Stormy Weather

Middle-Class African American Marriages between the Two World Wars

By Anastasia C. Curwood

216 pp., 5.5 x 8.5, 7 halftones, notes, bibl., index

  • Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-0981-2
    Published: August 2013
  • E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-0-8078-6838-6
    Published: November 2010
  • E-book PDF ISBN: 979-8-8908-7985-1
    Published: November 2010

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The so-called New Negroes of the period between World Wars I and II embodied a new sense of racial pride and upward mobility for the race. Many of them thought that relationships between spouses could be a crucial factor in realizing this dream. But there was little agreement about how spousal relationships should actually function in an ideal New Negro marriage. Shedding light on an often-overlooked aspect of African American social history, Anastasia C. Curwood explores the public and private negotiations over gender relationships inside marriage that consumed upwardly mobile black Americans between 1918 and 1942.

About the Author

Anastasia C. Curwood is assistant professor of African American and diaspora studies at Vanderbilt University.
For more information about Anastasia C. Curwood, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"Recommended for academic libraries and public and special libraries with large African American history collections."--Tennessee Libraries

"Curwood has initiated a virtually unprecedented conversation on the history of marriage among African Americans. . . .A must read. Essential. All levels/libraries."--Choice

"Stormy Weather inaugurates a discussion of intimate life among African Americans that is sure to be lively and productive."--H-Net Reviews

"A very good book and well worth reading."--Journal of Southern History

"Curwood] is able to recreate the dynamics of a vibrant community of middle-class and elite African Americans who worked toward upward mobility even as they worked out intraracial issues of skin color and class. . . . [Its] clear and concise writing style as well as its lack of jargon makes it an accessible read."--Southern Historian

“A welcome addition to the emerging interdisciplinary studies of love and marriage in African America from the inside out.”--Journal of African American History

Multimedia & Links

Read: Curwood celebrated March 17 as National Black Marriage Day, remembering the history and impact the New Negro era had on black middle-class identity, intimate relationships and gender ideals. Read "National Black Marriage Day and the New Negro Era’s Legacy."