There’s good news about a black woman in The Washington Post. And she’s not famous either. Ashley White will graduate from Howard University this weekend magna cum laude and it was no small feat. You see, White was a teenager mother and also homeless. That’s nice, you might say, but so what? She was also the subject of a documentary called Spellbound when she was an ambitious middle school student competing in The Scripps National Spelling Bee back in 1999.

So what turns an ambitious young girl with a photographic memory into a sister with a baby fighting to keep a roof over her head at 18? I am not sure but White’s detour is not so unusual when it comes to young black women. Many of them struggle with the desire to be smart or popular. And sometimes, even the smart girls get sidetracked when they are sheltered too much. They have more book smarts than street smarts. And often they may not be savvy enough to resist the “please, baby, baby, please…” pleas of a fine or sweet talking brother.

I’m not saying that’s White story. Thinking about her makes me realize that we need to expand our thinking about who exactly is “at risk.” Often we are looking at those struggling in school, having problems at home or those beyond a certain economic level. But the truth is that smart girls and good girls can be vulnerable too. So let’s nurture all of our little sisters to greatness.

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