african american women

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african american women

Walking Gentry home

a memoir of my foremothers in verse
"A true American epic in verse, Walking Gentry Home tells the story of Alora Young's ancestors, from the unnamed women the historical record has forgotten but Alora brings to life through imagination; to Amy, the first of her foremothers to arrive in Tennessee, buried in an unmarked grave unlike the white man who enslaved her and fathered her child; through Alora's great-grandmother Gentry, unhappily married at fourteen; to her own mother, the teenage beauty queen rejected by her white neighbors; down to Alora in the present day as she leaves childhood behind and becomes a young woman. The lives of these women come together to form a narrative that speaks of generational curses, coming of age, homes and small towns, fleeting loves and lasting consequences, and the brutal and ever-present legacy of slavery in the American South. Each poem is a story-in-verse and together they form an arresting saga. Both heart-wrenching and inspiring, this unique family memoir finds joy and pride where others might only see despair. Informed by archival research, the will and testament of a slaver, formal interviews, family lore, and even a DNA test, Walking Gentry Home gives voice to those most often muted: Black girls and women in America"--.

Brave. Black. First

50+ African American women who changed the world
2023
"An illustrated biographical compilation of over fifty African American women from the 1700s through to the present day"--OCLC.

Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a woman?"

"Akron, Ohio, 1851: A brother and sister listen to Sojourner Truth deliver her speech. Aligned with curriculum standards, these narrative-nonfiction books also highlight key 21st Century content: Global Awareness, Media Literacy, and Civic Literacy. Thought-provoking content and hands-on activities encourage critical thinking. Book includes a table of contents, glossary of key words, index, author biography, sidebars, and timeline"--.

Oprah Winfrey

2020
"This book examines the life of Oprah Winfrey in a simple, age-appropriate way that will help children develop word recognition and reading skills. Includes a table of contents, author biography, timeline, glossary, index, and other informative backmatter"--Provided by publisher.

Before she was Harriet

A picture book biography of Harriet Tubman, written in verse and illustrated by an award-winning artist, honors a woman of humble origins whose courage and compassion made her larger than life.

Harriet Tubman

2021
"Harriet Tubman is well known for her work as an abolitionist and a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Her life was one of both extraordinary suffering and extraordinary courage. This . . . volume traces her life from her childhood years in slavery, through her own escape and subsequent work on the Underground Railroad, to her final years"--Provided by publisher.

All rise

the story of Ketanji Brown Jackson
2023
"Whatever she did, wherever she was, Ketanji Brown Jackson rose to the top. From the time their daughter was born, Ketanji Brown's parents taught her that if she worked hard and believed in herself, she could do anything. As a child, Ketanji focused on her studies and excelled, eventually graduating from Harvard Law School. Years later, resident Joe Biden nominated her [for the United States Supreme Court]. At her confirmation, Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black female Supreme Court justice in the United States"--Amazon.

The Underground Abductor

An Abolitionist Tale
2022
Relates, in graphic novel format, the story of Araminta Ross, who was born a slave in Delaware but eventually escaped north to freedom. Changing her name to Harriet Tubman, she became an "abductor" on the Underground Railroad, risking her life to help other slaves reach freedom.
Cover image of The Underground Abductor

Black women will save the world

an anthem
2022
The trailblazing White House correspondent reflects on 2020 and the unprecedented role of African American women in helping to uphold democracy and recalls her own personal journey from working-class Baltimore to the pinnacle of her profession.

Black chameleon

memory, womanhood, and myth
"Growing up as a Black girl in America, Deborah Mouton felt alienated from the stories she learned in class. She yearned for stories she felt connected to--true ones of course--but also fables and mythologies that could help explain both the world and herplace in it. What she encountered was almost always written by white writers who prospered in a time when human beings were treated as chattel, such as the Greek and Roman myths, which felt as dusty and foreign as ancient ruins. When she sought myths written by Black authors, they were rooted too far in the past, a continent away. Mouton writes, "The phrases of my mother and grandmother began to seem less colloquial and more tied to stories that had been lost along the way....Mythmaking isn't a lie. It is our moment to take the privilege of our own creativity to fill in the gaps that colonization has stolen from us. It is us choosing to write the tales that our children pull strength from. It is hijacking history for the ignorance in its closets. This, atruth that must start with the women." Mouton's memoir Black Chameleon is a song of praise and an elegy for Black womanhood. With a poet's gift for lyricism and poignancy, Mouton reflects on her childhood as the daughter of a preacher and a harsh but loving mother, living in the world as a Black woman whose love is all too often coupled with danger, and finally learning to be a mother to another Black girl in America. Of the moment yet timeless, playful but incendiary, Mouton has staked out new territoryin the memoir form"--.

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