I Am, I Can, I Will: A Guided Journal of Self-Discovery for Black Girls

Marian Wright Edelman, founder of The Children's Defense Fund, said “You can't be what you can't see.” This book helps to change that for Black girls, with its mix of collective biography and writing prompts.

This is broken into three chapters, based on the phrasing of the title. In the "I Am" chapter, each woman is given a statement that summarizes her most important acchievement and the accompanying text gives more details. We learn about well known figures such as Oprah Winfrey and Kamala Harris, but also Lois Mailou Jones, a Harlem Renaissance artist and Julieanna Richardson, the founder of TheHistoryMakers.Com. There are several pages of writing prompts, suggestions for drawings, and activities that invite reflection in young readers about the qualities of these foremothers.

The "I Can" chapter looks at qualities that young readers can see in others and manifest in themselves, like courage for overcoming obstacles and helping others. Some of the more familiar faces we seen include Angela Davis and Wilma Rudolph, but there are many more women of whom I have not heard, such as disability rights activist and fashion designer Haben Girma, 18th century human rights advocate Elizabet "Mumbet" Freeman, US family court judge Jane Bolin, and Johnetta Cole, a college president and organization leader. These mini biographies are once again accompanied by activities and full page, full color illustrations of the women described.

The final section is "I Will", and encourages young girls to think of the things that they can accomplish. Examples include Marine aviator and combat pilot Vernice Armour, viral immunologist and researcherr Kizzy Corbett, and arctic explorer Barbara Hillary. These examples are drawn from many points in time, and cover a wide range of professions and accomplishments. The book doesn't have an index, but does have a good bibliography.