Shireen Dodson * Maisha Gibson
Karen Robert Jackson *Stacey Davis Steed

African-American history is peopled with extraordinary Black women.
Women of courage like Harriet Tubman.
Women of grace and talent like Marian Anderson.
Women of resolve like Mary McLeod Bethune.
They were not the first exemplary Black women, and they certainly not the last.

In celebration of National Women's History Month, allow us to introduce you to four very special Black women, who are doing their level best to continue the legacy of excellence.

Shireen Dodson

The phrase "talking to a wall" may have been coined to describe the sometime turbulent relationship between mothers and their maturing daughters.

Just talking to each other can be painful as drawing a comb through tangled hair. Somewhere, as daughters pad down the path of maturity they forge an identity separate from their family - from Mom - and communication disconnects. Mothers and daughters want to talk - they often simply don't know how to begin.

That perhaps explains why, in just three years, Shireen Dodson has watched the simple idea she advanced in her book, "The Mother-Daughter Book Club: How Ten Busy Mothers and Daughters Came Together to Talk, Laugh and Learn Through Their Love of Reading" (HarperPerennial, $12.95) explode into something of a national fancy.
(click on the cover to order online from Amazon)

A story of relationships strengthened and changed through a monthly reading club, the Mother-Daughter Book Club offers a step-by-step approach for starting such a club, with ideas, anecdotes, reading lists, and discussion guides.

Though books and togetherness are main themes of the book and the clubs based upon it, helping girls resist unhealthy influences often emerges as the more compelling point.

These clubs furnish situations that lead to discussions of "How would you handle this?" - talks much more effective at glimpsing into a daughter's soul than peering into her eyes.

Dodson, employed with the Smithsonian Institution as Assistant Director at the Center for African American History and Culture, and her daughter Morgan launched their book club in Washington, D.C., five years ago with 12 mothers and 13 daughters who ranged in age from 8 to 11.

Now book clubs from Connecticut to California have sprouted, sparked and charmed by the idea of discussing life issues such as physical and emotional abuse, dating and sex, "where there is no crisis," Dodson says, and each is open to the other's opinions.

Her follow-up, "100 Books for Girls to Grow On" (HarperPerennial, $14), builds upon her original simple idea.
(click on the cover to order online from Amazon)

Maisha Gibson

Balancing demanding 10-hour workdays as a paralegal at an Illinois law firm with her equally as demanding family life was exacting a toll from Maisha Gibson.

Like so many African-American working mothers, Gibson, who was married with four children, struggled to accord her home life the same dedication as her 9 to 5-plus career.

In 1995, that struggle led Gibson and partner Theresa Cropper, a Chicago lawyer, to launch the National Parenting Conference, Inc. and to develop a national forum to spread the gospel of smarter parenting.

Two years later, their vision came to fruition with the first National Parenting Conference, convened at the Walt Disney World Resort.

The idea was simple: bring together African-American parents to swap war stories, provide these harried parents parenting and child development experts to quiz, and offer workshops for parents and children that tackle tough topics.

Children learned how to handle bullies, peer pressure, and stress and gleaned tips on getting organized and preparing for employment. Parents learned to ready preschoolers for reading, to manage time, and to engage in positive discipline.

Success has breed sponsorship. The event, in its fourth year, is now called the McDonald's National Parenting Conference, and now presents awards to the nation's best Black parents.

''It's getting to be rather difficult juggling your profession and the time necessary to help your children develop emotionally and spiritually and to stay in constant communication with them," Gibson says. "Parents can benefit by coming together in a setting where parenting is valued. The same way we attend professional conferences we can attend conferences to strengthen our abilities as parents."

Karen Robert Jackson

African-American women have been no strangers to the entertainment industry. From the days of Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge up to present-day times when Halle Berry and Nia Long draw millions to the box office, African-American women have proved themselves as star material.

Nevertheless, when it comes to calling the shots, being real decision-makers behind the scenes, we are talking largely uncharted territory.

That's why insiders are keeping their eyes on Karen Robert Jackson, co-producer of Toy Story 2, sequel to 1995's Toy Story, which stars Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as the voices of toy heroes Woody and Buzz Lightyear. Jackson oversaw production on the film within Pixar Animation Studios. She also coordinated the music and voice-over talents.

Jackson joined Pixar eight years ago. She was production supervisor for the original Toy Story, then started working on the sequel in the summer of 1996, collaborating with producer Helene Plotkin.

"It's always great to see female producers,'' Jackson has said. "I think you need these role models, women you can look up to who are strong and confident in their positions, and who get things done. I get so inspired by incredibly creative people.''

Today, Jackson is spreading inspiration to others. She visits schools to talk to minority students about the opportunities that await them behind the camera. For many, it's likely to be a career avenue they have never seriously considered. Jackson, when in high school, never thought she would be behind the camera either.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jackson attended Stanford University with plans to become a doctor or engineer. During her junior year, she spent a year studying in Italy and rediscovered her love for the arts. She graduated in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in economics, but something about the arts stuck with her.

Jackson started her professional career in advertising, spent two years with Colossal Pictures and joined Pixar in 1991, first working on commercials and then being named production supervisor on Toy Story.

While the number of women in film production has increased significantly over the last decade, few African Americans are counted among the ranks.

"There aren't that many people who look like me working at Pixar or in the industry,'' Jackson has said, adding that the reason is that African Americans simply have not been aware of film production as a viable career option.

Jackson is hoping to change that through her personal successes and by telling young people how they can follow her example.

Stacey Davis Steed

In her pinstriped suit and crisp white blouse, Stacy Davis Steed projects an image that's all about business. However, Steed is a businesswoman and then some. For her, the bottom line is not always about personal profit. It is also about seeing other people achieve.

The Atlanta woman was recently named president and CEO of the Fannie Mae Foundation, a philanthropic entity based in Washington, D.C. She is the first African-American woman to hold the position. As the nation's largest foundation dedicated to affordable homeownership, Fannie Mae teaches people about becoming homeowners and it works to revitalize neighborhoods by creating more affordable homeownership opportunities.

Last year, the Foundation awarded more than $33 million in grants to more than 1,000 organizations nationwide and offered nearly $6 million in new low-interest loans to organizations.

No doubt about it - that's big business. Nevertheless, Steed is more inspired by the positive feelings that come with doing good for her community. "I go to work every day feeling that I am helping people who really need help to improve the quality of their lives,'' she has said in published reports.

Among that target audience are women who still face discrimination in certain financial areas, Fannie Mae said in a study released in August. Steed said she wants to make sure that not only women, but also all Americans, have all the information they need to be in control of their personal and financial lives. "We believe that as people are more comfortable in the ways in which to establish good credit and make informed financial decisions they will be better able to build wealth and stability for their families and themselves,'' she said shortly after the study was released.

Steed has become a role model, an example of what she envisions for others if they are provided with good information and fair opportunity.

Reaching such a level of prominence took years of preparation. She earned an undergraduate degree in economics from Georgetown University and an MBA in finance from the University of Michigan Graduate School of Business. From there, she became at age 23 one of the youngest senior associates with Merrill Lynch, then a leader in the public finance arena. Three years later she accepted a position with Pryor, McLendon, Counts and Co. in Atlanta, where she served as vice president responsible for the firm's public finance group. Steed joined Fannie Mae in 1992, initially as a public affairs director and later as vice president for housing and community development.