Anna Julia Cooper, the 19th and 20th century educator, and one of my inspirations, once wrote: ” Only the Black woman can say ‘when and where I enter, in the quiet, undisputed dignity of my womanhood, without violence and without suing or special patronage, then and there the whole…race enters with me.”

As corporate sisters, we carry more than just our bodies, personalities and competencies with us in the workplace. Every time we enter the meeting room, sit at the table, or participate in the conversation, whether we are conscious of it or not, we carry a legacy, a people, a race, and the story of nations with us. Yes, it certainly is a heavy burden to bear, and as much as we may not want to think about it, it is very much real.

What is certainly obvious is that we are painfully absent from the corporate landscape, and so many other landscapes…And as minorities, double minorities for that matter, we have a responsibility to ourselves and to those coming after us to make the best of the opportunities that come to us. Not just for our own sake, but also for that of our daughters, nieces, cousins and friends. Despite obvious obstacles in our way, we as Black women still are the pathway for many around and after us….

As we get ready to close this year and enter a new one, and as we already start thinking about resolutions and new beginnings, let’s keep in mind that as much as we are to enjoy where we are on the way to where we are going, every door we cross is also one we have the power to open for others…

Just like one of my inspirations, Mrs. Ursula Burns, first African-American CEO of a Fortune 500 Company, in this case Xerox, and one of the few corporate sisters leading the way not just for sisters, but all women out there; please take a listen to what she says about growing up poor:

The Corporate Sister