KENTUCKY — Meet Sadiqa Reynolds. She’s an Attorney and former District Judge, who is the first woman to serve as President and CEO of Louisville’s Urban League.
Reynolds appointment to this position made her the first woman to hold this title in the affiliate's 95-year history.
Before that, she was the first African American woman to clerk for the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Now, Reynolds is leading Louisville Urban League in opening up a new $53 million dollar sports complex in West Louisville that is home to a 24-acre facility, which sits on a previously abandoned lot.
The new Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center has the capability to host a variety of events including track and field meets, volleyball matches and concerts, among other events.
At full capacity, the facility can host 4,000 spectators for indoor track and field events, and also features a hydraulic floor that provides additional seating for non-athletic events.
Besides athletic opportunities, the facility has a space dedicated to educational programming, along with a mini bowling alley and rock-climbing wall.
Reynolds said achieving success as a Black woman means trusting your gut and standing for what you believe in.
"Sometimes you can be surrounded by people who are really average at best, and you find yourself pushed down because of their title, versus your role or historically because of the way we have been seen in this society," Reynolds said. "Don't sell yourself short. Don't sell the people who are counting on you short, in every room you enter, recognize you don't enter alone, but in fact that you carry people who will never be able to walk in those alone."
A business owner and CEO, Reynolds said there aren't a lot of women in roles like hers.
"Sometimes I don't think enough about Women's History Month; it's my own story of being a woman, and I believe it is essential for us to highlight those things, to talk about what we have achieved and what we have overcome," she said. "We have a lot of male-dominated meetings and negotiations, and I think I have evolved as a pretty powerful negotiator, so I'll celebrate that for Women's History Month."
She's also not shy about sharing not only what it means to be a woman in America, but a Black woman. Reynolds said the United States has a long way to go when it comes to celebrating women and women's history.
"What we think about when we just say women, you know I'd love to be at the point when we say Women's History Month we are talking about White women, Black women, all women; instead, we know that's really not true, yet we are still talking about White women, their history," Reynolds said.
"I think it's essential for us to recognize that and try to push for equal time. I think we should be celebrating all women because women are the backbone of our society, and without women, where would we be?"