Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom

"All of the books that I just described informed the way I decided to write Set the World on Fire . In Set the World on Fire , I center working poor Black women and talk about the ways that these marginalized women led a vibrant political movement that connected activists in the United States with activists in the Caribbean , Latin America, Africa, and even in Asia. These women lacked the means to travel, but found ways to make an impact around the world. It’s a story about grassroots internationalism, looking at the creative ways that Black women tried to improve conditions for Black people abroad. They created connections using letter writing campaigns, for example, to reach activists all over the globe. They created discussion groups about events all over the globe. Often that work takes place in churches or other religious spaces. So you see the connections to Higginbotham’s work and Hunter’s focus and Ella Baker’s ways of organizing within communities. Today’s Black activists are building upon the rich and dynamic legacy of all of the women in these books. One way is in their use of public spaces. We see the Black Lives Matter movement, often shut off from formal spaces, getting across their message by occupying a park, for example. In the pre-COVID world, they’re bringing people together on street corners to talk about the challenges facing the community. Like the Black activists on whose shoulders they stand, they’re using every open avenue to make change. Like the Black women these books are about, Black Lives Matter activists are not waiting for invitations to take a seat at the table. They’re using any platform open to them—Twitter and Instagram, street corners and local parks. Black women today are just as creative as the activists of the civil rights movement. Their strategies are similar to their marginalized predecessors but also skillful and innovative. And like the African American women in these books, no matter how many obstacles are erected to impede them, they are unstoppable."