Woman of Color, Daughter of Privilege: Amanda America Dickson, 1849-1893

by Kent Anderson Leslie

This fascinating story of Amanda America Dickson, born the privileged daughter of a white planter and an unconsenting slave in antebellum Georgia, shows how strong-willed individuals defied racial strictures for the sake of family. Kent Anderson Leslie uses the events of Dickson's life to explore the forces driving southern race and gender relations from the days of King Cotton through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and New South eras.

Although legally a slave herself well into her adolescence, Dickson was much favored by her father and lived comfortably in his house, receiving a genteel upbringing and education. After her father died in 1885 Dickson inherited most of his half-million dollar estate, sparking off two years of legal battles with white relatives. When the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the will, Dickson became the largest landowner in Hancock County, Georgia, and the wealthiest black woman in the post-Civil War South.

Kent Anderson Leslie's portrayal of Dickson is enhanced by a wealth of details about plantation life; the elaborate codes of behavior for men and women, blacks and whites in the South; and the equally complicated circumstances under which racial transgressions were sometimes ignored, tolerated, or even accepted.

Genres: Biography, History, African American, Nonfiction, School

248 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1995

Reviews

[Jaren]

They really tried to stop her from getting paid. That is wild.

[Carol Brusegar · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Woman of Color, Daughter of Privilege is the life story of an elite woman of color who lived within the social and economic systems of slavery and quasi-freedom in nineteenth-century Georgia." (from the inside front cover) Amanda America Dickson was born of a wealthy plantation owner and one of his 14-year-old slave girls in 1849. That is not a rare situation in the south of those years, but what was is the fact that David Dickson took the baby from her mother and raised her in his home.

The book reveals how he managed his white family and his "outside family" - Amanda's mother Julia stayed as a slave and after emancipation a servant who had great control of household operations and eventually a separate home on the plantation.

After Dickson's death, there were law suits and appeals about his will which left the majority of his large estate to Amanda. The final part of the book covers her life after that as the "wealthiest black woman in the south."

It's a fascinating look at a part of history not known of by many.

[Marilyn Lagier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another book that looked really interesting--non-fiction--and then I had to wade through a couple chapters or so of statistics about Georgia pre-Civil War and post-Civil War before it finally got to the point of the story of the mulatto woman, Amanda America Dickson, inheriting her white father's vast estate. Yay--done!

[Diane Sugars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book that was in my "to be read" pile for a long time and I am happy that I finally read this one! This was a fascinating story about a woman that I had never heard of. I found her life story so very interesting. The events after her fathers death and her fight to claim what was hers were interesting as well.

[Dee Tighe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history.

[Laura LeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly quick and easy read about one woman's life. Piecing together the life Amanda America Dickson from primary as well as secondary sources, Leslie describes how this one woman's being challenged the ways in which we view race, class, and gender looking back on the mid to late-19th century as well as how she challenged them at the time. Leslie uses court documents and records, newspaper accounts, and the papers of David Dickson, Amanda America's wealthy white father. It is fairly obvious to us now that slave masters and owners had children with their female slaves through violence. And there are quite a number of accounts of white men having long lasting relationships with female slaves, such as Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. But, what those stories lack is the mulatto child or children being provided for in any sort of way by their white father. This is exactly what happened to Amanda America Dickson; she inherited the wealth of her white father and was thus cast into the light of public society.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This non-fiction book explores the life of Amanda America Dickson, a woman born to an enslaved mother and a wealthy white landowner father in mid-1800’s Georgia. Raised in a protective bubble by her father, David Dickson, Amanda lived a life of privilege in her father’s house. David Dickson left his fortune to his daughter, leading white family members to challenge it all the way to the state supreme court.

While this book is a work of non-fiction and does not build the world in the same way that historical fiction does, it uses facts, newspaper articles, and court documents to tell the story of Amanda’s unusual life and gets behind the veneer of the south before emancipation.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography is more than telling the story of Amanda Dickson. It is very dense with social historical facts/background. The historical facts were quite amazing and interesting so I did learn a lot....but, because there was so much, I also forgot a lot. I found it easier to pick up and read a bit at a time rather than to read Dickson's personal story. Highly recommended for women history buffs or African American historical buffs.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

And to think she lived here We never promote our great history within this city what a shame. Like the book alot, and it brings a rich history to race, gender,wealth in the postbellum era in the South and North and the choices that were made due to the three

[Paula Bothwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast read, very interesting material. Not super interesting in the beginning since there are so many statistics. Pretty good story considering there were no personal journals to get information from.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amanda was the daughter of a slave and her master, who later inherited her father's enormous fortune. Not bad, and short. They lived in Georgia, too.

[Pat Deneen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Donna]

Lots of fascinating information hidden in the pages of this book. It’s written like a history text which makes it a difficult read. I would much prefer to read a dramatization of Amanda’s life.