Synopses & Reviews
Born shortly before the Civil War, activist and reformer Fannie Barrier Williams (1855-1944) became one of the most prominent educated African American women of her generation. Hendricks shows how Williams became andquot;racedandquot; for the first time in early adulthood, when she became a teacher in Missouri and Washington, D.C., and faced the injustices of racism and the stark contrast between the lives of freed slaves and her own privileged upbringing in a western New York village.and#160;She carried this new awareness to Chicago, where she joined forces with black and predominantly white women's clubs, the Unitarian church, and various other interracial social justice organizations to become a prominent spokesperson for Progressive economic, racial, and gender reforms during the transformative period of industrialization. By highlighting how Williams experienced a set of freedoms in the North that were not imaginable in the South, this clearly-written, widely accessible biography expands how we understand intellectual possibilities, economic success, and social mobility in post-Reconstruction America.
Review
andquot;Lucidly written, smart, accessible, and with a wonderful sense of place, this book finally establishes Fannie Barrier Williams in the pantheon of African American women's history where she belongs.andquot;--Nancy A. Hewitt, author of
Southern Discomfort: Women's Activism in Tampa, Florida, 1880sandndash;1920sReview
andquot;In 1899, the Washington Post referred to Williams as and#39;one of the best known colored women on the continent.and#39; Hendricksand#39; highly readable and long overdue biography explains why.andquot;--Womenand#39;s Review of Books
Review
andquot;A highly readable, well-researched biography. . . . Hendricks bring the history of midwestern womenand#39;s reform into such sharp focus that it forces us to ask and answer how Williams ever got relegated to what Hendricks describes as the and#39;supporting cast of reformers and womenand#39;s club members.and#39;andquot;--Journal of Illinois History
About the Author
Wanda A. Hendricks is an associate professor of history at the University of South Carolina and is the author of
Gender, Race, and Politics in the Midwest: Black Club Women in Illinois.