Legacies

Legacies: African-American Female Pioneers is a collection of life stories of women who lived through the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s while residing in Charlotte, North Carolina. By sharing their stories of activism in the face of social and institutional racism, readers learn how women fought for freedom and equality in America.

Chapters One and Two of the book introduce the women in the context and history of the era in which they worked and lived. Readers learn about their experiences at segregated schools, hospitals, colleges, and universities, as well as their personal lives, raising families and working. Chapter Three includes highlights from the author’s interviews with the legacies, in which they emphasize the importance of friendship, unexpected allies, and serving the community during their years of activism. The final chapter features photographs and first-hand accounts from each of the women in the book, bringing their stories to life.

Deeply personal and endlessly inspiring, Legacies is an excellent supplementary text for courses in Africana studies, race and ethnic studies, or any course that studies the history of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.