Climbing the Hilltop: In Searchof a New Negro Womanhoodat Howard University
Climbing the Hilltop: In Searchof a New Negro Womanhoodat Howard University
This chapter examines the emergence of a culture of New Negro womanhood and a figuration of modernity among African American women at Howard University in Washington, D.C. In particular, it considers the challenges, setbacks, and achievements of Lucy Diggs Slowe during her fifteen-year career as dean at Howard. Slowe was the first official dean of women at Howard, having been appointed in 1922. Before accepting the dean position, Slowe recognized that Howard had institutionalized a relatively conservative view regarding “women’s place” through its policies. Consequently, she understood that expansive administrative latitude was vital to her ability to prepare female students for modern life. This chapter explains how Slowe’s story relates to New Negro womanhood and its evolution among African American women during the early to mid-twentieth century.
Keywords: womanhood, modernity, African American women, Howard University, Lucy Diggs Slowe, New Negro
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