"Drawing on a wealth of untapped primary sources—not only legal documents and newspapers but also the diaries, letters, and autobiographical writings of free women—King opens a new window on the world of black women. She examines how they became free, educated themselves, found jobs, maintained self-esteem, and developed social consciousness—even participating in the abolitionist movement. She considers the stance of southern free women toward their enslaved contemporaries and the interactions between previously free and newly freed women after slavery ended."

Wilma King has a joint appointment in the Department of History and Black Studies at the University of Missouri–Columbia, where she holds the Arvarh E. Strickland Distinguished Professorship in African-American History and Culture.