Look, I know you’re probably tired of hearing about these SDJ Pillars, but if I don’t tell you about them, who will? And maybe SDJ isn’t for you, but if I don’t tell you about it you won’t know. So I press on.
I pray one day Sistahs on the Doctoral Journey will be a worldwide phenomenon where Black women with doctorates (or who are ABD) feel loved, valued, and supported. I pray it becomes a movement where Black doctoral women tend to their peace and their presence in ways that don’t involve performing for others. I pray it becomes a community of support where we encourage one another, share wisdom with one another, provide resources to one another, and help others stand on our shoulders. I pray it is a space where we can look toward our 19th Century ancestral aunties and their blueprint for how to thrive and create and build in a world that wasn’t designed for them, yet they did it anyway–unapologetically and with legacy in mind. I pray Sistahs on the Doctoral Journey becomes the safe haven where every black woman anywhere on the doctoral journey will turn for sustenance and succor. I believe this and more is what God has in mind for SDJ, so I’ll keep telling you about it until He tells me to stop.
Last time, we talked about the Inheritance pillar of being a Black woman with a doctorate. Today I’ll remind you of all the pillars and talk about our next pillar: Legacy.
Foundation: You’re in the thick of it — ABD, dissertation mode, survival mode. This is your pillar. Connect with sistahs who are right where you are.
Scaffolding: You’ve defended — now you’re building. Book projects, academic writing, and carving out your scholarly identity are the work of this pillar.
Edifice: You’re navigating leadership and figuring out who you are in that role. This is where you build your leadership identity — on your own terms.
Inheritance: You’ve stepped into something new — a department chair role, a directorship, an unexpected transition. This pillar is about leading what you’ve inherited. Or leading what you’re creating with inheritance in mind.
Legacy: You’ve had a full career and life — and now you’re thinking about what endures. The work of this pillar is for senior leaders, administrators, and trailblazers who are building something that outlasts them.
Legacy.
What is your legacy? What do you want to leave behind? What are you building that outlasts you? How can your life and work become the primary source that builds another sistah’s edifice?
The legacy pillar is about asking and answering these questions. You don’t leave a legacy on accident. You leave a legacy through a lifetime of living on purpose.
You’ve moved intentionally throughout your career. Don’t move into your next with any less attention to detail.
Moving into your next requires creativity, stamina and support. This journey isn’t for you to do alone. It’s for you to do in community.
You need Sistahs on the Doctoral Journey (SDJ).
Sistahs on the Doctoral Journey (SDJ) is a community of Black women from ABD through wherever your doctoral journey takes you where you can be yourself and give and get what you need. In our community, you can drop the mask you wear every day, relax, and breathe. Fully. Deeply. Finally.
The doors of the SDJ community open on July 1, 2026. Join by June 30, 2026 for a discounted membership for as long as you stay in our community.
Join today at the link below and share this with a sistah you know who is also on the journey.
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