The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women's Magic

by Lindsey Stewart

Overview

Named BookRiot's Best New Nonfiction, a crucial telling of U.S. history centering the Black women whose magic gave rise to the rich tapestry of American culture we see today—from Vicks VapoRub and Aunt Jemima’s pancake mix, to the magic of Disney’s The Little Mermaid (2023), and the all-American blue jean.

Emerging first on plantations in the American South, enslaved conjure women used their magic to treat illnesses. These women combined their ancestral spiritual beliefs from West Africa with local herbal rituals and therapeutic remedies to create conjure, forging a secret well of health and power hidden to their oppressors and many of the modern-day staples we still enjoy. 

In The Conjuring of America, Black feminist philosopher Lindsey Stewart exposes this vital contour of American history. In the face of slavery, Negro Mammies fashioned a legacy of magic that begat herbal experts, fearsome water bearers, and powerful mojos—roles and traditions that for centuries have been passed down to respond to Black struggles in real time. And when Jim Crow was born, Granny Midwives and textile weavers leveled their techniques to protect our civil and reproductive rights, while Candy Ladies fed a generation of freedom crusaders.

Sourcing firsthand accounts the of enslaved, dispatches from the lore of Oshun, and the wisdom of beloved Black women writers, Stewart proves indisputably that conjure informs our lives in ways remarkable and ordinary. Above all, The Conjuring of America is a love letter to the magic Black women used to sow messages of rebellion, freedom, and hope.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538769508
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	07/29/2025
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Lindsey Stewart is a Black feminist philosopher and an Associate Professor of philosophy at the University of Memphis. She is the author of The Politics of Black Joy. Her work has been featured in Blavity, Signs, Hypatia, and the British Journal for the History of Philosophy, and sheholds a 2021 Michael Beaney Prize. She lives in Memphis, Tennessee.

Editorial Reviews

"A celebration of Black magic. . .a brisk, spirited narrative. . [and] an entertaining, informative contribution to Black history.”—Kirkus (Starred Review)

"The power of Black Girl Magic truly comes to life in Stewart's analysis of Black women's contributions American culture."—Ebony

"In a culture where Black women are often portrayed as unqualified, uninspiring, and un-American, The Conjuring of America makes clear that their innovations are woven into the very fabric of American identity, and that Black women continue to shape who we are and how we live."—BookPage

“[Stewart] succeeds at giving readers the feeling that they’re being let in on an ancient secret. It’s a delight.” – Publishers Weekly Review
 
 —Publishers Weekly

“If you’ve ever slathered on Vicks VapoRub, breakfasted on Aunt Jemima pancakes, or sipped a cold Coca Cola, you have a Black conjure woman to thank. Stewart’s lively and informative guide sheds much-needed light on the power and beauty of Black female traditions.”—Booklist

“Lindsey Stewart’s remarkable commitment and tireless research, combined with the breadth of her keen insight, pride, and understanding of her subject matter, are only part of what makes The Conjuring of America so powerful. This exploration of our shamefully ignored and dismissed history is a compelling and essential standout. Important and altogether unique, this read informs and transports as it ushers a glorious cast of influential Black women to life.”—Lucy Anne Hurston, sociologist, niece of Zora Neale Hurston, Speak, So You Can Speak Again

“With The Conjuring of America we welcome Lindsey Stewart to the table of hope, for her work is the deep, courage dive into the sea of lost truths. She recovers the critical treasures from the waters in her breathtaking honest and beautifully rendered new work. And we are the better for it.”—asha bandele, New York Times bestselling co-author of When They Call you a Terrorist and author of Daughter and The Prisoner’s Wife

“Lindsey Stewart's arrival on the scene is not only exciting and powerful, but necessary. Black and feminist history is shamefully incomplete; conjure women are vital parts of our foundation and fabric. I love this book. We need this book!  Now more than ever.”—Patrisse Cullors, co-founder Black Lives Matter and New York Times bestselling author of When They Call You a Terrorist

“In The Conjuring of America, Lindsey Stewart offers nothing less than a rethinking of our national culture through the stories of  'conjure women.' When we talk about who and what has made our culture uniquely American, this essential story must be told, and Dr. Stewart does it with wisdom, erudition, and empathy.”—Jeff Chang, Ford fellow, historian, journalist and music critic, and author of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, Who We Be, and Water Mirror Echo

From the Publisher

★ 2025-05-15
A celebration of Black magic.

Black feminist philosopher Stewart examines how magic has shaped Black experience in America by tracing the transformations of the conjure woman from the Negro Mammy during slavery to the Candy Lady, a revered elder in Black communities during the Civil Rights Movement. Powerful figures in Blacks’ battles against racism and sexism, conjure women have inhabited many roles, among them, healers, spiritual guides, midwives and abortion providers, weavers and quilters, hairdressers, and cooks. Enslaved African women brought their ancestors’ use of natural medicine to the plantation, where Negro Mammies applied methods that were noninvasive and boosted the immune system, far different from medical doctors’ bloodletting and purging. Among one Negro Mammy’s remedies was a salve containing turpentine, which cleared airways so effectively it was sought after by whites, including one Southern man who made a fortune marketing it as Vicks VapoRub. In antebellum New Orleans, the Voodoo Queen was central to a community of free women of color who worshiped mermaids. Associated with rebellion and vengeance, Voodoo Queens inspired fear in their white neighbors. Stewart traces the connections of conjure to Aunt Jemima (whose image derived from a minstrel act), the invention of the blues, and even the creation of blue jeans, first made and worn by enslaved people and sewn from “negro cloth,” dyed with the West African plant indigo. Conjure emerges in the art of hairdressers, in cooks whose soul food has the power to bring good luck, and in quilters who designed “busy patterns” in their blankets to distract spirits that brought bad luck. Stewart melds personal reflections, African mythology, and abundant primary sources, most notably interviews conducted by the Federal Writers’ Project, to create a brisk, spirited narrative.

An entertaining, informative contribution to Black history.

Kirkus Reviews