alisarae's review against another edition
Fascinating. I liked learning about specific black women in US history, both famous and not. Even famous ones, like Rosa Parks, I was surprised to learn a lot of info about. I was also happy to learn about Mary Church Terrell, whose archives I am helping digitize at the Library of Congress but didn't really know all that much about her big-picture life contributions. What life was like for the average black woman during different periods of US history is also covered. It's nice to have such a personal and intimate lens to look through—most of my history classes were presidents and wars.
bet27's review against another edition
4.0
A necessary hard read -- the way the authors so clearly tell the stories of black women's experiences in the US from the time of slavery to now requires attention. This is not shock and awe, this is the peeling back of obstructions that have blinded too many of us for too long. It was sad and eyeopening to hear how black women in America have a very distinct experience of racism that is still strong today. I will definitely need to read this again because my mind couldn't hold all the info; but the audiobook is a good place to start.
supergirls_2008's review against another edition
4.0
I think I was expecting a collection of overlooked Black inventors, etc., but this was actually a collection of true stories through the ages. Most of the historical narratives were stories I had not heard before, for example, the author didn’t talk much about Rosa Parks but focused on other Black women who protested similarly before Rosa and discussed why Rosa was the one chosen to spark additional protests
lmschlichting's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Sexism, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Sexual assault, Death, Racism, Sexual harassment, Rape, Misogyny, Hate crime, and Suicide
starlightnb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
3.75
astralfeline's review against another edition
Would love to come back and finish this later. It was a lot of info and fairly long so I needed to take a break on this one.
kaliaddy's review against another edition
3.0
I think high school students should read this. It's definitely palatable for their level. Good entry level history book with enough small stories that one could then move on to bigger tomes that are wholly dedicated to specific stories or more detailed history. If, after reading this, you're feeling ambitious, The 1619 Project is the way to go and remains my favorite history book so far.