The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 100, July 1996 - April, 1997 Page: 121

Book Reviews

Black Texas Women. By Ruthe Winegarten. (Austin: University of Texas Press,
1995. Preface, acknowledgments, notes, bibliography, index. ISBN 0-292-
79089-9. $24.95, paper.)
Teaching was often accepted as a traditional role for black Texas women in
the years following the Civil War. But for those women who chose this profession
the schoolroom represented much more. Standing in front of the class signified
a personal achievement in that they had successfully acquired knowledge and
skills. As teachers, their work would educate children and help build a literate
community. For many students they would be role models with as much or more
influence as parents. By example, they would symbolize the importance of self-
respect and human value.
Since the antebellum period, black women have struggled to establish their
own identity and to receive recognition as equal, valuable human beings. Their
history has stretched from slaves to freedwomen, from field workers to business
owners, and from the politically disadvantaged to political officeholders. In 150
years they have had great women-Barbara Jordan and Christia Adair, for exam-
ple-who were well known. But many more-Mrs. S. G. Kay, Hattie Briscoe,
Matilda Boozie Randon, and Bessie Coleman to name just a few-never received
public acclaim but their persistance changed the future for many women, both
black and white.
In Black Texas Women, Ruthe Winegarten, author and editor of numerous
books on Texas including Governor Ann Richards and Other Texas Women: From In-
dians to Astronauts (1993), has broadened the history and understanding of the
roles, achievements, and contributions of black women. Beginning with the pre-
emancipation period and continuing to the present, she has filled in a large gap
in Texas women's history and black history. Using a wealth of primary sources
and oral histories, she has recorded the lives, both ordinary and extraordinary,
of a significant part of Texas citizenry. Despite some instances of repetitious ma-
terial, Black Texas Women is informative and represents an important addition to
Texas history books.
Tarleton State University JANET SCHMELZER
Boer Settlers in the Southwest. By Brian M. du Toit. (El Paso: Texas Western Press,
University of Texas at El Paso, Southwestern Studies Series No. 101, 1995.
Pp. viii+94. Acknowledgments, introduction, references (notes). ISBN o-
87404-197-X. $12.50, paper.)
In January 1912, Las Cruces, New Mexico, held a gala parade to celebrate the
birth of statehood. A group of horsemen carrying two flags-the Stars and
Stripes of the United States and the Vier Kleur, the red-white-black-green colors
of South Africa-marched in the procession. The riders represented the Boer
families who had settled in the El Paso area following the British conquest of
their homeland in 1902. The nature and significance of the Boer presence is
treated in Boer Settlers in the Southwest by Brian M. du Toit, a graduate of the Uni-
versity of Pretoria and a professor of anthropology at the University of Florida,

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