IRB Media Summary of Daina Ramey Berry & Kali Nicole Gross' A Black Women's History of the United States

Annotation

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 The first Black women to step foot on American soil were not enslaved. They were free, and they traveled with Spanish and Portuguese explorers.#2 Black women arrived during a period of European conquest, colonization, and chaos. They were among the first nonindigenous explorers of the region. Their history can be uncovered through Spanish archival records and a host of secondary sources.#3 The first Black women in America were the offspring of African male explorers and indigenous, Spanish, or Mexican women. They arrived in the South as a group in 1526, and they rebelled shortly after their arrival.#4 The first women to walk these territories were not immune from violence, as evidenced by the mulatto woman in Wichita who was nearly burned to death. Some of these physical encounters may have involved force and could be classified as rape.