My aunt and I were discussing our Duolingo progress the other day. She is studying Spanish, and I’m studying German, and neither of us is anywhere near fluency, despite impressively long daily streaks.
I like Duolingo for what it is. It’s a fun social app that challenges me to learn a new language. I’m not expecting to gain fluency from it. I’m expecting to learn a little German. To gain fluency, I would need to spend time working on German with other people, especially people fluent in German.
And if I had my druthers, I’d sit and talk with Dr. Georgiana Rose Simpson, the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in the US. She earned her doctorate in German in 1921 from the University of Chicago, at the age of 55. Fifty-five! She is proof you are not too old to follow your dreams. I won’t dive into her fascinating story today, but I encourage you to check it out here.
What I will dive into is contemplating how difficult it had to have been for Dr. Simpson. Earning a doctorate is difficult under the best of circumstances. Earning one during the Jim Crow era had to have been unspeakably challenging. Yet she persevered.
I wonder who supported her on her doctoral journey. I wonder what strategies she used. I wonder who she cried with when the road seemed impossible. I wonder what wellsprings of strength existed inside of her.
And I wonder what it was like for her to be one of the first Black women on this doctoral journey. Two other Black women also earned Ph.D.’s in 1921–Dr. Sadie T. M. Alexander (the first National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.) in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Eva B. Dykes (another member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.) in English from Radcliffe College. All three women graduated in June 1921, within days of each other
I know what my doctoral journey was like. I felt alone and in the dark about many things. I earned my Ph.D. in English in 2009, 88 years after the first trio of Black women to do so, but I wonder if they felt much like I did. I wonder if they had anyone to talk to who really understood what they were going through. I think we too often travel this journey alone when we don’t have to.
So if you are a Sistah on the Doctoral Journey, please know that you don’t have to travel alone. I’m here to support you and bear witness to all that this journey is for you.
And I’m here to offer a little help. I’ve been helping people on their doctoral journeys for years, and I’ve created a workbook of strategies and coaching questions to help you navigate your own journey.
Please click to purchase 10 Strategies for Navigating Your Doctoral Journey + Coaching Workbook. And leave a comment to share how the stories of these Black doctoral pioneers resonate with you.
Onward.
Leave a Reply