A Black Women's History of the United States

This book uses biographies, some without names due to the sparse records and representation in the historical record, to travel through US history. There's some herculean research that went into this, with Berry and Gross combining inventories with written accounts to piece together events and people that have often been overlooked in other historical analyses. The book also covers well known events with new perspectives - a good example is that Harriet Scott, wife of Dred Scott, also sued for her freedom at the exact same time. If you like biographies and want a unique overview of US history, this is your book.

This book really showed me that what I've been taught is just the White Man's History of the United States. Textbooks largely ignore the history of black Americans, from Free Settlements to the Black Power movement, as well as the history of American women, from the Suffrage movement to the fight for access to birth control. Black women, of course, are in the intersection of both groups. This book tries to tell the story of individual black women, whose stories began almost as early as the European story, on Spanish expeditions. The author incorporates historical events that intersect their lives and suggests how they may have, and others did, react when documents aren't available. Words aren't minced on the tragedy and horror many faced, but Berry also brings to light the beauty and strength black women possessed. No history is complete without the viewpoints of all those who lived through it, so this book makes a valuable addition to a Complete History of the United States.