African American women in Congress

the long version

This remarkable book by LaVerne Gill preserves the history of the struggles and accomplishments of fifteen courageous women, and will move others to learn from and follow their example. Readers are introduced to issues of vital importance to the Black community - Reconstruction, enfranchisement, lynching, civil rights struggles, the founding of advocacy groups, the power of the Congressional Black Caucus, the creation of majority minority districts that allowed greater representation in Congress, the struggle of largely Black Washington, D.C., for representation, and the recent dismantling of past gains by a Republican majority. Gill also describes the uphill battles for social justice and the rights of women that the fifteen women had to wage even within their own political parties, political organizations, and districts.