Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Denise McNair are the names of the four young Black girls who lost their lives to senseless bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL in 1963. The racial terrorism sparked outrage in the Black community and ignited the Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing discrimination against women, race, religion and ethnicity.
Almost 50 years later we take the opportunity to celebrate the hopes and aspirations of four young Black girls who have shattered records and made history over the past year. Gabrielle Douglas, Coco Jones, Quevenzhane Wallis and Willow Smith epitomize the hopes and dreams of young Black girls around the world. As they continue to excel and break boundaries, we remember the four little girls who lost their lives all those years ago, and we celebrate four little girls who are fulfilling the promise and upholding the legacy of the many who lost their lives in the struggle for civil rights.
Gabrielle Douglas
Gabrielle Douglas is a gymnast extraordinaire who made her first Olympic debut at the 2012 Olympic Games. The gymnast conquered a historic feat and left London as the first woman of color of any nationality in Olympic history to be deemed Individual All-Around Champion and the first American gymnast to win gold in both the Individual All-Around and Team Competitions. Gabrielle started out like many Olympic hopefuls, taking gymnastic classes at her local gym in Virginia Beach. A quick learner, she excelled and knew that a major move was necessary in order for her skillset to reach new heights. At age 14 and after much convincing to her mother, the brave heart moved to Iowa for expert training from Olympic coach Liang Chow. Still training under Coach Chow, Gabrielle Douglas is preparing for the 2016 Olympics in Rid de Janeiro, Brazil!
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At 17 years old, Douglas has already managed to become a pioneer. Not only has she raised the bar for athleticism, but she’s also made a lasting impact on the African-American community. With Blacks being more at risk for various health issues such as high blood pressure and diabetes, Gabrielle Douglas’ commitment to physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle is a live example and inspiration to modify those behaviors that put our well-being at risk. Her athletic strides as a Black woman also lay the foundation and open doors for other women of color to follow in her footsteps and set records of their own!
Coco Jones
Coco Jones is a 15 year old actress and singer. The teen talent first owned her voice at six years old as she performed a powerful rendition of “America the Beautiful” at her kindergarten graduation. Though she happens to be the daughter of former NFL player Mike Jones, Coco is creating her own lane. In 2010, Jones released her debut CD, Coco Jones. The album gave her a platform to begin a concert series, “UBU: Stop The Bullying”, that encouraged moralistic values and positive self-esteem through song. Later in 2010, the budding entertainer competed on Radio Disney’s popular competition, Next Big Thing. Her appearance on Next Big Thing stirred a major buzz around her song “Real You”, and it also helped to launch her music career. The multi-threat star also played “Roxie” in the movie Let it Shine, based on the French play, Cyrano de Bergerac. These days, Jones spends much if her time in the lab co-writing and recording fresh tunes with renowned producer Rob Galbraith. She currently has a catchy groove titled “Holla at the DJ” on iTunes, and the jam also has a fun and super stylish video that can be seen on her website, therealcocojones.com.
Coco’s efforts as an artist have sent out so many positive and refreshing messages to the youth in our community and worldwide. With songs like “Real You” and “UBU”, Jones delivers much-needed messages of self-worth in the form of catchy music that our youth will gravitate to. Her stance on anti-bullying is strong and inspires youth to be considerate of their peers and to stand for something worthy.
Quevenzhané Wallis
We were all wowed at 9 year old Quevenzhané Wallis’ stellar performance in Beasts of the Southern Wild. Wallis auditioned for the movie’s role of Hushpuppy when she was just a tender 5 years old. After nailing the part, she began filming at 6 years old. In the film, Hushpuppy is a resolute child with a whole lot of heart who epitomizes survival of the fittest. Her impeccable performance led her to become the youngest actress in history to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, while she is the third youngest nominee in all categories! It’s only the beginning for Wallis as she is now to star in Steve McQueen’s novel-based 12 Years a Slave alongside a-list actors Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt. This year, Quevenzhané is teaming up with Sundance again for a short film, Boneshaker. The adorable 9 year old actress is really becoming a household name in popular culture, chatting with some of the industry’s elite like Jay Leno and Andre Leon Talley.
Quevenzhané Wallis brings new definition to the saying, “age aint nothing but a number.” Leading by example, Wallis makes it known that anything is possible, regardless of age, race, gender or any other factor. Because she’s a certified cool girl who’s a fan of pop icons like Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé, Quevenzhané will be able to reach and relate to the masses among her peers—making her someone that they will want to model after. Her openness about her academics, with an expressed favoritism for mathematics, makes a statement to youth on the value of education and how it leads to greater opportunities!
Willow Smith
The pressures of being the child of such superstars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have to be intense. Despite the remarkable careers of her very successful parents, however, Willow Smith has evolved into somewhat of mega force in showbiz. Young, old, White, Black—there wasn’t a soul who didn’t move to her Billboard charting single, “Whip My Hair.” The pro-individuality anthem even caught the ears of hip-hop legend and business mogul Jay-Z and she was signed to Roc Nation. Other noted songs by Smith include “21st Century Girl” and “Fireball”, featuring rapper and pop star Nicki Minaj. The little songbird is also an actress, debuting in the 2007 movie, I Am Legend. She also appeared in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl and a received a Young Artist Award for her performance.
Since Willow’s debut as an artist, she’s been an advocate for youth empowerment. We’ve seen her rock it all from colorful box braids to a green brush cut, emphasizing that hair does not define you—an appreciated message in our community where hair has often been the center of controversy. Whether in interviews or via her private social networks, Willow is often emphasizing the importance of self-love and embracing who you are. The video to her song “I Am Me” revealed a very quirky and genuine Willow, proudly proclaiming, over and over, “I’m me. I’m me, and that’s all I can be.” In a modern day of superficiality and bullying among youth, Willow’s gutsy song and style choices give kids, and even adults, in our community freedom to discover and have confidence in themselves.
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