The Book of African American Women, 150 Crusaders, Creators, and Uplifters by Tonya Bolden, (1996, 352 pages) Reading this book, I kept coming back to the obvious question “How come I never heard of her?” The Book of African American Women explores the trials and tribulations, but most of all the accomplishments, of 150 women. Some of these women are well known, while others will be a welcome addition to this emerging history. These are women who—knowingly or unknowingly— changed every American’s destiny through their contributions as writers, artists, teachers, civic leaders, medical professionals, or entrepreneurs. There are those who simply represent the collective black experience— from the days of slavery through abolition, the civil rights movement, and beyond. Reading this book felt like sitting amongst my ancestors, and a group of wise women. My hope is that their story will become a film like Hidden Figures, and The Six Triple Eight or a beautiful coffee table book. This book is small, think the size of a devotional. Despite that, I highly recommend this beautiful history lesson.

Among the subjects:

Coincoin, slave turned plantation owner
Annie Davis, “Pen pal” of Abraham Lincoln
Nancy Prosser, co-leader of a slave revile
Nancy Ruffin, 19th century homemaker
Matilda Dunbar, Mother of Paul Laurence Dunbar
Ida B. Wells, anti-lynching crusader
Mary Church Terrell, “the genteel militant”
Lucy Eddie Campbell, “Mother of Gospel Music”
Jackie Ormes, Cartoonist
Willa B. Brown, Aviator
Roger Arliner Young, Zoologist
Valaida Snow, “Trumpet Queen”
Vera Jackson, photographer
Lyda Moore Merrick, co-founder of Negro Braille Magazine
Dorothy Dandridge, actress
Evelyn Boyd Granville, mathematician
Constance Baker Motley, lawyer and judge
Samella Lewis, artist, art historian, and curator
Jackie “Moms” Mabley, comedienne
Shirley Chisholm, politician
Norma Merrick Sklarek, architect
Darlene Clark Hine, historian