The history of African American studies is often told as a heroic tale, with compelling images of black power and passionate African American students who refused to take no for an answer. Noliwe M. Rooks argues for the recognition of another story, which proves that many of the programs that survived actually began as a result of white philanthropy. With unflinching honesty, Rooks shows that the only way to create a stable future for African American studies is by confronting its complex past.

White Money/Black Power: The Surprising History of African American Studies and the Crisis of Race in Higher Education

Politics & Social Sciences

Rooks, Noliwe M.

Social Sciences

Beacon Pr

The history of African American Studies is often told as a heroic tale, with compelling images of black power and passionate African American students who refuse to take “no” for an answer. Noliwe M. Rooks argues for the recognition of another story that proves that many of the programs that survived were actually begun due to heavy funding from the Ford Foundation or, put another way, as a result of white philanthropy. Today, many students in African American Studies courses are white, and an increasing number of black students come from Africa or the Caribbean, not the United States. This shift—which makes the survival of the discipline contingent on non–African American students—means that “blackness can mean everything and, at the same time, nothing at all.” While the Ford Foundation provided much-needed funding, its strategies, aimed at addressing America’s “race problem,” have left African American Studies struggling to define its identity in light of the changes it faces today. With unflinching honesty, Rooks shows that the only way to create a stable future for African American Studies is through confronting its complex past. “Rooks is a serious scholar and insider of African American Studies, and this book is full of deep insight and sharp analysis.” —Cornel West

White Money/Black Power: The Surprising History of African American Studies And the Crisis of Race And Higher Education

History

Hair Raising: Beauty, Culture, and African American Women

We all know there is a politics of skin color, but is there a politics of hair?In this book, Noliwe Rooks explores the history and politics of hair and beauty culture in African American communities from the nineteenth century to the 1990s. She discusses the ways in which African American women have located themselves in their own families, communities, and national culture through beauty advertisements, treatments, and styles. Bringing the story into today's beauty shop, listening to other women talk about braids, Afros, straighteners, and what they mean today to grandmothers, mothers, sisters, friends, and boyfriends, she also talks about her own family and has fun along the way. Hair Raising is that rare sort of book that manages both to entertain and to illuminate its subject.

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Beauty, Grooming, & Style

Rutgers University Press

Beginning in the late nineteenth century, mainstream magazines established ideal images of white female culture, while comparable African American periodicals were cast among the shadows. Noliwe M. Rooks’s Ladies’ Pages sheds light on the most influential African American women’s magazines––Ringwood’s Afro-American Journal of Fashion, Half-Century Magazine for the Colored Homemaker, Tan Confessions, Essence, and O, the Oprah Magazine––and their little-known success in shaping the lives of black women.Ladies’ Pages demonstrates how these rare and thought-provoking publications contributed to the development of African American culture and the ways in which they in turn reflect important historical changes in black communities. What African American women wore, bought, consumed, read, cooked, and did at home with their families were all fair game, and each of the magazines offered copious amounts of advice about what such choices could and did mean. At the same time, these periodicals helped African American women to find work and to develop a strong communications network. Rooks reveals in detail how these publications contributed to the concepts of black sexual identity, rape, migration, urbanization, fashion, domesticity, consumerism, and education.  Her book is essential reading for everyone interested in the history and culture of African Americans.

Ladies' Pages: African American Women's Magazines and the Culture That Made Them

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

Beginning in the late nineteenth century, mainstream magazines established ideal images of white female culture, while comparable African American periodicals were cast among the shadows. Noliwe M. Rooks’s Ladies’ Pages sheds light on the most influential African American women’s magazines––Ringwood’s Afro-American Journal of Fashion, Half-Century Magazine for the Colored Homemaker, Tan Confessions, Essence, and O, the Oprah Magazine––and their little-known success in shaping the lives of black women. Ladies’ Pages demonstrates how these rare and thought-provoking publications contributed to the development of African American culture and the ways in which they in turn reflect important historical changes in black communities. What African American women wore, bought, consumed, read, cooked, and did at home with their families were all fair game, and each of the magazines offered copious amounts of advice about what such choices could and did mean. At the same time, these periodicals helped African American women to find work and to develop a strong communications network. Rooks reveals in detail how these publications contributed to the concepts of black sexual identity, rape, migration, urbanization, fashion, domesticity, consumerism, and education. Her book is essential reading for everyone interested in the history and culture of African Americans.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rooks, Noliwe M.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Rooks, Noliwe M.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rooks, Noliwe M.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

White Money/Black Power: The Surprising History of African American Studies and the Crisis of Race in Higher Education

White Money/Black Power: The Surprising History of African American Studies And the Crisis of Race And Higher Education

Hair Raising: Beauty, Culture, and African American Women

Ladies' Pages: African American Women's Magazines and the Culture That Made Them

Ladies' Pages: African American Women's Magazines and the Culture That Made Them