Book Review: A Black Women's History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross

Published: February 4, 2020
Publisher: Beacon Press
Received: purchased
Read from January 8 to February 24, 2022

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A vibrant and empowering history that emphasizes the perspectives and stories of African American women to show how they are--and have always been--instrumental in shaping our country

In centering Black women's stories, two award-winning historians seek both to empower African American women and to show their allies that Black women's unique ability to make their own communities while combatting centuries of oppression is an essential component in our continued resistance to systemic racism and sexism. Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross offer an examination and celebration of Black womanhood, beginning with the first African women who arrived in what became the United States to African American women of today.

A Black Women's History of the United States reaches far beyond a single narrative to showcase Black women's lives in all their fraught complexities. Berry and Gross prioritize many voices: enslaved women, freedwomen, religious leaders, artists, queer women, activists, and women who lived outside the law. The result is a starting point for exploring Black women's history and a testament to the beauty, richness, rhythm, tragedy, heartbreak, rage, and enduring love that abounds in the spirit of Black women in communities throughout the nation.

Review:

A Black Women's History of the United States is the fifth book in the ReVisioning American History series that aims to look at US history through perspectives that have historically been overlooked. This one, as is obvious from the title, is about the history of Black women in the US.

Each chapter starts by profiling a Black woman from the period that the chapter focuses on. I really liked this structure. The authors didn't focus on Black women who everyone's heard of. Instead, I learned about a lot of remarkable women for the first time, and their stories helped personalize that era of history before we delved deeper into the chapter and learned more about it.

I really appreciated such a deep dive into history centered on Black women. There were parts of the book that I had heard before, but a lot of it was new information. I've never read a book that was entirely focused just on the history of Black women, and I really appreciated being able to read about it so in-depth.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about US history, especially in ways that it's long been overlooked.