Sisters in the Struggle: African American Women in the Civil Rights-Black Power Movement

Sisters in the Struggle documents the contributions of African American women to the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power era, a period of major social reform in twentieth-century United States. The collection presents essays and personal testimonies from women whose roles in these movements have only recently received historical recognition. The book examines the work of key figures including Ella Baker, who helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1960; Fannie Lou Hamer and her public activism; and Septima Clark, who created "Citizenship Schools" to teach literacy and voter registration to poor Black southerners. It also covers Black women's involvement in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, the Black Panther Party, and the Free Joan Little Movement in the 1970s. Personal accounts from Rosa Parks, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, and Dorothy Height are included. The collection analyzes the multifaceted roles women played in civil rights and Black Power organizations at local, state, and national levels, while documenting the development of Black feminist consciousness. It includes contributions from multiple scholars and activists.