Black Women's Lives: Stories of Power and Pain -- Twenty Years Later (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781978845657)

When author Kristal Brent Zook first began writing Black Women's Lives: Stories of Power and Pain, nearly 20 years ago, the reality of so many Black women's lived experiences was still not something that was widely portrayed or discussed in mainstream media. There had been some films and some books, but a larger, nationwide reckoning with historical racism in America would not come, truly, until the summer of 2020, with the murder of George Floyd. Suddenly, ordinary citizens and activists of all ages and races came forward, crowding the streets and demanding change. Black women, too, began to receive national media attention following the police murder of Breonna Taylor and the #SayHerName social justice movement. Since then, the United States also elected its first Black president, Barack Obama, and its first Black vice president, Kamala Harris. The country has also witnessed massive political and social backlash as a result of these gains, in the form of white anger and violence.

The timing for a refreshed look at these women's lives has never been better.

In it, readers are invited into the intimate spaces of ten African American women from all walks of life, in cities and towns across the country. Twenty years later, we revisit them to learn how their lives have evolved. There are fresh new codas at the end of each chapter; addendums that illustrate how the women have fared over the last two decades. Did they achieve their dreams? What twists and turns did they meet along the way? How have they managed to meet life's challenges? What triumphs have they celebrated and what losses have they mourned? It's a rare privilege to be able to track a life over twenty years. This book offers a peek into the interior lives of women that readers have come to care about and pull for.