This book discusses the Americas before Columbus, and the developments of Indigenous communities. According to the book description, the author explores their feats of engineering, science, and landscaping, among others. It helps to show that the harmful narrative isn’t true. The story centers the lives and work of African American women who worked for NASA during the space race and beyond – all while dealing with so much discrimination. Known as “human computers,” their calculations were crucial for different space missions. They deserve credit and recognition for all of their contributions. Hidden Figures has helped to make that happen. You can check out more about these incredible Black female mathematicians on NASA’s website: From Hidden to Modern Figures. Often there tends to be a specific image of the Mexican woman – something that happens in other Latin American countries too. This image can, and does, marginalize many people. Notably, this book explores the art legacy of Soldaderas (women who fought in the Mexican Revolution) and Afro-Mexican women. Including their stories paints a more expansive picture of women’s contributions and what it means to be Mexican. As part of the ReVisioning History series by Beacon Press, it examines history through the lens of the featured community. My reading goal is to work my way through the series and read all of the books. A few are already on my bookshelf in addition to this one, such as An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz and A Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski. It examines the relationship between race and “the construction of and representation of transgender subjects;” how gender was conceptualized with ties to slavery and racialized gender; and much more. Black on Both Sides has won numerous awards, including an American Library Association Stonewall Honor in 2018; a Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction 2018; and the John Boswell Prize from the American Historical Association 2018.
