Southern Black Women and Their Struggle for Freedom during the Civil War and Reconstruction

This collection explores how Black women in the American South resisted and survived during the Civil War and Reconstruction era, highlighting their self-liberation, contributions to the family economy, and reliance on kinship and community solidarity. It sheds new light on their complex wartime and post-war experiences and provides insight into the contested spaces they occupied.

Format: Hardback
Length: 244 pages
Publication date: 21 December 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

This captivating and groundbreaking collection delves into the diverse range of strategies employed by Black women from various regions of the American South to navigate one of the most turbulent periods in American history – the Civil War and Reconstruction era. The essays included herein shed new light on individual narratives and case studies of women in war and freedom, unveiling that Black women recognized the imperative of securing their own liberation, and illustrating how this influenced their postwar political, social, and economic lives. Black women and children are explored as self-liberators, contributors to the family economy during the war, and widows who relied on kinship and community solidarity. By expanding and deepening our understanding of the various ways in which Black women capitalized on wartime opportunities and asserted their claims to citizenship, this volume highlights the intricate complexities of their wartime and post-war experiences, while also providing valuable insights into the contested spaces they occupied.

ISBN-13: 9781316514757