dr. blain: i have been interested for a while in capturing the voices of women who have just -- their voices have been lost, and really hidden in the crux of u.s. history. i wanted to excavate their stories. i wanted to help us better understand african-american history, the lack freedom struggle, and the complexities of that struggle. i wanted to add to the discussion, beyond mainstream narratives of the civil rights movement, for example, or women's involvement. i wanted to look at women activist that most haven't heard of. >> what did you learn? dr. blain: in that paper, i life of aut the woman, a working-class black woman from this joy. i spoke about the ways in which she and gazed in the concept of black internationalism, primarily through the 1930's. forgingabout her work activists.etween part of what i did for this particular panel was to try and get people to think about the , whohese historical actors we hardly talk about, black women can be thought about as shapers of black internatio

dr. king, so forth, that were aware of her, followed what she did? ms. blain: so far, no. but i do think in many ways looking at her life and her ideas, we can see so many direct links to the black power era. indirect, to be sure, but i do see how her story helps understand by and large the black struggle of the 20th century. myve: let me go back to original question. why do you relate to this so much? why is this of interest? ways it isin many reflective of mild background. a working-class background. it is fascinating to capture these black women and their voices and show, regardless of socioeconomic status or education, that really we can be part of a larger conversation concerning improving the lives of people everywhere. so, these women are inspirational. to be clear, there are still ideas i do not agree with. challenge that question. some of these actions frustrate me. i do think it is important to know their stories. steve: can you hear their voices in your head? ms. blain: sometimes. [laughter] canink other historians relate. as you go through their letters. what's