Vanguard

This book teaches about and celebrates black women from the time of the American Revolution to the present who fought against racism & sexism for equal rights in life and at the ballot box. Recommended.

As I learn more about the African American Women that blazed the trails for us, I am reminded of what our schools (public, private and chartered) did not and do not teach us, then or now. History is written by the victor. Good thing that we have our own victors finding our history and sharing it with us.

As Prof. Martha S. Jones recently said during an interview with Nicole Hannah-Jones, her book brings into full relief why this is the “season to engage the ground game for women and politics.” For every history major, or history buff, or anyone who wants to know the unheralded history of this country, this is a must read.

This is a thorough history of Black women and their unceasing work to secure the right the to vote. It fills-in pages that were omitted from our history books.. We all need to read and learn!

Not very engaging. I've read a few chapters, maybe even less, but have always have a pile of books with higher priority. Not sure I'll every finish it.

Nice

"Vanguard" by Martha Jones is a nonfiction novel about how Black women through America's history fought for political power. While Jones writes about some of the famous Black female activists like Sojourner Truth, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Harriet Tubman, she also writes about the many Black women who fought for rights who never made the front pages. As a native Philadelphian, it was really interesting to me to read about the activism that occurred here over the past several hundred years. It is also important to read about how the intersection of race and gender made it more difficult for women to earn many of the human and civil rights to which they are entitled. While the ending cuts to current times, I would have liked to read more about Black women's activism over the last few decades. Overall, this was a really interesting read and makes it clear that there is so much more we should be learning in history class.

I listened to Dr. Jones' Vanguard on audiobook while in my physical reading book I was reading a related book that was also published in 2020. It was also by reputable authors, plural, in that case. What's interesting is at one point those authors, lawyers, made the claim that Black women really didn't have much power or influence until the end of the Civil Rights movement. This claim, accepted so readily that I imagine the authors didn't think they needed to even back it up, is so thoroughly demolished by Vanguard it is one of those laugh cry situations. From the very beginning of what became the United States, Black women were there fighting for freedoms for all people. Martha Jones introduces so many amazing, towering women who have been erased by history that it is almost bittersweet to behold. Yet, these women getting their just recognition in this magnificent achievement is painstakingly researched and lovingly presented. It is a must read that opens a door into what must be a vast room full of women whose stories have been erased but will hopefully one day be told.

Fascinating stories and histories about unsung heroes of the women's rights movement