This book gives a short biography on ten African American women who have made their marks in United States history. Here are there names and occupation of the women the book talks about: Ellen Craft, Escaped Slave; Mary Fields, Pioneer; Charlotte Forten Grimke, Teacher; Ida B. Wells, Journalist; Mary McLeod Bethune, Educator; Clara Hale, Humanitarian; Leontyne Price, Opera Singer; Toni Morrison, Writer; Mae C. Jemison, Astronaut; and Jackie Joyner-Kersee who is an athlete.
There are ten women in this book. I have picked three to talk about: Ellen Craft, Mary Fields, and Charlotte Forten Grimke.
Ellen Craft was born around 1826 when her mother was just 17. Ellen's skin is so light you couldn't tell she was African. When Ellen was just eleven, her master's daughter, Eliza, got married. Ellen's master gave Ellen to ELiza as a gift. When Ellen was twenty she met a man named William Craft. In 1846 Ellen and William got married. They were praying for a way out of slavery for awhile and then their prayers were answered with a great plan. Ellen's skin was so light she could pass as a white person traveling with her slave (William)! The Crafts waited until the Christmas holidays when security was less tight and they ran! Ellen adn William used many different forms of transportation so their path was harder to trace. They encountered many difficulties along the way but they made it. Ellen made it to freedom.
Charlotte was born free and into a wealthy family. Charlotte was given her elementary schooling at home by private tutors. Afterwards she was sent to a school in Salem, Massachusetts, where she was the only black student. Charlotte was a huge supporter of the anti-slavery movement. Being so close to Boston, she was able to stay aware of dramatic and important movements. Charlotte, who was now 16, wrote in her journal about many things and kept a journal for a very long time. She also expressed her feelings through her poems (not very many were ever published). Charlotte devoted two years to teaching former slaves. Charlotte didn't get married until she was 41. Charlotte dies in 1914, after a stroke that had kept her in bed for more than a year.
Mary Fields was in one person's words a "6 foot, 200-pound, cigar smoking, whiskey drinking, gun totin' pioneer who settled her arguments with her fists, and once in a while with a six gun." She was born in the early 1830's in Tennessee. Not much else is known about her childhood or early life though there are many disagreement about how she got to Ohio, but it is known that by 1884 she was 50 and in Toledo, Ohio working as a handyman for an Ursuline convent. In the early 1880's, Mother Amadeus and four other nuns went to Montana. Fields was asked to go but decided against it. In a few months when she heard that Mother Amadeus had gotten sick with pneumonia she decided to go west. She nursed Mother Amadeus back to health. She then decided to stay and work with the mission. Mary Fields died on December 5, 1914.
My favorite part of the book is the section on Leontyne Price. It goes into so much detail and I feel like I can really relate to her. I especially like the part where her career really flourishes and she gets parts for different operas all the time. I like how she surprises everyone with what she can do, just a little black girl from Mississippi.
If you enjoy reading about different cultures and diffrerent times, you will thoroughly enjoy reading this book.
