Pioneers of Excellence: Embracing the Power to Create
As Black History Month enters its final week, I believe one of the most gratifying things is to recognize and value the shoulders on which we stand. Every new piece of information about an individual who, in the most challenging of times, held tight to a vision, forged a new path, or unlocked a latent desire, offers an inspirational seed to sow in our field of possibility. The countless individuals who’ve made monumental contributions to the social and economic fabric of this nation have set a tone for innovation and creativity that continues to resound through generations.
The words they wrote and spoke stirred hearts and souls and emblazoned heroic possibilities into minds. The actions they took cleared thickets of bramble, making each step forward a little less precarious. As we give witness to the thread of tenacity woven through their psyches, we can also appreciate the spiritual fortitude that grounded them with a will to strive.
When I saw an interview on CBS This Morning with the founder and CEO of Mielle Organics, Monique Rodriquez, it stood as a testament to this enduring legacy of spirited perseverance. As a Mielle customer for the past year, I’ve enjoyed the quality and natural ingredients of their hair products.
Rodriquez founded Mielle in 2014 and is the first Black American women to sign a $100 million investment deal with Berkshire Hathaway. Today, less than 1% of Black woman secure $1 million in funding. In 2021, Proctor and Gamble acquired Mielle with Rodriquez staying on as CEO and her husband as COO of the independent subsidiary.
Early in the interview, anchor Michelle Miller noted Rodriquez’s similarities to Madame C.J. Walker, the first Black American self-made woman millionaire in the early twentieth century. Walker also made her fortune through women’s hair products that she created. Rodriquez acknowledged that she did indeed stand on Madame C.J. Walker’s shoulders.
For both women, the yearning to live a purpose-fulfilled life was the energy that drove them to create their own enterprises and serve their community.
Born in 1867, Madame C.J. Walker went from working the cotton fields to domestic work cooking and washing clothes to realizing her dream as an entrepreneur serving Black American women. Rodriquez knew that working as a registered nurse was not her ultimate calling and when she lost her son at eight months old, she decided to “channel pain into purpose.”
Madame C.J. Walker said "Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them." Walker began selling her beauty products door to door and eventually employed 40,000 Black American women and men in the US, Central America, and the Caribbean. In 1917, she founded the National Negro Cosmetics Manufacturers Association. Rodriquez began creating products in her kitchen, sharing them with family and friends. She and her husband bootstrapped the business for the first seven years. Mielle products are currently in more than 87 countries and 100,000 stores in the U.S. With the P&G partnership, their nonprofit, Mielle Cares, will fund economic opportunities for Black and Brown communities.
Two women from two different eras facing many of the same daunting challenges dared to defy the odds and build lasting legacies for their family, community, and society. Black history heralds excellence—a beacon for pioneering individuals.
