The Book of Awesome Black Women: Sheroes, Boundary Breakers, and Females who Changed the World

by M.J. Fievre, Becca Anderson

Celebrate Black Women Who Changed History


Embrace Black girl magic and learn about the historical Blackwomen who made their impact on society as we know it. In The Book of Awesome Black Women, celebrate the power of Blackwomen who have shaped, and continue to shape, our future.

An uncensored history of the power of Blackwomen. Whether you learned about these women in school or not, these Blackwomen changed society and inspired future generations. Read all about women such as Sojourner Truth, Anita Hill, Wangari Maathai, Aretha Franklin, Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka and so many more. Packed with mini biographies of big she-ros, The Book of Awesome Blackwomen features mighty Blackwomen who are usually omitted from the history books. Discover their stories of strength, perseverance and talent.

The perfect gift for girls in your life. Driven by female empowerment, this collection of biographies tells the unique stories of strong voices that made a difference. From artists to activists, The Book of Awesome Black Women showcases a plethora of passions and skills to prove that strong is beautiful. These mighty Blackwomen prove that your passions and drive are the most powerful things you have.

Inside The Book of Awesome Black Women, you’ll learn to:

Recognize the importance of honoring Black intelligence, willpower, and passion
Celebrate the strength of these revolutionaries
Channel your inner womanhood
Discover powerful stories of accomplishments achieved by Blackwomen

If you enjoyed books like Herstory, The Book of Awesome Women, The Great Book of Badass Women, or Black Heroes, you’ll adore The Book of Awesome Black Women.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, Feminism, Biography

224 pages, Paperback

Published July 12, 2022

Reviews

[Tea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really cool book with a lot of great information. Unfortunately, as an audiobook, it becomes monotonous and hard to listen to. There are so many women covered in the book, which is great, but the information flies by too quickly without adequate pause for reflection between. I frequently found myself wondering at all the various things a woman had accomplished, only to realize that I had missed an introduction to someone new.

I would very much like to sit down with a paper copy that I could take in slowly and in pieces, hopefully there are pictures in the paper book too so that I can more easily remember the names of these important women.

[Sadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughout history, Black women have made vital contributions in disciplines including music, medicine, and space travel, but due to factors such as racism and lack of documentation their achievements have not been properly celebrated. In The Book of Awesome Black Women, M.J. Fievre and Becca Anderson celebrate the incredible achievements of Black women in history while also discussing institutional racism as a social justice issue. This book inspires young Black girls to be proud of who they are and to follow their dreams, no matter the obstacles. The aim of this essay is to summarize and critique this book. The Book of Awesome Black Women is composed of six chapters, each filled with biographies of women who have excelled in six different areas of society. Furthermore, many of the biographies follow a similar format, discussing the women's upbringings, educations, and professional lives. One of the themes showcased in the book is the institutional racism these Black women faced throughout these stages of their lives. For example, after graduating college during a time when women were rarely afforded an education, Kathyrn Peddrew was hired into NACA (later NASA’s) research division. However, she was later transferred to a segregated computing division once administrators learned that she was black. This example demonstrates the racism that was prevalent throughout the 1900’s, highlighting that although many of these women were qualified for certain positions, they were often discriminated against due to their race. This theme of institutional racism was prominent in many of these women’s biographies, but the themes of strength and passion within these women were emphasized even more. In each of these biographies, the women faced an uphill battle, whether it be a lack of education and resources, or even being born into slavery. Nonetheless these women pursued their dreams and passions, becoming powerful symbols of black girl magic. They became the first black female astronaut and the first black congresswoman, and nearly everything in between. These black women’s perseverance and passion despite discrimination inspires young black girls to hone their skills and be recognized for their own black girl magic.
The Book of Awesome Black Women inspires young girls by telling tales about accomplished Black women, however, it lacks specific details that could further improve its argument. Within the book there were about 15-20 biographies in each chapter. Since so many unique stories were included, it is possible that a large number of young Black girls reading the book could relate to the hardships these women faced, and the passion they had. Therefore, the amount of different biographies helped to further the message about following dreams despite obstacles and for this reason, the choice to have many biographies was a logical one. However, in some ways, the amount of biographies also caused them to be shorter in length and gloss over key ideas. Time and time again it was stated that the women faced obstacles, but the book did not always fully delve into what types of racism and social injustice they were dealing with. In the biographies that did outline specific obstacles, it helped to visualize truly how awe-inspiring it is that these women persevered. For example, Rebecca Lee Crumpler was one of the first women to earn a medical degree, but because of her race, many pharmacies would not fill the prescriptions she wrote. This obstacle highlights the racism she faced, making it all the more inspiring that she carried on with her career. Since so much of the book is about the oppression that these Black women faced, it also would have been effective to have more details on how they managed to overcome it. To illustrate, Christine Darden, who was hired into NASA, realized her male coworkers had more opportunities than she did. Consequently, she asked her supervisor why this was the case, and was soon transferred up to higher level positions. Not only did this biography highlight the disparity between job opportunities due to racism, but it also gave an example of how Ms. Darden persevered in the face of racism. Giving young girls resources and examples of how to advocate for themselves, in my opinion, is just as important as inspiring them to follow their dreams. Overall, The Book of Awesome Black Women achieves its sole purpose of making Black women and girls feel empowered, but I feel the book could be improved by using more specificity on the obstacles they faced as well as the tactics they used to prevail over them.

[Jodie Santer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel I need to explain my 3.5 star review. 

The topic and content of this book is so important. Learning about the lives and accomplishments of these incredible Black women was inspiring and highlighted how little we are taught about Black people and women in the British education system. 

However, I couldn't quite work out the purpose of this book or it's audience. The short chapters and, often, very brief biographies of these women felt like the book was aimed at a much younger audience, while the language used seemed to be aimed at adults. I also couldn't work out if this book was supposed to be exploring the lives of these women or merely listing them at times.

The book was both informative and inspirational, however I was left wanting more. I appreciate that it is not practical to include a full biography of fifty Black women in one book, it would be too long for one edition. However, I was left wanting to know more about all of these women. Yes, I can now complete my own research, I definitely will, however some women seemed to have little more than a sentence written about them. Their didn't seem to be a balance between the women who has several paragraphs dedicated to their life story and those whose name was mentioned in passing. 

I also found the structure of this book difficult to follow at times, although this may be due to listening to the audiobook book. The narrator would list a number of names, giving sometimes as little as a handful of words to summarise their achievements, before introducing the theme to the chapter. Sometimes these women were explored in more depth, sometimes their name was a passing reference. It was difficult to know which women would be discussed and which would not. Sometimes the women didn't seem to fit into the chapter in which they were placed, making the order seem jarring at times. 

An incredibly important book, I just wish there was more of it. 

[Lizzie (Dizzy Lizzie’s Book Emporium) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Mango Media / Tantor Audio for access to the audiobook of The Book of Awesome Black Women by M.J. Fievre and Becca Anderson in exchange for an honest review.

What a great book! This provides a thorough overview of many Black women throughout American history who have significantly shaped the social and political landscape. While I did enjoy this is an audiobook, I believe this book may be better as a physical copy, as I'm assuming that the text includes pictures, and short biographies of this nature are better consumed in written form. This book definitely serves as a jumping off point to learn more about black women's' contributions in America. This book is by no means exhaustive, and the authors even state in their conclusion that they look forward to hearing nominations of other amazing Black women to include in future volumes.

I have been spurred on to seek out additional memoirs and biographies of Black women by reading this book. I am not surprised that I had not previously heard of many of these women, as the American education system has a bias toward teaching primarily white washed history, but it is so disappointing that these stories are not taught in schools. Black women have been the proponents of so much innovation and change, and all children, but especially Black girls deserve to see themselves represented in school curricula. Black women are the future of this country, and I can't wait to learn more about the wonderful women who have left their indelible mark.

[Lauren McCullough · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great, easy read for anyone, but I would especially recommend it to parents of young readers and teens. Inside you'll discover a wonderful collection of short bios about Black women from many different backgrounds and interests.

Unfortunately, I only recognized some of the names mentioned in here, which is a perfect illustration of how important this kind of book is for everyone to read. I heard about a lot of amazing Black women's accomplishments and legacy's, and felt so inspired by their stories. I loved how accessible the book is because society/public education tends to over look how much women have contributed to so many different industries, and especially Black women.

This is a great jumping off point to start exploring the women mentioned more in depth, or to seek out others who weren't.

The audiobook is an excellent experience, and useful way to introduce the information to younger readers. You could easily have it playing in the car and get through a handful of bios and I imagine they would inspire some wonderful conversations.

***Thank you to Tantor Audio for providing me with the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Book of Awesome Black Women: Sheroes, Boundary Breakers, and Females who Changed the World (Paperback)
by M.J. Fievre

I am broadcasting this as far as my reach, this book needs to be in every school. As I listened to the remarkable short synapsis of each of these phenomenal women throughout U.S. History is could envision teachers sharing these stories. Most markedly in the wax museum presentations for fourth grade students. This book is the start of research for many students, as they not only get the name and the short story, but the fields and accomplishments of these women. I can see my fellow educators presenting Black history month with a stronger, support, as children listen or read about the characters featured on their periodic tables. I would hope that someone missed in the classroom history will be brought to light. The inspiration of all these women, not only help young girls, but all children know that history is not what limits them, just their determination. I hope the author gets her wish to write about more historical figures, and bringing more stories out.

[Karah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book serves as a primer for intensive reading on our awesome Black women. There's always something to learn: Cathay Williams was the Black woman to enlist in the US Army. An odd twist, she was born a slave in Independence, Missouri. If I'm thinking of the irony, she did, too. She gave her energy under the Buffalo Soldiers regiment. She could've fought undetected until she contracted smallpox. (A medical exam led to the discovery of her true sex.) Until now, the only Cathay I knew of was Cathay Pacific Airlines. How forward-thinking to be given an uncommon name as Cathay.

I have an objection: please give Robyn Rihanna Fenty more than two sentences for her biographical summary in future printings. Two sentences? Cold-blooded!!!

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy of the audiobook to review. I loved the variety of Black women covered in this book. Many of the people are in other books about important Black people while some I have never learned about. Some covered are people I know of but didn’t know the details included in here. My only issue was the snippets were often so short on some of the Black women that it left me wanting more. Ultimately, that will lead me to finding other books on them or searching for information online. Definitely recommend if you want an overview of many important Black women in history and modern day and a guide of who you may want to learn more about.

[Tayler · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the age of unlearning history rooted in patriarchy and white supremacy, The Book of Awesome Black Women is so important. This book does just as the title suggests, highlights important Black women from history that many people may not have realized contributed greatly to our society. I wish I had a book like this when I was a little girl.

Throughout The Book of Awesome Black Women, we get a glimpse of the lives of Black women who have contributed to the arts, the science field, the political world, religious spaces, sports, and more. We see women featured from the time of slavery to contemporary society, each one opening the doors for the women who came after them and who continue to open doors for others to come. Multiple generations of Black women are highlighted throughout time.

Of course one of the biggest limitations of books like this is that they provide such a limited view of the person’s life, because if they didn’t, it would go on forever. This length was perfect for young people to get a grasp of important, and in some cases unknown, contributions of these Black women to stoke the interest to learn more.

Something else I grappled with reading The Book of Awesome Black Women was how it was co-authored by a white woman. It is disheartening to know a book has to depend on a white woman to prop it up to get the notoriety needed to get it in front of audiences, especially non-Black audiences who need this information just as much as Black people. However, I do appreciate Anderson realizing the need for a book specifically dedicated to Black women and their contributions, and elevating a Black woman to co-author the project.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to all young readers. Again, this book opens the mind to the sheer amount of Black women who have often been erased from history and provides a stepping stone to learn more about their stories.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good informative book about a lot of black women who don’t get the credit they deserve. There were a lot of stories I wished went more in depth but this is more of an anthology & it’s written for teens so I can’t fault them for that. Looking at the years that some of these women were born was a good reminder of how we have come so far in a relatively short time (slavery wasn’t that long ago people & were still feeling the effects through institutional racism) but there is still more progress to be made

[Woody Johns · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a rapid-fire, scattershot, global display of the strength of will and determination of some of the most incredible people that have ever been on this planet. It stings to think that these women had to face so many forms of oppression, and to think of what more they could have added to the world had they not been facing adversity throughout their lives.
The format is relentless in its presentation of these Awesome Black Women, leaving no doubt in the mind of the reader.
To all creators out there, normalize Black women being awesome; to do anything else is simply unrealistic.
♥️

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This book was full of so many great first. I listened to it on audiobook and would recommend against that medium as it would have been nicer to take more time in between as opposed to jumping right on to the next. Because the book was so packed with black girl magic, it was hard for me to keep everyone straight and therefore wish there was a bit more ‘story’ to each person as opposed to their accomplishment or brief summary. Overall, a really informative read but would take it in smaller pieces as opposed to a straight through read.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black girl magic in a book.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

In fairness, it was hard as an audio book. Will definitely be purchasing a hard copy!

[Kaitlyn Ewoldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing recount of the countless of historic Black Women. It was like rapid fire biographies jammed packed with information. What I really like about this is that I can learn more about these individuals and really unpack their stories on my own. Great way to spread knowledge and recognition of these awesome ladies.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book of Awesome Black Women is a wonderful compilation of phenomenal Black women throughout recent history. It is full of short biographies on many women that were unfamiliar to me yet whose lives have impacted my everyday interactions with the world in positive and useful, even essential, ways. While the audiobook is great for people with visual impairments and print disabilities, I would recommend it as a tandem read with the print version if possible. It was a little hard to keep all the sheroes separate in my brain without a physical copy to reference as I listened. This would be a great gift for middle grade and upper elementary school readers as well as teachers and librarians.

Thanks to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for an advanced listening copy of this book.

[Jennifer Beard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this audiobook.

This was a fantastic overview of so many incredible black women and their contributions to our society. This would be a great addition to classroom libraries.

[Charmaine Si · Rating 5 out of 5]

very informative. I love our black female Sheroes!!!