Of Dreamers and Achievers : BLACK WOMEN IN AMERICA: An Historical Encyclopedia, <i> Edited by Darlene Clark Hines (Carlson Publishing, P.O. Box 023350, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11202-0267: $195, 2 vols., 1,530 pp. / Indiana University Press: $49.95, 2 vols. paperback)</i>

I wish “Black Women in America: An History Encyclopedia” had been around when I was growing up. What little African-American history I was taught focused mostly on men--the three M’s, mostly: Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey. The women I learned about were primarily white. This is not news. To be both female and black has always been a struggle against invisibility. I often think of the black feminist anthology edited by Patricia Bell-Scott, Gloria Hull and Barbara Smith, with the intricate title “All the Women Are White, All the Blacks are Men, but Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women Studies.”

“Black Women in America” edited by Darlene Clark Hine, an American history professor at Michigan State University, follows in the footsteps of that black women studies anthology. In 1,530 pages, illustrated throughout with black-and-white photographs, the struggles and triumphs of hundreds of black women are heralded. The term minority often makes people feel marginalized. This encyclopedia makes it clear that while black women may be numerically a “minority,” they have had a major impact on American history and culture. Here we have Dorothy Dandridge, the first African-American woman nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award, for her role in “Carmen Jones” (1945). That year Time magazine wrote of Dandridge that she “holds the eye--like a match burning steadily in a tornado.” Here are Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady of Jazz, and Aretha Franklin, the First Lady of Soul; thumbing through the pages, I could hear the melodies of Aretha’s “Respect” and Ella’s classic version of “Mack the Knife” rumbling through my head--an unusual but wonderful experience to have while reading an encyclopedia!

In the category of letters, there is no shortage of stellar authors to read about: Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks, Nobel Prize-winner Toni Morrison, science fiction writer Octavia Butler--and one of my favorites, Ann Petry, whose haunting, lyrical novel “The Street” sold 1.5 million copies in 1946. Petry’s runaway success would pave the way for modern best-selling authors such as Terry McMillan and Alice Walker. In the arena of politics, you can read about Los Angeles congresswoman Maxine Waters, revolutionary figures such as Angela Davis, former Planned Parenthood president Faye Wattleton and the first black woman senator, Carol Moseley Braun.

But these are the women whose names you probably already know. This encyclopedia will introduce you to hundreds of new ones, people such as cartoonist Barbara Brandon, whose strip “Where I’m Coming From” features nine “girls” talking about their lives and loves. Throughout the encyclopedia, what comes across again and again is the humor and grace that is necessary to deal with the double yoke of racism and sexism. As Lena Horne is quoted here: “There were always people around reminding me that I was a symbol of certain Negro aspirations. When those reminders were made too often, I would try to assert myself and say, in effect: ‘All right, I’m a symbol. But I’m a person too. You can’t push me so hard. I’ve got a right to my own happiness, too.’ ”

The ways that black women have pursued that happiness are numerous and diverse. Aspiring young scientists can read about chemical engineer Jenny Patrick. Girls who like to play doctor can read about May Chinn, who in 1926 became the first black woman intern at Harlem Hospital. Young black women who dream of a career in the fine arts can read about sculptress Augusta Savage, painter Faith Ringgold and artist Howardena Findell, who has begun to make major strides in the area of video art with such pieces as “Free, White and 21” (1980). When young black women grow up being derided as “bitches” and “ho’s” by rappers and other popular culture figures, the importance of such role models cannot be underestimated. It is critical that the young women who will guide the black community into the 21st Century know that they aren’t “bitches” or “ho’s,” that black women aren’t only maids and mammies, that they can be scientists, artists, senators, writers. It is important that young black women know that they have the right to dream and the ability to achieve.

A couple of years ago, I visited a predominantly black junior high school in New York City to research an article I was writing about multiculturalism. A group of students in a history class were incensed about what they were learning and what they were not learning. One black girl began crying. In tears, she asked me, “How are we supposed to feel about ourselves if the only thing we learn about is slavery?” I can picture her face, even today, and they way her question broke my heart. Slavery? If I knew her name and her address, I would send her this encyclopedia and I would tell her that although we may still have a long way to go, we’ve come a long way since slavery. A mighty long way.