Rising New York Road Runners Youth Ambassadors Share Why Trailblazing Black Women Inspire Them
This year our observance of Black History Month focuses on Black women trailblazers, women who have pushed the boundaries in our sport of running and other arenas. As part of our celebration, we reached out to two of our Rising New York Road Runners Youth Ambassadors, Kyrae and Lan, to tell us about Black women trailblazers they admire.
Kyrae: "To Be The Best Version of Myself"
“In my opinion, Angela Davis is a trailblazer. She inspires me because she is a black woman who had to overcome many challenges. Her views and beliefs overall line up with mine. Davis has spoken out against racism, sexism, the Vietnam War, homophobia, and the prison-industrial complex. She is currently a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Angela Davis has inspired me because she continued to fight for justice, even when she was faced with racism and sexism. As an African American female teenager, Angela Davis is my inspiration. Davis, and activists like her, inspire me to naturally be myself.
Angela Davis is also extremely educated. She inspires me to want to earn my college degrees and go into higher education. She graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University. She also went to the University of Frankfurt.
In conclusion, Angela Davis inspires me to be the best version of myself as an African American female in America.”
Lan: "Never Giving Up Is My Idea of a Trailblazer"
"My trailblazer is NASA’s mathematician Katherine Johnson. Johnson played an essential role in calculating the numbers in NASA’s first-ever mission to space, drawing out the path of orbit around the moon and earth using geometry.
A fun fact about her is she was so smart that she started high school at the age of 10. I choose her as my inspiration because she broke many stereotypes of race and gender at NASA, like going to meetings that were previously only attended by men. One of her famous quotes is “I don’t have a feeling of inferiority. Never had. I’m as good as anybody, but no better.”
Being a woman and dealing with both race and gender issues and pushing through and never giving up is my idea of a trailblazer."
Learn more about our Rising New York Road Runners Youth Ambassadors program.