We Made the World: Five Centuries of Queens, Warriors, and Other Foremothers

Make Way: Five Centuries of Black Women Who Made the World traces 500 years of history through the lives of twelve extraordinary women of African descent, restoring their rightful place at the center of world history.

In 1949, Hannah Kudjoe, a seamstress from the Gold Coast, helped lay the foundation for Ghana’s independence by organizing the women who would help secure the nation’s first democratic election. Yet when the history of that struggle was written, her name was largely omitted. Make Way seeks to restore Kudjoe—and eleven other remarkable women—to the historical record.

From Queen Njinga of Angola, who resisted Portuguese colonization for four decades, to Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangarĩ Maathai and South African music icon Brenda Fassie, this sweeping work celebrates queens, warriors, artists, and activists whose courage and leadership shaped the world despite being overlooked by traditional histories.

Drawing on oral histories, collective memory, and research conducted across nine countries and four continents, the author weaves these women’s stories with her own experience of losing both parents while writing the book. The result is a deeply personal exploration of remembrance, resilience, and the cost of allowing extraordinary lives to fade from history.

Make Way is a powerful reimagining of the past that asks what has been lost by forgetting these women—and begins the vital work of restoring their legacies for future generations.