A crucial telling of American history centering the Black women whose magic gave rise to the rich tapestry of American culture we see today.

Emerging first in the American South during slavery, conjure women who were enslaved on plantations used their magic to treat illnesses of the enslaved. These women brought their ancestral spiritual beliefs from West Africa and combined it with herbal rituals and therapeutic remedies to create conjure, forging a secret well of health and power hidden to their oppressors. From the moment enslaved Africans first arrived on these shores, however, this conjure was heavily regulated, outlawed, and even coopted.

In The Conjuring of America, Black feminist philosopher Lindsey Stewart exposes a vital contour of American history. These women, in secrecy and subterfuge, courageously and devotedly continued their practices and worship to conjure up modern-day staples from Vicks VapoRub and Aunt Jemima’s pancake mix, to the magic of Disney’s The Little Mermaid (2023), and the all-American blue jean. As they struggled against slavery, Negro Mammies fashioned a legacy of magic that begat herbal experts, fearsome water bearers, and powerful mojos—roles and traditions that for centuries have been passed down to respond to Black struggles in real time. And when Jim Crow tried to make us slaves again, conjure women emerged again as the Granny Midwives and textile weavers who leveled their techniques to protect our civil and reproductive rights, while Candy Ladies opened their home and restaurants to feed a generation of crusaders for freedom.

Sourcing firsthand accounts the of enslaved, dispatches from the lore of Oshun, and the wisdom of beloved Black women writers, Stewart proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that conjure informs our lives in ways remarkable and ordinary. Above all, The Conjuring of America is a love letter to the magic Black women used to sow messages of rebellion, freedom, and hope.