Historian Martha S. Jones lauds “the nation’s original feminists and anti-racists” in her seminal new book “Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality For All,” which Time magazine selected as one of its 100 must-read books of 2020.
“What If Black Women Have Always Been the Vanguard of Voting Rights?” will be the question Jones continues to explore March 10 in a Zoom talk honoring Women’s History Month. Jones, the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and professor of history at Johns Hopkins University, will speak beginning at 6 p.m. Her talk is free and open to the public.
“(Jones’) work is bold and powerful in the way that she gives credit to a group that's often overlooked and often forgotten about in terms of thinking about political power,” said Fay Yarbrough ‘97, Rice University associate professor of history and associate dean for undergraduate programs and special projects in the School of Humanities.
“That leaves Black women out of the picture entirely, and she does this important work of putting them back in — and not just putting them back in, but saying, ‘They're important and have done big things,’” Yarbrough said.
As a legal and cultural historian, Jones’ research examines how Black Americans have shaped the story of American democracy. In addition to “Vanguard,” her 2018 book, “Birthright Citizens: A History of Race and Rights in Antebellum America,” was equally well received, winning the Organization of American Historians Liberty Legacy Award and the American Historical Association Littleton-Griswold Prize among many others.
As a public historian, Jones has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Politico, the Chronicle of Higher Education and Time. She holds a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University and a J.D. from the City University of New York School of Law, and prior to her academic career served as a public interest litigator in New York City.
Jones’ March 10 talk is organized by the School of Humanities Dean’s Office, the Department of History and Center for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality at Rice.
“With everything that happened in Georgia, with people like Stacey Abrams and with Kamala Harris as the vice president, it just feels so perfect to have her speak this March,” Yarbrough said. “Talk about a person for the moment. I am really excited to hear what she has to say.”
Those interested can register for the March 10 talk online.