Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight for their Rights by Mikki Kendall

Do you want to learn more about women’s rights, but aren’t sure where to start? I recommend Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: a Graphic History of Women’s Fight for their Rights by Mikki Kendall. This graphic history is gorgeously drawn and covers a wide range of topics, years, and issues. I would treat this book as a primer on women’s rights as readers are introduced briefly to hundreds of different women, but since short descriptions are given of each, you’ll undoubtedly want to learn more! I took notes the whole time I was reading of women I wanted to look up. Definite recommendation from me!

As the title states, this graphic history talks about amazons, abolitionists, and activists and their fight for rights. It’s told from the viewpoint of an AI robot teaching a history class in the future. They grow frustrated with the lack of knowledge and transport the class through time all over Earth to learn about the numerous women and their struggle for basic rights. Traveling from antiquity through to the modern era, readers will learn about different key figures and events such as fighting for the right to vote, work, own property, exercise your own bodily autonomy, getting an education, and so much more. What I enjoyed is that the women covered range all races, jobs, and era: the history of amazons, freedom fighters, queens, warrior women, spies, all the way to supreme court justices and activists fighting today. Readers will learn about the many movements that women have fought in, how they overlapped, yet sometimes stayed separate.  Kendall covers suffrage, abolition, civil rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQ liberation, labor, and many other movements. I enjoyed the snippets provided about each woman, movement, and fight. It’s a fascinating look at the past, present, and future of the fight for various different women’s rights.