They Carried Us

Book excerpt: Meet some of Philadelphia's fiercest black women leaders. They range from the first black woman known to be born in Philadelphia (1694)--who ran a ferry business during colonial times--to the woman whose childhood experiences led her to become a surgeon and medical advisor to celebrities. All of the women "bring it" as activists-- in community and movement work, business and civic institutions, education, churches, medicine, government, journalism, sports and the arts. The authors document that many of them worked together directly. Others drew inspiration from those who came before. Their power came not just from what they did as individuals, but from how their efforts snowballed into a Philadelphia community of women that spanned geographies, sectors and time. The authors' experiences as activists, researchers and educators--and their own circumstances of frequently being "the only black women in the room"--fill the book not just with facts, but with genuine empathy. These are the inspiring stories of black women in one of the country's most important cities, who let no obstacle deter them from changing the game.--