A Shining Thread of Hope

A Shining Thread of Hope chronicles the lives of black women from indentured servitude in the early American colonies to the cruelty of antebellum plantations, from the reign of lynch law in the Jim Crow South to the triumphs of the Civil Rights era. Tracing the accomplishments, as well as the suffering, of black women through the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, the Depression, the Civil Rights movement, and the present day, Hine and Thompson challenge preconceived notions and move black women from the fringes of American history to a central position in our understanding of the forces and events that have shaped this country. More than a story of struggle, black women's history is very much a story of hope. In the face of great obstacles, black women strengthened their communities through the development of women's groups, charitable organizations, and political groups, and contributed to the larger community as writers, activists, educators, artists and leaders. A Shining Thread of Hope reveals this history, presenting the strength and courage of black women, both as individuals and as a collective force for positive change.

About the Author :
Darlene Clark Hine is John A. Hannah Professor of American History at Michigan State University and the coeditor of Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia. Kathleen Thompson is editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Black Women.

Review :
"A Shining Thread of Hope offers inspiration not just to African American women but to all people struggling to overcome injustice. [It conveys] immense amounts of information in graceful prose." --New York Times Book Review "Inspiring . . . this lively, well-written, and accessible history celebrates the grit and grace that have helped black American women survive and flourish." --USA Today "Remarkably grounded in the complexities of the historical record and of black women's lives, A Shining Thread of Hope examines the mythology of the American mainstream as well as demonstrates a scrupulous appreciation of black women as a powerful but largely unacknowledged force in American society." --Kirkus Reviews "A welcome, easily accessible, encyclopedic antidote to the prevailing stereotypes about black women. . . . The history offered here is invaluable reading." --Washington Post Book World "From time to time, a work of history itself makes history. A Shining Thread of Hope is such a book, marking a giant step in the creation of a more encompassing portrait of our nation's past." --Nell Irvin Painter, The News & Observer