Paula Giddings

Last updated
Paula Giddings
Giddings, Paula.jpg
Paula Giddings in 2011
Born1947
Yonkers, New York
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Howard University
Occupation(s)Writer, historian, and civil rights activist
Known for
  • When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America
  • Ida, A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching.

Paula J. Giddings (born 1947 in Yonkers, New York) is an American writer, historian, and civil rights activist. She is the author of When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America,In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement and Ida, A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching.

Contents

Early life

Paula J. Giddings was born on November 16, 1947 in Yonkers, New York to Virginia Iola Stokes and Curtis Gulliver Giddings. [1] She grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood in Yonkers, New York, where she regularly and systematically experienced isolation and racism from her white neighbors. [2] As a teen in Yonkers, Giddings personally experienced and witnessed the racism and violence against African Americans that led to and occurred in reaction to the Civil Rights Movement. This led her to participate in the movement as a Freedom Rider. According to Giddings, this set the stage for her desire to understand both oppression and resistance to it, a theme that would recur through her own activism and writing. [3]

Education

Giddings enrolled in the historically Black college Howard University in 1965, where she worked on the university's newspaper beginning in her first year. In 1967, she became editor of the university's literary magazine,The Promethean, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1969. As a student at Howard, Giddings was part of a group of students who worked against sexism, colorism, and classism that they saw as rampant on their campus. [3]

Career

From 1969 to 1972, Giddings worked for Random House, first as an editorial assistant and later as a copy editor. She then became an associate book editor for the Howard University Press. In 1975, she moved to Paris, France to serve as the Paris bureau chief for Encore America/Worldwide News. Two years later, she transferred to the New York office, where she served as an associate editor until 1979. [1] In 1975, she traveled to South Africa where she had the opportunity to meet leaders of the Anti-Apartheid Movement. [4]

In 1984, Giddings published her first book, When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America. The book tracks the history of Black women in the United States through the 1970s and the confluence of the Civil Rights and Women's Rights movements. Kirkus Reviews described the book as "the first historical study of the relationship, in America, between racism and sexism--broad-ranging, occasionally plodding, generally sound and insightful." [5] The following year, Giddings served as contributing editor and book review editor for Essence magazine and became a distinguished scholar for the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). [1]

In 1988, Giddings joined the faculty of Douglass College at Rutgers University. That same year, she published In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement, a history of Delta Sigma Theta, the African-American sorority of which she is a member. The book was recognized for its depth and its focus on the influence of Delta Sigma Theta and its members. [6] [7]

In 2001, Giddings joined Smith College as the Elizabeth A. Woodson 1922 Professor of Africana Studies. She also served as the editor of feminist journal Meridians, feminism, race, transnationalism. She then became Smith College department chair and honors thesis advisor for the department of Africana studies, where she remained until her retirement in 2017. [1] [8]

Giddings received many accolades upon the 2008 publication of her biography of civil rights activist Ida B. Wells. Ida, A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching received the 2008 Letitia Woods Brown Book Prize from the Association of Black Women Historians, the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights Outstanding Book Award, and was the 2009 Nonfiction winner of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association Literary Award. In addition, it was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for 2008 and was named a Best Book of 2008 by both the Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune. Additionally, the book was recognized as the inaugural Duke University John Hope Franklin Research Center Book Award winner in 2011. [9] [10]

In 2017, Giddings was a National Book Award Judge for nonfiction works. [11] That same year, she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. [6] [12]

Selected publications

Selected honors and awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delta Sigma Theta</span> Historically African American sorority

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (ΔΣΘ) is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta was founded on January 13, 1913, by twenty-two women at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Membership is open to any woman who meets the requirements, regardless of religion, race, or nationality. Women may apply to join through undergraduate chapters at a college or university or through an alumnae chapter after earning a college degree.

Myra Lillian Davis Hemmings was an American actress and teacher, and a founder of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bertha Pitts Campbell</span> American civil rights activist (1889–1990)

Bertha Pitts Campbell was a civil rights activist and one of the 22 founding members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnie B. Smith</span>

Minnie B. Smith was an incorporator of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the first sorority founded by African-American women. Although Smith died young in the influenza epidemic in 1919, the legacy she created with Alpha Kappa Alpha has continued to generate social capital for nearly 100 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethel Jones Mowbray</span>

Ethel Jones-Mowbray was one of the twenty founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first sorority founded by African-American women. Her legacy was an organization that has helped African-American women succeed in college, prepare for leadership and organize in communities, and serve their communities in later life. The sorority has continued to generate social capital for over 112 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Evangeline Brooks</span> American academic

Julia Evangeline Brooks was an incorporator of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first sorority founded by African-American women. The sorority has continued to generate social capital for nearly 100 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nellie Pratt Russell</span>

Nellie Pratt Russell was an incorporator of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first sorority founded by African-American college women. The sorority has continued to generate social capital for over 110 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethel Cuff Black</span>

Ethel Cuff Black was one of the founders of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She was elected the sorority's first vice president and attended the Deltas’ first public event, the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C., in March 1913. Prominent suffragist Mary Church Terrell lobbied on behalf of the Deltas to win them a place in the parade, where they were the only African-American organization represented.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norma Elizabeth Boyd</span>

Norma Elizabeth Boyd was one of sixteen founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first sorority founded by African-American women students, at Howard University. She was also one of the incorporators of the organization in 1913. The sorority has continued to generate social capital for 113 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nellie Quander</span> American labor leader

Nellie May Quander was an incorporator and the first international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. As president for several years, she helped expand the sorority and further its support of African-American women at colleges and in communities. The sorority established a scholarship endowment in her name. The legacy of the sorority has continued to generate social capital for over 112 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winona Cargile Alexander</span>

Winona Cargile Alexander was a founder of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Incorporated at Howard University on January 13, 1913. It was the second sorority founded for and by African-American women and was influential in women's building civic institutions and charities. In 1915, she was the first African-American admitted to the New York School of Philanthropy, where she received a graduate fellowship for her studies. She was the first African-American hired as a social worker in New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osceola Macarthy Adams</span> American fashion designer

Osceola Marie Macarthy Adams, known by the stage name Osceola Archer, is known as one of the first Black actresses to appear on Broadway for her 1934 role in "Between Two Worlds." Speaking of Adams' decade-long role as director of some three dozen productions at the Putnam County Playhouse, actor Carl Harms noted she was likely also the first African-American director of summer stock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeanne L. Noble</span> American academic

Jeanne Laveta Noble was an American educator who served on education commissions for three U.S. presidents. Noble was the first to analyze and publish the experiences of African American women in college. She served as president of the Delta Sigma Theta (DST) sorority within which she founded that group's National Commission on Arts and Letters. Noble was the first African-American board member of the Girl Scouts of the USA, and the first to serve the U.S. government's Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS). She headed the Women's Job Corps Program in the 1960s, and was the first African-American woman to be made full professor at the New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vashti Turley Murphy</span>

Lula Vashti Turley Murphy was an American educator and community leader, one of the founding members of Delta Sigma Theta, the historically black sorority.

Jessie McGuire Dent (1891–1948) was one of the 22 founders of the black sorority Delta Sigma Theta. After graduation and years of teaching at East District High School in Galveston, Texas, she successfully sued the Galveston independent school district for unequal pay of black teachers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madree Penn White</span> American suffragist

Madree Penn White was an American editor, educator, businesswoman and suffragist. She was one of the founders of Delta Sigma Theta, and the sorority's second president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naomi Sewell Richardson</span> African-American suffragist

Naomi Sewell Richardson was an American educator and suffragist. She was a student co-founder of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the second sorority founded for and by African-American women.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Paula Giddings's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  2. ↑ "Paula J. Giddings". Book Series in Order. 2020-07-27. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  3. 1 2 "Interview with Paula Giddings". digital.wustl.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  4. ↑ "Paula Giddings, Scribe of Her Sisters". Washington Post. 1985-02-28. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  5. ↑ "Book Reviews, Sites, Romance, Fantasy, Fiction". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  6. 1 2 "Sanders Wins AERA 2017 New Scholars Book Award; Giddings Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences". Association of Black Women Historians. 2017-05-09. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  7. ↑ Edds, Margaret (1988-07-31). "The Sorority Behind Black Feminism : IN SEARCH OF SISTERHOOD: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the BlackSorority Movement by Paula Giddings (William Morrow: $16.95; 336 pp.)". Los Angeles Times. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  8. ↑ "History – Meridians". sophia.smith.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  9. 1 2 "Duke Libraries Announce Winner of John Hope Franklin Book Award" . Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  10. ↑ "Alumna and Author Paula J. Giddings Will Serve as the Howard University 2018 Charter Day Convocation Speaker on March 2". Howard Newsroom. 2018-02-26. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  11. ↑ "2017 National Book Awards". www.nationalbook.org. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  12. ↑ "Newly Elected Fellows". www.amacad.org. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  13. ↑ "Alumna and Author Paula J. Giddings Will Serve as the Howard University 2018 Charter Day Convocation Speaker on March 2". Howard Newsroom. 2018-02-26. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  14. ↑ "Charter Day Achievement Awards | Howard University". www2.howard.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  15. ↑ "John Simon Guggenheim Foundation | Paula J. Giddings". www.gf.org. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  16. ↑ "Smith College: Study of Women and Gender". www.smith.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.