Day 1 - P. Angelicia Simmons, J.D.

Whew!!! We made it to August … another month and in today’s climate, that’s a real accomplishment. As the church mothers sang, “another day the Lord has kept me.” WE can say another month, we’ve been kept.

This month, The Fannie Lou Hamer Institute of Advocacy & Social Action celebrates its 31 Days of Revolutionary Black Women. These Black women impact the lives that surround them, or they are continuing the impact as our ancestors, cheering for us, guiding us, and fighting for us. 

To these Revolutionary Black Women, we are forever grateful.

The Institute has big plans on the horizon. This month, on tomorrow, as a matter of fact, you’ll meet our latest great plan!! 

While in college, I would always post poems and motivational quotes on my wall. One of my favorite poems that traveled with me from room to room in Morrow Hall at NC A&T State University was Nikki Giovanni’s, “Revolutionary Dreams.” I love this poem! 

“then I awoke and dug
that if i dreamed natural
dreams of being a natural
woman doing what a woman
does when she’s natural
i would have a revolution”

… and then, my young poetic sistah (who you’ll meet tomorrow), added her creative touch to the poem and said, 

i used to dream militant
dreams of taking
over america to show
folks how it should be
done with a Black woman’s touch

i used to dream of radical things
blowing everyone away with my perceptive powers of correct analysis
i even used to think i’d be the one
to stop the riot and negotiate the peace
then i awoke and dug
that if i dreamed natural
dreams of being a natural
woman doing what a woman
does when she’s natural
i would have a Revolution
Nikki Giovanni w/ a Twist

Check-in with us daily and learn how these natural women did what women do naturally – done with a Black Woman’s touch - and created their own revolutions. Many of these women didn’t even make it to our “Herstory” books, or our History Books, but they are revolutionary, nonetheless.