Black Women Taught Us

“Jenn M. Jackson is a beautiful writer and excellent scholar. In this book, they pay tribute to generations of Black women organizers and set forward a bold and courageous blueprint for our collective liberation.”—Imani Perry, author of South to America

“Jenn M. Jackson’s debut pays homage to the Black women who led movements for freedom, justice and liberation in the U.S. and around the globe. From Audre Lorde to Ida B. Wells, Jackson’s eleven critical and thoughtful essays illuminate these leaders and implore us to learn from their legacies.”—Ms., “Our Favorite Books of the Year”

“Jackson’s love letter to Black women and girls, past, present, and future, is a balm for weary souls, a reclamation, a psalm, a grounding, centering, deeply erudite book that uses the intellectual legacy of Black feminists to remind us of the stuff we are made of. In a world deeply committed to ignoring, mishearing, and disregarding Black women, to forgetting them, this book will not let us forget. It demands we remember. And it buoys us, reminding us that in our quest for freedom, Black feminists have always known the way, or made one.”—Brittney Cooper, author of Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower

“With their clear, deliberate prose, Jackson takes everything that makes their Teen Vogue column and academic writing special and elevates it to new heights. Each chapter is a coming-of-age vignette that offers a vital lesson in Black feminist theory.”—Evette Dionne, author of Lifting as We Climb

“Black Women Taught Us is a powerful and hopeful love letter to the Black feminist thinkers, writers, activists, and organizers who have fought for our liberation. It is an essential, life affirming text.”—George M. Johnson, author of All Boys Aren’t Blue

“In their enlightening new book, Black Women Taught Us, Jenn M. Jackson celebrates the iconic Black feminists who built a movement, and also shares their own personal story of growing and learning with these brilliant canonical thinkers. It is intimate and essential reading, a beautiful bridge connecting ancestral and contemporary Black women activists.”—Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

“[Jackson’s book] ably highlights the longstanding importance and contemporary relevance of Black feminism, as well as the challenges that remain in having its voices heard and acted upon properly. Galvanizing appraisals of Black women’s enduring search for freedom.”—Kirkus Reviews