Stepping forward : Black women in Africa and the Americas ; [papers from a conference held at the University of Tennessee from September 15-18, 1999

Annotation Presents the edited proceedings of a conference held at the University of Tennessee in September 1999 at which academics from South Africa, Jamaica, and the US compare the experiences of 19th- and 20th-century black women in Africa and African diaspora communities. The volume's 18 contributions range from the theme of witchcraft and taxes in the Transkei, South Africa to women and the Civil Rights Movement in Claiborne County, Mississippi. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Cathering Higgs (history, U. of Tennessee, Knoxville), has combined careful academic research with the kind of skillful writing you'd expect in a good historical novel. She tells the true story of the chocolate islands, where slavery, free labor, and coercion all formed part of the colonial history of cocoa-growing. Her account begins when the Cadbury Company, fair-minded makers of children's chocolates, was accused of using slave labor in the early years of the 20th century. The book follows Cadbury's own investigation into whether its cocoa-harvesters were Portuguese slaves. It describes both what Cadbury investigators discovered and what they did about it. Higgs vividly evokes the people involved, and documents her sources (the book includes extensive notes and a choice bibliography). The book is well illustrated with black and white photographs. While Higgs has the fairness and sense to let the story stand for itself, it raises lasting questions about the dignity of work and the pressures and practices of international business. The book is strikingly relevant to today's headlines. It is an excellent study for academics who want to know how to research at a professional level and then write well for the public, and it will strongly appeal to general readers. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Extrait de la couverture : "A unique and important study, Steppinf forward examines the experiences of nineteenth- and twentieth-century black women in Africa and African diaspora communities from a variety of perspectives in a number of different settings. This wide-ranging collection designed for classroom use explores the broad themes that have shaped black women's goals, options and responses : religion, education, political activism, migration, and cultural transformation. Essays by leading scholars examine the lives of black women in the United States and the Carribbean Basin ; in the white settler societies of Kenya, Zimbabwe, and South Africa ; and in the black settler societies of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Among the contributors to this volume are historians, political scientists, and scholars of literature, music, and law. What emerges from their work is an image of black women's agency, self-reliance, and resiliency. Despite cultural differences and geographical variations, black women have provided foundations on which black communities have not only survived, but also thrived. Stepping forward is a valuable addition to our understanding of women's roles in these diverse communities."