Press Release
Blackwelder to Speak at Issues Forum
Styling Jim Crow focuses on the beauty education industry in racially segregated communities from World War I through the 1960s. In this revealing study of two black beauty companies of the Jim Crow era, Blackwelder looks at the industry as a locus of black entrepreneurial effort and an opportunity for young women to obtain training and income that promised social mobility within the African American community. Blackwelder demonstrates that commerce, gender norms, politics, and culture all intersected inside African American beauty schools of the Jim Crow era.
JULIA KIRK BLACKWELDER is associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and a professor of history at Texas A&M University , College Station . Her two earlier books published by Texas A&M University Press also focused on aspects of women and work .
The Bush Museum Issues Forum strives to present leading experts in their respective fields. The forum also provides a vehicle in which the local community can be engaged in discussion concerning topics and issues that face our nation. In the past, the Museum Issues Forum has addressed a wide variety of topics including terrorism, LBJ, Central Europe , and the role of intelligence in national security.
The forum begins at 7 p.m. in the museum's orientation theater. There is no cost to attend, but reservations are recommended. For more information, or to make reservations, call Amanda Urrutia at 979-691-4015.