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Black Women In The "Black Metropolis" Of The Early Twentieth Century: The Case Of Professional Occupations, Robert L. Boyd May 2013

Black Women In The "Black Metropolis" Of The Early Twentieth Century: The Case Of Professional Occupations, Robert L. Boyd

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Little research has examined the employment of Black women as teachers, nurses, and librarians in the urban Black communities of the early twentieth century. The present study fills this void, analyzing Census data on the largest urban Black communities at the start of the Great Migration to cities. The results show that, in spite of the supposed advantages of the northern "Black Metropolis," Black communities in the urban North were relatively limited in their potential to offer opportunities for Black women to enter pursuits that were, at the time, mainstays of a nascent class of Black professional women.


Life History And Narrative Analysis: Feminist Methodologies Contextualizing Black Women's Experiences With Severe Mental Illness, Marya R. Sosulski, Nicole T. Buchanan, Chandra M. Donnell Sep 2010

Life History And Narrative Analysis: Feminist Methodologies Contextualizing Black Women's Experiences With Severe Mental Illness, Marya R. Sosulski, Nicole T. Buchanan, Chandra M. Donnell

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper discusses a methodological approach to research that enhances critical analysis by contextualizing qualitative research findings within participants' individual experiences. We demonstrate the combined use of life history methods and feminist narrative analysis to explore Black women's everyday experiences with mental illness, from their perspectives. These interpretive methods reach beyond pathologized conceptions of identity and adjustment that often narrowly characterize mental illness among Black women. Instead, these methods holistically describe a participant's experiences and strategies she uses to pursue goals and enhance her life. The use of the methods is illustrated with examples from the life narrative of "Maria," …