Black Women of the Old West

by William Loren Katz

Examines the role of Black American women in the settling of the Western frontier during the late 1800s

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, African American, Westerns, Womens Studies, Womens

96 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1995

Reviews

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping to find this book more compelling than I did. The organization was quite scattershot and I found all of the tiny, paragraph-long stories ran together after a while without ever coming together into a unified picture. The plethora of photographs made the book more visually appealing, but the pairing of unrelated anecdotes and photographs added to the general chaos and I found myself flipping between pages often thinking I had missed something. In addition, this book was written by a white historian and it shows. Use of outdated, problematic language throughout and a lack of nuance in many of the anecdotes made for an unsatisfying read. I will be seeking out other sources on this topic written by Black historians and biographers.

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Women of the Old West is a great book of knowledge. The author provides many accounts of known heroines and vignettes of previously unknown western heroines. The women's journey out west, marriages, daily lives, education, careers, political and professional progress are included.

We learn more than the names of the pioneering women; we learn how they helped society and embraced fresh opportunities. These women made America better for all of humanity. Their determination showed in their commitment to community structure and positive interactions with white settlers and Native Americans/Indians.

This book presents intriguing statistics comparing demographics and literacy rates and gives insight into who was most likely to travel west. Many prominate citizens, events and historical first are documented. These powerful women made a huge difference in America’s ability to settle in the west.

Learning about civic activists, social organizations, professional achievements, small businesses, and banking ventures in larger cities such as Colorado, Washington, and California was a plus. Now we have an excellent start to discovering more triumphant women through additional investigation.

[Amber Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this as a supplement to Forbidden which features a black heroine on the frontier. Interesting book, there were more black women on the Wild West frontier than I thought. Definitely not many out there before the Civil War of course.

While very interesting, I thought it erred in leaving out prostitutes. I know they were out there, I've seen pictures of at least one African American "sporting house". While this is a kids' book and I understand them leaving that out, leaving out the bad as well as the good leaves history unbalanced and to me, this lack means the risks and problems of these women's lives isn't fully recognized.

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hopefully this book might help fill in some of the major gaps in my education. It hints at some interesting info and fascinating people without much detail or connection to the subjects.

[wildct2003 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the 2 pages on Mary Fields and skimmed the rest.

[Fourborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much is left out of the history of African Americans, this was a very educational book. The stories of the women who had already endured so much but with courage persevered to make it out west.

[Riegs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Provides a fascinating and necessary perspective of post-slavery Westward expansion, and critical contributions of Black Americans in the pioneer era. I gained new perspective on Black Americans connecting with Native Americans to prevent the oncoming troubles of white "Manifest Destiny," and on Black mail-order brides.

[Harla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much from this book. It was incredibly interesting to read about a part of history that we have heard so little about. I have been on a women in history kick of late! Great read and loved the JUV format. Enough information without being an overwhelming factual tome of reading :-)

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting read about a little know part of American History

[Donta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well written book that tells a story that has be purposefully left out of history books and Hollywood movies.

[Karen]

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