I am a statistic. According to the 2006 Social and Economic Supplement survey conducted by the Census Bureau, of the single-parent mother households in the United States, 67.3 percent of blacks under the age of 18 are raised exclusively by their mother. I am, unfortunately, no exception to this indicator.

In fact, I embrace it.

Growing up in Los Angeles, Calif., with my mother Antoinette and brother Jamaal, was without question difficult at times, but has undeniably shaped me into the man I am today. Certainly I would have enjoyed having my father in my life, but I accept the reality of my circumstance.

Although my mother had a graduate degree, she had not applied it to a profession (despite my thinking her degree in psychology prepared her for motherhood) in more than 10 years and struggled to find work after my parents divorced. She eventually found a job and, together, we (my mother, brother and I) began to move forward with our lives.

The story of my childhood is the usual forlorn fantasy of most black children growing up with one parent, and we can dismiss it with the detached observation that I certainly would not consider living it again.

This month marks Women's History Month, and I want to honor my mother, and all the brave mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters and daughters who are deserving of such praise.

The Associated Press recently reported that the Cincinnati Museum Center opened an exhibit on March 15 called "Freedom Sisters." The exhibit honors 20 black women who have, in some fashion, paved the way for other women of color.

From Mary Church Terrell to Sonia Sanchez, the exhibit pays due respect to our "sisters."

Dorothy Irene Height, who is 95, is one of the exhibit's honorees and was in attendance at its public opening.

Height was elected president of the National Council of Negro Women in 1957 and served as president for more than 40 years.

"When I look back and see all these women who always had a positive outlook and knew what could happen, it makes me so grateful to be part of this," Height told the AP. "I hope the young people seeing these stories will realize that we have come a long way, but we also have a long way to go."

Height said she was glad to see an exhibit honoring women that had not always received enough respect for their hard work.

The women's movement of the sixties caused women to question their invisibility in traditional American history as no longer just housewives. The movement also raised the aspirations as well as the opportunities of women, giving them access to jobs and bringing them closer a piece of the American Pie.

The women's suffrage movement was formally set into motion in 1848 with the first Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, N.Y.

Following that, the demand for the vote became the centerpiece of the women's rights movement.

Using the Declaration of Independence as a guideline, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a woman's rights activist, presented her Declaration of Principles in her hometown chapel and brought to light subordinate status of women and made suggestions for change.

Resolution Nine, which requested the right for women to vote, was most important in that it expressed the demand for sexual equality.

In 1919, after years of petitioning, protest parades and picketing, Congress passed the 19th Amendment. In 1920 it became ratified under the presidency of Woodrow Wilson.

Women were, how you say, "movin' on up."

I now understand why my mother stressed the importance of education, not just because I was her son, but because I was a young black man growing up in a country where one is constantly faced with the ugly realities of life.

Speaking from experience, it is without question that black women and the church have been central to the many successes, and survival, of the black community.

I stand on my mother's shoulders, sacrifices and accomplishments.

My time at Penn State has been well spent, as I have excelled in many areas and been faced with innumerable difficulties. Yet it will be this upcoming May at graduation that all the hardship will have been worth every minute of it all, especially for my mother.

Thanks, mom.