In Notes from a Colored Girl, Karsonya Wise Whitehead examines the life and experiences of Emilie Frances Davis, a freeborn twenty-one-year-old mulatto woman, through a close reading of three pocket diaries she kept from 1863 to 1865. Whitehead explores Davis�s worldviews and politics, her perceptions of both public and private events, her personal relationships, and her place in Philadelphia�s free black community in the nineteenth century. Although Davis�s daily entries are sparse, brief snapshots of her life, Whitehead interprets them in ways that situate Davis in historical and literary contexts that illuminate nineteenth-century black American women�s experiences. Whitehead�s contribution of edited text and original narrative fills a void in scholarly documentation of women who dwelled in spaces between white elites, black entrepreneurs, and urban dwellers of every race and class. Notes from a Colored Girl is a unique offering to the fields of history and documentary editing as the book includes both a six-chapter historical reconstruction of Davis�s life and a full, heavily annotated edition of her Civil War�era pocket diaries. Drawing on scholarly traditions from history, literature, feminist studies, and sociolinguistics, Whitehead investigates Davis�s diary both as a complete literary artifact and in terms of her specific daily entries. From a historical perspective, Whitehead re-creates the narrative of Davis�s life for those three years and analyzes the black community where she lived and worked. From a literary perspective, Whitehead examines Davis�s diary as a socially, racially, and gendered nonfiction text. From a feminist studies perspective, she examines Davis�s agency and identity, grounded in theories elaborated by black feminist scholars. And, from linguistic and rhetorical perspectives, she studies Davis�s discourse about her interpersonal relationships, her work, and external events in her life in an effort to understand how she used language to construct her social, racial, and gendered identities. Since there are few primary sources written by black women during this time in history, Davis�s diary�though ordinary in its content�is rendered extraordinary simply because it has survived to be included in this very small class of resources. Whitehead�s extensive analysis illuminates the lives of many through the simple words of one.

Notes from a Colored Girl: The Civil War Pocket Diaries of Emilie Frances Davis (Women's Diaries and Letters of the South)

History

Whitehead, Karsonya (Kaye) Wise

Whitehead, Karsonya Wise

Americas

University of South Carolina Press

In Sparking the Genius, Whitehead outlines the Critical Moments in American History that defined both the beginning of the early Civil Rights Movement-with the release of the Emancipation Proclamation-and the modern Civil Rights Movement in 1963. Starting with the Birmingham Campaign (Project C), Whitehead outlines, defines, and deconstructs five Critical Moments including the release of Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," the assassination of Medgar Evers, the March on Washington, and the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. With an introduction from Dr. Alicia Moore and Dr. La Vonne Neal, the book also includes an article on critical pedagogy by Dr. Conra Gist and a lesson plan for teaching the Woodson Lecture to K-16 students. Whitehead's 2013 Carter G. Woodson Lecture is both a challenge and a call to action: Will you answer the call to help spark the genius? "Sparking the Genius is a gem that illuminates the African American struggle in the United States. - Daryl Michael Scott, Professor of History, Howard University, and President of ASALH "In the dynamic oratory voice of her father, who is a pastor, Whitehead challenges us to (re)spark the genius in not only ourselves, but to also spark this genius in those we come in contact with, especially the youth." - Janet Sims-Wood, Ph.D., National VP for Membership of ASALH "Sparking the Genius is a riveting call to action from Dr. Whitehead to all generations to fully embrace and learn from our Black History and Heritage." - Cheryl Clark, CEO, National Visionary Leadership Project "Karsonya Wise Whitehead is one of our new script-writers!" - La Vonne Neal, Dean, Northern Illinois University, College of Education

Carter G. Woodson Lecture 2013: Sparking the Genius

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Apprentice House

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Books by Whitehead, Karsonya (Kaye) Wise