And Not Afraid To Dare

by Tonya Bolden

Biographical portraits of ten African-American women including Leontyne Price, Toni Morrison, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Feminism, History

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Author and publisher Tonya Wilyce Bolden was born on March 1, 1959, in New York City to Georgia Bolden, a homemaker, and Willie Bolden, a garment center shipping manager. Bolden grew up in Harlem in a musical family and loved to read; she attended Public M.E.S. 146, an elementary school in Manhattan, and then graduated from the Chapin School, a private secondary school, in Manhattan in 1976. Bolden attended Princeton University in New Jersey, and, in 1981, obtained her B.A. degree in Slavic languages and literature with a Russian focus. Bolden was also a University Scholar and received the Nicholas Bachko, Jr. Scholarship Prize.

Upon graduating from Princeton University, Bolden began working as a salesperson for Charles Alan, Incorporated, a dress manufacturer, while working towards her M.A. degree at Columbia University. In 1985, Bolden earned her degree in Slavic languages and literature, as well as a Certificate for Advanced Study of the Soviet Union from the Harriman Institute; after this she began working as an office coordinator for Raoulfilm, Inc., assisting in the research and development of various film and literary products. Bolden worked as an English instructor at Malcolm-King College and New Rochelle School of New Resources while serving as newsletter editor of the HARKline, a homeless shelter newsletter.

In 1990, Bolden wrote her first book, The Family Heirloom Cookbook. In 1992, Bolden co-authored a children’s book entitled Mama, I Want To Sing along with Vy Higginsen, based on Higginsen’s musical. Bolden continued publishing throughout the 1990s, releasing Starting a Business from your Home, Mail-Order and Direct Response, The Book of African-American Women: 150 Crusaders, Creators, and Uplifters, And Not Afraid to Dare: The Stories of Ten African-American Women, American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military from the Revolution to Desert Storm and The Champ. Bolden became editor of the Quarterly Black Review of Books in 1994, and served as an editor for 33 Things Every Girl Should Know, in 1998. Bolden’s writing career became even more prolific in the following decade; a partial list of her works include:, Our Souls: A Celebration of Black American Artists, Maritcha: A Nineteenth Century American Girl, MLK: Journey of a King, Take-Off: American All-Girl Bands During World War II, and George Washington Carver, a book she authored in conjunction with an exhibit about the famous African American inventor created by The Field Museum in Chicago.

(source; http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biogr...)

Reviews

[AaliyahT · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to anyone and everyone. This book by Tonya Bolden tells the story of many amazing African American women. This book tells how these women defied that set standards of the time and made their own destiny. Bolden tells the stories wonderfully. She tells the historical facts but still makes it interesting. This book can open peoples eyes to the racism and inequalities of the time. I think that everyone should read this book and I think most everyone would thoroughly enjoy it. It's an amazing book.

[Kayla Minter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has some really incredible stories about some amazing women.

The positives: I learned more about some women that I've heard of and learned about some others for the first time. I'm intrigued to go and read more about a few of them in particular. The chapters were short so it was an easy read to get through.

The negative: It was written in a dry, almost text book kind of way. I really don't think it would hold a middle grade child's attention very well and that is the audience it was written for.

[Misa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellen Craft-escaped slave
Charlotte Forten Grimké-Teacher
Mary Fields - Pioneer
Ida B.Wells -Journalist
Mary Mcleod Bethume - Educator
Clara Hale - Humanitarian
Leontyne Price - Opera singer
Toni Morrison - Writer
Mae C. Jemison - Astronaut
Jackie Joyner-Kersee -Athlete
Most amazing biographies. A book that I was happy to find at the local library.

[Halli Anteneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book grabbed my attention because of it's title. I love stories with racism, inequality. It shows me how life was before. Before things changed, before people were able able to stand up for themselves. And this book showed me how this amazing African-American women could do anything they put their minds on, with a little bit of fairy dust.

[Partridge Public]

bolden, tonya