A releasing of our stories...

Here's a new book, "Black Women, Rape and Resistance-A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power" written by Danielle L. McGuire, an assistant professor at Wayne University that I found to my surprise on the Elle.com website. Sorry Elle, but it is not often that a book is featured on your mainly fashion driven website - although I like the fashion coverage, this is a welcome change for your readers! What I discovered by reading the article written by Bliss Broyard (great name btw - let us pause for a moment of name envy!), is that McGuire is an unlikely person to write such a book, she is as Bliss described, a 35-year old white woman. However, McGuire's experience relating to the Civil Rights Movement is as relevant as anyone else. The Civil Rights movement is a collective American experience that everyone should feel connected to, although one that mainly determined the future of African Americans. One could, and many have also argued that it helped determined the future of our great country for all Americans regardless of your ethnicity, religion, gender and sexual orientation.


McGuire's book delves beyond the well-known story of Rosa Parks and her refusal to go to the back of the bus, which led to the now infamous bus boycott and Civil Rights movement. It reveals stories of the rapes of African American women during this time in our history and how these strong women sought legal action against their assailants and not only marched to gain their civil freedom and rights, but their sexual rights. Oddly enough, this book comes at a time when the women in the Congo are being raped by rebels in mass assault - I wonder who will write their stories? I will be adding this book to my Fall/Winter reading list!