In 1972, when she was eighty years old, Alma’s paintings were exhibited by the Whitney Museum of American Art. This was the first-ever solo exhibition of an African American woman artist at one of America’s most important art museums.
This entry is about Alma Woodsey Thomas. She was born in Georgia just three decades after the abolition of slavery and would become the first student accepted into Howard University’s art department. The entry on Thomas—who would live until 1978—is representative of the book as a whole. The focus on a relatively little-known artist characterizes the broad span of inclusion within the biographies.
Bessie grew up in a small, segregated town in Texas. At home, with three younger siblings around, she had a lot of responsibilities—washing clothes by hand, fetching clean water—on top of walking four miles to school and back every day.
This is the opening paragraph to the biographical sketch of Bessie Coleman. In 1921, she became the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license. Of course, it probably goes without saying, she had to temporarily exile herself from the country—to France—in order to even get a flight school to accept her. This opening paragraph is characteristic of the text as a whole in that it not only provides birth and childhood background, but illuminates the commonality of hardship during childhood most of these women experienced.
Oprah’s career did not stop with television. She had produced movies and plays and launched her own television network and a magazine. She has written books and created the hugely influential Oprah’s Book Club. She has won countless awards and was only the second African American woman billionaire.
Not all the women featured in the book are as marginally famous as the two above examples. In addition to the above entry on Oprah Winfrey, there are biographical sketches of iconic names black female history such as Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Ella Fitzgerald, among others. This comprehensive coverage of historical figures is an essential element in making the book ideal for school curricula.
