Review: Finding Charity's Folk: Enslaved and Free Black Women in Maryland

Finding Charity's Folk: Enslaved and Free Black Women in Maryland by Jessica Millward
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a short book that looks at how enslaved women in colonial Maryland negotiated their freedom. Although Millward follows the life of former slave Charity Folk as an example of one woman who gained freedom through manumission, she actually covers a broader history of enslaved women and their family dynamics. Millward researched a plethora of manumission records and followed Charity Folk's family throughout the ages, connecting with her descendants, as well as those of her master's.

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Review: Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution

Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution by David Carter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

At the heart of Greenwich Village, NY, sits the Stonewall Inn. In 1969, this mafia-run gay bar became the site of a large riot that led to the rising of the Gay Revolution. The area of Greenwich Village near Christopher Park was known as a place where many gay, young, homeless men, struggled to survive or to purposely live among the people they could best identify with. It was also an area heavily run by the mafia. This was also a time when the country was in turmoil due to the Vietnam war, Civil Rights, Women's Liberation, and the rise of the New Left.

To avoid red tape and extra costs, the Stonewall Inn was run as an exclusive club, rather than a bar. The cops were paid off to avoid the area, but occasional raids happened during off-hours to keep up appearances, until one night, Deputy Police Inspector Seymour Pine hatched a plan to close the bar down for good. In a spontaneous raid, Pine and his laches raided the place, sparking a 2-night riot. Many involved in the gay community and supporters of the inn's patrons instigated the riots and eventually started a revolution by coordinating the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activist Alliance. Author David Carter profiles key figures involved in the riots, the atmosphere in the gay community, and the events that led up to the raid on June 28, 1969.

Also covered is the aftermath of the riots and the work of GLF and GAA in the months following, as well as the fight for the basic rights of the gay community. This is an important story that needs to be told. The 60s were a time of change and revolution. It was a time that many fought for simple civil rights for minority groups: women, blacks, ethnic groups, and LGBTQ.

This book is very well researched, very readable, and very enlightening.



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Review: Remaking Black Power: How Black Women Transformed an Era

Remaking Black Power: How Black Women Transformed an Era by Ashley D. Farmer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a comprehensive look at the image of black womanhood in the era of the Black Power movement. Dr. Ashley Farmer details 5 different images of black womanhood: The Militant Negro Domestic (1945-1965), The Black Revolutionary Woman (1966-1975), The African Woman (1965-1975), The Pan-African Woman (1972-1976), and The Third World Black Woman (1970-1979).

The author argues that in the 1960s black women were the most oppressed people in our nation. Black women suffered ternary oppression in class, gender, and race. Forging their path of activism on the heels of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, African-American women set out to reinvent their image and fight for equal rights. Utilizing the writings and art of the time, Ashley D. Farmer focuses her book “Remaking Black Power: How Black Women Transformed an Era” on the activism and ideology of black womanhood.

Ashley Farmer’s central theme centers around the idea that black women are at the heart of many activist groups in the 1960s and 1970s. The work of these women goes beyond the day to day activism under the leadership of men of the Black Power era. These women redefined black womanhood through the contributions of activists like Joan Bird, Amina Baraka, and Kathleen Neal Cleaver.

This is the definitive book on the women of the Black Power movement. It's a great resource on civil rights and activism from the 1950s through the 1970s. I particularly liked the chapter on the Black Panther organization and the women (Pantherettes) that helped form and run the group. It clarified their ideology and their reason for taking a militant stance in a tumultuous time in history. This book is eye-opening and its themes resonate today when civil and human rights are issues that are still at the forefront of the nation's mind.

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