Researching Black Women is Awesome

“The most disrespected person in America, is the black woman. The most un-protected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America, is the black woman.” - Malcolm X

One hallmark of this type of disrespect is the post-Civil war custom of refusing Black women any sort of honorific. “Auntie” or “Girl” rather than “Miss”, “Misses” This disrespect bleeds into historic newspaper coverage of Black women in the most unexpectedly delightful way. In the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, white women were generally written about as “Mrs. [Husband’s First Name]+[Last Name]. It was a sign of respect. Black women tend to be written about under their own names. This seriously makes my job so much easier. I love how a custom that was intended to insult and dehumanize allows us to identify the individual accomplishments and contributions of Black women in our communities.