In this week’s episode of the Black Girl Nerds podcast, we interview author Dr. Tara Green to discuss her book Love, Activism, and the Respectable Life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson.
In this first-ever biography about poet, journalist, and activist Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Green reveals the remarkable story of the love one Black woman had for her race, for men and women, and, finally, for herself. Born in New Orleans in 1875 to a mother who was a former slave and a father of questionable identity, Dunbar-Nelson was a pioneering woman who actively addressed racial and gender inequalities as a writer, suffragette, educator, and activist.
Green builds on Black feminist, sexuality, historical, and cultural studies to create a literary biography that examines Dunbar-Nelson’s life and legacy as a “respectable” activist — a woman who navigated complex challenges associated with resisting racism and sexism, and who defined her sexual identity and sexual agency within the confines of respectability politics. It’s a book about the past, but it’s also a book about the present that nods to the future.
Host: Ryanne
Music by: Sammus
Edited by: Jamie Broadnax