#shethrives

Nafessa Williams: Breaking barriers as TV's first black lesbian superhero

Nafessa Williams grew up watching “The Cosby Show” and wanted to be just like Clair Huxtable. Seeing a successful black female lawyer on television was inspiring, and proved to her that she could be anything she wanted to be. 

Perhaps that’s what makes her perfect in the role of Anissa Pierce, aka Thunder, in the CW Television Network’s superhero series “Black Lightning.” Her groundbreaking character is in medical school, teaches high school, and is TV’s first black lesbian superhero.

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Veda Woods: Dedicated to protecting youth from internet predators

As more children connect over the internet, Veda Woods is dedicated to making sure they have the resources and tools to protect themselves from harm. 

She founded the Protect Us Kids Foundation in 2008, with a mission to keep children and teenagers from becoming the victims of online predators. The foundation focuses on spreading awareness about child sex exploitation in cyberspace, specifically within rural and underserved communities around the globe. 

“We tailor our awareness training to ensure that we’re being culturally sensitive and we’re meeting the needs of the community, which is important in ensuring that the youth actually have a voice,” Woods told NBCBLK. NBCBLK is telling the stories of 10 black women who are shaping their communities and making waves in 21st century America.