Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History by Blair Imani

Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History Reviews

• 
  Chelsea

  I hope this book will be in every single classroom one day!
• 
  Julia

  y'all are gonna be shook by this review but whatevs
  
  
  i wish i could have given this book a higher rating because the illustrations were gorgeous and the people in the book were interesting BUT i had some issues with it. idk i didn't feel that the content of the book actualy matched the title and book description. my impression of this book was women and nonbinary folks that were "rewriting history" all across the globe. what i got was only activists from mainly the u.s.a with maybe 5-10% outside of that. and when they were - it was the west.
  
  i did learn about some people that i had never heard of before but i feel like what this book was marketed as was not what i got. i'm tired of reading only about american and western activists when there are so many other interesting movements and work being done all across the globe.
  
  and that's the tea.
• 
  Maple

  ☆4 stars
  
  Modern HERstory is a book that tells the stories of many amazing women, nonbinary people, people of color, and LGBTQ+ activists. A must-read for anybody, of any age, who believes in human rights.
  
  “While “history” focuses on men and the stories of patriarchs “herstory” deliberately prioritizes the stories of women, people of color, and LGBTQ people.” - Blair Imani ( from the book Modern HERstory)
  
  “I'm not missing a minute of this, it's the revolution!” - Sylvia Rivera
  
  “When you belittle and devalue trans women and their womanhood, you are operating as a tool of the patriarchy.” - Raquel Willis
  
  “I'm working to create a space where it feels easy to include and imagine black girls and make black girls like me the main characters of our lives.” - Marley Dias
  
  “Acts of violence make it all the more obvious that those of us who believe in love need to work even harder to counter hate and violence to manifest our more beautiful world” - Mona Haydar
  
  “What we really want is for violence to stop! We want police officers to be held accountable the same way we civilians are held accountable.” - Carmen Perez
  
  “This body is resilient. It can endure all kinds of things. My body offers me the power of presence. My body is powerful” - Dr. Roxane Gay
  
  “As far back as I can remember, our mother always taught us to be in control of our bodies and our work, and she showed us that through her example.” - Solange Knowles
  
  All quotes above can be found in Modern HERstory.
  
  
  Modern HERstory is a book that tells the stories of so many different women and nonbinary people. There are stories of people you probably have heard of and some you probably didn't know about.
• 
  Allison

  This was such a treat to read! Over 60 badass women & nonbinary people (predominately of color) who have made an impact on the world - past and present - are profiled with beautiful illustrations and so much intentional intersectionality. This would be an inspiring gift for a young person especially, though as a someone in my mid-twenties, I learned a lot about important women missing from my history classes, as well as about ways that my generation (and younger!) are making a difference in their communities today.
  .
  Thank you Ten Speed Press for a copy in exchange for an unbiased review
• 
  Miss Susan

  things that make me happy: the fact that blair imani is out here living her best life and contributing excellence to the world on the daily <3 can't wait to read this!
• 
  KC

  Just another great book profiling women who made a difference historically!
• 
  Rebecca Maye Holiday

  There are two major things wrong with Modern HERstory worth pointing out, but first of all, to begin with the book's positive traits, it has lovely illustrations and its hardcover format edition is well-designed. With full-colour spreads and easy-to-read text, this book is more artistic and approachable for readers who might not be overly interested in the subject matter, making it a good design for younger readers and people who want a new way to consume historical nonfiction. In this sense, at least, I didn't believe that I could rate the book only 1 star because doing so would discount the quality of the book itself.
  
  This being said, Modern HERstory, a book that promises a "radical" exploration of contemporary history from a feminist perspective, is flawed in some glaring ways that simply cannot be ignored. One of the biggest is that it is not inclusive by any stretch of the imagination. Most of its historical figures listed are western activists, you know, the type who run around in the streets with signs yelling at everyone, not people who have actually done anything notable, and exclusive for the most part of people who aren't from North America and western Europe. The book also does not include men, which is largely its whole point, although this in itself severely limits the scope and reliability of Modern HERstory as a legitimate nonfiction source. It's more like a cherry-picked basket of Wikipedia articles on people who the author feels are important, versus actual historical figures appreciated by any sort of notable consensus.
  
  You won't, for example, see celebrations of actual brave women in modern society: female pro-democracy supporters risking their lives to denounce communist China's brutally authoritarian regime, Amanda Lindhout (who survived religious extremism and made a daring escape, later becoming an activist for international women's rights and freedoms), Rose Fortune (one of Canada's earliest RCMP officers, who happened to be a black woman), or any other historical figures who actually make the differences and break the barriers that shape the world around us. It's very clear where the author stands politically, and the type of people who she considers heroic and groundbreaking. I suppose if every woman in the world were tasked with writing their own version of Modern HERstory, everybody's collection of notable women would be different, which is to be expected, because what we view as good and important change will differ from person to person. Still, Modern HERstory is trapped in its own western liberal biases to the point where it serves neither as a good history book or good political book; rather, Modern HERstory is one woman whacking the rest of us on the head with who we should respect and value even if, as women, our personal experiences shape things differently. I personally found that a lot of the figures in Imani's book could have been discounted or ignored, and history would be none the wiser. Some of the figures in this book are also corrupt, and so don't really serve as good role models at all. If this were my book, readers would see Christine Chubbuck and Agnes Chow and Betty Mahmoody and Jacqueline Murekatete and Helen Betty Osborne and too many others to count, but others would readily dispute these figures, and that would be their prerogative. It's all relative, and that's what defeats the purpose of a book like this. It thinks that by cutting out males from the equation and looking at history through a liberal feminist lens, it will somehow create something revolutionary. Instead, it just begs the question of why we must contain notability and recognition at all.
• 
  malak

  The people mentioned in the book are an inspiration. i'm so happy more books are being written about the people that history book usually leave out.
  
  
• 
  Melissa

  A must-read!
• 
  Faith A.

  4/10
  This is akin to reading a stack of well worded resumes from interesting people.
  I'm so sad to give this a bad review but I would never consider this a book of 'Stories' as the name states.
  
  This book gave me a lot of people to research and see if I can find out about but it did not give me a window into anyone's life. I don't consider myself closer to the women/people who's resume I read. I didn't walk away feeling empowered. I finished the book going 'I'd hire her/them' or 'I wish I knew her/their story'.
• 
  emma

  While I didn’t read all of it, I truly enjoyed what I did. Compiled female centered biographies are very popular right now, but Modern Herstory makes a point to include nonbinary folks and predominantly woc. I really loved the diversity, colorful art, and way the bios were divided up, including chapters like Laying the Groundwork and Mastering Modern Media. It also includes organizations, hashtags, and more helpful glossaries. I dig this.
• 
  Daria Marshall

  4.5 stars
  
  This was such a fun read and I really appreciated that the focus was on WOC, LGBTQ, and non-binary people, especially given that most of the "women who history never writes about" books focus on white, straight ladies. The illustrations were fantastic as well.
• 
  ItsNasB

  Good intro to SJW topics that highlights women, girls and non-binary people who played and/or continue to play a role in positively and progressively changing the narrative and revolutionizing how we view and navigate the world. An inclusive message was present in all the biographies, that I appreciated.
• 
  Betsy

  Fantastic place to start when researching the powerful forces behind some of history's social rights movements. I was so happy to discover that one of these powerful forces was from the city where I was born! I have a lot of people and movements to educate myself on now.
• 
  Flavie Flora

  "Modern HERstory" is a wonderful work. The author, Blair Imani, put together with care and love many women and enby people who made a difference for the world and whose legacy should be in our textbooks. I learned more about black people, people of color and disabled people. At the end of the book there are four useful glossaries: a glossary of terms, events and phrase, a glossary of all the people mentioned in the book, a glossary of useful organizations (loved it!) and last but not least, a glossary of useful hashtags.
  That's a really inclusive and instructive reading for everyone.
• 
  Marianne

  Interesting capsule biographies with gorgeous illos. More modern than historical figures. Fun and door opening read.
• 
  giselle

  Definitely a book I wish I read in school! A book that includes 70 mini autobiographies of significant women and non-binary people with a highlight on intersectionality.
  
  The reason why I feel like this isn’t a new favourite book for me personality is because it tends to focus on figures within the USA. Although there is mention of figures outside of western society, I would’ve loved to seen more inclusion of women and non-binary people who are outside of north America.
  
  Although the audiobook for this book is good, I have seen some of the stunning illustrations (by @momo_le) of this book and I think that would have added a layer of connection to my reading experience. Therefore, I would definitely recommend reading this book physically if possible.
• 
  Chris Talbot-Heindl

  I truly enjoyed this particular list of women and non-binary folx, because I heard of new people (most lists I already know them, because it seems that everyone includes the same people in their lists, and once you've read one, you've pretty much read them all) AND there were more people who experience marginalized intersections included, which I really appreciated. In Modern Herstory, more people experience a marginalized intersection besides gender than not, in direct contrast to Femme Magnifique, which I had to wait until page 50 or so to see a non-white woman listed. People who experience an intersection know that the majority of the folx doing the really heavy lifting are people who experience an intersection, but media rarely reflects that, instead glomming on to the white women who showed up as the face or appropriator after the heavy work was completed. This book specifically recognizes the heavy lifters, and I really appreciate that.
  
  I also really appreciated the inclusion of younger activists. I think a lot of these compilations skip the fact that younger activists exist (while at the same time revering the fact older, known activists started at a really young age - which is weird). I appreciate the inclusion.
  
  The stories of each woman or non-binary person are great - providing a little snapshot and giving Google-able things to look up or ways to find out how to follow or find out more. But then you go to the back of the book and you have a Glossary with all kinds of info too!
  
  In other words, I really loved this book.
• 
  Jule

  This is a book that should stand in every school library. Every young person should be able to read it and learn about the great and inspiring people in it. That's a fact.
  But: Although I liked it (especially the simple but powerful illustrations) I had some issues with it. This book is very USA-centered, with a few exceptions but those also include mainly western activists. Don't get me wrong, I learned about some people I have never heard of before, and the book inspired me to read more about them, their work. But there are so many activists all around the world and I would've loved to get am glimpse at their work. A glimpse because each profile in this book is mainly a short overview, well written and powerful, but you really have to read much more about each person, if you really want to get to know the work their doing.
  This book is nevertheless important, well researched and has - which might not be unimportant to some - a very pretty layout and design.
  I couldn't be happier knowing there are people out there like Blair Imani, living their true and authentic self, speaking up and speaking their mind, doing important work and writing amazing and important books like this one.
• 
  Kathleen H.

  This was such a pleasure to read. Being an engineer, the only way to learn about modern sociology is through reading via books or the internet. I learned so much with this book. There were a few people I was like 'huh?' Mostly I believe I say that because I see some of these 'youngsters' and haven't heard of them. But now I do! (I'm such a Grandma. Not really. But you get the picture.) But overall, this was amazing. First, I did not know about the term 'intersectionality.' Yes, I feel silly saying that. But thank you Blair Imani for incorporating this term for people like me.
  I loved the highlighting of all the different people throughout modern history, including the active youth of today. Sharing their struggles and what is important to them really touched me.
  This book was a quick read, but wonderfully beneficial.
• 
  Cindy

  Filled with biographies of LGBTQ and non binary women who are making a difference in the world. Some are historic figures from the past, but most are modern day heroes, fighting for the rights of women, the disabled, the LGBTQI community, and most marginalized populations.
  
  So far, none of these ladies have made the tea list, but I'm going to look further into this book for future names later this summer.
• 
  Terri (Teresa)

  I did not care for the choice of Ladies/Women who I would have chosen to write about in this book. I think Blair Imani had a different motive for writing this book. And her views, I can think of a LOT of other Women who better suited about to write about who change history,
• 
  Jessica

  A fantastic resource that is PERFECT for schools! Definitely wish I had this book growing up.
• 
  Jen

  Wonderful!
• 
  Nadia

  A 3.5 rating, rounded up to a 4 in acknowledgement of its' momentous role in overall upliftment.
  
  "Growing up I didn't see people like myself or my family represented in history books. Why were black people only shown in the context of slavery? Where were the women of color? The LGBTQ folks? The lack of diversity was noticeable. My history lessons from elementary through high school painted a troubling picture that left me without role models with whom I could identify. In my experience of the world, I saw people from every walk of life making positive change in their communities. Why were their contributions to history not celebrated? Why were their stories left untold?" Conclusion - pg. 166
  
  It's well documented that in order to be fully healthy, whole and in our power emotionally and mentally an individual needs to see others who look, think and experience as they do. Blair begins the process with this book, which highlights the heroism, courage, innovation, fierceness and overall power of diverse Women. Within categories, such as Leading the Movement, The Revolution Will Be Funded, Speaking Truth to Power we discover Women pushing through limitations of all types to fully engage with Life and make a difference for the collective. With extensive Glossaries like Terms, Events & Phrases; Organizations and more the Author seeks to create a well laid out, vibrantly illustrated book as accessible and inclusive as possible. A commendable effort which for my taste would have been bolstered by infusing the bios with a dash more pizzaz. Even so, this is highly recommended reading for everyone and should be considered one of the textbooks in modern HERtory courses.
• 
  Katie

  I don't buy many books nowadays because the library is so awesome. However, I think this book would be a great candidate for a book to buy because you can't not spend a lot of time with this book, and then want to pass it on to others. Every single has page has such an interesting person or people to learn about, that you'll read the entry and then go deep diving on the Internet wanting to learn more about who that person has worked with, the things they have written, movements they have started, movies and shows they've acted in, etc. Each page captures your attention and curiosity, so it may require you to renew the book several times at the library (like I did) in order to invest enough time with each phenomenal woman and nonbinary person highlighted in this book.
  
  I learned so much from reading it, and particularly appreciated things like Blair's glossaries of terms, events and phrases; people; organizations; and more uniquely, hashtags. The accentuating of hashtags related to activism and representation act to give power back to the creators (especially black creators) who are so often forgotten and removed via sharing over social media.
• 
  Spencer Adams

  I am so happy to finally read this. It has been on my list for too long. I loved to learn about so many new faces, and to refresh my knowledge about a lot of Women and non-binary folks I thought I knew about.
  
  This is a great precursor and overview to this current movement. It gives great context to the intersectional perspectives that are coming together in this modern revolution. It gives historical and current connections to sociopolitical movements, highlighting what is very often written out of history.
  
  As a white man I never realized how patriarchal the word (his)(story) really was. Herstory is an equally important facet of humanity that should be validated and solidified on curriculums and conversations in the future. The re-appropriation of history is much needed.
  
  Please read and support Blair Imani!
• 
  Kay

  I truly adore Blair Imani. I follow her on Instagram & have learned so much from her! I think she is a fantastic teacher & a good writer! And while I found this book to be written really well, it does read like another laundry list of cool people to find out more about. (This has to be the fourth book I've read of "powerful" and "history making" women set up like this --short bios on one page and their illustrations on the other--, though I do think this is the first one to include nonbinary folk, which is awesome.)
  And while I was introduced to some incredible people (a lot of young people!), I was also disappointed with some of her choices. Both Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory are outspoken antisemites, and I could have done without.
  
  3.5 stars