This past weekend, I started my Saturday morning by attending a Women’s History Month Program sponsored by the Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary (KPCLA).  They asked all the ladies in attendance to wear their pearls to the program.

 

Ironically, my mother’s name was Pearl, and today I honor all women past and present as March is Women’s History Month.

 

For me, it was all about finding my landmark.   Today, with technology, we can use “Google Earth” to see or find landmarks; however, my landmark is in my heart.

 

Taking it a step further, I’m reminded of the importance of what Women’s History Month brings to all of us.

 

Many of us go through life and see names written or engraved on buildings of various trailblazers or influential people without paying much attention to how they became prominent in life.

 

One of the names that I had embedded in my mind at a very young age was Maggie Lena Walker.

 

You’re probably unaware how frequently the name (Maggie L. Walker) was used as a landmark in finding my grandfather’s auto body shop when my family visited him.

 

It’s a landmark that my family has used for years to get to a specific location.

 

When people ask us where we live, we all do it on occasion, and we give them a name or a place they can recognize as a landmark.

 

Little did I know that with each visit to Richmond, Virginia, the school named Maggie L. Walker High School would be my landmark for finding my grandfather’s business “Wright’s Body Shop.”

 

I recognized the importance of Maggie L. Walker because my grandfather’s auto body shop was directly across the street from Maggie L. Walker High School in Richmond, Virginia.

 

Sometimes, we don’t fully understand how life allows us to become part of history until we slow down and reflect on how far we have come and where we are going.

 

As many parents will plan visits by taking their children to their grandparents, I also had that opportunity.

 

Today, we hear the words of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and don’t understand how others continue to benefit from people stepping outside their comfort zones and taking risks.

 

In short, “In Walker’s honor Richmond Public Schools built a large brick high school adjacent to Virginia Union University. Maggie L. Walker High School was one of two schools in the area for black students during the Jim Crow era; the other was Armstrong High School. Generations of students spent their high-school years at the school. It was totally refurbished to reopen in 2001 as the regional Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies.”

 

Who was Maggie Lena Walker?

 

Maggie L. Walker – Wikipedia

 

Maggie Lena (née Draper Mitchell) Walker (July 15, 1864 – December 15, 1934) was an American businesswoman and teacher. In 1903, Walker became both the first African American woman to charter a bank and the first African American woman to serve as a bank president.[2] As a leader, Walker achieved successes with the vision to make tangible improvements in the way of life for African Americans. Disabled by paralysis and a wheelchair user later in life, Walker also paved the way for people with disabilities.

 

Biography: Maggie Lena Walker (womenshistory.org)

 

I’m sure many reading today’s blog may not recognize Maggie Lena Walker’s name or even believe she is a woman of color by looking at her picture.

 

In my era, I grew up surrounded by schools named after people of color, such as Jim Thorpe, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, and Paul Laurence Dunbar, all black males.

 

However, my childhood visits to Richmond were always to Maggie L. Walker, the landmark in my mind.

 

There is a reason we celebrate Women’s History Month, and why our children need to know the women who continue to make a difference in the lives of others must be honored.

 

https://www.womenshistory.org/womens-history/womens-history-month

 

Today, I take this opportunity to celebrate all the women who continue making a difference in the lives of others.

 

I could have chosen any name you recognize as a landmark; however, Maggie Lena Walker is mine. What’s your landmark as you celebrate Women’s History Month?

 

Take time this month, find your landmark tied to Women History Month, and celebrate it!