A Seat at the Table
A Seat at the Table
Black Women Public Intellectuals in US History and Culture
Contributions by Omar H. Ali, Simone R. Barrett, Tejai Beulah, Sandra Bolzenius, Carol Fowler, Lacey P. Hunter, Tiera C. Moore, Tedi A. Pascarella, John Portlock, Lauren T. Rorie, Tanya L. Roth, Marissa Jackson Sow, Virginia L. Summey, Hettie V. Williams, and Melissa Ziobro
While Black women’s intellectual history continues to grow as an important subfield in historical studies, there remains a gap in scholarship devoted to the topic. To date, major volumes on American intellectual history tend to exclude the words, ideas, and contributions of these influential individuals. A Seat at the Table: Black Women Public Intellectuals in US History and Culture seeks to fill this void, presenting essays on African American women within the larger context of American intellectual history. Divided into four parts, the volume considers women in politics, art, government, journalism, media, education, and the military. Essays feature prominent figures such as Shirley Chisholm, Oprah Winfrey, journalist Charlotta Bass, and anti-abortion activist Mildred Fay Jefferson, as well as lesser-known individuals.
The anthology begins with a discussion of the founders in Black women’s public intellectualism, providing a framework for understanding the elements, structure, and concerns central to their lives and work in the nineteenth century. The second section focuses on leaders in the Black Christian intellectual tradition, the civil rights era, and modern politics. Part three examines Black women in society and culture in the twentieth century, with essays on such topics as artists in the New Negro era; Joycelyn Elders, a public servant and former surgeon general; and America’s foremost Black woman influencer, Oprah. Lastly, part four concerns Black women and their ideas about public service—particularly military service—with essays on service members during World War II and the post-WWII military. Taken as a whole, A Seat at the Table is an important anthology that helps to establish the validity and existence of heretofore neglected intellectual traditions in the public square.
Every chapter and section of A Seat at the Tableis fascinating. . . . The field of American intellectual history has never been more vibrant as it is now. The continuing study of Black women intellectuals will keep the field fresh and healthy for years to come. A Seat at the Table is a reminder of that.
Williams and Ziobro have assembled a body of work that expands the parameters of Black women’s intellectual discourse. The fresh, innovative perspectives in A Seat at the Table challenge canonical thinking and urge us to reconsider who we conceive of as ‘public intellectuals.'
In this wide-ranging and groundbreaking book, the editors and contributors explore the foundations of Black women’s public intellectualism in the writings, sermons, and speeches of prophets, ministers, and Christian leaders before turning to an analysis of the many ways that Black women influenced American public life in the twentieth century. A Seat at the Table is a must-read for scholars and students of African American history writ large and Black intellectual history in particular.
Hettie V. Williams is associate professor of African American history in the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University. Williams is the current president of the African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS) and author, editor, or coeditor of several books including Race and the Obama Phenomenon: The Vision of a More Perfect Multiracial Union, published by University Press of Mississippi. Melissa Ziobro is specialist professor of public history. She serves as editor for New Jersey Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, a joint venture of the New Jersey Historical Commission, Rutgers University Libraries, and Monmouth University.
