“Without Fear tells the stories of Black women who, like Deborah in the Bible, have engaged in social justice agitation, refusing to simply suffer by engaging in the redemptive work of challenging injustice while in the midst of it. Each of us can and must learn from these women if we are to reconstruct America and build a just world.” —Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II, coauthor of White Poverty

Keisha N. Blain has written a necessary and bracing history of Black women’s critical role over the past two centuries in defining the concept of human rights. Moving beyond the focus on diplomats and famous philosophers, Without Fear highlights the words and actions of the most marginalized women in society, whose insistence on the natural, universal, and equal rights of all human beings have made them an inspiring example to the world. -Annette Gordon-Reed, author of On Juneteenth

In Without Fear, distinguished historian Keisha N. Blain takes us on epic journey through time as she shines a light on the too often overlooked generations of Black American women, who, from the ground up, advanced the cause of human rights at home and abroad. This is an important, and accessible work that helps to fill in a major void in our shared historical narrative. It’s also an inspiring study of how Black women have continuously carried the torch of justice and made the cause of human rights their own for the uplift of all. -Henry Louis Gates, Jr., author of The Black Box

Every page of Without Fear highlights Keisha N. Blain’s research prowess. She powerfully weaves together stories from both history and the present to paint a moving portrait of what is true: Black women have always been—and remain—at the forefront of the struggle for freedom. A must-read for anyone who truly wants to understand America, and the world at large. -Sharon McMahon, best-selling author of The Small and the Mighty and creator of Sharon Says So