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Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler: Physician Pioneer

9 min read

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TRENDINGSTORIES

of Charlotte

Stay connected to what’s happening across the Queen City. From standout food and drink spots to can’t-miss events, cultural happenings, and local news — this is where we highlight the stories, spaces, and people shaping Charlotte right now. Discover where to go, what to experience, and who’s making an impact in the city.

OVER 200+ BLACK HERSTORY ICONS

A Living Archive of Black Women’s Power

The March 2026 edition of SISTAH Magazine is a bold editorial tribute to the women, thinkers, builders, and communities who were pushed to the margins—yet shaped the foundation. The Last Shall Be First centers untold stories, reframes misunderstood legacies, and challenges readers to reconsider who we call “great.” Because what was dismissed yesterday may define tomorrow.

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IDENTITY&VOICE

Alexa Canady: A Legacy of Excellence, Courage, and Care

Dr. Alexa Canady reshaped what leadership in medicine could look like. Her impact reaches far beyond milestones, living on in the lives she changed and the paths she made possible for others.

My Time Is Near

Being last taught us discernment. It taught us that timing is sacred and that preparation is a form of love. So when we arrive, we arrive whole— with boundaries, with wisdom, with legacy in our hands. We are not late. We were being formed.

I Know Who I Am

This piece is a declaration, not a whisper—an unapologetic return to self in a world that benefits from Black women shrinking. What follows is self-love as truth, resistance, and inheritance, spoken without permission.

Zakiya Hakizimana

Reverence for
BlackWomen
Begins with Us.

Every movement begins with the woman who nurtures it. Every legacy begins with the woman who remembers. When Black women are seen, supported, protected, and poured into — the entire community shifts. The children stand taller. The men lead with integrity. The home becomes a sanctuary again.

SISTAH Magazine exists to restore what was lost: the dignity, beauty, softness, and leadership of the Black Woman at the center of the family and the culture.

Your giving makes this restoration possible.

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CULTURE&EXPRESSION

Ayisha Cravotta: From First Black Clara to Shaping the Next Generation of Ballet in Charlotte

At a Charlotte Post Women’s History Month event at West Boulevard Library, Charlotte Ballet Academy Director Ayisha Cravotta reflected on a career shaped by discipline, representation, and global training. From becoming Charlotte’s first Black Clara in The Nutcracker to mentoring the next generation of dancers, Cravotta shared how the power of seeing oneself reflected in the arts can shape an entire life — and why creating those mirrors for young dancers today remains essenti

The Sister Circle

A love letter to the importance of sisterhood love, often overshadowed by the culture of comparison and exhaustion.

Zakiya Hakizimana

Perfect Alignment

Discover a poem celebrating perfect alignment, divine timing, and the gravitational pull of two souls committed to growth, healing and thriving together. A beautiful tribute to enduring, evolving love.

LaVianca Ledbetter

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FREEDOM&JUSTICE

Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler: Physician Pioneer

9 min read

The Fall of Kimberly Bryant: Founder of Black Girls CODE!

Once overlooked, Kimberly Bryant built space where none existed, proving that those pushed to the margins often lead the way forward. Her story reminds us that beginnings born in exclusion can become blueprints for change.

Ena Alese

3 min read

Colorism & Reverse-Colorism: The Fued Between the House and Field Nigga

Centuries after slavery, the feud between the “house” and “field” still lingers in our DNA. Colorism and “reverse” colorism are not natural—they’re the offspring of a system built to divide. From the Willie Lynch blueprint to modern media, Black women of every shade have been pitted against one another. But healing begins when we see each other not as rivals, but as reflections under the same moon.

7 min read

SPIRITUAL&NATURAL

She met a man who loved her like God does.

When Black Love Becomes Ministry

When Black Love Becomes Ministry isn’t about perfection—it’s about covering. After years of mistaking chemistry for commitment, she discovered a love rooted in patience, prayer, and protection. This is the story of a man who didn’t just pursue her heart, but stewarded it—proving that when Black love is aligned with God, it becomes ministry.

JAZZY JOHNSON

Facing Myself

There comes a moment in our lives where we are required to look within. We are able to see who we are in efforts to acknowledge, address, and adjust how we show up for ourselves and the people closest to us.

Britty J

Polygyny: God’s Order or Patriarchal Greed?

Men claim polygyny is “in their DNA,” but is it God’s order or patriarchal greed? From lion prides to Yoruba legends, from Jacob’s rivalry-filled house to David’s lust for Bathsheba, history shows polygyny can bless or break a family. Before you choose this path, ask: is it divine calling, mutual uplift, and provision — or just desire dressed as heritage?

MONEY&POWER

West Charlotte High and the Price of Desegregation

At a Black History Month panel, former students and teachers of West Charlotte High reflected on a time when the school symbolized Black academic excellence and community pride. Their stories revealed both the power of segregated Black educational spaces and the cultural cost of desegregation — raising a pressing question: how do we restore the rigor, presentation, and excellence that once defined West Charlotte?

📣 The First Black Women’s Business Directory Is Dropping in Charlotte — in Print!

The first-ever Charlotte Black Women’s Business Directory is dropping this January—bringing 500+ Black women-owned brands into 100+ hotspot locations across the city. In a year where Black women faced record unemployment, this print edition is more than visibility—it’s a lifeline.

SISTAH NEWS

The Cost of Giving Until Empty: Why Abundance Must Begin at Home

America’s progress is measured like coming from -98 to 0 — still far from the abundance we deserve. We keep pouring from our gourds until nothing is left for our own households, and then wonder why the village is starving. The truth is, scarcity was never meant to be our economic model. What happens when we flip the script — when we plant beside the well, refill our gourd, and teach the next generation to draw?

Our True Colors

LIFESTYLE&HOME

What's This Word... REST?

A "How To" guide to incorporate rest into our hectic lives, without impacting too much of your everyday life and responsibilities.

Featured

LaVianca Asante'

A black woman exhausted with a large Velvet spider on the lamp shade

Matriphagy: When Motherhood Feeds Everyone but You

In nature, the Velvet Spider feeds her children with her own body—a haunting mirror of mothers who give until they vanish. Many women live this quietly, mistaking depletion for devotion. But love was never meant to consume you. Healing begins when you stop feeding others from your wounds and start nurturing from your wholeness. You are not food—you are the source.

From Hot to Wholesome

Rest is Revolutionary by Ash Authoress

We grew up watching Black women move without pause. Mothers, aunties, and church ladies who carried the world on their backs, always in motion, rarely at rest. Their hustle shaped us, but it also taught us something they were never given space to learn: rest is not laziness. Rest is survival. Rest is power.

Lifestyle

Ash Authoress

BLACKHERSTORY

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Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler: Physician Pioneer

9 min read

Alexa Canady: A Legacy of Excellence, Courage, and Care

Dr. Alexa Canady reshaped what leadership in medicine could look like. Her impact reaches far beyond milestones, living on in the lives she changed and the paths she made possible for others.

3 min read

The Fall of Kimberly Bryant: Founder of Black Girls CODE!

Once overlooked, Kimberly Bryant built space where none existed, proving that those pushed to the margins often lead the way forward. Her story reminds us that beginnings born in exclusion can become blueprints for change.

Ena Alese

3 min read

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Sis, what would you do?

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Social Media & The Quiet Creep on Self-Perception

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The Last Shall Be First is talking about Black Women.

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Where should organizations draw the line between professional standards and cultural discrimination?

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Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler: Physician Pioneer

3 hours ago

Alexa Canady: A Legacy of Excellence, Courage, and Care

Dr. Alexa Canady reshaped what leadership in medicine could look like. Her impact reaches far beyond milestones, living on in the lives she changed and the paths she made possible for others.

1 day ago

Ayisha Cravotta: From First Black Clara to Shaping the Next Generation of Ballet in Charlotte

At a Charlotte Post Women’s History Month event at West Boulevard Library, Charlotte Ballet Academy Director Ayisha Cravotta reflected on a career shaped by discipline, representation, and global training. From becoming Charlotte’s first Black Clara in The Nutcracker to mentoring the next generation of dancers, Cravotta shared how the power of seeing oneself reflected in the arts can shape an entire life — and why creating those mirrors for young dancers today remains essenti