Executive editor's view.Although this marks Black Issues Book Review s annual poetry issue, it also recognizes Womens History Month, not only with our cover of Alice Walker Noun 1. Alice Walker - United States writer (born in 1944) Alice Malsenior Walker, Walker (page 34), an ardent womanist wom·an·ist adj. Having or expressing a belief in or respect for women and their talents and abilities beyond the boundaries of race and class: "Womanist ... and writer, but the other prominent black women whose books we've featured. Among the biographies and authors included in this issue are Condoleezza Rice, Eleanor Holmes Norton Eleanor Holmes Norton (born June 13, 1937) is a member of the United States House of Representatives but is not a full voting member. She is a Delegate to Congress representing the District of Columbia, a position that carries more limited voting powers than full House members. and Johnnetta B. Cole Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole (born October 19, 1936) is an American academic. Cole was the first African American female president of Spelman College from 1987- 1997. She was president of Bennett College from 2002-2007. , beginning on page 55 of our nonfiction reviews. In our March-April "Spotlight," we feature Freedom in the Family, a mother-daughter memoir from speculative fiction writer Tananarive Due and her mother Patricia Stephens Due, which recalls Patricia's generation and their efforts in the struggle for civil rights. In a measured way, this issue honors the contributions that black women have made to our literary legacy, as well as the struggle for human rights. Though not always a popular issue in the black community, it is important that we consider our history in broader, more inclusive terms. Where would we be without Harriet Tubman, without Ida B. Wells Ida B. Wells, also known as Ida B. Wells-Barnett (July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931), was an African American civil rights advocate and an early women's rights advocate active in the Woman Suffrage Movement. , Rosa Parks or Angela Davis? And black women today continue to make their presence felt, whether it's media mogul Oprah Winfrey, or Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Even more important for BIBR BIBR Bay Islands Beach Resort (Roatan, Honduras) BIBR Backward Indicator Bit Received , especially during March's month-long observance of women's contributions to American history, is that we recognize the contributions that black women have made to literature. Besides Pulitizer winner Alice Walker, the legion of black women writers who are part of our literary tradition includes poets Nikki Giovanni and Rita Dove, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou and Jamaica Kincaid, among many others. That legacy continues with a host of promising newcomers like ZZ Packer, Danyel Smith, Veronica Chambers and poet Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, all of whose work is reviewed in this issue. We hope you enjoy and appreciate the enormous contribution that black women have made to our culture and history. And if you haven't read something by one of these authors, do the "politically correct politically correct Politically sensitive adjective Referring to language reflecting awareness and sensitivity to another person's physical, mental, cultural, or other disadvantages or deviations from a norm; a person is not mentally retarded, but " thing in March, and pick up a book by a black woman writer. Evette Porter BIBR Executive Editor |
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