While there are other lists of tall women on the Net, many of them either don't have or list few of our African-American stars, athletes or peeps of note.
To help those who may be going through a similar thing, this is a list that I have compiled of sistahs that are 5'7" or taller. The ironic thing is that most peeps when they see me on the street ask me if I'm a fashion model or a WNBA ballplayer. I began to look at it with a renewed sense of pride that I am over 6 feet tall and most of my under 5'7" sisters would love to be walking in my pumps. Cole drilling it into my head during my gender counseling sessions over time that women come in ALL shapes and sizes, my own observations of the world around me and the startup of the WNBA in 1997. The rise of 5'11" Tyra Banks as a supermodel at the time I was beginning my transition, Dr. I used to believe the hype despite the abundant evidence that there weren't a lot of women my height (6'2") and I would get read like a cheap novel.Ī few things happened that changed my outlook. One of my issues when I started transition was my height. Some people dispute my belief and state that tall status for women starts at 5'6". My personal belief is that if you're 5'7" or above you can consider yourself tall. There's much debate as to how elastic that definition of 'tall' is. In our society women are considered tall if they are 5'8' or taller. (List has been updated as of August 5, 2020) Barack Obama and his statuesque 5'11" wife Michelle. The seven Grammy nominations for “Acoustic Soul” would be the first of many, as well as some wins later on.įrom her debut, Arie was infusing social commentary into her lyrics as in the body positive lead single for "Acoustic Soul," "Video.TransGriot Note: Photo is of Sen. A Motown music talent scout discovered Arie in 1999 and her debut album "Acoustic Soul" was released in 2001. That doesn’t stop her from creating music that is culturally and politically aware.Ī robust, athletic voice and sensitive songwriting gave Arie a large local following in Atlanta when she was a teenager, often performing solo, accompanying herself on guitar. Her work joins the growing collection of contemporary protest music emerging with the Black Lives Matter movement from artists like Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, D’Angelo and Blood Orange.Īrie hit her performing and recording stride in the early 2000s, and is now more on the periphery of the pop music limelight. 3, is carving out a place for herself in this realm today. R&B and soul singer-songwriter India.Arie, who is performing at Berklee's MLK celebration on Friday, Feb.
The roles of musician and activist often overlapped in people like Elaine Brown and Nina Simone, giving the movement a repertoire of protest songs. and the civil rights movement, but King described music, specifically freedom songs, as the "soul of the movement." "They are more than just incantations of clever phrases designed to invigorate a campaign they are as old as the history of the Negro in America," King said. The marches, speeches and philosophy of non-violent resistance were important facets of Martin Luther King Jr. (Courtesy of the artist) This article is more than 4 years old. R&B and soul singer-songwriter India.Arie.