(Reviewed by Ann Onymous )
#CommissionsEarned
This book was not the biography I expected.
Alice Dunbar-Nelson (1875-1935) led an incredible life, full of love and activism indeed. This contribution into the oeuvre of African American history is from Dr. Tara T. Green. The biography is very detailed and complete, not just a brief summary of an amazing woman.
The author, Dr. Tara T. Green, shares a lot with Alice Dunbar-Nelson. Both women were born in New Orleans, both proud members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, both educators, both very involved in African American literature and protest movements, and women’s professional organizations. Both proud Louisiana women descended from that complex history of slavery of people – in the South – and throughout the United States.
Dr. Green’s carefully, deliberate choice to include the word ‘respectable’ in the title makes
reference to ‘respectability politics.’ The phrase was coined by Dr. Evelyn Brooks
Higginbotham in her book: Righteous Discontent: The Women’s Movement in the Black Baptist Church (1993). The beginning of this biography delves deeper into this subject.
Ms. Dunbar-Nelson lived at a time where ‘respectability’ was certainly expected/required of women, especially African American women before the turn of the century. She did not fit easily into the prescribed ‘behavior’ of women in America at that time. She was well educated, a teacher, self-sufficient, and self-supporting. She had a turbulent first marriage to Paul Laurence Dunbar and then married twice more. She had affairs with both men and women. She had to deal with being judged as a fair-skinned woman of color, a self-employed, independent divorcee, and a pioneer in women’s suffrage.
This book is tailored to a very specific audience. But all historians, not just scholars of African American history, will benefit greatly from Dr. Green’s extensive research. Dr. Green’s other books are also available to help all of us understand and grow into the future.
