As a black woman, I am constantly amazed by how we are excelling in every field there is. It is a known fact that for a black woman, struggles are different. It’s not only everyday racism we face but also the shackles of patriarchy constantly try to bind us.
There are a few black woman out there that overcome all these obstacles and set an example for others like me. One of them is Rada Griffin.

Rada Griffin works long days for NASA as a senior software engineer and subject matter expert, assisting the project that will send the first woman to the moon in 2024.

“It’s a big responsibility for us to ensure that everything goes perfectly,” she said. “And then, whenever I can find the time, I do my thing with wine.”

According to CornellEdu, Griffin, who resides in Huntsville, Alabama, has three lives rolled into one. She works for NASA as a contractor during the week. She arranges wine and food pairings on weekends, and she occasionally flies to Napa Valley, California, to monitor the progress of her first vintage.

In 2019, she created Anissa Wakefield Wines, becoming Alabama's first licenced Black woman winemaker, after improving her wine talents in a series of online lessons authored by an instructor at Cornell's Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration.

Griffin has also recently founded the Black Cuvee, a local wine club for fellow wine connoisseurs in Alabama.

Despite Griffin's passion for the wine industry, she claims that the road to inclusion and acceptance for Black women and the Black community in general has been challenging. “Particularly for African Americans, we’re trying to catch up with being included in the wine industry,” she said. “There’s a movement happening with Black people getting into the wine industry. You see it with celebrities and athletes alike. I’m hoping to do my part with bringing that forward.”