Date of Award
Spring 5-7-2024
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Professional Writing
Department
Department of English
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Dr. Kurt Milberger
Second Advisor
Dr. Jeanne Law
Abstract
As taught in standard high-school and general educational courses, integration was a primary goal of the Civil Rights Movement; however, when this era is discussed in classrooms, by historians, and in textbooks there are key perspectives and acknowledgements that are less recognized. The visibility of the Black women who pushed forward the movement is often reduced, overlooked, or overshadowed because of the more celebrated contributions of their male counterparts. Focusing on an era before the internet, with the eloquent writing of activists like Dr. King memorialized, this project aims to showcase how changes in course curriculum can shed light on the life and legacy of three black women who used their roles as writers, editors, publishers, and journalists to help document and advocate for integration during the Movement as some of the challenges they faced were the hands of respectability politics.