Women in Black History , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Williams Jackson Tricia

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107 pages

English

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Within the pages of American history are the stories of remarkable African American women who have defied the odds, taken a stand for justice, and made incredible strides despite opposition from the culture around them. Now young readers can discover their exciting true stories in this eye-opening collection.From well-known figures like Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks to women rarely found in any history book, Women in Black History explores the lives of writers, athletes, singers, activists, and educators who have made an indelible mark on our country and our culture. Perfect for kids, but also for adults who like to read about important figures and unsung heroes, this collection will delight, surprise, and challenge readers.

Sujets

Philosophie et théologie

USA

États-Unis

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	29 décembre 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781493401772
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0432€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Title Page
Copyright Page
Text © 2016 by Tricia Williams Jackson Illustrations © 2016 by Tim Foley Illustration
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-0177-2
Scripture is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Illustrations by Tim Foley, timfoleyillustration.com
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 2
Copyright Page 3
A Word to the Reader 5
1. Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784) 9
2. Sojourner Truth (1797–1883) 21
3. Harriet Tubman (1822–1913) 33
4. Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823–1893) 47
5. Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825–1911) 59
6. Anna Julia Cooper (1858–1964) 67
7. Mary McLeod Bethune (1875–1955) 75
8. Marian Anderson (1897–1993) 89
9. Mahalia Jackson (1911–1972) 101
10. Rosa Parks (1913–2005) 113
11. Fannie Lou Hamer (1917–1977) 127
12. Althea Gibson (1927–2003) 139
13. Coretta Scott King (1927–2006) 149
14. Wilma Rudolph (1940–1994) 161
Now That You’ve Finished the Book . . . 171
About the Author 173
Back Ad 174
Back Cover 175
A Word to the Reader
The fourteen African-American women you are about to meet were real women. They walked the same earth you and I walk, and they made their unique mark upon it. You’ve heard of some of them, and some of them will be new names to you. Several of them started their lives in slavery. Most started their lives in poverty. Some overcame both of those conditions, some overcame physical disability, some overcame obstacles put in their way by society.
The earliest woman in this book was born in 1753—before the American Revolution took place—and the most recent woman was born in 1940—before the Civil Rights movement made positive changes for African Americans. Each woman accomplished so much, particularly for the times in which she lived. Each in her own way believed in God’s plan for her life—the reason she felt she was on this earth—even when the rest of the world threw roadblocks in her path.
With their unique gifts, a goal in mind, and faith to bolster their spirits, these fourteen women rose to heights nobody could possibly have imagined. Speaking before millions. Traveling the world. Writing for publication. Setting records in athletics. Starting schools. Marching for their rights and for the rights of others. Performing for kings and queens. Even becoming a friend to a US president. And always paving the way for the next woman.
Why is it so important to read about these remarkable women from long ago? Because they inspire us to think larger and broader than we ordinarily would about our own lives. They inspire us to wonder why we are here and to find out what God has in mind for us to do. And they inspire us to think beyond ourselves to the larger world.
You will read about terrible things done to some of these women—the worst kinds of physical violence, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, and discrimination. But here’s the thing they all had in common: they would not hate. Eventually each woman forgave the person, the people, the society—whatever burdened her. Then she moved on to do what she could to repair the world around her.
While each woman forgave, did she also forget? Not exactly—because she knew there must be justice. She also knew she had to pave a way for those who followed her, to help the next sister open a door that had been closed. And again, through it all, our fourteen women simply refused to hate. They are powerful examples for us all.
When I was in Sunday school, I often was told, “Remember, you are the only Bible some people will ever read.” That’s how these women lived. Most of them were not workers for a church—some could not even read—but each woman lived her faith. To those around her, she often exemplified a life guided by the love of Christ.
You will see in their stories that I refer to these great women by their first names. But if I were standing before them today, I would not speak to them by their first names—it would not be appropriate. I would address each woman as Miss, Mrs., Doctor—whichever title applies—followed by her last name. That would show my respect. But since I want to tell you their stories from childhood on, I chose to use their first names.
One more thing to keep in mind: thanks to the internet, we live in a world where it’s easy to access information. We need to remember, however, that while the internet is handy, its information is not always accurate. And the farther back in history we go, the harder it is to get facts. Sometimes I had to choose between conflicting details about a woman’s life. So I chose what seemed to make the most sense or what revealed the clearest truth.
I have enjoyed getting to know these fourteen women. It was a privilege to read and write about them. Now I’m eager to introduce you, the reader, to each one . . .
Tricia Williams Jackson
1 Phillis Wheatley
(1753–1784)

Imagination! Who can sing thy force?
Phillis Wheatley
On a chilly, overcast morning in 1761, the Boston slave market buzzed with activity. White Bostonians crowded around a stage to participate in something all too common in colonial America. They gathered to purchase human beings straight off the boats from Africa to become their personal slaves or to resell them to other white people for slaves.
Several dozen black Africans, including children, stood in a line across the stage and shivered in the damp bay air. Their ankles were chained together. Even the children wore special chains to fit their small ankles. Exhausted and filthy from the long ocean trip, these people had barely survived crossing the Atlantic Ocean. They had been chained in the belly of a slave ship called The Phillis . Some of their shipmates had not survived. All of that had been horrible enough. But what was going to happen next?
A thin child from the country of Senegal stood barefoot on the stage. Her ankle chains rubbed her skin. After so long at sea, she felt wobbly standing on land, but she held her ground. She wore a dirty, frayed dress too big for her and a headscarf that once had been brightly colored; now it was dirty from the journey.
The child spoke no English, so she didn’t understand a thing the throngs of people around her said. Everything was new and frightening—the shouting of the strangely clothed white men moving swiftly around her, the noisy jostling of the huge horses, the buildings taller than any she’d ever seen. She was shaken by the way the men milling about looked at her and sized her up for purchase, the same way her mother back home might size up chickens at the open-air market. She was even more shaken by the despair on the faces of her adult African shipmates standing with her on the auction block. The child looked around in silent panic.
Weeks before, she had been kidnapped from her village and her family in western Africa, torn from the only home she knew at the tender age of eight. Now, here in the New World, in Boston, Massachusetts, the child could not communicate anything to the people in charge—not her name, not the name of her village, nothing at all. She felt helpless and afraid.
Suddenly, all eyes were on her. She froze as a big man stood behind her, placed his hand on the top of her head, and shouted at the crowd. Men in the crowd called back and forth to the man, and after a time, the man behind her stepped to the side and began shouting again. All eyes moved off the child to the next person in line on the slave block.
By the time the long, confusing day was over, the little Senegalese girl was so tired she could hardly stand. Her chains were removed and left behind. Then she found herself tucked into a horse-drawn carriage and en route to what was to be her new home. She had been purchased by a white man by the name of Mr. John Wheatley, and he and his driver hurried them through the streets as the sun went down.
The carriage stopped at a very large house with many windows, and the child was led inside. The woman of the house, Susanna Wheatley, was powdery white and wearing a dress that made swishing noises when she moved. She smiled at the child while speaking with her husband in their strange language, and she seemed kind. Then the child was taken away by a black woman in white people’s clothing who also did not speak anything understandable but was kind and gentle. She helped the child into a hot water bath, dried her with a large towel, slipped an oversized white nightgown over her head, then tucked her into the first bed of the child’s young life. Once the child adjusted to the softness of the bed, she slept long and hard.
The next morning, the little girl from Senegal was given new clothes and a name: Phillis Wheatley, her first name after the slave ship that had brought her to America’s shores and her last name after the man who had purchased her. It was the custom at the time for a slaveholder to give his last name to the enslaved.
That day, as little Phillis looked around her new setting and felt stiff shoes on her feet for the first time in her life, she knew everything for her was changed forever. In her heart, something shut down. From that day on, it would be as if her life before the ocean journey had never happened; she would never recall her original name after this day. In fact, for the rest of her life, she would remember nothing of her beginning years in Senegal except one vivid image: a sunny African morning in which she watched her tall, willowy mother pour water from a jug.

Phillis Wheatley was born in Senegal, probab