Yale Needs Women by Anne Gardiner Perkins

YALE NEEDS WOMEN by Anne Gardiner Perkins was just released this week and I am actually reading this book in tandem with Paul Tough’s new work about college, The Years That Matter Most. It is truly fascinating to reflect on changes and the differing experiences across generations. Perkins is writing about “How the First Group of Girls Rewrote the Rules of an Ivy League Giant,” chronicling the experiences of several women who were among the first of their gender to attend Yale. For some of our students, it may be hard to believe that Yale and many other schools were only integrated gender-wise in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a generation or so ago.  Perkins does an excellent job of describing the feelings of those pioneering co-eds and her work could readily apply to events at other schools, like Union College.  In fact, Booklist says that YALE NEEDS WOMEN is “recommended for teens [because] teens approaching college age, especially those involved in social justice, will enjoy this window into a not-actually-that-distant past.”   

Perkins' book, though, is not just about the decision to admit women, but about what happened next and how subtle (or not so subtle) traditions and rituals impacted their experiences: “‘The worst part was being constantly conspicuous, which is something you don’t think about until it happens to you,’ said one freshman girl.”  Extremely well-researched, YALE NEEDS WOMEN contains a chart about the sources for oral histories and interviews, plus extensive notes (50+ pages), an index, and some black and white photos from the time.  Please look for a copy on our shelves soon – I am looking forward to having many conversations with interested readers. We still have much to do, as Perkins emphasizes through a number of statistics in her epilogue: “Women students today graduate at a higher rate than their male classmates, but their bachelor’s degrees earn them just 74 cents on the dollar compared to what men with the same credentials are paid. En route to that degree, one in five women is sexually assaulted. Nationally, women represent just 32 percent of full professors, and 26 percent of college and university presidents. … The battle … is not yet done.” 

Spending time in another time ....

It feels as though I spent a good part of this holiday weekend in another century.  First, I read News of the World by Paulette Jiles which is set in 1870 Texas and I was absolutely immersed in the travels of Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd and Johanna Leonberger.  Captain Kidd, a veteran of three wars and an honorable and trustworthy man who took pride in entertaining and educating others, was asked to transport a young Kiowa captive back to her family. News of the World tells the story of their 400 mile sometimes harrowing adventure and of the growing affection between the Kep-dun and his 10 year-old charge. A former printer, Kidd supports himself as an itinerant reader of the news – a fascinating thought and profession in itself. Author Jiles clearly conveys the times through small details; referring briefly, for example, to the first professional baseball team (Cincinnati Red Stockings), the first female law college graduate and the construction of a new bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn. She excels, however, in deftly describing life and characters on the trail. Add this title to your reading list: News of the World received starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus and was nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction.

Turning to non-fiction and the 1899 kidnapping of two brothers, I began Truevine by Beth Macy, a true story of the Jim Crow South.  Truevine tells of the exploitation of two African American albinos, George and Willie Muse, in the “freak” show at Ringling Brothers Circus, offering a look at segregation and at circus life in the 1920’s. Similarly to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Truevine also describes the author’s search for facts about the brothers and their mother’s attempts to find them. A non-fiction narrative, Truevine received starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus, is appearing on several “best books” lists and may have appeal across the curriculum. Macy’s first full-length investigative work, Factory Man (2014), was a New York Times bestseller.     

Moving forward through the 20th century was a key theme in Fannie Flagg’s new feel good novel, The Whole Town’s Talking.  This story recounts the life of Elmwood Springs, Missouri from 1889 to present day through the many happenings involving several generations of its inhabitants.  First, there is Lordor Nordstrom who finds a mail order bride, Katrina. Later, his grandson, Gene, goes off to fight in WWII; there’s even a murder or two to investigate.  Award-winning author Fannie Flagg refers to numerous events and popular culture from 20th century America as she chronicles the ways in which many colorful characters impact the Sweet Clover Dairy, the town, and the cemetery called Still Meadows.  Here’s a favorite quote: “a cute, red-haired boy who looked just like someone had picked up a large bucket of freckles and thrown them at him.”  The Whole Town’s Talking, filled with Flagg’s vivid, homespun descriptions, will certainly make you smile.  Enjoy!

Dollbaby: a novel by Laura Lane McNeal

I just finished a debut novel which has been compared to Saving CeeCee Honeycutt and The Help. It is a coming of age story about Ibby Bell who, after her father dies suddenly, is left at at her paternal grandmother's home in New Orleans in 1964. On the author's extensive web site, Laura Lane McNeal says: Dollbaby is … "a story of a way of life that no longer exists but needs to be told…. It is the story of New Orleans, where you learn to dance, even when there is no music."

The author goes on to extol the "shared culture" that she says is unique to New Orleans, implying that people of many races have long blended together. However, I was troubled by the dialogue in Dollbaby, especially the emphasis on speech patterns for the African American characters, but not so much for other (white) Southerners who were featured in the novel.  Maybe this was done for a purpose – after all, there was quite a bit of scholarly research on this vernacular English, beginning in the 1960's and continuing with the "Ebonics" debate in the 1990's.   It is one thing to read dialogue by Lorraine Hansberry or Zora Neale Hurston or works by Langston Hughes or August Wilson, but in this novel, I thought that comments by Queenie, Dollbaby and Birdelia felt awkward and unnatural -- at least as contrasted with dialogue from other characters. 

I did, though, definitely appreciate the attempts at weaving in historical facts such as Johnson's speech about the Civil Rights Act of 1964:

 

I would encourage any students reading Dollbaby to read or watch the speech (another excerpt is available here), especially since we are celebrating its 50th anniversary as this novel is being published.   In order to further appreciate the times, they should look at the photo montage from that era recently uploaded by the Kansas City Star. It would also be really interesting to explore the archives at Tulane University (where some of the novel is set) for local newspaper coverage from the time. Dollbaby refers to other national events occurring in 1968 and 1972, although in less detail. In her online book group guide, Laura Lane McNeal raises questions about the "political realities [that] trickle down to the personal ones." I wish that idea had been developed even more deeply in her novel and will be curious to see what other readers think.

If you read Dollbaby and are interested in learning more, the Civil Rights Digital Archive has compiled information from numerous Universities about Freedom Summer.  See especially http://crdl.usg.edu/events/civil_rights_act_1964/?Welcome&Welcome and http://crdl.usg.edu/events/freedom_summer/

Here are several more links related to Freedom Summer (1964) and the Civil Right Movement:

• Library of Congress:  http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/civilrights/external.html

• PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/further-reading/freedomsummer-furtherreading/   OR http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/lbj-civilrights/

• UVA’s Miller Center: http://millercenter.org/presidentialclassroom/exhibits/civil-rights-act with full text of Johnson’s speech: http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3525

Post script added August 4th: I just finished Secret of Magic by Deborah Johnson and will be recommending it to others. The writing is truly lyrical - there is a sense of magic throughout the book and an understanding of Mississippi in the mid-1940s.  Like Jordan's Mudbound, this deals with prejudice and struggles for returning soldiers and their families. However, it also weaves in a children's book and tales of an earlier murder, all of which are explored by a new associate of Thurgood Marshall, Miss Regina Robichard and the fledgling NAACP.