Black History Month may have just come to a close, but that does not mean the celebration needs to end, as well. While it is important to acknowledge Black excellence every day of the year, with Women’s History Month just beginning, it is especially vital, now more than ever, to highlight Black women’s fabulous achievements.
After 104 years of being a franchise, the Chicago Bears finally hired their first ever female coach, Jennifer King, who also made history back in 2021 as the first ever Black female coach in the entire National Football League (NFL). King coaches alongside just nine other women in the NFL, making this accomplishment quite a big one. Prior to the Bears, she served as the assistant running back coach for Washington for three seasons; however, King is very excited to enter this next chapter in her life.
“To be a first in such a historic organization is a special moment. To be a part of that culture that [is] in the building is exciting. I think we [are] going to do some really cool things and I’m definitely excited for the upcoming season,” King said.
Though she is no stranger to the spotlight, this past month, R&B singer Beyoncé made multiple headlines after her new song, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” became a No. 1 hit in both America and the United Kingdom, just a couple weeks after she made Grammy history when she received the most career wins by any artist for her new album, “Renaissance.” At the ceremony, Beyoncé gratefully accepted her 32nd career win, unknowingly setting herself up for an entire month of success. “Texas Hold ‘Em” became her ninth song to ever hit the No.1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, which just added on to another record she had broken a week prior with the song when she received the title of the first ever Black woman to take the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs.
“I went to Beyoncé’s concert last year for my birthday, and ever since I have loved her music so much more! It is amazing that she has gotten so many awards and so much recognition as a Black woman,” Kimora Stevenson, sophomore, said.
While Black gymnasts like Simone Biles and Gaby Douglass are stealing the show once again with their return to the sport, others are beginning to emerge from the shadows. Haleigh Bryant is now the 14th collegiate women’s gymnast to have won a gym slam, where one receives a ten on every event (bar, floor, beam, and vault) at least once. While she had already accomplished herself the title of all-time Perfect 10 leader in Louisiana State University (LSU) history, she is not stopping there. Bryant now proudly holds 13 perfect 10’s, representing not just LSU but little Black girls everywhere.
“I think for young Black girls, it is important to look up to someone like Haleigh Bryan because it is amazing to see someone who looks like you doing so well in what she loves. I look up to her because not only is it cool to see someone doing so well for the Black community in the sport I love, but she has always had such a positive attitude,” Trinity Crowell, freshman, said.
Bryant is not the only great success at LSU, as basketball players Angel Reese and Mikaylah Williams earned themselves two of the most prestigious titles in collegiate sports. Reese was named the 2024 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year while Williams was voted the SEC Freshman of the Year, creating quite the names for themselves before even making it into professional leagues. As Reese specifically has consistently been working towards showing the greatness of Black women in basketball, this win is only her further demonstrating to others Black excellence in sports.
“Seeing players like Angel Reese and Mikaylah Williams lets me and other Black women athletes have hope that we can have success like they do. They show us what we can become because they let nothing hold them back,” Kennedy Johnson, senior, said.
Despite there only being one month a year dedicated to Black American history, people should never stop celebrating the amazing accomplishments of those who have pushed passed barriers that much of the world can never even begin to imagine.
