San Francisco Public Library

Riding Jane Crow, African American women on the American railroad, Miriam Thaggert

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 165-180) and index

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

Riding Jane Crow

bibliography

1266362999

Miriam Thaggert

Women, gender, and sexuality in American history

African American women on the American railroad

"Miriam Thaggert illuminates the stories of African American women as passengers and as workers on the nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century railroad. As Jim Crow laws became more prevalent and forced Black Americans to 'ride Jim Crow' on the rails, the train compartment became a contested space of leisure and work. Riding Jane Crow examines four instances of Black female railroad travel: the travel narratives of Black female intellectuals such as Anna Julia Cooper and Mary Church Terrell; Black middle-class women who sued to ride in first class 'ladies' cars'; Black women railroad food vendors; and Black maids on Pullman trains. Thaggert argues that the railroad represented a technological advancement that was entwined with African American attempts to secure social progress. Black women's experiences on or near the railroad illustrate how American technological progress has often meant their ejection or displacement; thus, it is the Black woman who most fully measures the success of American freedom and privilege, or 'progress,' through her travel experiences"--, Provided by publisher

Introduction. Off the tracks: race, gender, and the American railroad -- 1. Ladies' space: an archive of Black women's railroad narratives -- 2. A kiss in the dark: sexualizing Black female mobility -- 3. Platform politics: the waiter carriers of Virginia -- 4. Handmaidens for travelers: archiving the Pullman Company maid -- Terminus: Pauli Murray, Pete, and Jane Crow

African American women on the American railroad