Black History Month is a time to cultivate space for reflection, honor, and appreciation of the contributions of Black communities past, present, and future. Among these contributions, Black women writers have been especially powerful, using literature as a tool for resistance, empowerment, and change. The words and stories written by these women not only shaped Black culture, but have laid the groundwork for Black feminist movements that continue to push for justice and equality today.
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Black feminism focuses closely on the experiences of Black women and emphasizes the intersections of race, class, and gender. Many Black women writers have and continue to shape this movement. Writers like Phillis Wheatley, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Zora Neale Hurston, and Toni Morrison played significant roles in shaping Black feminism’s foundation. Each of their seminal works — Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, Bronze, Their Eyes Were Watching God and Beloved—became catalysts for important conversations that centered Black women and their fight for autonomy and social justice.
Here’s a closer look at how each of these influential women used literature to challenge societal norms and paved the way for Black feminism today.
Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley
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Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784) was born in Gambia, Africa, but she was captured by enslavers and brought to America in 1761. Although Wheatley was an enslaved woman, she had access to educational opportunities, and began writing poetry as a teenager. In 1773, she published her groundbreaking collection, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, making her the first African American woman to publish a book of poems and the first enslaved Black woman to publish a book. The collection features one of Wheatley’s most notable poems, “On Being Brought from Africa to America.” In this poem, Wheatley discusses her enslavement and its connection to her faith in Christianity:
“Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there’s a God, that there’s a Savior too:
Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.”
These lines express Wheatley’s focus on religious salvation — or the idea that humans are saved from sin by accepting religion — for everyone. While her poetry was often framed through a Christian lens, Wheatley used her writing to challenge racist beliefs and affirm the humanity of Black people. Wheatley showed that Black people, although enslaved, had the right to believe in their own sense of freedom. Perhaps these depictions differed from one Black person to the next, but it was the collective agreement that Black individuals were deserving of this liberation — an idea that would later become central to Black feminist thought.
Bronze by Georgia Douglas Johnson
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Following the contributions of Phillis Wheatley, Georgia Douglas Johnson (1877-1966) became one of the most well-known Black female writers and playwrights of her time. Differing from Wheatley, Johnson’s writings revolved explicitly around themes of womanhood and love. In 1922, Bronze, her second collection of poems, was published. “Black Woman,” a popular poem from this collection, places a spotlight on the harsh realities of bringing a child into the world, particularly highlighting the experience and perspective of Black women in the early 20th century:
“You do not know the monster men,
Inhabiting the earth,
Be still, be still, my precious child,
I must not give birth!”
Johnson spotlights the horrors of childbirth, noting that children would not understand the current conditions of the world at that time. Although Johnson became a prominent figure in highlighting the raw experiences of Black women, her work also presents sprinkles of light and joy to come. Her poem, “Hope,” carries an optimistic message regarding the possibility for a bright future on the horizon:
“Frail children of sorrow, dethroned by a hue,
The shadows are flecked by the rose sifting through,
The world has its motion, all things pass away.
No night is omnipotent, there must be day.”
Modern Black feminists continue to come back to these themes that center Black women’s experiences and imagine a brighter future. Johnson’s work remains both a strong message and a practical tool that can be used to help sustain Black women who continue to push for social change.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Johnson’s poetry didn’t just acknowledge struggles — it also offered hope and resilience, reminding readers that change is always possible. Her work laid the foundation for future writers to tell even more expansive stories about Black womanhood. Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) became one of those writers, authoring acclaimed novels, short stories, and plays. Hurston’s stories were recognized for depicting African American life in the South and the specific experiences of Black women.
Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), broke literary norms of the time. One major deviation from the writing at the time was that Hurston included African American Vernacular English (AAVE) within the novel. Although she received some criticism for this decision, many readers felt that the use of AAVE was a way to denounce the use of code-switching and honor different forms of Black expression. Many Black feminist writers and movements today use AAVE as a means of reclamation and to uplift Black culture.
Hurston’s novel told the fictional story of Janie Crawford, a Black woman in her forties living in the early 20th century American South. Hurston focused on what seemed to be “nontraditional” themes of her time. Instead of the dominant narrative of Black women’s suffering, Hurston highlighted self-discovery, love, agency, and self-fulfillment for Black women. Throughout the novel, Janie struggles to find relationships that will last. Through three different romantic connections, she dives into the journey of finding her own sense of individuality:
“Two things everybody’s got tuh do fuh themselves.
They got tuh go tuh God, and they got to find out
about livin’ fuh themselves.”
In the beginning, Janie attempts to find her worth through her romantic relationships with different men without considering her own desires first. While those relationships never last, Janie learns valuable lessons that allow her to emerge stronger on the other side. Janie discovers that it is her voice that matters the most, and that the romantic relationships that she was seeking were not at all what she needed in order to feel fulfilled and content.
Their Eyes Were Watching God continues to inspire contemporary Black feminist writers, specifically in its exploration of self-fulfillment and personal agency. Authors such as Alice Walker have drawn upon Hurston’s themes to craft narratives that highlight Black women’s autonomy and empowerment. Walker’s The Color Purple, explores lives of Black women seeking self-discovery and independence echoing Janie Crawford’s journey. These works are prime examples of the impact of Hurston’s storytelling on modern Black feminist literature.
Beloved by Toni Morrison
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Hurston’s stories about love, independence, and self-discovery opened the door for future writers to explore Black womanhood in even bolder ways. One of the most powerful voices to follow in her footsteps was Toni Morrison (1931-2019), whose work took an unfiltered look at history, trauma, and resilience. While Hurston celebrated the personal journey of self-fulfillment, Morrison confronted the painful legacy of slavery and how it shaped Black women’s lives.
Through her novel, Beloved (1987), Morrison explores themes of trauma, love, and survival. The novel follows Sethe, a Black woman who makes the hard choice of taking her own child’s life rather than seeing her returned to enslavement. Sethe is haunted — both literally and emotionally — by the ghost of her daughter, Beloved. Sethe’s journey is inspired by the true story of Maragaret Garner, an enslaved African American woman.
The novel showcases how Black women navigate generational pain while reclaiming their sense of self:
“Freeing yourself was one thing,
claiming ownership of that freed self was another.”
Morrison speaks volumes about what it truly means to be free. For Black women, it’s not just about breaking out of physical chains — it's about reclaiming your identity and self agency, especially after being told who you should be for so long. Morrison shows us that true freedom isn’t just about escaping the past, but about owning and loving the person you are. It’s this same concept that speaks to modern Black feminist movements, where the focus is empowering Black women to not only survive but to flourish and stand tall in their own power.
Contemporary Black feminists like Patricia Hill Collins, have drawn on Morrison’s work to dig deeper into how race, gender, and class intersect the lives of Black women. In Black Feminist Thought, Collins points out that Morrison’s exploration of trauma and empowerment gives us vital lessons in understanding how systematic struggles affect Black women today. These powerful ideas from Morrison remind us that the journey toward Black women’s freedom and self-determination isn’t over, but through resilience, self-love, and community, Black women continue to rise.
Black women writers and their legacies
What connects these four Black women writers is their ability to share and explain the various types of lived experiences of Black women. From Wheatley to Morrison, these writers understood how to challenge the status quo, and in doing so, became pioneers of Black feminism in the United States. Their contributions remind us that literature is not just about telling stories—it's about shaping culture, challenging oppression, and giving voices to marginalized communities.
As we continue to reflect on their impact this Black History Month, let us also recognize that this work is far from finished. Today, Black feminist activists, scholars, and writers build upon these foundations, using their literature as a means of liberation. And as a result, Black women’s voices will never be silenced.
This article was produced with Made By Us, a coalition of more than 400 history museums working to connect with today’s youth.
