Redefining American history

BOOK REVIEW

“A Black Women’s History of the United States” by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross Nonfiction, February 2020

By Fred Fenton

LW contributor

Black history should no doubt be taught and celebrated all year, but at least during February, which has been designated for that purpose, in part because the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas are celebrated then.

President Gerald Ford made the observance of Black History Month official in 1976, asking the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often-neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

That recognition of Black contributions to our history as a people has been advanced by the engrossing and inspiring “A Black Women’s History of the United States,” written by history professors Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross.

The 2020 book, published by Beacon Press as the latest addition to its Revisioning American History Series, is filled with the stories of remarkable women of color in each period of American history. Its 217 pages make an absorbing read that enriches our understanding of the accomplishments of Black women who rose through difficulties of every kind to claim their place and make their unique contributions to American life.

Did you know Maria Stewart gave the first public speech by an American woman of any race in 1832, challenging a Boston audience of Black and white women to accept “the vast field of useful and scientific knowledge”? It’s a message as important today as it was when a brave, gifted Black woman first gave it. “A Black Women’s History of the United States” delivers the goods.

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