Barbara Hillary is a true adventurer who made history simply by following her passion. Hillary became the first black woman in history to reach both the North Pole and the South Pole. She accomplished those feats after beating cancer and being in her 70s too. She is truly an inspiring woman.
Who Was Barbara Hillary?
Barbara Hillary was born on June 12th, 1931, in New York City. She grew up in Harlem with her mother since her father had died while she was still young. Even though she was raised by a single mother and lived in an impoverished and segregated neighborhood, she was a bright student who loved to read and took advantage of the New York Public Library to read as much as she could.
She especially loved adventure stories such as Robinson Crusoe. She dreamed of being an adventurer like the characters in her favorite books, but at the time, black women were not permitted to explore unknown territories due to the sexism and racism of the time.
Barbara put her dream of being an explorer on hold while she continued to get an education. If she couldn’t be an explorer of far-off lands, then she would at least explore through studying and going as far as she could in school. She took an interest in medicine and got an undergraduate and master’s degree in gerontology, the study of aging. For 55 years, she worked as a nurse, but during those five decades, she never gave up hope of one day becoming a true explorer.
A Retired Nurse With a Life Ahead
When she retired, she decided that instead of moving to sunny Florida and taking it easy after working hard for so many decades, she would finally pursue her dream. At first, she went to the Canadian Province of Quebec to learn dog sledding. Having grown up and lived her whole life in New York City, she was fascinated by the freezing cold outdoors that she found in Quebec. She loved it and soon she wanted more.
She then got into photography and traveled around the province of Manitoba, taking pictures of wildlife. She was content exploring the upper part of Canada until she learned that no black woman had ever gone to either the North Pole or the South Pole. Barbara decided to be the woman that if nobody else had done it, then she would be the first woman to reach the poles.
You cannot just buy a ticket and hop on a plane to the North or South Pole. You have to get trained in cross-country skiing and other courses that prepare you for being in the inhospitable environment of the poles. It is also expensive since you have to go with guides and plenty of equipment and food for the duration of the trip.
This costs about $20,000. Barbara was in her 70s and had survived a bout of lung cancer that required surgery to remove 25% of her lungs. Being in the Arctic is hard for young physically fit people, but Barbara was determined to accomplish her goal regardless of the challenges she faced.
A True Explorer
She set out to raise money by asking individuals for donations or sponsorship money from foundations until she had raised $25,000. While raising the money, she spent her free time exercising and physically and mentally preparing for the arduous journey that she was about to take.
Finally, she had the money and was prepared to go to the North Pole. She flew to Norway where she hopped on a helicopter that took her to the North Pole. On April 23rd, 2007, Barbara became the first African-American woman to step foot on the North Pole.
She was 77 years old and had accomplished the first part of her goal and made history at the same time. Five years later at the age of 79, Barbara completed the second half of her goal by becoming the first African-American woman to step foot on the South Pole on January 6th, 2011.
Barbara Hillary’s Legacy
Afterward, she traveled all over the United States and the world giving speeches. She became a motivational speaker and also an outspoken advocate of combating climate change. She spoke at length about how climate change can melt the ice caps, which she had visited, and how catastrophic this would be for Earth.
Barbara Hillary urged young people to take action since she was already in her 80s. When she was not traveling she was active in her local community in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York. She never stopped learning, teaching, exploring, and most of all, inspiring others to pursue their dreams. She may have started late, but if we are honest, Barbara was an adventurer throughout her whole life.
Barbara Hillary died at 88 years of age on November 23rd, 2019, but her legacy of being an adventurer lives on today.
