A Shining Thread of Hope

"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