We all read the daunting statistics about single motherhood and teen pregnancy, but we don’t always get to read stories that humanize the individuals going through these experiences. 

As we continue to highlight Black voices in the tech industry during Black History Month, we want to spotlight Rita Henderson. The proud mother of a 7-year-old activist and a #BlackGirlMagic contributor, Henderson leads several initiatives on the Care Operations team at Honor.

Henderson grew up in North Philly, in an area called “Badlands,” which is between the Kensington and Fairhill neighborhoods and known for being plagued by high crime, drugs and poverty. While many people reminded her that teen pregnancy is closely linked to single parenthood, and the growth in single-parent families remains the most important reason for increased poverty among children, she was determined to be more than a statistic.

Her sister, Idalin Bobe, took full custody of Rita while she was still in college and encouraged her to break into tech.

Now Henderson is leveraging her platform in tech to lead a movement of mothers who want to break into startups.

As we lift up Rita’s voice, a young teenage mom, we wanted to highlight the importance of not overshadowing people who should be recognized because of certain social “stigmas.”