In recent months I have noticed flagrant attempts by individuals who, for obvious monetary gain, would like their followers to believe that educated black women are undesirable for relationships and that educated black women don’t get married. The perpetrators are deliberately attempting to paint black women, especially educated black women, in a negative light. It is a repetitive theme in which they constantly push the idea that in order for black women to be “happy” they have to be “married” and to get married they must be “uneducated” and “subservient to a man.”
This, of course, is absolutely not true and why I decided to highlight ten highly successful and educated “married” black women, who also all happen to be “feminists,” another attribute these people would have you believe is a bad thing for black women.
Here are 10 of the most amazing black women who happen to also be married. And, for the record, these women are amazing in their own right, not because they are married. I am sure that their husbands feel very fortunate that these women chose them for their partners.
1. Mellody Hobson
Mellody Hobson is president of Ariel Investments, former Chairman of the Board for DreamWorks Animation as well as a director of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. and Starbucks Corporation. In 2017, she became the first black woman to head The Economic Club of Chicago.
She earned her B.A. degree from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of International Relations and Public Policy. She also received honorary doctorate degrees in humanities from both Howard University and St. Mary’s College.
She is married to American Filmmaker George Lucas who is best known for creating the Star Wars franchise.
2. Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama is a lawyer and writer who served as the First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She majored in sociology and minored in African-American studies, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton. She earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard Law School.
She is married to the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.
3. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Of Nigerian birth, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an author and speaker. She graduated summa cum laude, receiving a bachelor’s degree, from Eastern Connecticut State University. She also completed a master’s degree in creative writing at Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Arts degree in African studies from Yale University.
In 2012, she gave a TEDx talk entitled: “We should all be feminists.”
She is married to Dr. Ivara Esege.
4. Angela Bassett
Angela Bassett is an actress and activist. She attended Yale University where she received her B.A. degree in African-American studies. She also earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama.
She is married to actor Courtney B. Vance.
5. Meghan Markle
A former American actress, Meghan Markle became a member of the British royal family upon her marriage to Prince Harry. She graduated from Northwestern University’s School of Communication receiving a bachelor’s degree with a double major in theater and international studies.
Upon her marriage to the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, she became the Duchess of Sussex.
6. Janice Bryant Howroyd
Janice Bryant Howroyd is a multimillionaire entrepreneur, founder and Chief Executive Officer of The ACT-1 Group, the largest privately held, woman-owned workforce solutions company in the U.S. She is the first black woman to own a billion-dollar business. She is also an educator, ambassador, author, and mentor. She started the business in 1978 at the front office of a rug shop in Beverly Hills, California with a $900 loan from her mother.
She was born in Tarboro, North Carolina, one of 11 children, to parents who taught her the benefits of being innovative with few resources. She attended segregated schools until the 11th grade often learning from textbooks that were missing pages of information. Her parents would not allow her to complain about the lack of quality resources and challenged her to make the most of what was available. She was told by her dad that she was smart enough to figure out the missing parts and instructed by her mother that once she figured out the missing information, she was to write it down and tape it inside the book in order to help the next person who would be using the book after her. Her parents always challenged her to continue to be better despite the lack of resources.
She is married to Bernard Howroyd who is the Founder of Howroyd-Wright Employment Agency.
7. Tiffany Aliche
Tiffany Aliche is a financial educator and author best known as The Budgetnista. She has a bachelor’s degree from Montclair State University. On her website’s personal interview she states that her favorite thing about her company, The Budgetnista, is “Helping women. When I was in my early 20s, I decided that I wanted to live a life of service. I became a teacher for 10-plus years and after my school closed due to lack of funding, I started The Budgetnista. So, I still teach and serve, just in a different way.”
She is married to Jerrell Smith.
8. Sheila Crump Johnson
Sheila Crump Johnson is the first black woman to attain a net worth of at least one billion dollars. She is a co-founder of BET, and founder of Salamander Hotels and Resorts. She is the first black woman to be an owner or partner in three professional sports franchises: the Washington Mystics (WNBA), the Washington Capitals (NHL), and the Washington Wizards (NBA).
She is a global ambassador for CARE, a humanitarian organization that focuses on empowering and meeting the needs of women and girls and promoting gender equality.
She is married to William T. Newman, Jr. He is the Chief Judge for the Arlington Circuit Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit in Virginia.
9. Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith is an actress, (many remember her as Lena James in the television series A Different World), dancer, singer-songwriter, and businesswoman. She majored in dance and theater at the Baltimore School for the Arts. She continued her education at the North Carolina School of the Arts before pursuing her career in acting.
She is a philanthropist, who along with husband Will, created the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation. She has donated in excess of a million dollars to the Baltimore School for the Arts.
She is married to actor, producer, comedian, rapper and songwriter Will Smith.
10. Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris is an attorney and politician. Since 2017 she has served as U.S. Senator representing the Democratic Party from CA. She is California’s third female U.S. Senator.
Senator Harris is a graduate of Howard University and the University of CA, Hastings College of Law.
She is married to Douglas Emhoff, also an attorney.
~Kai
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