Lifting as We Climb

Evette Dionne celebrates forgotten Black female suffragists.
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Evette Dionne celebrates forgotten Black female suffragists. While most of the suffrage icons we know are white, Black women were also at the forefront of the movement. In her talks, Dionne recounts each heroine who pushed through prejudice and fought for the suffrage movement, and she speaks of the importance of making sure Black women and their contributions are not forgotten. Dionne draws a crucial line from the struggle for abolition and suffrage to contemporary activists’ fight for social justice, filling in the blanks of the American suffrage story.

Physical & Digital Books

A much-needed lesson, Lifting As We Climb, explores the little known history of brave Black women suffragettes who risked everything for the right to vote and to create a better world for their families, communities, and future generations.

Digital Content

Bonus Content

Guided by thought-provoking discussion questions, organizations can discuss the vital role of Black women in history and politics. Download the discussion guide here. 

Shelf Life | Evette Dionne discusses how Black women broke barriers, won the right to vote, and insisted on Equality for All.

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Program Topics

  • Lifting As We Climb

    In this talk, Evette Dionne looks at the history of Black women’s civic engagement—from abolition until the present—to explore the systemic barriers that have prevented Black women from fully participating in America’s democracy.

  • Who Gonna Take Me Out?: From Freelancer to EIC and Beyond

    Journalism and publishing are difficult industries to navigate, especially for first-generation college students swimming in deep waters with little help. In this talk, specifically tailored to journalism students and early professionals from marginalized communities, Evette traces her journey from being a freelancer to becoming an editor-in-chief in less than 10 years, offering concrete tips for how to build a mission-driven career full of meaning.

  • Creating a Feminist Media Company

    Feminism is a buzzword, specifically in media spaces that capitalize on the idea without actually investing in feminist policies. But as the editor-in-chief of Bitch Media, Evette has helped orchestrate the impossible: pushing a media company in an even more feminist direction. In this talk, geared toward media professionals on all levels as well as students, Evette discusses how Bitch has put its stated values into action—from paying contributors as soon as their articles are published to putting people before profit.

Lifting as We Climb

Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box

CORETTA SCOTT KING AUTHOR HONOR BOOK
LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
2021 ORBIS PICTUS AWARD HONOR BOOK
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL’S BEST BOOKS OF 2020

Lifting As We Climb is a powerful love letter to the Black women who overcame deep, exclusionary racial prejudices and fought for the right to vote. Beginning with the start of the abolitionist movement and continuing to the present day, Dionne demonstrates how Black women women fought their marginalization and made their voices heard. However, even though many of these women played pivotal roles in the passage of fundamental civil rights and women suffrage legislation, they remained overlooked in history. In this empowering account, Dionne uncovers an extraordinary and underrepresented history of black women and creates a more complete narrative of history.

FORMATS AVAILABLE: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

PAGE COUNT; PUBLICATION DATE: 176 pages; April 21, 2020

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Lifting as We Climb

Evette Dionne is a seminal voice on our history, and a compelling writer on top of that. Every page feels like an urgent step toward learning the lessons of our past as they are terribly necessary today.

—Ashley C. Ford, culture journalist, podcast host, and author of Somebody’s Daughter

Dionne provides a detailed and comprehensive look at the overlooked roles African American women played in the efforts to end slavery and then to secure the right to vote for women, arguing that black women worked consistently for their communities in all areas. A lively and critical addition as the United States commemorates the centennial of women’s suffrage.

—Kirkus Reviews

Lifting as We Climb is the book everyone has been waiting for. Evette Dionne brings to life the stories of the African American suffragists and their immense impact on women gaining the right to vote.

—Susan Zimet, author of Roses and Radicals: The Epic Story of How American Women Won the Right to Vote
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