TRAILBLAZERS Vol. 3

When you think about important Black historical figures, names like Frederick Douglass and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. come to mind. But there is no denying that black women have been breaking down barriers and shattering stereotypes for generations by playing a powerful and important role in American history. In TRAILBLAZERS, Black Women Who Helped Make America Great, American Firsts/American Icons, Volume 3 by Gabrielle David shines a light on these historically marked footholds, which often led to widespread cultural change. TRAILBLAZERS is a six-volume series that examines the lives and careers of over 400 brilliant women from the eighteenth century to the present who blazed uncharted paths in every conceivable way.

Each TRAILBLAZERS volume is organized into three to four sections. Besides providing biographical information written in a warm and welcoming tone, replete with powerful photographs, David provides a historical timeline for each section written from the viewpoint of Black women that maps out the significance of the featured women that follow. TRAILBLAZERS honors the Black women who have made a special mark in their communities and in doing so, inspired the next generation.

Volume 3 features literature, business, the military, and film, music and television production. We are reminded that literary greats like Gwendolyn Brooks and Toni Morrison rest on the iconic firsts of Lucy Terry, Phillis Wheatley and Harriet E. Wilson, with a new generation who continue to blaze the trail in Natasha Trethewey, and Jesmyn Ward. Throughout the series, as David introduces these women, they are not always in predictable ways. We learn that Black ingenuity and entrepreneurship began during slavery with the likes of Mary Ellen Pleasant who emerged as a millionaire, with Maggie Lena Walker, Annie Minerva Turnbo Malone, and Ernesta G. Procope paving the way for the likes of Oprah Winfrey. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter makes an appearance here as a businesswoman, reminding us of her multifaceted talent. David explores the Black women who dared to persistently pursue their right to serve in the United States Armed Forces, even when they were not considered American citizens, and barred from official military status. They served as early as the Civil War, beginning with nurse, cook, and laundress, Susie King Taylor, and Cathay Williams, who enlisted in the United States Regular Army as a man. Because of their tenacity, over 100 years later we are able to celebrate the ascension of United States Navy Admiral Michelle Janine Howard, and United States Marine Corp. Brigadier General Lorna Mahlock. Although Black women filmmakers have been productive as early as the early 1900s, few have been able to break through the celluloid ceiling. Despite these challenges, notable contributions have been made by Black women in film, music and television production, like pioneering filmmakers Jessie Maple and Kathleen Collins, film directors like Gina Prince-Bythewood, television producer Shonda Rhimes, and music producers like Sylvia Robinson and Suzanne de Passe. What binds these women together is that as they struggled on the front lines, they shook-up the status quo of Black people in America.

With painstaking research, David has created an affordable and visually appealing accessible reference book. From the foremothers who blazed trails and broke barriers, to the women who follow in their footsteps, TRAILBLAZERS offers powerful and inspiring role models for women and girls from all cultural backgrounds, and for the intellectually curious. TRAILBLAZERS is a clarion call for recognition of the transformative work Black women have done and continue to do. Written in accessible prose that contains personal reflections for a broad audience, TRAILBLAZERS also serves as a vital reference guide for use in schools and libraries.