In April, Americans from all walks of life gathered in Philadelphia to answer the nation’s first peacetime bipartisan “call.”
Christened “America’s Promise,” the event explored the myriad
components of American volunteerism and their connection to curing the
country’s social ills. Not surprisingly, mentoring was a word on most
of the lips of the participants. Indeed, if there was an overriding
consensus, it was that Americans must mobilize to mentor the nation’s
youth. However, the question plaguing both delegates and concerned
observers was, “How do we do it?”
While child advocates continue to seek answers to this question in
the conference’s aftermath, many African Americans are grappling with
other issues in addition to this one. Aghast at the crises in our
communities, concerned Blacks are simultaneously wondering how to stem
the growing tide of violence, academic under-achievement, economic
disparity, joblessness, teen pregnancy and devaluation of human life.
They reasonably muse that if mentoring is part of the remedy, what
should its components be?
It is against this backdrop that Sister Power: How Phenomenal Black Women Are Rising to the Top has assumed a new importance.
Originally deemed a study of the leadership models ascribed to by
powerful and successful Black women, the book’s primary audience was
assumed to be aspiring Black women seeking to navigate the inevitable
workplace confrontations with racism and sexism.
Dubbed “Phenomenal Women” by Richard Stockton College author Dr.
Patricia Reid-Merritt, the book is based on interviews with forty-five
powerful Black women. Ranging in age between thirty-three and
sixty-eight, they hailed from every part of the country and worked in
both the public and private sectors. This heterogeneous group of highly
motivated women ran the gamut from grassroots activists to those with
extensive post-graduate training. Yet despite these differences, the
author found that the women shared seven common characteristics which,
she asserts, collectively constitute the “sister power” to which she
attributes the womens’ successes.
The seven characteristics common to all of the women are: a
self-confidence engendered during childhood by family, church, school
and community; spirituality; clearly defined goals; cultural pride;
humanistic values; social consciousness; and political sophistication.
Also, all were pioneers. Having no role models, they forged their own
paths.
