.7 Million To Save One Reputation:

How Starbucks Responded Amidst a Racial Sensitivity Crisis,” Pepperdine Journal of

Communication Vol. 7, Article 4.https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/pjcr/vol7/iss1/4

Bernardi, F., & Ballarino, G. (2016). Education as the Great Equalizer: A theoretical framework. Education, Occupation and Social Origin. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781785360459.00006

Editor, A. (2024, December 4). Young Black women are significantly outpacing black men in educational attainment. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. https://jbhe.com/2024/12/young-black-women-are-significantly-outpacing-black-men-in-educational-attainment/

Gassam Asare, J. (2023, September 12). Misogynoir: The unique discrimination that Black Women Face. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2020/09/22/misogynoir-the-unique-discrimination-that-black-women-face/?sh=4a2cf82456ef

Lutz, W. (2025, April 22). Black women earn less than white men in every state, will not reach pay equity with white men until 2144, according to a new IWPR fact sheet. IWPR. https://iwpr.org/black-women-earn-less-than-white-men-in-every-state-will-not-reach-pay-equity-with-white-men-until-2144-according-to-a-new-iwpr-fact-sheet/

Nelson, Sherice. J. (2022). The Congressional Black Caucus: Fifty Years of Fighting for Equality. Archway Publishing.

Project 2025’s “Mandate for leadership: The conservative promise.” (n.d.). https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24088042-project-2025s-mandate-for-leadership-the-conservative-promise/

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025, June 6). Table A-2. employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, and age – 2025 M05 results. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t02.htm