17 Badass Black Women You Should Already Know About
Proof that “Black Girl Magic” started a long, long time ago.
Baroness Valerie Amos, first black woman to sit in the British cabinet.
Other than being queen of the coral blazer, Baroness Valerie Amos is a badass for several reasons. Not only did she become the first black British cabinet member when she was appointed as international development secretary in 2003, she also made history as the first black woman to lead a British university when she became director of the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Amos. She’s held several positions in the public sector, including chief executive of the Equal Opportunities Commission, acted as an adviser to the Mandela government, served as Foreign Office minister, AND worked as the UK High Commissioner to Australia.
After all that exhausting success, she was made a Companion of Honour in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 2016 because really, it's only right, isn't it?
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Sislin Fay Allen, first black policewoman in the UK.
Before we get into the badassery of Sislin Fay Allen, I want you to take a quick look at this photo. You see that hat? You see that jacket? Classic qualities of a badass.
When Allen joined the Metropolitan police in 1968 there were no black female officers at all. She’d been working as a nurse when she saw the job advert, and her acceptance to the interview stage came as a shock to her own family.
On the selection day, there were only 10 women in attendance, Allen being the only black woman among them. Any other person may have been intimidated, but Allen clearly gave no fucks. After passing a set of exams, she began her work in Croydon, before being transferred to Scotland Yard's missing persons bureau.
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Claudia Jones, founder of Britain's first major black newspaper.
Born in Trinidad in 1924, political activist, freedom fighter, and all around badass Claudia Jones was a pioneer of radical journalism. While living in New York, she was a member of the Young Communist League and joined the staff of the Daily Worker. She was arrested in 1955 and served a year in prison, before ultimately being deported and given asylum in the UK.
Faced with Britain’s racism, Jones became a leader in the Black Equal Rights Movement and founded the West Indian Gazette, the first black newspaper in the UK.
Jones's reporting not only had zero tolerance for bullshit, it also increased awareness of the growing number of black and Asian people living in the UK by dealing with issues such as racial discrimination. And if running the newspaper wasn’t enough, she's also credited as a co-founder of the Notting Hill Carnival, one of the world's largest street festivals.
So, what have you done today?
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Hope Powell, first woman to achieve the UEFA Pro Licence.
Hope Powell has always been a force to be reckoned with in the football world, achieving a string of firsts in her field. She was the first ever full-time England women’s head coach in 1998, the first female coach director named by the Professional Footballers’ Association, and the first woman to obtain the UEFA Pro Licence.
As a footballer herself, she won 66 caps for the England women’s team, and was even head coach of the Great Britain women’s football team for the London 2012 Olympics. If that’s not badass, I don’t know what is.
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