BlackWomanRDFN

We celebrate, commemorate and honor the great lady: Dr. Dorothy I. Height. She was an iconic civil rights leader, and powerfully devoted voice for black women. We were honored to have her essay included in the original 1st edition of #BlackwomanRedefined @BWRpaperback in 2011.

The United Nations has finally said what the world has always known but too many have been too cowardly to declare: the transatlantic slave trade was the gravest crime against humanity. And yet, predictably, shamefully, and disgracefully, the United States and the United Kingdom could not bring themselves to stand on the right side of history. Let that sink in. The very nations that built their wealth, power, and global dominance on the backs of stolen Black bodies, on rape, torture, forced labor, family separation, and generational dehumanization, refused to fully acknowledge the magnitude of their crimes. The United States didn’t just participate in slavery, it perfected it. Chattel slavery in America was not incidental. It was industrial. It was theologicalized. It was codified into law and culture. It was a system so brutal, so comprehensive, that its aftershocks are still killing us today through mass incarceration, economic inequality, healthcare disparities, and state-sanctioned violence. And the United Kingdom? An empire that colonized the globe, trafficked millions of Africans, destabilized nations, extracted resources, and then had the audacity to “abolish” slavery, only to compensate slave owners while leaving the enslaved with nothing but trauma and poverty. And now, when the global community dares to tell the truth, they hesitate. They abstain. They object. Why? Because truth demands accountability. And accountability demands repair. The United States claims it opposed the language because it fears a “hierarchy of crimes.” That’s not a serious argument, it’s a deflection. You cannot rank atrocities while standing on top of one. You cannot sanitize history while benefiting from its brutality. You cannot rebrand slavery as “job training,” strip it from textbooks, ban its teaching in classrooms, and then pretend your objection is about fairness or intellectual integrity. This is not about language. This is about refusal. Refusal to apologize. Refusal to repair. Refusal to reckon. It is the same spirit that resists teaching accurate Black history. The same spirit that dismantles DEI. The same spirit that gaslights descendants of the enslaved while continuing to profit from their oppression. This resolution was not radical, it was restrained. It was not punitive, it was truthful. And even truth was too much. So let the record reflect: When the world moved toward justice, the United States and the United Kingdom stood still, clutching their myths, protecting their comfort, and exposing, yet again, that their commitment to “freedom” has always been conditional. History is watching. And so are we.

In 1963, Mary Hamilton took her fight for dignity all the way to the Supreme Court after refusing to be addressed without respect in a courtroom. When the prosecutor addressed her as “Mary” instead of “Miss Hamilton,” while giving white witnesses proper titles, she refused to answer his questions until she was addressed with the same respect. After being jailed for contempt, she appealed, and the Supreme Court overturned her conviction. Respect is not optional. It is a right worth fighting for. ✊🏿 thegrio.com/2026/03/23/how…

.@KamalaHarris: “Some people ask me, ‘Why do you keep going down South?’ And you know what I tell them… I know the power of the South.”

Black women are earning degrees at historic highs and outpacing others in entrepreneurship. By every traditional benchmark of success, Black women have shown up … and succeeded. Yet true access to top opportunities remains out of reach. theroot.com/black-women-ha… #BlackWomenLead

35 Photos Of Diana Ross And Her Kids Over The Years! essence.com/gallery/diana-…

Claudette Colvin, the first to refuse to give up her seat and protest segregation on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, has passed away. May she rest in power.

“Nothing can save us—not all our money, nor all our bombs, nor all our guns—if we cannot achieve that long, long, long-delayed maturity.” - James Baldwin (1964)

We have #NoKings in America.

Virginia: early voting for the redistricting amendment is happening now through April 18. Protect your voting power and help level the playing field ahead of the midterm elections by voting YES today or on Election Day, April 21. Go to IWillVote.com/VA for more information on how to cast your ballot.

Sixty-three.

It's a pink & green Friday! My two favorite colors!

Happy heavenly birthday, Aretha Franklin 🙏🏾❤️ For more Black celebrity Aries: bit.ly/41wvGC9

Standing together on the final day of the Selma to Montgomery march 61 years ago today, my mother and father reflected the strength, sacrifice, and shared commitment that carried thousands forward in the fight for voting rights. They did their part. They carried the weight. They moved this nation forward. What we do now will determine whether that progress is protected or undone. #RestoreTheVRA #JohnLewisVRAA #MLK #CorettaScottKing #Nonviolence365

61 years ago today, at the culmination of the Selma to Montgomery marches, my father, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stood on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol and declared with clarity and conviction, “How long? Not long!” That moment was not only about the victory ahead. It was about the determination to keep moving forward in the face of brutality, injustice, and delay. The question still meets us today. Not just “How long?,” but ”How committed we are to doing what is necessary to secure and protect the right to vote for all?” Watch/listen to the full speech on YouTube: youtu.pulse.ly/0esr1lqqws #MLK #VotingRightsAct #RestoreTheVRA #JohnLewisVRAA #Nonviolence365

@FreedomRedefind @IAmSophiaNelson Congrats once again @IAmSophiaNelson

We are so proud of our first title, "Redefining Freedom," being released on April 28, 2026. It's a pathway forward to saving our democracy and renewing the American promise and purpose for a new generation of Americans. Written by award-winning author @IAmSophiaNelson (narrated by her in audiobook coming soon). Read more about our new book printing imprint and global partnership here: redefiningfreedomcenterofvirginia.org/rfc-freedom-bo… Pre-orders are open everywhere books are sold! #America250 #RedefiningFreedom #VA250 #WomensHistoryMonth2026

I cannot wait for this book, my 5th non-fiction and first current affairs book, to become part of our much-needed national conversation on America's 250th birthday and where we go from this deeply divided, chaotic, and difficult place we find ourselves in as a nation right now. You can pre-order copies everywhere books are sold. @BNBuzz has 25% off here: barnesandnoble.com/w/redefining-f… #RedefiningFreedom #America250 #VA250 #Freedom #Freedom250

In D.C., Black Workers Are Losing Jobs At The Highest Rates essence.com/news/money-car…

White men routinely raped enslaved Black women and forced them to have children, who they also enslaved. Trust me, you don’t need to teach Black Americans about human depravity

On March 25, 1965, at the conclusion of the Selma to Montgomery March, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his powerful “How Long? Not Long!” address at the Alabama State Capitol: youtu.be/SoiKHfp4LTA?si… With moral clarity and unwavering faith, he reminded the nation that justice, though delayed, would not be denied. That moment affirmed that disciplined, collective action rooted in nonviolence can move a nation toward change. The work continues. The call to protect and advance the right to vote remains as urgent today as it was then. #TheKingCenter #MLK #BelovedCommunity #RestoreTheVRA #Nonviolence365