This piece is the winner of Masterful Mind Award by Circle Foundation:

Most of us were not taught that enslaved people built our nation’s Capital and the White House. Black people developed our system of blood banks and designed the layout of Washington, DC; that the concept of mandatory public education emerged from the policies of Black-led governments in the South during Reconstruction. Black women have always been the center of this struggle from the beginning. They served on the front line in the fight for equality. Although their contributions were sometimes overlooked in both the Civil Rights and Women’s Movements, their power, resilience, and courage cannot be overstated. Black women have been the symbols of struggle, hope, and resilience. They have faced racism, sexism, and discrimination more than any other community within American culture. Black women have fought against systematic racism and sexism. Historically, racial discrimination and systemic racism have trapped marginalized black women in a never-ending cycle of discrimination. For Black women, this trap is a cyclical recurrence with no end in sight. I experienced while living in the US that black women have been a "blueprint" for many trends. A strong black woman is a cultural icon with honor. They have the ability to hustle and get things done. The fierce love for friends, family, and loved ones often costs them sacrificing their own needs. With all that they have done for this country and their community, we still see American history whitewashing of Black history, and do not give them the credit they deserve. The whitewashing of Black history isn’t accidental; it is to cover up the awful things that have happened in the past, and it all comes down to the fact that white America doesn’t want to take accountability for their mistakes. I have tried to capture the softness, feminism, and leadership of black women even under current daily racism and injustice.