Aug. 26 is Equality Day—the 95th anniversary of women’s suffrage (and, 50 years later, Betty Friedan’s Women’s Strike for Equality).

So, we asked our expert NYPL staff members to recommend some books about women and activism, for all ages and in cultures all around the world.

Children & YA

A picture book for readers of all ages, Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 (text by Michelle Markel and illustrations by Melissa Sweet), recounts the remarkable story of Clara Lemlich, an immigrant from Russia who, as a young adult, became a major force in the labor movement in the early 1900s. Markel hits the prime points with passion and rouses readers with her surprising citation of the precise Yiddish words that Clara used in her poignant, stirring outburst at a significant Cooper Union rally in 1909. We also learn, quite wonderfully, that much of Clara’s education came from her regular visits to her local branch of the New York Public Library. —Jeff Katz, Chatham Square

 

Another amazing book about Clara Lemlich​ is Audacity by Melanie Crowder. Written in verse, this powerful story retells Lemlich’s life as a young teen escaping Russia’s 1903 pogrom to becoming an advocate of female workers rights in New York City. —Susen Shi, Seward Park

 

 

 

 

The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman. This middle-grade novel centers on two 13-year-old friends in McCarthy-era America who have very different ways of responding to authority. I loved how the book shows the impact of not doing something as well as the impact of doing it.  —Jill Rothstein, Andrew Heiskell

 

 

 

 

On March 2, 1955—nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat—15-year-old Claudette Colvin was the first person arrested for resisting bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama. The following year, she was one of five plaintiffs in the landmark case, Browder v. Gayle, that determined that bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama was unconstitutional. Colvin’s actions are now considered by many a critical “spark” in the civil rights movement; however, many are still unfamiliar with her story. We need to change that. Check out Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice by Phillip Hoose. —Amie Wright, MyLibraryNYC

 

 

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly looks at what it’s like to be an 11-year-old girl at the turn of the 19^th century. Calpurnia wants to swim in the river, read Darwin’s works, and study the natural world with her grandfather. Unfortunately she is constantly scolded to “be a lady” while living in a houseful of brothers, but she is hopeless at cooking, knitting, and other “feminine” pursuits. The final insult is a Christmas gift called “The Science of Housewifery.” A funny, intelligent look at young womanhood and grappling with society’s expectations of females. —Rebecca Dash Donsky, 67^th Street

 

 

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali,  Delphine Minoui, and Linda Cloverdale is the story of a brave 10-year-old girl named Nujood who was courageous enough to defy both Yemeni customs and her family. She’s been an inspiration to other young girls in the Middle East who are challenging under- age marriages. —Elisa Garcia, Bronx Library Center

 

 

 

 

 

A Mad Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller. A scandal involving nude modeling in an art class has gotten Victoria Darling sent home from her finishing school in France to rainy, dreary London. It is 1909, and Victoria dreams of becoming an artist and studying at the Royal College of Art, but even for talented girls like her that is an impossible dream. Her parents want to force her into a hasty marriage to save her reputation, but she would rather die than become another man’s chattel. Enter the Women’s Social and Political Union. They offer Victoria freedom and possibility, encourage her to follow her dreams, and introduce her to a boy who believes in the suffragette’s cause just as fervently as she does. —Anne Rouyer, Mulberry Street

 

When Gloria Whelan’s Homeless Bird won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2000, I was so glad. With all the equality women have in the United States, we sometimes forget, and our young people don’t even know what life is like for many women around the world. Life for the 13-year-old widow in the adopted Indian home of her dead husband’s parents is no better than slavery, but an educated father-in-law and inner strength help her deal with her plight. —Peggy Salwen, St. Agnes

 

 

 

Biography & Memoir

I’ll recommend Olive Gilbert’s Narrative of Sojourner Truth. An ex-slave who could neither read nor write, yet her speech is one of the most memorable of the Women’s Equality Movement. —Jean Harripersaud, Bronx Library Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re looking for a woman who has reached—and remained at—the very pinnacle of success in politics, look no further than German chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been called the most powerful woman in the world today. She has held her post as German chief of state for 10 years and led her party for 15. Check out Angela Merkel: A Chancellorship Forged in Crisis, by Alan Crawford and Tony Czuczka. —Kathie Coblentz, Special Collections

 

 

 

 

 

Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story by Peter Bagge is a biographical account of the social and political activist whose propaganda was “Banned in Boston” throughout the 1920s. Responsible for much of the ground work that went into legalizing contraception in the United States, this is a story of personal flaws, deep compassion, fearlessness, and triumph that only Bagge’s art style could bring to life in such an accessible way. —Daniel Norton, Mid-Manhattan

 

 

 

“Grandma Rye is the furthest back we know. Somebody said she was an African. Landed in Virginia. Sold to Florida. In slavery-time she worked for the captain of a steamer, up and down the Carolina and Georgia coasts. She cooked. Some of her children died. Some of them she couldn’t keep. The last of them, born close on to Freedom stayed with her.” In Remnants: A Memoir of Spirit, Activism, and Mothering, civil rights leader Rosemarie Freeney Harding (1930-2004) and daughter her, Rachel Elizabeth Harding, recount their family history and explore spirituality as a transformative tool for social change. —Miriam Tuliao, Selection Team

 

 

 

Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur. Over 30 years ago, revolutionary Assata Shakur (formerly known as Joanne Chesimard) fled to Cuba, where she was granted political asylum by Fidel Castro. U.S. law enforcement has continuously sought her extradition. On May 2, 2013, the FBI added her to the Most Wanted Terrorist List. On the same day, the New Jersey Attorney General offered to match the FBI reward, increasing the total reward for her capture to $2 million. —Lori Salmon, Mid-Manhattan

 

 

 

 

Adult Fiction

I am currently reading The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing. It is the story of Anna, a disillusioned communist and author, who writes in four notebooks of her beliefs, relationships, and life experiences as a “free” woman. The novel swings between the notebooks and comprises the golden notebook in which Anna brings all four notebooks together. Lessing gives flavor to the time period (1950s) and captures the physicality and emotional upheaval with momentum. —Jessica Cline, Mid-Manhattan

 

 

 

 

Nonfiction

Feminism Unfinished is a bold, brief, and continuous history of American women’s movements to the present day. Written by three leading feminist scholars, the book details the processes by which feminism’s accomplishments have been achieved and challenges traditionally accepted views of feminism. I found it to be an excellent, accessible introduction to understanding feminism as a social movement. —Lauren Restivo, 115^th Street

 

 

 

 

There’s no more relevant educator and activist than Angela Davis in discussing and analyzing the role of women in both the everyday sphere and activist sphere of life. In her book, Women, Race & Class, Davis presents the seemingly omnipotent power that both race and class hold in trying to divide and overcome important movements struggling to overcome inequality. This book reaches out towards providing both a historical analysis and a framework of thought for going forth in movements, in protest, and in our own way of thinking and living. It is always important to remember others’ struggles while fighting our own as well. —Ian Baran, Yorkville

 

 

 

I loved Girls to the Front by Sara Marcus—the history of the Riot Grrrl movement in the 1990s, told in cheeky girlspeak. For the uninitiated, Riot Grrrl was a feminist political movement centered in the Pacific Northwest led by young women who were fed up with the violence and masculinity at the heart of the punk scene at the time. In search of greater inclusivity, they started all-girl bands with names like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile, circulated feminist zines from coast to coast, and eventually garnered national attention for their outspoken brand of girl-empowerment. Lisa Darms’ book The Riot Grrrl Collection also provides a killer close-up look at the actual artifacts of the movement, often heralded as the start of third-wave feminism. —Nancy Aravecz, Mid-Manhattan Library

 

 

The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-first Century by Grace Lee Boggs, who is one of the most inspirational human beings on the planet today. She talks about visionary organizing: not only protesting oppression across the planet, but also envisioning what a fundamentally transformed society would look like. —Lori Salmon, Mid-Manhattan

 

 

 

 

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your picks, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend.

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