Suchergebnisse

This article highlights the establishment by the Alabama Federation of Colored Women's Clubs in 1907 of Alabama's first and only reform school for African American youths, the Mt. Meigs Reformatory for Juvenile Negro Lawbreakers. Recognizing that the issues of African American women and the larger African American community were inextricably linked, courageous 19th-century African American women worked within a womanist ideological framework and harnessed their resources to develop purposeful agendas and creative responses to pressing problems in the African American community. Sorely neglected, this legacy begs for the attention of scholars who recognize the value of unearthing historical fragments to create enriched wholes.

The contributors-all women of color-present their varied experiences regarding the conceptualizations of womanhood, beauty, and gender roles. What the Village Gave Me touches upon careers, relationships, ethnic identity, and cultural representation. This collection will help readres see how race, class, and ethnicity work to divide or unite women.