For the Freedom of Her Race:
Black Women and Electoral Politics in Illinois, 1877-1932
UNC Press, 2009 | Paperback, 2013
Black Women and Electoral Politics in Illinois, 1877-1932
UNC Press, 2009 | Paperback, 2013
Grounded in the rich history of Chicago politics, For the Freedom of Her Race tells a wide-ranging story about Black women's involvement in southern, midwestern, and national politics. Examining the oppressive decades between the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932--a period that is often described as the nadir of black life in America--this book shows that as African American women migrated beyond the reach of southern white supremacists, they became active voters, canvassers, suffragists, campaigners, and lobbyists, mobilizing to gain a voice in national party politics and elect representatives who would push for the enforcement of the Reconstruction Amendments in the South. ❧ Awarded Illinois State Historical Society prize ❧ Awarded Organization of American Historians Lerner-Scott Prize |
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Reviews and Praise — For the Freedom of Her Race
One of this book's many strengths is that Materson takes her subjects seriously as political actors. — American Historical Review
Materson draws a compelling portrait of the experiences of migrant women and the ways in which they used their ballots in Chicago to engage in 'proxy politics' on behalf of disfranchised southerners. Readers will learn a great deal about politics in the 'woman's era,' about coalitions and divisions within the black community, and about the roots of African Americans' electoral realignment during the New Deal years. This is an impressive work of scholarship and an important book. — Rebecca Edwards, Vassar College
Through careful and creative research, Lisa Materson traces the intellectual and social meanings of citizenship rights and the vote for northern African American women from the end of Reconstruction to the New Deal. This outstanding study makes a lively, important, and highly readable contribution to understanding gender and race in U.S. politics. — Patricia Schechter, author of Ida B. Wells-Barnett and American Reform: 1880-1930
Convincingly demonstrates that black women were agents of social and political change, and carefully traces the post-emancipation experiences of southern black women who used the political process to gain political rights for all blacks. — Journal of Illinois History
The book is exhaustively researched, meticulously analyzed, and does justice to the complex ways that those who are politically motivated function inside the limitations of a two-party system. — The Journal of American History
Well-organized, nicely written, and makes an important contribution to our knowledge of African American women's history and politics, and to our understanding of the sometimes messy and complicated processes by which political realignments occur. — Indiana Magazine of History
One of this book's many strengths is that Materson takes her subjects seriously as political actors. — American Historical Review
Materson draws a compelling portrait of the experiences of migrant women and the ways in which they used their ballots in Chicago to engage in 'proxy politics' on behalf of disfranchised southerners. Readers will learn a great deal about politics in the 'woman's era,' about coalitions and divisions within the black community, and about the roots of African Americans' electoral realignment during the New Deal years. This is an impressive work of scholarship and an important book. — Rebecca Edwards, Vassar College
Through careful and creative research, Lisa Materson traces the intellectual and social meanings of citizenship rights and the vote for northern African American women from the end of Reconstruction to the New Deal. This outstanding study makes a lively, important, and highly readable contribution to understanding gender and race in U.S. politics. — Patricia Schechter, author of Ida B. Wells-Barnett and American Reform: 1880-1930
Convincingly demonstrates that black women were agents of social and political change, and carefully traces the post-emancipation experiences of southern black women who used the political process to gain political rights for all blacks. — Journal of Illinois History
The book is exhaustively researched, meticulously analyzed, and does justice to the complex ways that those who are politically motivated function inside the limitations of a two-party system. — The Journal of American History
Well-organized, nicely written, and makes an important contribution to our knowledge of African American women's history and politics, and to our understanding of the sometimes messy and complicated processes by which political realignments occur. — Indiana Magazine of History
For the Freedom of Her Race is available directly through UNC Press and through online retailers like bookshop.org and amazon.
Related Talks, Presentations, and Publications
"If someone's trying to stop you, you know your vote matters," Interview with UC Newsroom, 2022
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"For the Freedom of her Race: Remembering Black Women in the Fight for the Vote,"
Talk as part of the Race and Women's Suffrage Series at Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Chicago, 2020
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“Champions for Democracy: Black Women and the Right to Vote,”
Virtual roundtable, American Dream Reconsidered Conference at Roosevelt University, Chicago, 2020
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African American Women, the Great Migration, and the Obama Presidency, blog post with UNC Press Blog, 2013
❧
"For the Freedom of her Race: Remembering Black Women in the Fight for the Vote,"
Talk as part of the Race and Women's Suffrage Series at Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Chicago, 2020
❧
“Champions for Democracy: Black Women and the Right to Vote,”
Virtual roundtable, American Dream Reconsidered Conference at Roosevelt University, Chicago, 2020
❧
African American Women, the Great Migration, and the Obama Presidency, blog post with UNC Press Blog, 2013