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Labor of Love, Labor of Sorrow: Black Women, Work, and the Family from Slavery to the Present
A powerful account of the changing role of American black women in the labor force and in the family.
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 9, 2015
In her book Labor of Love, Labor of Sorrow: Black Women, Work, and the Family, from Slavery to the Present, history professor Jacqueline Jones argues for the tension of black women's work for their families, communities and their work for whites. She describes this work as it is performed against the backdrop of political economy, as well as the social division of labor, particularly in terms of gender, but also by race. Jones discusses these forces as they shaped labor patterns of black women, from slavery to the paid labor force, as well as at home, and in communities, and how they affected the struggle black women (and men) faced in living their lives on their own terms. Jones covers extensive ground: starting with the rural South 1830, to rural and urban south post-antebellum, the great migration (from the country to the cities), early 20th century, the great depression, WWI and WWII, the civil rights movement, through the 1980s, until present day.
Jones makes extensive use of primary and secondary materials in her book. She uses magazine articles, newspapers, books, government reports (especially the census) and statistics, manuscripts, oral histories and scholarly essays. She cites over one thousand sources. Jones uses a feminist perspective for much of her analysis, which comes through in many places. She touches on the the contrast between white and black women of the 50s and 60s, the Feminine Mystic and the "ideal woman" concept. She presents evidence from Ebony magazine which applauded black women for their careers, whereas Ladies Home Journal, which claimed white women with careers were suffering from personality disorders." There are some limitations to her study: she does not engage in a comprehensive discussion of education or religious institutions (which she admits herself), and she only touches briefly on free black women's experiences during slavery and northern and other non-southern blacks experiences are in large part ignored.Jones challenges some ideas of scholars: especially the idea that black families are matriarchal in nature. However, she is up front about the limitations and in fact she encourages further study of the subject. Much of women's labor history has often focused on white womens experiences , and more work needs to be done on how being female and black, has contributed to black women's work, family and community experiences.
Jones makes extensive use of primary and secondary materials in her book. She uses magazine articles, newspapers, books, government reports (especially the census) and statistics, manuscripts, oral histories and scholarly essays. She cites over one thousand sources. Jones uses a feminist perspective for much of her analysis, which comes through in many places. She touches on the the contrast between white and black women of the 50s and 60s, the Feminine Mystic and the "ideal woman" concept. She presents evidence from Ebony magazine which applauded black women for their careers, whereas Ladies Home Journal, which claimed white women with careers were suffering from personality disorders." There are some limitations to her study: she does not engage in a comprehensive discussion of education or religious institutions (which she admits herself), and she only touches briefly on free black women's experiences during slavery and northern and other non-southern blacks experiences are in large part ignored.Jones challenges some ideas of scholars: especially the idea that black families are matriarchal in nature. However, she is up front about the limitations and in fact she encourages further study of the subject. Much of women's labor history has often focused on white womens experiences , and more work needs to be done on how being female and black, has contributed to black women's work, family and community experiences.
March 29, 2016
It. Is. True. Slavery. Also. Came. In. Other. Flavors. Of. Course. That. Is. Not. Mentioned. Not. Only. In. One. Skin. Tone. But. Many. All. In. Our. Kool. Aide. And. Dont. Even. Know. The. Flavor.
August 30, 2017
Interesting book but perhaps needed a different approach. With Labor Day coming up in the US this seemed like a good time to finally pick this up after seeing this on a list a year or two ago. The book looks at the role of black women in the US work force from slavery to the more recent day (this was first published in 1986 and that's the version I read). From the fields to domestic to work to entering the workforce to wartime to the more "modern" era this looks at black women and how their roles changed, how they worked, etc.
It's a huge, ambitious work and I think a review on Goodreads nails it well in that maybe this was too much for one volume. The initial chapters that focused in the colonial times through the Civil War were really interesting (especially when given the lack of source material due to time, the inability to read/write, etc.). But the post-Civil War chapters just sort of dragged and dragged. Sometimes it just felt the author was putting down fact after fact like a very dry textbook. It's an interesting topic but I'm not sure if the author's approach worked for me.
In some ways I found it was much easier to understand via other works. I was reminded of Isabel Wilkerson's 'The Warmth of Other Suns' which addresses the history of black people leaving the South to move North or West or even 'The Help' which has black domestic workers as a major part of the story. To be fair 'The Help' is a book of fiction that has many issues but I was reminded of that story when reading this.
If this is a topic that interests you then by all means it's worth borrowing from the library or buying as a bargain book. But if it's something you don't know much about (which may be part of my problem) OR you have an interest in a particular time period Jones writes about then you may want to look at the book first before deciding to dive in. Would not be surprised to see this pop up in a class about black people, the history of labor and other related subjects.
It might be better to go for books that focus on more specific aspects/topics. I wholeheartedly recommend 'Warmth' although that book is not about black women specifically. Otherwise this wasn't a bad read (and maybe I should have gone for the updated version instead) but I didn't quite get what I had hoped out of this text.
It's a huge, ambitious work and I think a review on Goodreads nails it well in that maybe this was too much for one volume. The initial chapters that focused in the colonial times through the Civil War were really interesting (especially when given the lack of source material due to time, the inability to read/write, etc.). But the post-Civil War chapters just sort of dragged and dragged. Sometimes it just felt the author was putting down fact after fact like a very dry textbook. It's an interesting topic but I'm not sure if the author's approach worked for me.
In some ways I found it was much easier to understand via other works. I was reminded of Isabel Wilkerson's 'The Warmth of Other Suns' which addresses the history of black people leaving the South to move North or West or even 'The Help' which has black domestic workers as a major part of the story. To be fair 'The Help' is a book of fiction that has many issues but I was reminded of that story when reading this.
If this is a topic that interests you then by all means it's worth borrowing from the library or buying as a bargain book. But if it's something you don't know much about (which may be part of my problem) OR you have an interest in a particular time period Jones writes about then you may want to look at the book first before deciding to dive in. Would not be surprised to see this pop up in a class about black people, the history of labor and other related subjects.
It might be better to go for books that focus on more specific aspects/topics. I wholeheartedly recommend 'Warmth' although that book is not about black women specifically. Otherwise this wasn't a bad read (and maybe I should have gone for the updated version instead) but I didn't quite get what I had hoped out of this text.
April 27, 2022
Full of knowledge
I took my tine reading this book because I wanted to understand the black female workforce in America. The book started with Slavery and progressed its way to the early 2000’s. It covered the attitudes, mindsets, positions and political climate during each generation. For me the book allowed me to realize that I am just a few generations from slavery. It allowed me to envision the lives of my great grandmother and grandmother. I could finally understand them in a way I never had before. The books main focus is on females but it does not neglect to provide some insight into the male perspective. I give this book a 10/10 highly recommend.
I took my tine reading this book because I wanted to understand the black female workforce in America. The book started with Slavery and progressed its way to the early 2000’s. It covered the attitudes, mindsets, positions and political climate during each generation. For me the book allowed me to realize that I am just a few generations from slavery. It allowed me to envision the lives of my great grandmother and grandmother. I could finally understand them in a way I never had before. The books main focus is on females but it does not neglect to provide some insight into the male perspective. I give this book a 10/10 highly recommend.
July 28, 2019
So many statistics but still an easy read, learned many thing which were also easily forgotten, A black female reader would find this much more interesting than this old white guy. But I am glad I read it.
November 20, 2020
Labor of Love is a study of the roles of Black women which analyzes the affect racial prejudice and sexual discrimination have on Black women as bread winners and as the guardians of family and stability in the black community.
September 24, 2013
Written in 1984, Labor of Love, Labor of Sorrow covers roughly 150 years of labor and family history of black women in the United States. By focusing on work and family, Jones is able to address (among many other things) the disturbing continuities in black women's lives before, during, and after the Civil War as regards why they worked, for whom they worked, what the did, and how much they earned. However this story is also a heartening one about black women, over and over again, choosing to accentuate in their own lives the well-being of their families, kin groups and communities, in the face of dominant white pressure concerning how, when and at what a black woman was "meant" to labor, economic individualism, and profit as the highest good.
Of particular interest to me was the unremitting clear-sightedness Jones provides in terms of how the specific experiences of black women in the family, at work, and in society rendered, from their perspective, the predominantly white and middle class "Women's Lib" movement not only niche but self-indulgent. The vast majority of black women had been working - from coercion and need, not preference - since they were first brought to this country (in fact, had been working for white women) and, justifiably, perceived white people, not black men, as primary oppressors. This should not be remotely surprising, yet I mention it in light of conversations contemporary white feminists continue to have, believing feminism should be expansive and inclusive, when it is actually contextual and socio-economically determined. Incidentally, I think it should be expansive and inclusive, but it's fatuous and self-centered to speak as though it were, when historically and even in the present state of things it is not.
In any event, this book only incidentally offers this critique of feminist theory. It does so much more in providing an important and offensively under-represented vision of the emotional and practical lives of American black women over many decades. Most vitally Jones, as a social historian, laid a lot of groundwork for future studies. She collected and quantified a formidable amount of data and also appears to have combed through a good number of oral histories. And yet for all of the counting and quantifying, the book is a very good read. Jones has narrative flow and an appealingly empathetic, sometimes wry, mode of observation.
And one final beside-the-point: Given all of the history I read, I was surprised I did not find more ready-made shelves with which to categorize this. The only other likely candidates to "American History" was "Dystopian and Other Realities".
Of particular interest to me was the unremitting clear-sightedness Jones provides in terms of how the specific experiences of black women in the family, at work, and in society rendered, from their perspective, the predominantly white and middle class "Women's Lib" movement not only niche but self-indulgent. The vast majority of black women had been working - from coercion and need, not preference - since they were first brought to this country (in fact, had been working for white women) and, justifiably, perceived white people, not black men, as primary oppressors. This should not be remotely surprising, yet I mention it in light of conversations contemporary white feminists continue to have, believing feminism should be expansive and inclusive, when it is actually contextual and socio-economically determined. Incidentally, I think it should be expansive and inclusive, but it's fatuous and self-centered to speak as though it were, when historically and even in the present state of things it is not.
In any event, this book only incidentally offers this critique of feminist theory. It does so much more in providing an important and offensively under-represented vision of the emotional and practical lives of American black women over many decades. Most vitally Jones, as a social historian, laid a lot of groundwork for future studies. She collected and quantified a formidable amount of data and also appears to have combed through a good number of oral histories. And yet for all of the counting and quantifying, the book is a very good read. Jones has narrative flow and an appealingly empathetic, sometimes wry, mode of observation.
And one final beside-the-point: Given all of the history I read, I was surprised I did not find more ready-made shelves with which to categorize this. The only other likely candidates to "American History" was "Dystopian and Other Realities".
December 27, 2013
At first the book was very concise. It did what it said it would discuss in the first part: southern black women. Then in the second part which was to discuss Northern women, it went all other the place. It was constantly shifted from North to South. If you say you're going to do one part Southern only and the one part Northern only, then I expect that. I also don't agree with was the belief that the labor unions are what made business owners give their workers higher pay. I did however like how the book revealed the truth about some unconstitutional laws that hurt black families: forbidding of child labor which many black families needed because of racism. It also covered how many labor unions wouldn't allow black women and would sacrifice them for the gains of white people. All in all, it was very good and I would recommend.
February 7, 2017
In essence, black women have not just stoically endured the inequities of the racial caste system; they have attempted, individually and collectively, openly and clandestinely, to transform the workplace and make it more responsive to their own and their households' needs. P. 323
In the absence of governmental prodding, at least some personnel officials will have little incentive to allow significant numbers of black women to penetrate the previously all-white sanctuaries of academic departments, corporate boardrooms, business suites and lawyers' offices. P. 325
The above statements summarizes this nonfiction account of black women role and place in American workplace's both before and after the arrival in 1619 in Jamestown, Virginia. This was an excellent book. And although, this book was published in 1985, the historical analysis is still relevant today in 2017.
In the absence of governmental prodding, at least some personnel officials will have little incentive to allow significant numbers of black women to penetrate the previously all-white sanctuaries of academic departments, corporate boardrooms, business suites and lawyers' offices. P. 325
The above statements summarizes this nonfiction account of black women role and place in American workplace's both before and after the arrival in 1619 in Jamestown, Virginia. This was an excellent book. And although, this book was published in 1985, the historical analysis is still relevant today in 2017.
October 7, 2014
The content of this book is extraordinary. It follows closely the circumstances of black women from pre-Civil War through to the 1980s. It does this without romanticizing their lives and without trivializing their struggles. However, the writing is dense and can sometimes be hard to get through. At several points, I found myself skimming through pages where I felt like I was being told the same story/information for the second, third, multiple time. At that point, some of the anecdotes cease to have impact and begin to feel preachy. Despite this, the book closely examines the lives of black women throughout American history in a comprehensive, highly academic way.
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July 8, 2010Lots of historical information about African American women. A little dry, but a must read for anyone studying Black Feminism.
December 19, 2013
If you can only read one book on black women and slavery, let it be this one.
January 2, 2015
historical documentation of black women in the family and their role as caregivers! An important read.
September 18, 2011
A sobering, factual contrast to the romanticized life of African American domestics in "The Help".
March 5, 2012
Solid non-fiction read. Helps contextualize my current work in unions/labor.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews