How Long? How Long?: African American Women in the Struggle for Civil Rights PDF
Preview How Long? How Long?: African American Women in the Struggle for Civil Rights
HOW LONG? HOW LONG? This page intentionally left blank HOW LONG? ^ HOW LONG? African-American Women in the Struggle for Civil Rights BELINDA ROBNETT New York Oxford • Oxford University Press 1997 Oxford University Press Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogota Bombay P)ticnus Aires Calcutta Cape: Town Dar es .Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madras Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi Paris Singapore '(ainei 1 okyo [nron.ro Warsaw and associated companies m Berlin Ibadan Copyright C(5 1997 by Oxford University Press, Inc. "Published by Oxford University Pros,-,, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford IK a registered trademark of' Oxford University Press All tights reserved. No parr of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or trammiued, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, wit bout the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Catalo^ing-m-Publication Data Robneit., Belinda. u^6- How long? How Ion;;:' : African-American women in the struggle for civil rights / Belinda Rohneit. P. cm. Includes bibliograptcai references and index. ISRN 0-19-^11490-6 i. A fro-American women civil rights workers ---1 hst"oty--2Oth century. 7,. A fro-American—Civil right's-—-1 hstory---?.orh century. ;•}. (jvil nghrs movements --Unired St:atc:s~-Misrory----2oib century. 4. Sex role-- - -United States • -History' • -aovh ccni ury. 5. Man-woman relationships- -Uniied States- --Ilist(jry---^orh centuiy- I- Title. Ki85.6i.R68'-; 1997 30'j.48'896oY3'oo9O4[j - dc;i i 97-2263 E } -'j 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in the United States oi Amenca on acid-dee paper For my parents Ozie and Novelette Robnett, whose hard work, support, and love set me on a positive life course. For my husband, Neal, for standing by my side and helping me keep my head above water. For my sons, David and Jonah, who are a constant source of joy. This page intentionally left blank "The Black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time, that she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power." From / Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, p. 265. "You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear I rise. Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. 1 rise. I rise." From And Still I Rise, by Maya Angelou. This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE without whom I could have never completed this book. First and foremost, I want to thank the activists who so graciously gave of them- selves and their time to provide me with their powerful and thoughtful stories. For many, recalling the trials and tribulations in their struggle for freedom and justice was a source of both joy and pain. To all of you, I offer my appreciation for your openness, honesty, and trust. I also wish to extend my gratitude to Diane Ware and the staff at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change; to the staff supervising the Civil Rights Documentation Project at the Moorland Spingarn Research Cen- ter at Howard University; and to the Boston University staff who provided access to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers. Although I requested numerous files, all who helped were kind and patient. A special thank-you is offered to Maryrnal Dryden, Georgia State University, and civil rights activists Reginald Robinson, Cleve Sellers, and Jack Chatfield, who were kind enough to assist me in locating the women activists. Funding and in some cases leave time, without which this project could not have been completed, were provided by the Rackham Dissertation Grant, Uni- versity of Michigan; American Sociological Association Minority Dissertation Fel- lowship, which was funded jointly by the Association of Black Sociologists and the Society of Women Sociologists; Center for the Continuing Education of
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