Lifting As We Climb

YA nonfiction 

     "The history of suffrage in the United States remains pertinent beyond the centennial milestone.  I hope this book serves as an introduction to the overlooked and forgotten Black women who helped permanently reshape America.  It celebrates their triumphs, honors their sacrifices, and gives them the stickers and flowers they've long deserved."

     Last year during the pandemic we hit the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage.  As celebration worthy as this was, it's not something we can just acknowledge and move on from.  As Evette Dionne tells us in Lifting As We Climb: Black Women Battle For The Ballot Box, we haven't been given the whole story about suffrage or the sobering truth that for a sizable number of Black women voting remains aspirational or tenuous rather than a done deal.  She presents readers with three inconvenient truths.

     Inconvenient truth 1: the history of women's suffrage has been whitewashed.  The suffragists we're taught about were white.  Some pretty awesome Black women were also in the fight.  You can read about them in the book.

     Inconvenient truth 2: the fight for suffrage wasn't all us against the world.  White and Black suffragists were often not on the same page.  Some white suffragists were also incredibly racist.  As Kate Gordon said in 1901,

     "The question of white supremacy is one that will be decided by giving the right of the ballot to the educated, intelligent white women of the south...Their vote will eliminate the question of the Negro in politics and it will be a glad, free day for the south when the ballot is placed in the hands of its intelligent, cultured, pure and noble womanhood."

It seems like some of the white women back then were more than willing to throw Black women under the horse and buggy.  Dionne gives us a much more nuanced and complicated analysis of suffrage dynamics than we usually get.

     Inconvenient truth 3: Suffrage for all women is not a done deal.  Suppression of Black votes is sadly on the rise once again.

     If women's suffrage is important to you you'll find Lifting As We Climb to be a must read.

On a purrrsonal note, Eugene went to Winterport both yesterday and today.  I stayed home with Tobago.  I had two big tasks I wanted to achieve.  I did fine on the first which was getting my studio organized for fall semester.  It's almost exactly the way I want it.  I bombed the second which is getting a little ahead on homework for the class that is the academic component of internship.  Computer skills are my Achilles heel.  The syllabus is jam packed with computer tasks, nearly all of which are sadly missing from my skill set.  The only thing I was sure I could handle was getting on zoom for the first class and telling people about my internship.  Only when I tried to go to zoom church my laptop told me to install a new edition which I totally couldn't.  Unless I can get someone to help me I'll be blowing off the first class which is not the way to make a good impression. (Jules)

She'll pass the class.  Lots of people will be more than happy to help. (Tobago)

A great big shout out to the people who hopefully show up to help me pass the class.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

     

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