The Book of Awesome Black Women: Sheroes, Boundary Breakers, and Females who Changed the World
By M.J. Fievre and Becca Anderson
()
About this ebook
#1 New Release in Teen & Young Adult Modern History
Embrace Black girl magic and learn about the historical Black women who made their impact on society as we know it. In The Book of Awesome Black Women, celebrate the power of Black women who have shaped, and continue to shape, our future.
An uncensored history of the power of Black women. Whether you learned about these women in school or not, these Black women changed society and inspired future generations. Read all about women such as Sojourner Truth, Anita Hill, Wangari Maathai, Aretha Franklin, Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka and so many more. Packed with mini biographies of big she-ros, The Book of Awesome Black women features mighty Black women who are usually omitted from the history books. Discover their stories of strength, perseverance and talent.
The perfect gift for girls in your life. Driven by female empowerment, this collection of biographies tells the unique stories of strong voices that made a difference. From artists to activists, The Book of Awesome Black Women showcases a plethora of passions and skills to prove that strong is beautiful. These mighty Black women prove that your passions and drive are the most powerful things you have.
Inside The Book of Awesome Black Women, you’ll learn to:
- Recognize the importance of honoring Black intelligence, willpower, and passion
- Celebrate the strength of these revolutionaries
- Channel your inner womanhood
- Discover powerful stories of accomplishments achieved by Black women
If you enjoyed books like Herstory, The Book of Awesome Women, The Great Book of Badass Women, or Black Heroes, you’ll adore The Book of Awesome Black Women.
M.J. Fievre
Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, M.J. Fievre moved to the United States in 2002. She currently writes from Miami. M.J.’s publishing career began as a teenager in Haiti. At nineteen years-old, she signed her first book contract with Hachette-Deschamps, in Haiti, for the publication of a Young Adult book titled La Statuette Maléfique. Since then, M.J. has authored nine books in French that are widely read in Europe and the French Antilles. In 2013, One Moore Book released M.J.’s first children’s book, I Am Riding, written in three languages: English, French, and Haitian Creole. In 2015, Beating Windward Press published M.J.’s memoir, A Sky the Color of Chaos, about her childhood in Haiti during the brutal regime of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Her latest book, Happy, Okay?: Poems about Anxiety, Depression, Hope, and Survival is scheduled for publication in December of 2019 by Books & Books Press, an imprint of Mango Publishing. Another book, Badass Black Girl is scheduled for publication in 2020. A long-time educator and frequent keynote speaker (Tufts University, Massachusetts; Howard University, Washington, D.C.; the University of Miami, Florida; and Michael College, Vermont; and a panelist at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference, AWP), M.J. is available for book club meetings, podcast presentations, interviews and other author events. You can learn more about her and her work at her website: mjfievre.com
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The Book of Awesome Black Women - M.J. Fievre
Praise for The Book of Awesome Black Women
"Formidable and daring, resilient and hopeful, The Book of Awesome Black Women is a beacon of acknowledgment for the transformative work Black women have done and continue to do. Rendered with simple truth and trailblazing candor, we are honored by their lives, their stories, their grace and the inspirational precedent set for all to follow in their footsteps."
—Bridgitte Jackson-Buckley, interviewer, memoirist, and author of The Gift of Crisis: How I Used Meditation to Go From Financial Failure to a Life of Purpose
"In The Book of Awesome Black Women, Becca Anderson and M.J. Fievre remind us how central Black women are and have been to American and world history and culture. No matter how much you think you know about the awesomeness of Black women, this book will give you more reasons to celebrate what Black women have done and are destined to do. This book is a balm and a healing for all who will read it."
—Marita Golden, author of The Strong Black Woman: How a Myth Endangers the Physical and Mental Health of Black Women
"The Book of Awesome Black Women is a powerful resource for young Black girls to empower themselves with the stories of their foremothers. The Black women in this book will guide and lead future generations to recognize that they have the love, strength, and ferocity to change their world."
—Karen Arrington, author of Your Next Level Life: 7 Rules of Power, Confidence, and Opportunity for Black Women in America
"The Book of Awesome Black Women is full of Black women trailblazers who have paved the way for future generations of Black girls to build their own achievements, successes, and triumphs. Here are the foremothers whose stories and lives will help teach young Black girls the power they hold within to change and redefine social boundaries."
—Varla Ventura, author of Sheroes: Bold, Brash, and Absolutely Unabashed Superwomen
A celebration of indomitable Black women who scaled centuries of oppression to reach the mountaintop. The encapsulated biographies prove that the impossible can be possible.
—Marlene Wagman-Geller, author of Women of Means: The Fascinating Biographies of Royals, Heiresses, Eccentrics and Other Poor Little Rich Girls
The world needs more works celebrating the excellence of strong, accomplished Black women! This is an excellent introduction to those who’ve earned their places in history.
—Chrisanne Beckner, architectural historian, writer, and author of 100 African Americans Who Shaped American History
Other books by Becca Anderson
Badass Affirmations
The Book of Awesome Women
The Book of Awesome Girls
The Book of Awesome Women Writers
Badass Women Give the Best Advice
You Are an Awesome Woman
Think Happy to Stay Happy
The Woman’s Book of Prayer
Let Me Count the Ways
The Joy of Self-Care
The Crafty Gardener
Every Day Thankful
I Can Do Anything
Other Books by M.J. Fievre
Badass Black Girl: Quotes, Questions, and Affirmations for Teens
Empowered Black Girl: Joyful Affirmations and Words of Resilience
Black and Resilient: 52 Weeks of Anti-Racist Activities for Black Joy & Resilience
Resilient Black Girl: 52 Weeks of Anti-Racist Activities for Black Joy & Resilience
Happy, Okay? Poems about Anxiety, Depression, Hope and Survival
Raising Confident Black Kids: A Comprehensive Guide for Empowering Parents and Teachers of Black Children
Young Trailblazers: The Book of Black Inventors and Scientists
Young Trailblazers: The Book of Black Heroes and Groundbreakers
Walk Boldly: Empowerment Toolkit for Young Black Men
THE BOOK OF AWESOME BLACK WOMEN
Sheroes, Boundary Breakers,
and Females who Changed the World
M.J. Fievre
& Becca Anderson
Coral Gables
Copyright © 2022 by M.J. Fievre and Becca Anderson.
Published by Mango Publishing, a division of Mango Publishing Group, Inc.
Cover Design: Elina Diaz
Layout & Design: Megan Werner
Mango is an active supporter of authors’ rights to free speech and artistic expression in their books. The purpose of copyright is to encourage authors to produce exceptional works that enrich our culture and our open society.
Uploading or distributing photos, scans or any content from this book without prior permission is theft of the author’s intellectual property. Please honor the author’s work as you would your own. Thank you in advance for respecting our author’s rights.
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Mango Publishing Group
2850 S Douglas Road, 4th Floor
Coral Gables, FL 33134 USA
For special orders, quantity sales, course adoptions and corporate sales, please email the publisher at [email protected]. For trade and wholesale sales, please contact Ingram Publisher Services at
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The Book of Awesome Black Women: Sheroes, Boundary Breakers, and Females who Changed the World
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number: 2022933220
ISBN: (p) 978-1-64250-929-8 (e) 978-1-64250-930-4
BISAC category code YAN006140, YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION /
Biography & Autobiography / Women
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1: SHEroes
Unstoppable Black Women Who Busted Down Barriers
Chapter 2: Hidden Figures No Longer
Brilliant Inventors and Scientists
Chapter 3: All-Kinds-of-Awesome Athletes
Women and Girls Who Leveled the Playing Field
Chapter 4: Unbought and Unbossed
Black Women Fighting for Equality and Social Justice
Chapter 5: SHE-EOs and SHEroes
From the Boardroom to Beyond
Chapter 6: Mighty in the Classroom, the Military,
& the Church
Black Women Leading the Way
Conclusion: But Wait, There’s So Much More
And Now the End Is Here
About the Authors
Preface
"The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman.
The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman.
The most neglected person in America is the Black woman."
—Malcolm X, 1962
Every few years, to prove itself post-racial, America goes through waves of revolution, promises change at every turn, and then goes back to business as usual . This time around, however, things feel a bit different in the land of the free: we are on the edge of a new dawn. America sees through the veil of racism, even if it still must work harder to lift it completely. And the gauge of success for a new America that overcomes racial inequality and injustice will undoubtedly have to be Bl ack women.
Malcolm X was correct in his assessment of Black women’s condition: Black women are systematically sidelined, neglected, and discriminated against, and they carry the stigma of being both Black and female, which means they stand at the crossroad of racism and sexism, facing misogynoir.¹ Be it in the boardroom, the classroom, the athletic arena, or anywhere in between, Black women end up with the short end of the proverbial stick, relegated to the back hallways and waiting rooms or offered a voiceless seat at the table so that the powers that be may fulfill efforts of feigned inclusion. In the field of healthcare alone, Black women’s pain is consistently overlooked and undermanaged. Black mothers are the most at risk, and Black babies face a higher mortality rate. When young Black men die or are incarcerated in disproportionate numbers, their Black female counterparts are left alone to deal with the fallout, and yet Black women are still expected to pull through and hold their communities and families together.
In the last couple of years, we have opened our eyes to how Black women consistently and competently show up, excel, and exceed standard expectations. This leveling up,
of course, is not a new phenomenon. This is what we do and have done throughout history. From Harriet Tubman, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Shirley Chisholm to Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, Misty Copeland, and Simone Biles, we have always written our names in the stars the way our ancestors dreamed. Black women’s accomplishments are noteworthy and deserving of praise. Unlike women of other races, Black women have had to work and fight harder for their achievements, and even when they do reach success, they often fail to be recognized as anything but less than.
And there is a generation of Black girls growing up right now who need role models in their lives who look like them, because these girls will face—or already face—the same kind of discrimination their foremothers did.
In this book, we have documented a treasure trove of brilliant and stellar Black women who have paved the way for the modern generation of Black girls and continue to do so with impenetrable tenacity, valiant willpower, and relentless ambition. Now, more than ever, is the time to crash through glass ceilings and triumph over tribulations that persist with the plight of Black people. As Black women are stepping into roles that were previously closed off to them, becoming vice president, decorated gymnasts, accomplished scientists, thinkers, researchers, activists, agents of change, and more, we are adding our voices to the conversation, with this book as our contribution. The Book of Awesome Black Women is the product of two minds in publishing and women’s empowerment, both of them authors who are more than familiar with female trailblazers breaking boundaries. Becca Anderson (author of The Book of Awesome Women and The Book of Awesome Girls) and I, M.J. Fievre (author of the Badass Black Girl series and the Young Trailblazers series), have combined our efforts with one single goal: reaching into the past to look at the Black women who came before us, who laid the foundation for today, and who are still doing the work.
In The Book of Awesome Black Women, you’ll find stories of women who broke the chains that bound them. You’ll find women who, despite the odds stacked against them, managed to succeed and thrive, and you’ll find women who built on the successes of their foremothers and innovated technology, entertainment, and the world at large. These women deserve to be celebrated for their remarkable successes and achievements. These are unstoppable women with lessons to teach about persistence. We want to provide our readers with various role models and inspiration to guide them into stepping out into the world, no matter what they choose to do or who they choose to be. We hope you’ll enjoy reading about the awesome Black women as much as we enjoyed discovering their stories.
The time for Black women to be praised and recognized for their power is now. That moment is in fact overdue, and books like this one must come from a place of love and intention and from the hard work of authors who aim to honor Black women, researching the most important resources for our readers. This is the right time for a book like this to take its place in a canon that has consistently sought to erase our accomplishments and our names from history. We stake our claim on this moment as ours to redress these wrongs and open the doors for the rest of us waiting our turn to come through and take our seat at the table.
M.J. Fievre, author of the Badass Black Girl series
1 a term coined by scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw
Introduction
All women have the same maternal ancestor, and she was a Black woman from Africa two hundred thousand years ago. This mitochondrial Eve
has passed down her unique genetic code, her mitochondrial DNA, from woman to woman, so in a way, she is the mother of all humankind, and every awesome Black woman in this book is her daughter.
One of her most fearless daughters was the beloved Audre Lorde, who in turn was the mother of intersectional feminism. Lorde fought to educate those in the public and in academia that womanhood, race, and sexuality are inseparable, that they inform one another, and that their interconnectedness deserves to take up space. She also advocated for the collaboration of women with different identities, for within those differences and that collaboration lay the key to their creation of liberation from the oppression of the patriarchy. In her famous 1984 speech The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House,
Lorde states that:
[T]hose of us who stand outside the circle of this society’s definition of acceptable women; those of us who have been forged in the crucibles of difference—those of us who are poor, who are lesbians, who are Black, who are older—know that survival is not an academic skill. It is learning how to take our differences and make them strengths.
Throughout this book, you will find multifaceted women who were friends, contemporaries, and mentors to each other, who acted in the spirit of Lorde’s vision for the liberation of