One In A Million

For our final selection in our Woman’s month series, we’ve decided to celebrate the life and achievements of two influential women who were taken from us all too suddenly- but not without leaving an impact. We’ll start off with the late and dear rose from Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn- Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979- August 25, 2001)- known to us all as just, Aaliyah. Introduced into the world of music by R&B’s artist, R. Kelly- it was her amazing physique, warm smile, incredible dancing ability and overall star quality that just did it for you! Remembered for classic albums like One In A Million and Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number, produced by Timbaland & Missy Elliott, young Aaliyah- only in her mere teens was able to win over the hearts of the music world and the top fashion gurus behind Victoria Secret and Tommy Hilfiger. On top of the world and on top of her game, she successfully completed her third self-titled album, Aaliyah. At this point she already had TV and movie credits under her belt including Romeo Must Die and Queen of the Damned, but a tragic plane crash led to her early death. Attempting to return to the states after finishing the music video “Rock The Boat” off her junior album, Aaliyah’s private plane reportedly crashed shortly after takeoff about 200 feet from the runway. At the age of 22, she would have gone on to churning out more hits and co-starring in more motions pictures but her sudden death forced producers to either find a replacement for the roles they created for her, or just scrap going forward with the film altogether. Eight years after her death, her legacy still remains throughout the world of R&B.

Way before Aaliyah’s time, Brooklyn-bred the late Shirley Chisholm (November 30, 1924- January 1, 2005). Being the daughter of a British Guyanan father & Bajan mother, Shirley’s upbringing was nothing far from strict where a British-influenced education was crucial. Her academic consistency led to her earning a B.A. from Brooklyn College in 1946, a membership into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and an M.A. from Columbia University in elementarty education in 1952. Dabbling in the fields of education and early childcare out of graduate school up until 1964 when she ran and was elected to the New York State Legislature, Chisholm tried her skills again four years later running and being elected as a Democratic candidate for New York’s 12th District congressional seat in 1968. This was major! Not only was she a woman holding her own in a profession populated by men, but she was an African-American woman elected to the House of Representatives. Shirley continued to turn heads in 1972 when she ran for the Democratic presidential elections and being a well-known politican and educator, the minority community adored having someone to look up to.

Both of these women from Brooklyn have impacted society in different ways. Aaliyah took the R&B world by storm and paved the way for future female artists like Ciara, Keri Hilson and Rihanna. Shirley Chisholm, on the other hand- broke barriers in politics and government proving that no task is too great. In my opinion, it was her drive that helped to pave the way for Obama to muster up the courage to run for presidency and together, they’re living proof that we can too. In honor of Woman’s Month, we take off our fitteds to the women we’ve chosen as great visionaries and fine embassadors of Brooklyn! 

Judge Judith Scheindlin, Mrs. Bahiyah Sayyed-Gaines, Rosie Perez, Aaliyah & Mrs. Shirley Chisholm, we respect the influence you’ve had on the world and on your hometown, Brooklyn. Your legacy will live on forever.

DRE.B.EZ

This entry was posted on March 25. 2009 at 09:17 and is filed under Special Features, Only in BK. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.