As 2025 comes to a close, I reflect on how productive this busy year has been, as well as how much it has demanded of me physically and mentally—stretching me beyond what I thought possible and aging me in ways I didn’t expect.
As my mind turns to vitality, even in my late 20s, I reflect on my Helenma, my paternal great-grandmother who somehow aged like a storm. I reminisce on greeting my family after dance recitals growing up, and my Helena, well into her 90s at the time, patting me on the back in hugs that nearly knocked the wind out of me. I’ve never had more loving lashings than those in a congratulatory hug with Helenma!
I always wondered how she’d done it. Further, how Black women in America, especially from historical contexts that were not easy to survive, managed to dance around a full century of lifetime with such poise, strength, resilience, joy, purpose, and good health. It’s so radical for Black women to claim longevity, especially as the social world is dependent on our suffering and lifelessness. So many women exemplify the vitality that makes the illusion of agelessness in Black women seem not only realistic, but effortless.
Below, I highlight three women who embody insistence on longevity, each with a completely different approach.
Barbara Boyd
Barbara Boyd is a former newscaster and community organizer from Evanston, Illinois. When she moved to Indianapolis in her youth, she became the first Black woman to work as an on-air reporter in 1969.
In the 25 years she spent in that role, one of her more career-defining moments saw her reporting on her mastectomy from a hospital bed. “I sat up in bed, and I thought to myself that this would make a good story,” she recounts. “So I pitched it to my news director, and we decided to talk about breast cancer at a time when it wasn’t talked about. A day later, we had over 500 calls from women, especially thanking us.” This arguably marked the beginning of her signature approach to embracing wellness in Black women: refusing to shy away from the public authorship in personal wellness narratives.
She has remained active and visible in the public eye for nearly 50 years, committing her time and resources in consequential volunteer work for the United Negro College Fund. At 96, she remains an iconic public figure by way of her daughter’s TikTok account, which features her floating down catwalks in fashion shows, having a ball in dance fitness classes, and holding court at public events, seeming more youthful and vibrant than ever. Her story inspires women everywhere to subvert the dread of aging silently, reminding us of the beauty and vitality of joy, community connection, and public purpose.
Ernestine Shepherd
Ernestine Shepherd is a bodybuilder and fitness trainer hailing from Baltimore, Maryland. Miss Shepherd often speaks of coming up living a normal life dedicated to the somewhat constraining expectations of service and obedience that were placed upon young Black girls in the 40s and 50s. It wasn’t until her golden years that she began taking aerobics classes, a mundane wellness hobby that took on a life of its own.
After retiring from a life of service as a secretary, administrative worker, and devout servant at her community church, she began focusing on fitness, realized how deprioritized it was in her life. Once she started to take her fitness seriously in her mid 50s, by her 70s, she had become a certified personal trainer, a long-distance runner, a competitive body builder, and eventually a Guinness World Record holder. At one point she held the title of the oldest bodybuilder in the world.
She humbly empowers others not to be afraid of success. “First of all, age is nothing but a number when it comes to getting fit,’” she says. “‘As long as I am healthy, I will continue doing this. I really want to help as many people as I can, to let them know don’t let life pass you by. They call me the ‘oldest competitive body-builder,’ but I believe anyone can achieve great things at any age.” Miss Shepherd’s story reminds us all that despite your background, it is never too late to start achieving your dreams and defying expectations.
Annette Larkins
Annette Larkins was a true Renaissance woman in her day. After marrying her high school sweetheart at age 16 and having her first son a few years after, she worked several jobs Including as a nightclub singer, Spanish teacher, and Airline clerk. In the sixties, she made a conscious decision to reclaim her wellness through her eating habits. She built a reputation as a “raw foodist,” a philosophy that incorporates veganism and a dedication to consuming food in its natural state.
She often connects what we put in our body to our state of mind, even in a cultural context. “During slavery time,” she reminds, “our people did the best that they could with what they had, so they are not to be blamed,” she adds. “Now the shackles have been removed from our ankles and our wrists. Now it’s time to remove them from our minds.”
Annette Larkins’ story is inspiring because, though her ageless radiance is aesthetically apparent, she refuses to mask the deeper purpose of nutrition for wellness. “We can get caught up in what we weigh and what we look like, but it’s really about overall health and wellness, right?” She says, “What you do now will determine your quality of life later.” A true testament to radical self-care, Annette Larkins is a prime example of redefining black Beauty through the purpose of sustenance.