Female, Gifted, and Black

Becca Anderson comes from a long line of preachers and teachers from Ohio and Kentucky. The teacher's side of her family led her to become a women's studies scholar and the author of The Book of Awesome Women. An avid collector of meditations, prayers and blessings, she helps run a “Gratitude and Grace Circle”' which meets at homes, churches and bookstores monthly in the San Francisco-Bay Area where she currently resides. Becca Anderson credits her spiritual practice with helping her recover from cancer and wants to share this with anyone who is facing difficulty in their life.Author of Think Happy to Stay Happy and Every Day Thankful, Becca Anderson shares her inspirational writings and suggested acts of kindness at https://thedailyinspoblog.wordpress.com/She also blogs about Awesome Women, like those in her book Badass Affirmations, at https://theblogofawesomewomen.wordpress.com/Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, M.J. Fievre moved to the United States in 2002. She currently writes from Miami.M.J.’s publishing career began as a teenager in Haiti. At nineteen years-old, she signed her first book contract with Hachette-Deschamps, in Haiti, for the publication of a Young Adult book titled La Statuette Maléfique. Since then, M.J. has authored nine books in French that are widely read in Europe and the French Antilles. In 2013, One Moore Book released M.J.’s first children’s book, I Am Riding, written in three languages: English, French, and Haitian Creole. In 2015, Beating Windward Press published M.J.’s memoir, A Sky the Color of Chaos, about her childhood in Haiti during the brutal regime of Jean-Bertrand Aristide.M.J. Fievre is the author of Happy, Okay? Poems about Anxiety, Depression, Hope, and Survival (Books & Books Press, 2019) and Badass Black Girl: Questions, Quotes, and Affirmations for Teens (Mango Publishing, 2020). She helps others write their way through trauma, build community and create social change. She works with veterans, disenfranchised youth, cancer patients and survivors, victims of domestic and sexual violence, minorities, the elderly, those with chronic illness or going through transition and any underserved population in need of writing as a form of therapy—even if they don’t realize that they need writing or therapy.A long-time educator and frequent keynote speaker (Tufts University, Massachusetts; Howard University, Washington, D.C.; the University of Miami, Florida; and Michael College, Vermont; and a panelist at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference, AWP), M.J. is available for book club meetings, podcast presentations, interviews and other author events.

"A powerful resource for young Black girls to empower themselves with the stories of their foremothers. The Black women in this book will guide and lead future generations to recognize that they have the love, strength, and ferocity to change their world.”—Karen Arrington, author of Your Next Level Life: 7 Rules of Power, Confidence, and Opportunity for Black Women in America“No matter how much you think you know about the awesomeness of Black women, this book will give you more reasons to celebrate what Black women have done and are destined to do. This book is a balm and a healing for all who will read it.”—Marita Golden, author of The Strong Black Woman: How A Myth Endangers the Physical and Mental Health of Black Women"Black women trailblazers who have paved the way for future generations of Black girls to build their own achievements, successes, and triumphs. Here are the foremothers whose stories and lives will help teach young Black girls the power they hold within to change and redefine social boundaries.”—Varla Ventura, author of Sheroes: Bold, Brash, and Absolutely Unabashed Superwomen“A celebration of indomitable black women who scaled centuries of oppression to reach the mountaintop. The encapsulated biographies prove that the impossible can be possible.”—Marlene Wagman-Geller, author of Women of Means: The Fascinating Biographies of Royals, Heiresses, Eccentrics and Other Poor Little Rich Girls“We are honored by their lives, their stories, their grace and the inspirational precedent set for all to follow in their footsteps.”—Bridgitte Jackson-Buckley, interviewer, memoirist, and author of The Gift of Crisis: How I Used Meditation to Go From Financial Failure to a Life of Purpose“The world needs more works celebrating the excellence of strong, accomplished Black women! This is an excellent introduction to those who’ve earned their places in history.”—Chrisanne Beckner, architectural historian, writer, and author of 100 African Americans Who Shaped American History

• ContentsPreface – MJ FievreIntroduction – Becca AndersonChapter One – Amazing Artists: Musicians, Actors and Other Creators of Color Chapter Two – Penning the Future One Word at a Time: Awesome Black Women WritersChapter Three – Rhythms and Rhymes: Poets & Literary PioneersChapter Four – What the Eyes See: Black Women in Visual ArtsChapter Five – Beyond the Catwalk & the Stage: Black Models and Dancers Conclusion