Over the last few years, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the crucial role Black women play in shaping American politics and how their political work on a national scale also has global implications—and global reach. After writing an essay for Foreign Affairs in which I outlined some of the significant links between the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and earlier political movements, I kept coming back to the theme of Black women’s leadership. Some of the most dynamic and enduring political movements have been led by Black women, especially working-poor women organizing at the grassroots level. The more I kept writing about these women—from different backgrounds and in different time periods—it became evident that I had an important story to tell. My book will reveal how Black American women and activists fundamentally shaped human rights history.

Personal memories and private recollections are crucial to my work. Black women are often excluded from traditional archives (the ones we generally find at libraries and universities), or when they do exist in these archives, representations are often skewed. As someone who is very committed to unearthing the histories of Black working-class and working-poor women, I have had to move beyond the traditional archive. To be clear, I still rely on archives to answer questions as they arise. But the judicious use of oral histories significantly enriches my writing and research. They have helped me fill in gaps of information, and they allow me to write narratives that would otherwise not be possible.

Thank you—I am excited about the new position at Brown! I think it’s important for young historians to be bold and creative, and I think it’s important that they commit to blazing their own trails and doing the work that matters most to them. I took many risks in my career. For example, I accepted visible leadership positions and wrote widely for national publications while untenured. I was also involved in nationally recognized projects that revealed my activist commitments and my political views. Some of my mentors suggested that I should not have been doing these things without tenure. I am not dismissing their advice—and I am grateful that they cared enough to warn me. But I needed to take the path that felt right for me. By doing the work that matters most to me, I found joy and fulfillment as a scholar.