From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-Two accessible collective biographies. Healers includes 24 individuals from Colonial times to the present, focusing on nurses, researchers, and doctors. Some are not well known, such as Dr. James Durham, who was born into slavery in 1762, bought his freedom, and became the first African-American doctor in this country. Others, like Charles Richard Drew or Joycelyn Elders, are more familiar. Each of the brief personal histories emphasizes the accomplishments of these pioneers in the field of medicine. Wilkinson's book spans the same time period and features 24 writers, the majority of whom will be familiar to most readers. From Phillis Wheatley to Zora Neale Hurston, Lorraine Hansberry, Octavia Butler, and Terry McMillan, the authors represent a variety of genres. Each sketch includes a handsome black-and-white photo or reproduction and three to five pages of text along with occasional quotes from the woman's writing. Good introductions to their subjects' lives and accomplishments.
Janet Woodward, Garfield High School, Seattle, WA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
In this entry in the Black Star series, Wilkinson offers concise mini-biographies of 23 African-American women of letters. The straightforward, user-friendly volume opens on colonial America when Africans were first brought to this country as slaves, and ends with famous contemporary authors. By presenting their profiles chronologically, Wilkinson surprises readers; even as the format of precis after precis starts to wear, the effect of the individual stories begins to culminate, becoming in essence an abbreviated history of black women in America. Although their motivations differed, many of the writers ``persevered against tremendous odds'' to get their message across. Fortified with sometimes touching but always thought-provoking quotes, this book is the perfect first-step for either scholarly research or personal enrichment. (index not seen, b&w photos, bibliography, chronology) (Biography. 10-14) --
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