Raleigh 6-year-old honors Black women for Women's History Month through Instagram photos

DeJuan Hoggard Image
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Raleigh girl honors Black women in history through Instagram photos
6-year-old Avery Jade has been using Instagram to pay tribute to iconic Black women throughout history. She even caught the eye of Meghan Markle.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Think about what you were doing at 6-and-half-years-old. The and-a-half is a necessary clarification at that age.

"She's memorized when her half birthday is," said Raleigh photographer Amber Robinson.

Robinson's daughter, Avery Jade, has been using Instagram to pay tribute to iconic Black women throughout Women's History Month.

"I was really proud of myself when I took every single picture," said Jade.

Her Instagram page is full of pictures in March of trailblazing women who came before her.

Meghan Markle, former First Lady Michelle Obama, Bessie Coleman, Misty Copeland, Simone Biles, Wilma Rudolph and Amanda Gorman are among the women who have been featured on the Instagram page.

"I really like the style that they have...it's like everything I've dreamed about is coming to life," Avery said.

"Basically my whole life," Avery said when asked how long she's been dreaming of the project.

At first, the Robinson family wanted to do something for Black History Month, but admittedly got off to a late start when they realized how much work they'd need to put in for it.

"We don't really do small ideas in our house," said Amber.

Nonetheless, Amber wanted the educational and social project to be informative for her daughter and other children.

"I felt like in order for them to understand where we are now, we really need to dive deep into the history," Amber said. "And have it normalized that Black people are doing amazing things!"

Misty Copeland has been the fan favorite for Avery so far.

"I really liked being Misty Copeland because I've wanted to be a ballerina and I've been practicing being a ballerina because I have my own ballet outfit," she said.

A shockwave went through the Robinson household when the Duchess of Sussex shared Avery's picture on the Archewell Instagram story feed.

"I screamed when my mom FaceTimed me and told me," Avery said.

"For (Avery), just hearing from someone on a major platform say, Good job, girl.' I think that's kind of a big deal," said Amber. She anxiously, and hilariously, waited by the phone all day in hopes Markle herself calling the two. The Duchess of Sussex, unfortunately, never called.

"Meghan!? Call us! We wanna talk to you," Amber laughed.

Robinson is no stranger to viral photos. In 2017, she took portraits of her parents that were shared thousands of times and circulated widely across the US.

If Michelle Obama calls after seeing her daughter's picture of the former First Lady, Amber plans on handling it well.

"Patch her through," she laughed.