The "Strong Black Woman" has been a part of mainstream culture for centuries, as a myth, a goddess, a positive role model, a stereotype, and as a burden. In Fierce Angels, Sheri Parks explores the concept of the Strong Black Woman, its influence on people of all races, and the ways in which black women respond to and are affected by this image. Drawing on original interviews, popular culture analysis, memoir, history, journalistic accounts, and excerpts from her radio show, Parks fashions a vivid narrative that depicts black women's roles and exposes long-buried assumptions and expectations. Originating in the ancient Sacred Dark Feminine as a nurturing and fierce goddess, the Strong Black Woman can be found in myths from every continent. Slaves and slave owners alike brought the legend to America, where the spiritual icon evolved into the secular Strong Black Woman, with examples ranging from the slave Mammy to the poet Maya Angelou. She continues to appear in popular culture in television and movies, such as Law and Orderand The Help,and as an inspirational symbol associated with the dispossessed in political movements, in particular from Africa. Fierce Angelschronicles the effect of the icon and presents the stories of historical and living black women, many of whom embody the role, with its positives and negatives, as a strategy for social justice. It is the only book that puts the icon in its historical and evolutionary context and presents a balanced account of its negative and positive impact on black culture. This is a new paperback edition, that has been revised from the hardcover edition to include two new chapters that expand on the transformative Dark Feminine in alchemy and western literature and a final chapter on the political uses and further potential of the Sacred Dark Feminine in social justice movements in the U.S. and abroad.