Lifting as We Climb: Black women's battle for the ballot box by Evette Dionne. 176 p. Viking/ Penguin Random House, April 21, 2020. 9780451481542. (Review of arc courtesy of publisher.)
Fact Friday features Lifting as We Climb: Black women's battle for the ballot box by Evette Dionne. June 4, 2019 and August 20, 2020 mark the one hundredth anniversary of ratification of women's right to vote and the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution respectively. While this is certainly something to celebrate, the women's suffrage movement was not always unified and accepting of all women. Quite a bit of racism and classism existed.
Women of color wanted the right to vote; but they also wanted their husbands, fathers and brothers, who technically, already had the right to vote, to be able to vote without fear of violence or unfair poll taxes and literacy tests. They also wanted the Federal government to classify lynching a federal crime. The author connects the dots between the work of abolitionists and suffragists from the early 1800s all the way to the Civil Rights Movement and the Voting Rights Act of 1964, an act which is slowly being dismantled at this time.
Well researched, yet accessible and riveting, Lifting as We Climb is historical narrative non-fiction at its finest and sure to inspire a new generation of social justice activists. The text is peppered with black and white photographs of Black suffragists, both well- and lesser-known, and photos of primary source documents, such as news clippings. Text boxes contain mini-biographies of many of these women. Back matter was marked TK in the arc. I am really looking forward to rereading the finished version not only for the missing photos, but also to dip into the sources and suggestions for further reading.
I recently read The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee. (Review scheduled for Tuesday, April 14) The scenes depicting the treatment of Black women and the mc, who was Chinese attempting to join the local women's suffrage meeting in the south were so resonant and painful that I seethed. I was then reminded of my women's studies classes from so, so long ago, where I learned about some of this. So, I was familiar with many of the women mentioned in Lifting as We Climb, but learned about quite a few more. I am seething again and want to write letters and punch things.
Lifting as We Climb belongs in every high school and public library. I will most likely purchase it for my middle school library for that rare and lovely student who reads voraciously. Adults should read it as well. And they should get out and vote! Teen readers who are interested in history, Civil Rights and social justice should not miss this book.
