The oppression of black women began when first slaves were brought to America in the 18th century. Many black people went through horrendous circumstances during slavery where they were discriminated, beaten and treated as less of a human. Black women, on the other hand, endured a lot more than black men, they were sexually abused, beaten, silenced, had to work long hours and were ‘human breeders’. The status of black women was very low, and it took decades to change it – first through the Abolitionist Movement and then through feminism. Black women were educated, oppressed, had no voice or control over their lives – all that started to change with the encouragement by people like Sojourner Truth, who was outspoken women’s rights activist and the predecessor of black feminism. In the 1900s the first wave of feminism started in America with the beginning of the Suffrage Movement. While many black women were willing to fight for their rights, they were mostly excluded by white feminists, which marked the separation of feminism into two branches – white feminism and black feminism. White feminists became more focused on their rights, while black women focused on theirs – black women had to deal with intersectionality which made their progress slower, nevertheless they continued fighting all throughout the 20th century with each new generation coming with their own set of issues. Black feminism is divided into three waves, the first wave which lasted from the 1900s to the 1940s, the second wave which occurred simultaneously with the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and lasted until the 1980s and the 1990s, and the third wave which occurred in the 1990s. Each wave had their representatives who were very vocal and active in their attempts to achieve rights. Many black feminists, including Anna Julia Cooper, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Mary Church Terrell, Alice, Walker, Angela Davis and Michelle Wallace showed through their works the difficulties that black women had to endure, how their voices were silenced and their needs as human beings neglected. They also challenged many stereotypes about black women, encouraged black women to pursue education and uplift each other. Their goal was not to achieve ‘some’ rights, but to become equal members of the society as they were fully capable of being that. Progress of black women was slow, included many women, some heard some unheard, but each made her contribution to bring the whole race forth.