Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

History

PDF

University of South Carolina

Theses and Dissertations

2017

Beauty Culture

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Skin Deep: African American Women And The Building Of Beauty Culture In South Carolina, Catherine Davenport Jan 2017

Skin Deep: African American Women And The Building Of Beauty Culture In South Carolina, Catherine Davenport

Theses and Dissertations

“Skin Deep: African American Women and the Building of Beauty Culture in South Carolina,” examines how African American women in the state adapted door-todoor beauty systems into successful businesses between 1900 and 1960. Black beauticians in South Carolina built beauty parlors that would serve as critical community meeting spaces away from the cruelties of Jim Crow segregation, and in some instances became centers of activism. Through sources including memoirs, newspapers, city directories, and the Negro Motorist Green Book, I highlight the ways black beauty culture proved black women could be financially independent, beautiful, and politically active.

The thesis consists of …