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The original 'Silence Breaker' who didn't make that cover plus more kick-ass black women.

This is the sixthedition of "This week in black women," a weekly column dedicated to signal-boosting the black women who make the world spin.

This week, I'm cheering for Atlanta's mayor-elect, Tarana Burke, and two books sure to land on your wishlist. Support these women! Pay these women! Follow them! Encourage them! Let's do this.

"We see you": Tarana Burke

In 2006, activist Tarana Burke founded the Me Too movement as a way to help survivors of sexual assault and violence. More than a decade later, Burke's work became part of a pivotal national conversation about survivors and sexual predators, particularly in the workplace. For her work, Burke was recognized as part of Time magazine's collective person of the year, along with other "Silence Breakers" of the #MeToo movement.


But, to the consternation of many of her devoted fans, she was left off the widely celebrated cover. So we're here to shout you out and praise your excellent work, Ms. Burke.

"This is just the start. I’ve been saying from the beginning it’s not just a moment, it’s a movement," Burke said in an interview with Time. "Now the work really begins."

Photo by Chirag Wakaskar/Pacific Press/Sipa USA via AP Images.

"Taking care of business": Keisha Lance Bottoms

In a narrow victory, Keisha Lance Bottoms was elected the mayor of Atlanta. There is something so encouraging and affirming about a black woman named Keisha running one of the largest cities in the country. It's a beautiful name, steeped in black girl magic, which in many circles may have drawn ire or limited her opportunities. But instead, Keisha Lance Bottoms was elected by the people to lead her city. What a time to be alive.

[rebelmouse-image 19532619 dam="1" original_size="750x500" caption="Keisha Lance Bottoms. Image via Vote ATL." expand=1]Keisha Lance Bottoms. Image via Vote ATL.

"Go off, sis": Amber Ruffin

Ruffin is a writer and performer for "Late Night With Seth Meyers" and uses her improv chops to help create some of the show's best moments. This week, Ruffin announced she will be hosting the 70th Writers Guild of Awards ceremony next February.  

Ruffin said in her statement, "If you’re looking for hard-hitting satire on sexual assault allegations, Russia and the Republican tax plan — too bad! This is gonna be all hugs and rainbows! (The hugs will be consensual.)"

Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Lindt.

If you're dreaming of a black Christmas...

It's the season of giving, and this week, I discovered two awesome books that would make great gifts for the kiddos in your life.

The first is the "Black Queens" coloring book. It's got affirmations, encouraging quotations, and of course, ample room to color and draw.

The second is "Little Leaders: Bold Women In Black History." With darling illustrations and short, easy to read biographies, the book is perfect for children and the young at heart.

Final thoughts: Aisha Alexander

This country has a long way to go, but some days, it feels good to reflect on how far we've come.

​Note: We were not paid by the authors to promote the books included in this post (we would tell you!). We just think it's just awesome to see black women lifting up and celebrating other black women.

A pitbull stares at the window, looking for the mailman.


Dogs are naturally driven by a sense of purpose and a need for belonging, which are all part of their instinctual pack behavior. When a dog has a job to do, it taps into its needs for structure, purpose, and the feeling of contributing to its pack, which in a domestic setting translates to its human family.

But let’s be honest: In a traditional domestic setting, dogs have fewer chores they can do as they would on a farm or as part of a rescue unit. A doggy mom in Vancouver Island, Canada had fun with her dog’s purposeful uselessness by sharing the 5 “chores” her pitbull-Lab mix does around the house.

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Representative Image from Canva

Let's not curse any more children with bad names, shall we?

Some parents have no trouble giving their children perfectly unique, very meaningful names that won’t go on to ruin their adulthood. But others…well…they get an A for effort, but might want to consider hiring a baby name professional.

Things of course get even more complicated when one parent becomes attached to a name that they’re partner finds completely off-putting. It almost always leads to a squabble, because the more one parent is against the name, the more the other parent will go to bat for it.

This seemed to be the case for one soon-to-be mom on the Reddit AITA forum recently. Apparently, she was second-guessing her vehement reaction to her husband’s, ahem, avant garde baby name for their daughter, which she called “the worst name ever.”

But honestly, when you hear this name, I think you’ll agree she was totally in the right.

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An English doctor named Edward Jenner took incredible risks to try to rid his world of smallpox. Because of his efforts and the efforts of scientists like him, the only thing between deadly diseases like the ones below and extinction are people who refuse to vaccinate their kids. Don't be that parent.

Unfortunately, because of the misinformation from the anti-vaccination movement, some of these diseases have trended up in a really bad way over the past several years.

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A beautiful cruise ship crossing the seas.

Going on a cruise can be an incredible getaway from the stresses of life on the mainland. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t an element of danger when living on a ship 200-plus feet high, traveling up to 35 miles per hour and subject to the whims of the sea.

An average of about 19 people go overboard every year, and only around 28% survive. Cruise ship lawyer Spencer Aronfeld explained the phenomenon in a viral TikTok video, in which he also revealed the secret code the crew uses when tragedy happens.

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Joy

Kudos to the heroes who had 90 seconds to save lives in the Key Bridge collapse

The loss of 6 lives is tragic, but the dispatch recording shows it could have been so much worse.

Representative image by Gustavo Fring/Pexels

The workers who responded to the Dali's mayday call saved lives with their quick response.

As more details of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore emerge, it's becoming more apparent how much worse this catastrophe could have been.

Just minutes before 1:30am on March 26, shortly after leaving port in Baltimore Harbor, a cargo ship named Dali lost power and control of its steering, sending it careening into a structural pillar on Key Bridge. The crew of the Dali issued a mayday call at 1:26am to alert authorities of the power failure, giving responders crucial moments to prepare for a potential collision. Just 90 seconds later, the ship hit a pylon, triggering a total collapse of the 1.6-mile bridge into the Patapsco River.

Dispatch audio of those moments shows the calm professionalism and quick actions that limited the loss of life in an unexpected situation where every second counted.

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Joy

Yale's pep band had to miss the NCAA tournament. University of Idaho said, 'We got you.'

In an act of true sportsmanship, the Vandal band learned Yale's fight song, wore their gear and cheered them on.

Courtesy of University of Idaho

The Idaho Vandals answered the call when Yale needed a pep band.

Yale University and the University of Idaho could not be more different. Ivy League vs. state school. East Coast vs. Pacific Northwest. City vs. farm town. But in the first two rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament, extenuating circumstances brought them together as one, with the Bulldogs and the Vandals becoming the "Vandogs" for a weekend.

When Yale made it to the March Madness tournament, members of the school's pep band had already committed to other travel plans during spring break. They couldn't gather enough members to make the trek across the country to Spokane, Washington, so the Yale Bulldogs were left without their fight song unless other arrangements could be made.

When University of Idaho athletic band director Spencer Martin got wind of the need less than a week before Yale's game against Auburn, he sent out a message to his band members asking if anyone would be interested in stepping in. The response was a wave of immediate yeses, so Martin got to work arranging instruments and the students dedicated themselves to learning Yale's fight song and other traditional Yale pep songs.

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