Inclusion & Diversity: Celebrating Marie Younger Blackburn

President Biden issued proclamations for both Irish-American Heritage Month and Women’s History Month. Presidents issue a lot of these types of proclamations, typically to celebrate the contributions of a group (or groups) of people who have been or are being marginalized. Here’s a portion of what the president said about Irish-Americans: “With grit and determination, they worked hard. And as they built their lives, they helped build America. That pride lives on today in the hearts of Irish Americans across our nation.”

And here is a portion of what President Biden said about women: “The full participation of women is a foundational tenet of democracy. Women—often women of color—have been on the front lines, fighting for and securing equal rights and opportunities throughout our country’s history as abolitionists, civil rights leaders, suffragists and labor activists. Women continue to lead as advocates for reproductive rights, champions of racial justice and LGBTQ+ equality. Throughout history, these women have opened the doors of opportunity for subsequent generations of dreamers and doers.”

One of those women is Marie Younger Blackburn, a Mashpee resident and woman of color who has certainly been on the front lines when it comes to securing equal rights and opportunity for several marginalized groups. By the way, Marie’s great-grandmother was Irish, and she’s married to an Irish-American, Mark Hutchinson, so she is also Irish.

Marie moved from Boston, where she never missed the famed St. Patrick’s Day Parade, to Mashpee 30 years ago. She summered here with her aunt when she was young and loved being on Cape Cod. Moving here was both “a joy and a burden.” She had a lot of friends here, but there weren’t a lot of people of color on Cape Cod, which meant very few businesses that catered to Black people for things like getting her hair done, buying ethnic foods or finding Black entertainment.

But Marie’s father told her that her name meant “strong woman,” so she wasn’t going to let that stop her. When she was very young, her father discussed with her what it meant to be Black. He also told her about the N-word. They discussed what it meant and looked it up in the dictionary, and then he asked her: “Is that you?” “No,” she replied. That word, which she would be called more than a few times in her life, would not stick with her. It would hurt, but she was a strong woman.

Marie credits her strength to her family but also to her poetry. As a Black woman she often felt/feels unheard and unseen. She started writing and found her voice through her poetry.

Eighteen years ago, she had her third child (and third son), Chase, who was born with Down syndrome and vitiligo, a condition that creates light-colored patches on his otherwise dark skin. You probably know Chase because he leads an active life in the Cape Cod community. Marie decided she wasn’t going to keep Chase home to protect him, or to protect us. She decided the most important thing she could do for Chase (and for us) was to humanize him.

“I’m not changing him; I’m changing you by showing you him,” she said.

Last year, the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress presented Marie with its award of excellence for her tireless work with inclusion as it relates to “diversability,” a rebranding of the word “disability.”

Marie is an optimist and feels the same way about racism.

“It’s not that hard to change racism. We need to humanize one another,” she said.

She serves on more than one diversity, equity and inclusion committee but feels impatient if people are just checking boxes rather than really working toward equality.

“You have to be bold. This is an emergency!” she said, noting how proud she was of Mashpee Middle-High School student Skyler Hickey for speaking out about racist incidents at the school back in January. “That took courage, choosing to be a voice. There’s a lot to gain, but there’s a lot to lose when you call out racism.”

It was none other than Governor Deval Patrick who once told Marie, “Let your fear fuel you.”

It may not surprise you to hear Marie’s superpower is perseverance.

“It’s in my DNA,” she said.

She has also been known as “the connector” because of her penchant for networking. In 2015 Marie started “Driven Women,” an annual conference and retreat for women. Marie calls it a movement about empowering women of all races, colors, economic backgrounds and ages. From that came “Driven Women TV,” on Falmouth Community Television; “Conversations that Matter,” a biweekly talk show hosted by Marie on YouTube; and the Facebook page “Let Me Tell You a Story.”

Marie also serves on the College Light Opera Company’s board of trustees and works with her eldest son, Ralph, as senior event planner for his business, Simply Black & White Catering.

In 2017 the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women celebrated Marie as one of its “Unsung Heroines.” These are women “who don’t make the news but make the difference.” As Marie says, “Amazing things happen when we lift each other up—we all might rise.” Words to live by.

The MIDC strives for a community that values diversity and includes everyone. We meet at Mashpee Town Hall on the third Tuesday of every month from 5 to 6 PM. We welcome your input and hope you will join us. Contact us at mashpeeidc@gmail.com.