Race Woman

Horne's writing handsomely communicates the artistic, political and social climate of the world that created the multidimensional Graham Du Bois... You will not want to put it down. --Black Issues Book ReviewA fascinating account of the extraordinary life of W. E. B. Du Bois's widow: a complex, creative woman who lived a colorful, meaningful life. --EssenceHorne is the first biographer to grant Shirley Graham Du Bois her due. --Boston Globe Gerald Horne rescues Shirley Graham Du Bois from historical obscurity and from the shadow of her husband. --The Women's Review of BooksHorne's account is sensitive to the self-assertion of a brilliant African American woman in an environment dominated by racism and male supremacy...Its exemplary exploration of the intersection of gender, race, art, black protest, and postcolonial Africa is an inspiration for further research into the expatriate Left.-- Axel R. Sch?fer, The Journal of American HistoryHorne's book is path breaking because it departs from the usual scholarly habit of valorizing the lives of African American men at the expense of recording the contributions and lives of African Amercian women.-- Political AffairsOne of the most intriguing activists and artists of the twentieth century, Shirley Graham Du Bois also remains one of the least studied and understood. In Race Woman, Gerald Horne draws a revealing portrait of this controvertial figure who championed the civil rights movement in America, the liberation struggles in Africa and the socialist struggles in Maoist China. Through careful analysis and use of personal correspondence, interviews, and previously unexamined documents, Horne explores her work as a Harlem Renaissance playwright, biographer, composer, teacher, novelist, Left political activist, advisor and inspiration, who was a powerful historical actor.