Centering Black Women’s Labor History in Latin America

Abstract

This review article surveys recent books that explore black women’s integral role in the labor history of Latin America and the Caribbean. As emancipated Latin American and Caribbean black women transitioned away from slave labor, they faced intense, enduring racial and gender discrimination in the labor market. Despite these hostile conditions, these black women tirelessly resisted and rebelled against oppression. Moving beyond the framework of black women as mere contributors to social, political, and economic systems, the reviewed books’ authors center black women as historically inextricable from these foundational elements that sustain the region.