Life, I Swear


Book Description

Foreword by Elaine Welteroth In this stunningly illustrated essay collection inspired by the popular podcast Life, I Swear, prominent Black women reflect on self-love and healing, sharing stories of the trials and tribulations they’ve faced and what has helped them confront pain, heal wounds, and find connection. With essays by Eniafebiafe Isis Adewale • Lauren Ash • Gabrielle Williams • Lindsey Farrar • Nneke Julia • Elaine Welteroth • Meryanne Loum-Martin • Lili Lopez • Deun Ivory • Morgan Ashley • Dydine Umunyana • Adriana Parrish • Orixa Jones • Offeibea Obubah • Alex Elle • Kalkidan Gebreyohannes • Esther Boykin • Brooke Hall • Qimmah Saafir • Josefina H. Sanders • Julee Wilson • Shay Jiles • Danasia Fantastic A mixture of poignant essays, gorgeous photography, and sophisticated design elements, Life, I Swear is a chronicle of transformation and growth by and for modern-day Black women. Some of today’s most influential Black female voices chronicle their private journeys, offering testimonies of living through pain and joy with raw honesty and unapologetic self-love. In each episode of her podcast, Life, I Swear, emotive storyteller Chloe Dulce Louvouezo explores the nuances of our diverse experiences. In one-on-one interviews and personal prose, the podcast centers on personal stories that offer universal insights into topics relevant to modern women’s lives, from identity and family to trauma and motherhood, told through the lens of Black women. A catalyst for change, this revelatory book builds on the premise of the podcast by diving deeper into themes of mental health, identity and resilience. Life, I Swear is sure to spark lively, thought-provoking, and necessary conversations that encourage Black women to return home to themselves through self-examination and grace. Life, I Swear features 100-125 full-color photographs throughout.




Empowered Black Girl


Book Description

Youth Empowerment for Black Teen Girls from Famous Black Women “It’s time for us Black girls and Black women to be empowered, and I’m glad we have Fievre to show us the way.”―Monique Jones, author of The Book of Awesome Black Americans #1 Best Seller in Teen & Young Adult Nonfiction on Prejudice Even strong, fearless, and badass Black teen girls and Black women need empowering words of affirmation. Now more than ever, we must give our minds and bodies the TLC they deserve because Black women empowerment begins with the youth empowerment of Black teen girls. Author of Badass Black Girl, M.J Fievre brings you inspirational words of wisdom through famous Black women who have changed the world, including Audre Lorde, Lupita Nyong'o and Angela Davis. Take a deep breath. We don’t always have to be strong. It’s essential for Black women and Black teen girls to understand that taking a break to focus on our mental health is bravery. We, too, need reminders and empowering words of affirmation that we are incredible and enough. Empowered Black Girl teaches you to: Master using daily words of affirmation Experience a life filled with love, Black joy, fulfillment, and satisfaction Take control of your destiny and direct your future Strengthen your self-esteem and youth empowerment If you enjoyed empowering books like Badass Black Girl, Badass Affirmations, Well-Read Black Girl, or Brave: A Teen Girl’s Guide to Beating Worry and Anxiety, then you’ll love Empowered Black Girl: Joyful Affirmations and Words of Resilience.




A Black Women's History of the United States


Book Description

The award-winning Revisioning American History series continues with this “groundbreaking new history of Black women in the United States” (Ibram X. Kendi)—the perfect companion to An Indigenous People’s History of the United States and An African American and Latinx History of the United States. An empowering and intersectional history that centers the stories of African American women across 400+ years, showing how they are—and have always been—instrumental in shaping our country. In centering Black women’s stories, two award-winning historians seek both to empower African American women and to show their allies that Black women’s unique ability to make their own communities while combatting centuries of oppression is an essential component in our continued resistance to systemic racism and sexism. Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross offer an examination and celebration of Black womanhood, beginning with the first African women who arrived in what became the United States to African American women of today. A Black Women’s History of the United States reaches far beyond a single narrative to showcase Black women’s lives in all their fraught complexities. Berry and Gross prioritize many voices: enslaved women, freedwomen, religious leaders, artists, queer women, activists, and women who lived outside the law. The result is a starting point for exploring Black women’s history and a testament to the beauty, richness, rhythm, tragedy, heartbreak, rage, and enduring love that abounds in the spirit of Black women in communities throughout the nation.




Self-Care for Black Women


Book Description

Prioritize your wellbeing with these 150 self-care exercises designed specifically to help Black women revitalize their outlook on life, improve their mental health, eliminate stress, and self-advocate. Between micro- and macro-aggressions at school, at work, and everywhere in between, it’s tough to prioritize physical and mental wellness as a Black woman, especially with a constant news cycle highlighting Black trauma. Now, with The Self-Care for Black Women you’ll find more than 150 exercises that will help you radically choose to put yourself first. Whether you need a quick pick-me-up in the middle of the day, you’re working through feelings of burnout, or you need to process a microaggression, this book has everything you need to feel more at peace. You’ll find prompts like: -Map out your feelings about a microaggression -Make a list of your safe spaces -Detail out an entire day dedicated to your self-care -And more! It’s time to put yourself first and prioritize your self-care once and for all—and this book is here to help you do just that.




The Promise of Patriarchy


Book Description

The patriarchal structure of the Nation of Islam (NOI) promised black women the prospect of finding a provider and a protector among the organization's men, who were fiercely committed to these masculine roles. Black women's experience in the NOI, however, has largely remained on the periphery of scholarship. Here, Ula Taylor documents their struggle to escape the devaluation of black womanhood while also clinging to the empowering promises of patriarchy. Taylor shows how, despite being relegated to a lifestyle that did not encourage working outside of the home, NOI women found freedom in being able to bypass the degrading experiences connected to labor performed largely by working-class black women and in raising and educating their children in racially affirming environments. Telling the stories of women like Clara Poole (wife of Elijah Muhammad) and Burnsteen Sharrieff (secretary to W. D. Fard, founder of the Allah Temple of Islam), Taylor offers a compelling narrative that explains how their decision to join a homegrown, male-controlled Islamic movement was a complicated act of self-preservation and self-love in Jim Crow America.




Empowering Women of Color


Book Description

This is the first textbook to address the specific but polymorphous needs of women of color. With the help of guest authors, Gutierrez and Lewis provide an excellent framework through which social workers can more effectively aid women of color in their ongoing struggle against systemic oppression.




The Memo


Book Description

From microaggressions to the wage gap, The Memo empowers women of color with actionable advice on challenges and offers a clear path to success. Most business books provide a one-size-fits-all approach to career advice that overlooks the unique barriers that women of color face. In The Memo, Minda Harts offers a much-needed career guide tailored specifically for women of color. Drawing on knowledge gained from her past career as a fundraising consultant to top colleges across the country, Harts now brings her powerhouse entrepreneurial experience as CEO of The Memo to the page. With wit and candor, she acknowledges "ugly truths" that keep women of color from having a seat at the table in corporate America. Providing straight talk on how to navigate networking, office politics, and money, while showing how to make real change to the system, The Memo offers support and long-overdue advice on how women of color can succeed in their careers.




Black Girls Can


Book Description

BLACK GIRLS CAN: AN EMPOWERING STORY OF YESTERDAYS AND TODAYS parallels ten courageous Black women with today's little girl, demonstrating how the courageous actions of yesterdays can help today's young girls shine.REVIEWS:“Black Girls Can is a beautifully illustrated book that educates and inspires young girls to dream big. A much needed collection of mini-affirmations to help our girls see that there are unlimited possibilities for what they can achieve.”~Alonda Williams, mom of two and author of Penny and Magic Puffballs“With this powerful little book, Garlinghouse re-affirms a truth all young girls should hear; yes, they can. The bold, striking artwork by Ardvidson consists of side by side pictures of historic African American women and contemporary young girls at play, and simply reinforces the timeless message." ~Alison Donnelly, children's librarian and mother of one daughter”This lovely book teaches little girls stories about real women who have created positive change in their communities and the world. Reading it together is a great conversation starter to inspire and motivate your daughter.”~Arnica Rowan, mom of two girls and owner of Africa Sleeps"Black Girls Can introduces history makers in a way that makes them relatable while affirming the talents of our daughters." ~ Kelly Greenawalt, mother of four, and author of Princess Truly and The Hungry Bunny Problem and I Am Truly “Black Girls Can delivers a message that young black girls need to hear. The book empowers and educates its readers, demonstrating that there are no barriers too difficult to overcome while providing examples of leaders that have paved the way."~Blake Washington, author of the children's book Hooray for Helium“Black Girls Can is a long overdue representation and organized historical account of ten courageous and powerful African American women. The beautiful, age appropriate illustrations, bring these remarkable women to life so they can continue to inspire young girls of all races.”-Cindy Jeffries Akeman, mother of two, and Speech-Language Pathologist




Birthing Justice


Book Description

There is a global crisis in maternal health care for black women. In the United States, black women are over three times more likely to perish from pregnancy-related complications than white women; their babies are half as likely to survive the first year. Many black women experience policing, coercion, and disempowerment during pregnancy and childbirth and are disconnected from alternative birthing traditions. This book places black women's voices at the center of the debate on what should be done to fix the broken maternity system and foregrounds black women's agency in the emerging birth justice movement. Mixing scholarly, activist, and personal perspectives, the book shows readers how they too can change lives, one birth at a time.




The Strong Black Woman


Book Description

Major Health Crisis Among Black Women Generated from Systemic Racism “Marita Golden’s The Strong Black Woman busts the myth that Black women are fierce and resilient by letting the reader in under the mask that proclaims ‘Black don’t crack.’” ―Karen Arrington, coach, mentor, philanthropist, and author of NAACP Image Award-winning Your Next Level Life Sarton Women’s Book Award #1 New Release in Reference Meet Black women who have learned through hard lessons the importance of self-care and how to break through the cultural and family resistance to seeking therapy and professional mental health care. The Strong Black Woman Syndrome. For generations, in response to systemic racism, Black women and African American culture created the persona of the Strong Black Woman, a woman who, motivated by service and sacrifice, handles, manages, and overcomes any problem, any obstacle. The syndrome calls on Black women to be the problem-solvers and chief caretakers for everyone in their lives―never buckling, never feeling vulnerable, and never bothering with their pain. Hidden mental health crisis of anxiety and depression. To be a Black woman in America is to know you cannot protect your children or guarantee their safety, your value is consistently questioned, and even being “twice as good” is often not good enough. Consequently, Black women disproportionately experience anxiety and depression. Studies now conclusively connect racism and mental health―and physical health. Take care of your emotional health. You deserve to be emotionally healthy for yourself and those you love. More and more young Black women are re-examining the Strong Black Woman syndrome and engaging in self-care practices that change their lives. Hear stories of Black women who: Asked for help Built lives that offer healing Learned to accept healing If you have read The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health, The Racial Healing Handbook, or Black Fatigue, The Strong Black Woman is your next read.