Here are some resources that will get you started quickly in learning about and exploring the history of African American women. The timeline will show the events and individuals in historical context, and the ever-growing list of biographies will introduce you to some powerful and interesting individuals. If you want to test your knowledge of African American womens history, try the quiz.

The early Europeans brought Africans with them to the Americas, and it was not long before the institution of slavery was established in what would become the United States. When the laws changed so that, for those of African ancestry, servitude followed the condition of the mother, not the father, the system of chattel slavery had begun. The story of African American women in these times is mostly of women without names. Phillis Wheatley is one, but not the only, exception to this enforced anonymity.