Chapter 4: Practicing Authenticity in the Workplace as a Woman of Color

Red lipstick, Stuart Weitzman pumps, and a heart of gold were staple elements of my grandmother’s identity as an educated, Black woman in her community. My grandmother was a direct, polished, and compassionate educator who advocated for young women and men in the Birmingham City School System and Department of Education in Alabama for 33 years. Exhibiting strong faith in advancing the social mobility of people of color on a large scale in the Jim Crow South, she was a silent soldier who endured perpetual, societal anguish as an educated, Black woman in and out of the classroom; but, she garnered achievement for embracing authenticity as a vital tool for success.