Love, Activism, and the Respectable Life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson

Description:

"Born in New Orleans in 1875 to a mother who was formerly enslaved and a father of questionable identity, Alice Dunbar-Nelson was a pioneering activist, writer, suffragist, and educator. Until now, Dunbar-Nelson has largely been viewed only in relation to her abusive ex-husband, the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. This is the first book-length look at this major figure in Black women's history, covering her life from the post-reconstruction era through the Harlem Renaissance. Tara T. Green builds on Black feminist, sexuality, historical and cultural studies to create a literary biography that examines Dunbar-Nelson's life and legacy as a respectable activist - a woman who navigated complex challenges associated with resisting racism and sexism, and who defined her sexual identity and sexual agency within the confines of respectability politics. It's a book about the past, but it's also a book about the present that nods to the future."--

subjects: African American feminists,  Biography,  African American women civil rights workers,  African American women authors,  African American sexual minorities,  African American women,  Public opinion,  Social conditions,  African Americans,  Race identity,  Harlem Renaissance,  Race relations,  Féministes noires américaines,  Biographies,  Défenseuses des droits de l'homme noires américaines,  Écrivaines noires américaines,  Minorités sexuelles noires américaines,  Noires américaines,  Opinion publique,  Conditions sociales,  Noirs américains,  Identité ethnique,  Relations raciales,  American Authors,  African American authors,  African American political activists