The first major anthology to trace the development, from the early 1800s to the present, of black feminist thought in the United States, Words of Fire is Beverly Guy-Sheftall's comprehensive collection of writings, in the feminist tradition, of more than sixty African American women. From the pioneering work of abolitionist Maria Miller Stewart and anti-lynching crusader Ida Wells-Barnett to the writings of contemporary feminist critics Michele Wallace and bell hooks, black women have been writing about the multiple jeopardies--racism, sexism, and classicm--that have made it imperative for them to forge a brand of feminism uniquely their own.

List of Contributors: Margaret Walker Alexander Sadie Tanner Mosell Alexander Frances Beale Shirley Chisholm Cheryl Clarke Pearl Cleage Johnnetta B. Cole Patricia Hill Collins The Combahee River Collective Anna Julia Cooper Angela Davis Alice Dunbar-Nelson Julia A.J. Foote Amy Jacques Garvey Paula Giddings Jacquelyn Grant Patricia Haden Evelynn Hammonds Lorraine Hansberry Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Elizabeth Higginbotham Darlene Clark Hine bell hooks Claudia Jones June Jordan Gloria Joseph Florynce "Flo" Kennedy Deborah K. King Linda La Rue Audre Lorde Tracye Matthews Elise Johnson McDougald Donna Middleton Gertrude Bustill Mossell Pauli Murray Barbara Omolade Barbara Ransby Beth E. Richie Patricia Robinson Barbara Smith Maria Miller Stewart Ula Taylor Mary Church Terrell Pauline Terrelonge Sojourner Truth Alice Walker Michele Wallace Mary Ann Weathers Ida Wells-Barnett E. Frances White Margaret Wilkerson