Strategic Sisterhood

“Provides an exemplary account for understanding the often blurry lines between moderates and movements.”—Black Perspectives

“Strategic Sisterhood adds to the expanding narrative of mid- and late-twentieth-century struggles to fight racism, sexism, and poverty. The National Council of Negro Women’s institutional history and, especially, Dorothy Height’s ability to work behind the scenes to create change highlight the ways individuals and organizations worked together to move the country forward.'.”—Journal of Southern History

“Joins a long list of historical scholarship on the role of black women in the long freedom struggle. Tuuri makes a unique contribution to the growing body of literature by focusing on black middle-class women via the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). . . . Strategic Sisterhood is a much-needed corrective that will surely inspire important additional work.”—Journal of American History

“Tells important stories of women on both sides of the movement for Black liberation. . . . [It is] extremely accessible and would be useful to scholars of social movements, Black studies, women’s studies, and generally anyone who seeks to be inspired by phenomenal women.”—The Sixties

“An important addition to the ever growing scholarship on black women’s organizations and their critical roles in the black freedom movement.”—Journal of Mississippi History

“Strategic Sisterhood is a thorough study of the evolving activist roles of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) from 1935 to the present day. . . . The narrative thrusts readers into a fascinating and perplexing conceptual world, showing how cross-cutting organizational loyalties tugged at the ideological core of all these women as NCNW, CORE, SCLC, SNCC, and other organizations competed in the realm of political voluntarism. Tuuri’s welcome volume is important for undergraduate audiences and required for graduate and postdoctoral studies.”—The Journal of Southern Religion

“Strategic Sisterhood is an important and timely analysis of how citizens can work across class and racial divides to improve opportunity and access for black women. This story is engrossing, and Tuuri’s arguments are sophisticated, convincing, and forcefully written.” — Gail S. Murray, Rhodes College

“Never again can the efforts of the National Council of Negro Women be overlooked or misunderstood. Rebecca Tuuri puts the Council’s work front and center demonstrating how it developed a local approach to national and international issues such as racial discrimination, unemployment, hunger, and substandard housing. While the organization’s tactics and priorities have changed over time, its commitment to improving the lives of black women has never wavered. Strategic Sisterhood is a deeply researched study that challenges us to broaden our understanding of what constitutes radical political work.” — Crystal R. Sanders, Pennsylvania State University

“Strategic Sisterhood, well-written and astute,  is essential reading. It is a rare study of a major twentieth century black women’s organization, and one of the few, if not the first, to delineate the relationship of a women’s organization to the black freedom struggle.” — Paula J. Giddings, Smith College