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.

Authors’ Note
INTRODUCTION
Nannie’s Legacy and the Histories of Black Women
CHAPTER ONE
Isabel’s Expedition and Freedom Before 1619
CHAPTER TWO
Angela’s Exodus out of Africa, 1619–1760
CHAPTER THREE
Belinda’s Petition for Independence, 1760–1820
CHAPTER FOUR
Millie and Christine’s Performance and the Expansion of Slavery, 1820–1860
CHAPTER FIVE
Mary’s Apron and the Demise of Slavery, 1860–1876
CHAPTER SIX
Frances’s Sex and the Dawning of the Black Woman’s Era, 1876–1915
CHAPTER SEVEN
Augusta’s Clay, Migration, and the Depression, 1915–1940
CHAPTER EIGHT
Alice’s Medals and Black Women’s War at Home, 1940–1950
CHAPTER NINE
Aurelia’s Lawsuit Against Jim Crow, 1950–1970
CHAPTER TEN
Shirley’s Run, Black Power, Politics, and Black Feminism, 1970–2000
CONCLUSION
Patricia’s Climb and the Sisters Holding Down Liberty
Afterword
Acknowledgments
Image Credits
Notes
Index

Daina Ramey Berry is Michael Douglas Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is a scholar of the enslaved and Black Women’s History and the award-winning author/editor of several books including A Black Women’s History of the United States. Connect with her at drdainarameyberry.com or @DainaRameyBerry on Twitter.
Kali Nicole Gross is the Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of History at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Her previous books include Hannah Mary Tabbs and the Disembodied Torso: A Tale of Race, Sex, and Violence in America, winner of the 2017 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in nonfiction. Learn more at kalinicolegross.com or connect with her on Twitter @KaliGrossPhD.