Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Groundbreaking. . . Freeman crafts a critical text that adds to the growing literature on philanthropy." --
Journal of Southern History"
Walker's Gospel of Giving sets the stage for black philanthropy in spite of societal obstacles in place for black people." --
Annals of Iowa"The book paints a portrait of a unique historical figure, but also contains food for thought for today's nonprofit leaders and employees. . . . Activists will find engaging stories and information in the book from which they can hopefully draw inspiration and refuel as they continue doing the hard physical and emotional work of social change." --
GrantStation"A unique study and argument that refutes popular and historiographical exceptionalist notions of the famous businesswoman." --
Choice"This is no simple story of Madam Walker's charitable giving. Instead, by spanning the course of Walker's remarkable life from the daughter of enslaved parents to beauty culture mogul, Tyrone McKinley Freeman's brilliant and impeccably researched book demonstrates that wealth did not drive Walker to give, but that she was the embodiment of a much longer, though often hidden, tradition of black philanthropy. This book will forever change the way we understand Walker's importance and provides a much needed context for contemporary calls for economic justice."--Tiffany Gill, author of
Beauty Shop Politics: African American Women's Activism in the Beauty Industry"Freeman expands the traditional definition of philanthropy beyond financial giving to show the rich history of Black philanthropy that informed the life and work of Madam C. J. Walker." --
Stanford Social Innovation Review"Brings a fresh perspective to Walker’s legacy, chronicling how she used her position in society to support racial uplift, education, and faith-based initiatives that warded off some of Jim Crow’s evils." --
Bitch"In this well-argued piece of scholarship, Freeman carves out valuable insights into Black history. " --
BooklistTable of ContentsForeword by A’Lelia Bundles
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Making Madam C. J. Walker
2 Opportunity
3 Education
4 Activism
5 Material Resources
6 Legacy
Conclusion
Epilogue: Madam C. J. Walker and African American Philanthropy in the Twenty-first Century
Notes
Bibliography
Index
