The Face of Our Past: Images of Black Women from Colonial America to the Present (Hardcover)

by Kathleen Thompson (Editor), Hilary MacAustin (Editor), Darlene Clark Hine (Introduction) "IN MODERN AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY, a family is a group composed of a father, mother, and their children..." (more)
Key Phrases: black photographers, original caption, unidentified woman, South Carolina, Civil War, Federal Writers Project (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
" . . . an eloquent rebuttal to the stereotypes and distorted media images that have plagued Black women throughout history." -- Emerge

"History for the eyes and heart." -- Paula Giddings, author of a forthcoming biography of Ida B. Wells

"I will use this book over and over as a photographic reference and for just plain reading and looking enjoyment....[This book] is a must-have for every American library, and for all people who want to know and experience the beautiful face of black women." -- Faith Ringgold

"It is wonderful to view the pictures of these women. Their intelligence and kindness are evident in the photographs. I am inspired by their stories and their brave hearts." -- Maya Angelou

"The Face of Our Past helps to make invisible women visible. Out of African American and very particular lives, each woman looks with universal human eyes." -- Gloria Steinem

"These historic photographs make it possible for us to see face-to-face the vivid images of black women, known and unknown, from the Civil War to today. They not only illumine the past, they explain the present, and inspire the future." -- Henry Louis Gates, Jr., W.E.B. DuBois Professor of the Humanities, Harvard University

"These photos of mostly ordinary black women make an extraordinary book. Each picture does speak volumes." -- Julian Bond, Chairman of the Board, NAACP

"This is a beautiful and important book. It puts a face on the most faceless Americans, black women, and in so doing gives honor to the universal human values those faces reflect." -- Carol Moseley Braun

Review

"This is the perfect book for those interested in recognizing the diversity of black American women." --

"... an eloquent rebuttal to the stereotypes and distorted media images that have plagued Black women throughout history." -- Emerge

"Here is a comprehensive visual source of black American women. More than 300 photographs and engravings cover hundreds of years. They show dignity through the degradation of slavery, authenticate cultural traditions and validate the inner strength of the subjects." -- USA Today

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 025333635X
• ISBN-13: 978-0253336354
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #532,956 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Magnificent Contribution, February 24, 2000

By A Customer

THE FACE OF OUR PAST is a magnificent contribution to the history of black women in America. The photographic images go back three hundred years, across a vast spectrum of life experience, to create a rich and vivid tapestry. Thank you, Kathleen Thompson, Hilary Mac Austin, and Darlene Clark Hine for this beautiful book!

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary book to be appreciated again and again., August 9, 2000

By	MLPlayfair (Ravenna, OH) - See all my reviews

These pictures of black women in America will touch you in many ways, and in some cases will rip your heart out. Each photograph has a story on the surface and another deep inside it, and some force you to think about them for a long time. Every person who's opened my copy of the book has looked at a few pictures and then gone "Omigod" when the right one hits home -- and it's always a different picture. The accompanying text is also thought-provoking -- quotes from women in historic and ground-breaking situations, women who have earned positions of authority, authors, and poets. Open any page and you're right back there -- with photographs of women living in slavery, with women fighting during the struggle for civil rights, with women trying to make the best of life, with women just trying to survive, with women finding joy in the midst of everything. It amazes and delights me that these two white women decided to put together such a remarkable chronicle about black women, recognizing that the history of the black woman in America is every American's history.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A pictorial source of determination for every woman, April 25, 2000

By A Customer

This book belongs in the library of every woman who desires to make an everlasting positive impact in her life, the lives of her family and community . The photos and stories captivated my friends and I, and empowered us with the knowledge that others had already travelled down roads of, similiar and worst, challenges and had come up with surprising strength, individuality and success. Thompson and Mac Austin in this book have given vast recognition to the lives of african-descended females.Their's are stories of mere strangers who existed decades upon decades ago and who are now encouraging on a new generation of 21st century women, a callaloo(mixture) of women from every branch of ethniticity , social-structure and religion. There are so many magnificent photos in this book that every reader can identify herself as at least one of these women.Their eyes and smiles, their clothing and expressions all tell a single story of a determination to create and enjoy a better life, whether on an individual or bigger scale. The spirit of this book motives us in the power that we can persevere and succeed because we are ancestorally, protector, provider, sustainer woman.I am an editor and wife and found this book a true asset in my personal and professional life. You are welcome to email me for a free copy of my minizine. I would also recommend books by Clarissa Pinkola Estes and Iyana Vanzant if you are looking to enrich your life's journey.These writers are not as "photogenic" as THE FACE OF OUR PAST.