This oral history portrays the lives of African American women who migrated from the rural South to work as domestic servants in Washington; DC in the early decades of the twentieth century. In Living In; Living Out Elizabeth Clark-Lewis narrates the personal experiences of eighty-one women who worked for wealthy white families. These women describe how they encountered—but never accepted—the master-servant relationship; and recount their struggles to change their status from “live in†servants to daily paid workers who “lived out.â€With candor and passion; the women interviewed tell of leaving their families and adjusting to city life “up North;†of being placed as live-in servants; and of the frustrations and indignities they endured as domestics. By networking on the job; at churches; and at penny savers clubs; they found ways to transform their unending servitude into an employer-employee relationship—gaining a new independence that could only be experienced by living outside of their employers' homes. Clark-Lewis points out that their perseverance and courage not only improved their own lot but also transformed work life for succeeding generations of African American women. A series of in-depth vignettes about the later years of these women bears poignant witness to their efforts to carve out lives of fulfillment and dignity.
#6247079 in Books 2004-08-30Format: IllustratedOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.50 x 6.50 x .75l; .0 #File Name: 1558763317158 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Recommended for all those interested in Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg.By Barbara D. ColvinVery well written and story line flowed well. The author researched and documented each step of the way. I was impressed with the bibliography and how scholarly the entire book was.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Born on the Battlefield of GettysburgBy Markus WienerThe lives of Victor Chambers-who was born on the battlefield at Gettysburg to a runaway slave and later became an artist in Providence-and his mother are chronicled in this book based on letters that Victor Chambers wrote to Rinaldi's great-grandfather; a Civil War veteran; in 1931. The story Rinaldi relates is emblematic of the fate of countless others whose lives were shaped by the scourge of slavery. Chambers' mother; a daughter of free blacks in Philadelphia; was kidnapped from her parents by slave catchers; who most likely included the notorious Lucretia (Patty) Cannon. After the kidnapping; Chambers' mother was enslaved on a Virginia tobacco plantation for 37 years before she made her escape to Gettysburg on the night before the historic Civil War battle erupted. She was nine months pregnant with Chambers-and determined that her child would not be born a slave. Gettysburg was a key stop on the Underground Railroad. This riveting chronicle provides valuable insights into the tactics and routes used by slave catchers in abducting free blacks; especially children; the atmosphere in slave markets; the role of religion as a means of control by owners; as well as a means of self-expression by slaves; the treatment of slave children; physical and psychological measures used by masters and overseers to control slaves; sexual abuse by masters; and the Underground Railroad as a clandestine operation.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Heavily researched and brutally accurateBy Midwest Book ReviewBorn At The Battlefield Of Gettysburg: An African-American Family Saga is the true story of an African-American family that suffered from the unspeakable evil of slavery. The protagonist's mother was the daughter of free blacks in Philadelphia; kidnapped from her parents by slave catchers; she was enslaved on a Virginia tobacco plantation for 37 years before making a daring escape to Gettysburg on the night before the historic Civil War battle ensued. She was nine months pregnant; and determined that her child would not be born a slave. Born At The Battlefield Of Gettysburg is an impressively in-depth; heavily researched and brutally accurate portrayal of the methods and means by which the monstrous evil of slavery was justified and perpetuated; how religion was used both as a club to keep slaves in line and as a means of self-expression for the slaves; the operation of the Underground Railroad; and much more. Riveting and highly recommended; yet also shocking in its literal; realistic portrayal of man's historical inhumanity to man.
