With #WCW (Woman Crush Wednesday) trending today on Twitter, here at The Root we’re taking a look at a few of our women crushes—all notable black women who made headlines this week.
Rebecca Walker
Walker’s book Adé: A Love Story is coming to the big screen soon. Adé, which is Walker's first novel, tells the story of a bisexual, biracial Yale grad who goes to Africa and falls in love with a Kenyan Muslim. Walker has also written the acclaimed memoirs Black White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self and Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After a Lifetime of Ambivalence.
According to Deadline, Madonna (yes, that Madonna!) is directing the flick and has enlisted Oscar-winning producer Bruce Cohen.
Michelle Obama
For the past week the first lady, Sasha, Malia and their grandmother have been making their way through China.
During a special CNN iReport interview, Obama emphasized the importance of international travel for young people. She recounted a story from her own youth about how she was afraid to ask her father to fund a school trip to Paris, but when she finally got the courage to ask, he was all for it. "He wanted me to have all of the experiences that he didn't have," she said.
As for her own children, FLOTUS stated that it’s a priority of hers to have Sasha and Malia see the world. But it's something she wants for others, too. "We want this not just for our girls, but we want that for you guys, too," she said. "And when you find the opportunity, take it, OK? That's going to make you just better people, smarter people, and it's a lot of fun, too."
Check out the video below:
Rihanna
If there’s anyone deserving of an icon award for fashion, it’s definitely Rihanna. Who else can rock a doobie wrap and have the world in an uproar?
Earlier this week the Bajan beauty was named the recipient of the 2014 CFDA Fashion Icon Award.
“We are proud to present Rihanna with the CFDA Fashion Icon Award for her impact on the industry as fashion’s most exciting ambassador in recent memory,” Steven Kolb, the CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, said in a statement.
Rihanna now joins the likes of Lady Gaga, Iman, Kate Moss and Nicole Kidman.
Aretha Franklin
You better show the Queen of Soul some R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Who else but Aretha could draw out a crowd for her birthday that included Denzel Washington and Clive Davis?
Franklin celebrated her 72nd birthday on Tuesday in New York City, and at the event she mentioned that new music is in the works. She’s enlisted the help of Babyface and Andre 3000—or 2000, as she referred to him.
"So I'm just waiting for him [Babyface] to finish [a Broadway musical] so he can finish my tracks, please," Franklin said. "And I think Andre 2000—is it two or three?—3000 is going to be doing some of the tracks with him."
So she got Andre’s name wrong. She’s the Queen of Soul—she’s earned the right!
To wrap up this week’s #WCW, take a stroll down memory lane with two of Aretha’s greatest hits:
“Respect”
Yesha Callahan is a full-time writer and single mother living in Columbia, Md. She has written for BlogHer, Jezebel and The Grio and has been seen on HuffPost Live and TV One’s NewsOne Now With Roland Martin. She is currently the managing editor of Clutch magazine and is a former comedy and politics writer for BET’s Don’t Sleep! Hosted by T.J. Holmes.
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