Lifting As We Climb: Black Women's Battle for the Ballot Box

LIFTING AS WE CLIMB begins before the Civil War with the fight against slavery and the too often overlooked role played by Black women abolitionists. Formerly enslaved women like Sojourner Truth and free educated Black women like the Forten sisters of Philadelphia gave speeches across the country, wrote for abolitionist newspapers, and told their stories in books and pamphlets. But they often found themselves pushed aside or simply not welcomed by white abolitionist societies. They'd soon encounter the same wall of prejudice from a suffrage movement often willing to make compromises (asking Black women to walk at the back of a suffrage parade) to appease their Southern members. In response, Black suffragists came together in 1896 to form The National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (NACWC). Its goal was not just winning the right to vote for women, but also uplifting people in the Black community. The legacy of these fearless abolitionists and suffragists would inspire a new generation of activists who would turn their focus to desegregation and voting rights. The book ends with the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the election of the first Black woman (Shirley Chisholm) to Congress, and Stacey Abrams' 2018 campaign for governor of Georgia.