Description
Book SynopsisThe making of a culture of Black male respectability at Morehouse that underlines conservative notions of gender and classby a former Spelman student who was once Miss Morehouse. How does it feel to be groomed as the solution to a national Black male problem? This is the guiding paradox of Respectable,an in-depth examination of graduates of Morehouse College, the nation's only historically Black college for men. While Black male collegians are often culturally fetishized for beating the odds, the image of Black male success that Morehouse assiduously promotes and celebrates is belied by many of the realities that challenge the students on this campus. Saida Grundy offers a unique insider perspective: a graduate of Spelman college and a former Miss Morehouse, Grundy crafts an incisive feminist and sociological account informed by her personal insights and scholarly expertise. Respectablegathers the experiences of former students and others connected to Morehouse to illustrate the narrow, conservative vision of masculinity molded at a competitive Black institution. The thirty-two men interviewed unveil a culture that forges confining ideas of respectable Black manhood within a context of relentless peer competition and sexual violence, measured against unattainable archetypes of idealized racial leadership. Grundy underlines the high costs of making these menthe experiences of low-income students who navigate class issues at Morehouse, the widespread homophobia laced throughout the college's notions of Black male respectability, and the crushingly conformist expectations of a college that sees itself as making good Black men. As Morehouse's problems continue to pour out into national newsfeeds, this book contextualizes these issues not as a defect of Black masculinity, but as a critique of what happens when an institution services an imagination of what Black men should be, at the expense of more fully understanding the many ways these young people see themselves.
Trade Review"Today, I am honored to introduce @saigrundy, the Assistant Director of Narrative @AntiracismCtr. I've long admired her candor, her scholarship, her encyclopedic knowledge, and her deft ability to translate her scholarship and knowledge to everyday people.” * Saida Grundy Instagram *
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Respectable is sure to attract scholars who study masculinities and racialized institutions. . . .a great addition to courses that aim to give students a contemporary example of the theoretical promise of the sociology of culture." * Sociology of Race and Ethnicity *
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Respectable uses the specific to deeply explore the intersection of racism, sexism, and class inequality in ways that should enrich any study of contemporary social inequality." * Social Forces *
Table of ContentsContents
Preface
Introduction
1 The Masculine Arc of Uplift
2 Branding the Man
3 Of Our Sexual Strivings
4 Who among You Will Lead?
Conclusion: The Journey Back
Acknowledgments
Appendix A: Respondent Demographics
Appendix B: Participant Screening Questionnaire
Appendix C: Informed Consent Contract
Notes
Index
