Formidable

American Women and the Fight for Equality, 1920-2020

By: Elisabeth Griffith

Narrated by: Elisabeth Griffith

The Nineteenth Amendment was an incomplete victory. Black and white women fought hard for voting rights and doubled the number of eligible voters, but the amendment did not enfranchise all women or even protect the rights of those women who could vote.

A century later, women are still grappling with how to use the vote and their political power to expand civil rights, confront racial violence, improve maternal health, advance educational and employment opportunities, and secure reproductive rights.

Formidable chronicles the efforts of white and Black women to advance sometimes competing causes. Black women wanted the rights enjoyed by whites. They wanted to protect their communities from racial violence and discrimination. Theirs was not solely a women’s movement.

White women wanted to be equal to white men. They sought equal legal rights, political power, safeguards for working women and immigrants, and an end to confining social structures. There were also many white women who opposed any advance for any women.

In this riveting narrative, Dr. Elisabeth Griffith integrates the fight by white and Black women to achieve equality. Previously their parallel struggles for social justice have been presented separately—as white or Black topics—or covered narrowly, through only certain individuals, decades, or incidents. Formidable provides a sweeping, century-long perspective and an expansive cast of change agents.

From feminists and civil rights activists to politicians and social justice advocates, from working class women to mothers and homemakers, from radicals and conservatives to those who were offended by feminism, threatened by social change, or convinced of white supremacy, the diversity of the women’s movement mirrors America.

After that landmark victory in 1920, suffragists had a sense of optimism, declaring, “Now we can begin!” By 2020, a new generation knew how hard the fight for incremental change was; they would have to begin again.

Both engaging and outraging, Formidable will propel listeners to continue their foremothers’ fights to achieve equality for all.

©2022 Elisabeth Griffith (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing

Must read in today's political climate

This book covers the many facets of being a woman and has motivated me to become more engaged in politics. Griffith is careful to cover the variety of experiences that bring us to today's freedoms (and lack of). I loved when she highlighted the first-time government advances and women in office while still honoring those that pushed to get us there. She is not shy to show the horrible past our country has but she also celebrates the wins and speaks to progress. Many of the issues covered in this book are still relevant today. After reading, I feel more educated about the work that has gone into my experience as a woman today.