Black Enterprise Celebrates Mothers for Mother's Day

BEHIND EVERY SUCCESSFUL BLACK WOMAN IS A MOTHER WHOSE POWERFUL LESSONS NEVER DIE

Given all that mothers do, and the indelible impact they make on the lives of their children, a single Sunday doesn’t seem nearly enough to celebrate them. So, Happy Mother’s (Mon)day!

We asked three extraordinary women (all Powerplayers profiled on Women of Power TV) to share their memories of the amazing women who made them who they are. Here they recall the loving lessons that shaped their lives and fueled their dreams. Even those whose mothers passed away years ago insist that they conjure their moms’ examples daily, and their values and expectations sustain them to this day.

Jayne Kennedy Overton, actor, entrepreneur, sports commentator

Before she became a Hollywood trailblazer and one of the most recognizable black women in the world, Jayne Kennedy Overton never thought of herself as glamorous. To the contrary, as one of seven children raised in a close, humble Cleveland family, the 2018 Women of Power Legacy honoree was studious and imagined one day making a name for herself in the Senate, not on the stage. But her mother, Virginia Harrison, saw something else in her daughter and entered her in the Miss Ohio USA 1970 pageant. She won, becoming the first black woman to do so. A year later, she was California-bound and the rest is, you know what: Herstory!

My mom taught me to dream and that a young black girl could actually make dreams come true. If not for my mom I would have never had the faith to spread my wings to see how high I could fly. Just because the skies are scary doesn’t mean you should hide… just wear your armor.