“One must be supported by a history of excellence such as the legacy of African-American women educators.” (Sunny-Marie Birney)

Sunny-Marie Birney, who wrote that powerful statement, was a young woman who was motherless. Imagine a moment without your own mother. Even though they are sometimes a little to much, what would our life be without them. Our lives would have forever been changed. For the place that we are now would have never been reached without the help of strong black mothers. Well in Sunny-Marie’s case she did not have that mother in her life. She was adopted by Euro-American parents. Yes she had love and a mother figure, but she did not have that strong black mother to embrace her blackness. Sunny-Marie wrote that she felt out of place, alone, and without value. It was not until she went to college that she began her journey to finding what she had missed out on all those years. Sunny-Marie’s desire and yearning for that black love was filled through her teachers. You see, African American teachers teach with a certain perspective. They see a young black female student and see their own child. This is a greater experience for they will not only teach you but nurture you. The void that weighed Sunny-Maries heart was filled with black teacher who cared. Not only was it about literacies but the mind, body, and spirit that the teachers expressed to her.One must be supported by a history of excellence such as the legacy of African-American women educators. We all are reaping the benefit of our mother’s, grandmothers, and great grandmother’s support. For these women too were educators they may not held a teaching degree but they educated us on our mind, body, and spirit. Just like Sunny-Marie we too would have felt out of place, alone, and without value but we had these excellent black women to guide us when we were adopted by the Euro-American world. We too had educators who shaped us into the young intelligent women we are today.