New Book: 

Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All

by Martha S. Jones 

352 pages.

hardcover, $30.00

Basic Books, 2020.

This is an important book for all of us that has just been published in September, 2020. It interestingly tells the history of how black women fought for their right to vote, for overcoming various barriers restricting their vote, and the relevance for all voters. Anyone interested in civil rights, public access, and the political process should read this.

Like all civil rights laws, the Nineteenth Amendment was an achievement, but much remained - and remains - to be done.

From the Amazon description:

"In Vanguard, acclaimed historian Martha S. Jones offers a new history of African American women's political lives in America. She recounts how they defied both racism and sexism to fight for the ballot, and how they wielded political power to secure the equality and dignity of all persons. From the earliest days of the republic to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and beyond, Jones excavates the lives and work of black women -- Maria Stewart, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Fannie Lou Hamer, and more -- who were the vanguard of women's rights, calling on America to realize its best ideals."