This post is part of an ongoing Black History Month series written by Marcus Harden, a pillar of the South Seattle community and a truly unsung hero, as he honors the living legacy of Black history in his neighborhood and beyond, and recognizes the people who are shaping the future.

By Marcus Harden

#BlackHistoryToday4

When I think about powerful leaders, I think about those who are constantly in the mode of service. Utilizing their gifts and talents for the benefit of others.

When I think of one of those people I am always struck by the talent and deep humility of Jacqueline Hardy. She comes from an incredible line in the same last name but is a musical icon in the Pacific Northwest and around the country.

Yet to ever encounter her, you know she moves with a servant leadership mentality. Constantly offering a song and a kind word, she is at every church, home-going, birthday party, wedding and sometimes Sweet-16 with a smile on her face.

She has served in Seattle Public Schools with some of the city's most vulnerable populations for years and the light of God shines in and through her, in her ministry of song and of service, and that is why Jacquie Hardy is Black history, today.