African American Women in Congress: Forming and Transforming History [Hardcover]

Laverne McCain Gill (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In the nearly 30 years since Shirley Chisholm became the first African American woman elected to Congress, only 14 other women of color have followed her. This book provides in-depth profiles of those women with descriptive biographies of each, including their legislative triumphs and personal challenges. Gill, a print and broadcast journalist who was a member of the Congressional Press Gallery, begins each profile with a "resume" that outline the subject's vital statistics; educational, professional, and political backgrounds; and congressional data. The profiles offer objective evaluations of the congresswomen's abilities, personalities, strengths, and weaknesses and tell of the many obstacles each of them overcame to reach such a high level of government. An appendix lists the names and dates of all African Americans who have served in Congress, and there is an extensive bibliography. These features make this work a potentially valuable reference tool. Recommended for public and academic libraries.
Jill Ortner, SUNY at Buffalo Libs.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gill does an excellent job of showcasing 15 African American women in politics: Shirley Chis-holm, Barbara Jordan, Yvonne Burke, Cardiss Collins, Katie Hall, Eleanor Homes Norton, Maxine Waters, Barbara-Rose Collins, Carol Mosely-Braun, Corinne Brown, Carrie Meek, Cynthia McKinney, Eva Clayton, Eddie Bernice Johnson, and Sheila Jackson-Lee. The book, based on a public radio program, The Talented Ten: African American Women in the 103rd Congress, stresses the trailblazers of the group, the urban women of the 102d Congress and the Senate, and the southern women of the 103d and 104th Congresses. Gill discusses how they combated the "tridimensional problems of sexism, racism, and classism," and she includes statistics for such areas as age upon entering Congress, marital status, and religious affiliation. The epilogue includes timely notes on the group, e.g., the death of Barbara Jordan and the court order redrawing congressional districts. Gill includes an appendix that lists African Americans in the U.S. Congress from 1870 to 1996. An excellent addition to library and personal collections on Congress and African American history. Lillian Lewis

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers Univ Pr (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813523524
• ISBN-13: 978-0813523521
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,818,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars great book on black female elected officials, November 20, 2002

By 

Jeffery Mingo (Homewood, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: African American Women in Congress (Paperback)

Too often, authors speak of blacks getting the right to vote, when in reality, it was only black men who could do so until 1920. Similarly, to this day, all the blacks are men and all the women are white, when it comes to talk about elected officials. Finally, here is a book to break the silence. McCain Gill discusses each black women that has ever been elected to Congress by the mid-1990s. Her style is journalistic and biographical. This would be a great book for all women of color majoring in political science. Further, for sistas thinking about running for office, this is a great tool for learning about the passages that have already been cleared for you. This book may seem a little dated now. Too, I wish someone would write a book like this that mentions all women of color, not just blacks. Still, I enjoyed this book and I thank McCain Gill (a woman, unlike another review suggests)for this positive contribution to womanist studies.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greates African-American Women in Congress, June 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: African American Women in Congress (Paperback)

This was a very good book. I would like to thank Mr. Laverne McCain Gill for writeing a book about these Congresswoman. I got to learn a lot about them from Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, Cynthia McKinney and Maxine Waters and It is a great book to read as well as to keep. I Love this Book.