Sister Circle: Black Women and Work - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 081353061X ISBN 13: 9780813530611

Publisher: Rutgers University Press, 2002

Synopsis

Although black women’s labor was essential to the development of the United States, studies of these workers have lagged far behind those of working black men and white women. Adding insult to injury, a stream of images in film, television, magazines, and music continues to portray the work of black women in a negative light.

Sister Circle offers an innovative approach to representing work in the lives of black women. Contributors from many fields explore an array of lives and activities, allowing us to see for the first time the importance of black women’s labor in the aftermath of slavery. A brand new light is shed on black women’s roles in the tourism industry, as nineteenth-century social activists, as labor leaders, as working single mothers, as visual artists, as authors and media figures, as church workers, and in many other fields. A unique feature of the book is that each contributor provides an autobiographical statement, connecting her own life history to the subject she surveys.

The first group of essays, “Work It Sista!” identifies the sites of black women’s paid and unpaid work. In “Foremothers: The Shoulders on Which We Stand,” contributors look to the past for the different kinds of work that black women have performed over the last two centuries. Essays in “Women’s Work through the Artist’s Eyes” highlight black women’s work in literature, drama, and the visual arts. The collection concludes with “Detours on the Road to Work: Blessings in Disguise,” writings surveying connections between black women’s personal and professional lives.

About this title

About the Author

SHARON HARLEY is an associate professor and chair of the African American studies department at the University of Maryland.

From the Back Cover

Sister Circle takes an innovative approach to representing work in the lives of black women. Contributors from many fields explore an array of lives and activities, allowing us to see for the first time the importance of black women's labor in the wake of slavery. A new light is shed on black women in the tourism industry, as nineteenth-century social activists, as working single mothers, as artists, as authors and media figures, and in many other fields. A unique feature of the book is that each contributor provides an autobiographical statement, connecting her own life history to the subject she surveys.

The first group of essays, "Work It Sista!" identifies the sites of black women's paid and unpaid work. In "Foremothers: The Shoulders on Which We Stand," contributors look to the past for different kinds of work that black women have performed over the last two centuries. Essays in "Women's Work through the Artist's Eyes" highlight black women's contributions to literature, drama, and the visual arts. The concluding section of the book, "Detours on the Road to Work: Blessings in Disguise," surveys connections between black women's personal and professional lives. Contributors are Taunya Lovell Banks, A. Lynn Bolles, Melinda Chateauvert, Adrienne Davis, Bonnie Thornton Dill, Tallese Johnson, Sharon Harley, Judi Moore Latta, Shirley Wilson Logan, Marilyn Mobley McKenzie, Carla L. Peterson, Mary Helen Washington, Rhonda M. Williams, Deborah Willis, and Francille Rusan Wilson.

Edition details

• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 081353061X
• ISBN 13: 9780813530611
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 312
• Editor: Harley Sharon