LIFTING AS WE CLIMB

African American women had to battle both sexism and racism in their quest for the right to vote.

The roots of the historical women’s suffrage movement can be found in efforts to end slavery in the United States. However, small numbers of Black female abolitionists participated, and as the activism expanded to women’s rights, African Americans were mostly excluded. Dionne provides a detailed and comprehensive look at the overlooked roles African American women played in the efforts to end slavery and then to secure the right to vote for women, arguing that Black women worked consistently for their communities in all areas. The ways in which the Black women’s club movement, the anti-lynching movement, and other activism combined to press for full citizenship are on display. “Getting the right to vote wasn’t the end goal; improving the lives of African Americans was.” There are familiar names such as Ida B. Wells and Mary McLeod Bethune, but there are also many not as well known. Dionne is clear about the fact that even as women prepared to march for the 19th Amendment, White leaders kept Black suffragists separate. Amply illustrated with archival drawings and photographs and supported with contextualizing sidebars, the narrative concludes with a discussion of the Voting Rights Act and contemporary efforts by African Americans to fight against voter suppression.

A lively and critical addition as the United States commemorates the centennial of women’s suffrage.