Throughout history, there have been Black women who played vital roles in the quest for racial and gender equality. As these women take the forefront, they deal with a lack of respect, an inner struggle to live up to their various roles, and even violence, but press onward despite the obstacles. Among these are Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell. Both women are aware that lynchings are common in the South and that there should be something done about it. Both are impacted personally when a mutual friend, Thomas Moss, is lynched for no reason other than he'd founded a successful business. Moss's final words, a message to Blacks of Memphis, Tennessee, implore them to leave the area of lawlessness and go westward.

The roles of women impact every aspect of life, long before women are given the right to vote. Ironically, it's the right to vote that prompts a clash between Black women and White women with Whites objecting to the Black vote as a way of increasing Black control and Blacks fearing no control if the vote is limited. The two races battle over voter qualifications, and there are struggles that serve as the catalyst for new reforms while others issues threaten to delay any advance at all.

While White women have gender equality at the heart of their movement and Black men deal with race equality, Black women are torn by the fact that they need both. During the Great Depression, violence escalates and lynching becomes more common. As World War II gets into full swing, the White women take roles in the defense industry, though Black women are generally relegated to the domestic roles or to the undesirable jobs. Blacks continue to move into the political and social realm, increasing their impact on their world. Those who do so in the political arena include Mary McLeod Bethune, one of the first Black women appointed to a government post. Another is the first Black woman elected to Congress, Shirley Chisholm, who is also the first Black woman to make a bid for the office of President.

From Rosa Parks, who sparked a public transportation boycott by simply refusing to give up her seat, to Daisy Bates who led the "Little Rock Nine" to insist on equal education opportunities, these women have found opportunities to make their voices heard on an array of issues. They sacrificed of themselves and created new ways to handle their homes, families and careers. As time passes, Black and White women find themselves united on more fronts, facing more of the same issues and challenges, and dealing with the same concerns.