Positivity Pause - #TenaciousTuesday - Embrace Your Strength👩🏿‍🎓

🌞 It’s #TenaciousTuesday, and it's time for your #PositivityPause! 🌞

TAKE a moment to inhale for a count of 3, hold for a count of 3, exhale for a count of 3🧘🏽‍♀🧘🏼‍♂🧘🏾

Embrace Your Strength👩🏿‍🎓

"The black woman is expected to be a superwoman without acting like one," Dr. Willa B. Player

❓While I don’t know the context in which Dr. Player shared these words, it is fascinating that she wrestled with a phenomenon that was probably not acknowledged at the time❗Nevertheless she EMBRACED her strength and went on the use her superpowers to the advancement of our race👏🏾👏🏾

🎓 Dr. Willa Beatrice Player (1909-2003), a trailblazing educator, shattered expectations as the first African American woman to serve as president of an accredited 4 year college. 
🎓She became president of historically black college, Bennett College, in 1956.
🎓She earned a BA degree from Ohio Wesleyan College, a Master's from Oberlin College, a Certificat d'Études at University of Grenoble in France, and a PhD from Columbia University.

🎤Her accolades are plentiful ranging from 7 Honorary Doctorate degrees, to being appointed by 
President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966, as the first female Director of the Division of College Support in the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, a position she held until retiring in 1986🎤

💖 Player's legacy extends beyond academia, emphasizing the strength inherent in black women and the importance of recognizing their humanity.

⏸ Take a PAUSE to reflect on Willa B. Player's profound words.💖 There can be a tension between being strong but not being seen and celebrated as such. Know that you can walk authentically in all that you are no matter what society might communicate🙏🏾 Let Dr. Player’s wisdom, resilience and imprint on history inspire and energize you during this Women’s History Month🧨🌟🌈