A Black Woman Did That

A Black Woman Did That! spotlights vibrant, inspiring black women whose accomplishments have changed the world for the better.

A Black Woman Did That! is a celebration of strong, resilient, innovative, and inspiring women of color. With a vibrant mixture of photography, illustration, biography, and storytelling, author Malaika Adero will spotlight well-known historical figures and women who are pushing boundaries today—from Rosa Parks, Shirley Chisholm, Althea Gibson, and Mae Jamison to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Mo’Ne Davis, Simone Biles, and Ava DuVernay.

Readers will recognize some names in the book, but will also be introduced to many important black women who have changed history or who are reshaping the cultural landscape. They’ll learn:

*how the activism of Bree Newsome resulted in the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina State House.
*how Barbara Harris became the first female bishop of the Episcopal Church
*how mathematician Katherine Johnson’s work at NASA was key to getting American astronauts to the moon
*how Alicia Garza, Patrisse Collins, and Opal Tometi launched the Black Lives Matter movement
*how Mary Fields crisscrossed the country on horseback in the 1890s as the first woman to drive a mail coach
*how the work and inventions of Dr. Patricia Bath have saved or restored the eyesight of people around the world

Entries on each woman or group will highlight their accomplishments, their world-changing words, and the ways in which their lives and actions have made the world a better place.

The book will also include a robust resource list of books, audio and visual recordings, and links, inviting readers, parents, and teachers to learn even more about the amazing black women featured in the book.

Malaika Adero, author of Up South: Stories, Studies and Letters of This Century’s African American Migrations (The New Press, 1993) and co-author of Speak, So You Can Speak Again: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston (Doubleday, 2003) with Dr. Lucy Hurston. Shorter published works have appeared in many anthologies and periodicals including Mending the World, edited by Rosemary Robotham, Black Southern Voices by edited by James Early & John O. Killens, Essence magazine, AOL Black Voices, and Black Enterprise. She’s based in New York City and Atlanta, Georgia.